PROGRESSIVE COLLAPSE RESISTANCE OF STEEL BUILDING FLOORS

This report presents the background, test set-up, specimens, test procedures and the test results of “column-drop” tests of a one story steel structure. The specimen was a 60ft by 20ft one story typical steel structure with steel deck and concrete slab floor and wide flange beams and columns. The connections were either standard shear tab or bolted seat angle under bottom flange and a bolted single angle on one side of web. The main objectives of these studies were to explore the strength of a typical steel structure and floor system to resist progressive collapse in the event of removal of a column by a blast and to establish failure modes. An added objective was using the test results to provide the AISC with design-oriented information on what is the potential of existing typical steel structures to resist progressive collapse and what are the possible research needs in this particular field. The tests indicated that after removal of the middle perimeter column, due to catenary action of steel deck and girders, the design dead load and live load of the floor could be resisted and the floor is not expected to collapse in the event of removal of one such column.