Progressive collapse evaluation of Murrah Federal Building following sudden loss of column G20

Abstract The Murrah Federal Building (MFB) was the main target of the Oklahoma City Bombing in 1995. Previous studies have concluded that the building would have collapsed even if exterior column G20 was statically removed. In this paper, the system-level response of the MFB due to the sudden loss of column G20 is analytically studied. It is demonstrated that the building would have resisted progressive collapse, even if the column was suddenly removed. Two important reasons have led to a different conclusion from those of the previous studies. First, the axial compressive force of the column above the lost column diminishes only a few milliseconds after column removal, thus, it does not continue to push the supporting girder down. Second, two collapse resisting mechanisms were not considered in the previous studies: (a) a beam’s tendency to grow as it cracks and yields under flexure and its effects on the axial–flexural response of the 3rd floor transfer girder, resulting in the enhancement of its gravity load carrying capacity and (b) the redistribution of the gravity loads through new load paths in both longitudinal and transverse directions through Vierendeel frame action. Given that the structure collapsed, the initial damage to the MFB must have been more severe than a sudden loss of column G20.

[1]  Hatem Tagel-Din,et al.  Simulation of the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building Collapse Due to Blast Loads , 2006 .

[2]  Serkan Sagiroglu,et al.  Progressive Collapse Resistance of an Actual 11-Story Structure Subjected to Severe Initial Damage , 2011 .

[3]  R. C. Fenwick,et al.  Elongation and load deflection characteristics of reinforced concrete members containing plastic hinges , 1993 .

[4]  Norman J. Glover.  Review of Lessons from the Oklahoma City Bombing: Defensive Design Techniques by Eve E. Hinman and David Hammond , 1997 .

[5]  Yasser Alashker,et al.  Approximations in Progressive Collapse Modeling , 2011 .

[6]  Norman J. Glover.  The Oklahoma City Bombing: Improving Building Performance through Multi-Hazard Mitigation (FEMA 277) by Building Performance Analysis Team , 1997 .

[7]  M. P. Byfield,et al.  Murrah Building Collapse: Reassessment of the Transfer Girder , 2012 .

[8]  R. Park,et al.  Stress-Strain Behavior of Concrete Confined by Overlapping Hoops at Low and High Strain Rates , 1982 .

[9]  Marlon Bazan,et al.  Experimental and Analytical Progressive Collapse Evaluation of Actual Reinforced Concrete Structure , 2007 .

[10]  Wei Chen,et al.  Thermal and Mechanical Modeling of Load-Bearing Cold-Formed Steel Wall Systems in Fire , 2014 .

[11]  Mehrdad Sasani,et al.  Response of a reinforced concrete infilled-frame structure to removal of two adjacent columns , 2008 .

[12]  John F. Stanton,et al.  Effect of Beam Growth on Reinforced Concrete Frames , 2004 .

[13]  John D. Osteraas,et al.  Murrah Building Bombing Revisited: A Qualitative Assessment of Blast Damage and Collapse Patterns , 2006 .

[14]  Michael P. Collins,et al.  Redistribution of Moments at Cracking-the Key to Simpler Torsion Design? , 1973 .

[15]  Mehrdad Sasani,et al.  Progressive collapse analysis of an RC structure , 2008 .

[16]  Eve E. Hinman,et al.  Lessons from the Oklahoma City Bombing: Defensive Design Techniques , 1996 .

[17]  Vitelmo V. Bertero,et al.  Local bond stress-slip relationships of deformed bars under generalized excitations , 1982 .

[18]  John B. Mander,et al.  Local Buckling Analysis of Longitudinal Reinforcing Bars , 2012 .

[19]  Thomas J. R. Hughes,et al.  Improved numerical dissipation for time integration algorithms in structural dynamics , 1977 .

[20]  Marlon Luis Bazan.  Response of reinforced concrete elements and structures following loss of load bearing elements , 2008 .

[21]  Paul F. Mlakar,et al.  The Oklahoma City Bombing: Structure and Mechanisms of the Murrah Building , 1998 .

[22]  Paul F. Mlakar,et al.  The Oklahoma City Bombing: Analysis of Blast Damage to the Murrah Building , 1998 .

[23]  Serkan Sagiroglu,et al.  Progressive Collapse-Resisting Mechanisms of Reinforced Concrete Structures and Effects of Initial Damage Locations , 2014 .