Progressive collapse performance of irregular buildings

In this study, the progressive collapse-resisting capacities of tilted or twisted buildings were evaluated by nonlinear static and dynamic analyses. For analysis models, 30-storey tilted buildings with braced cores and 30-storey twisted buildings with reinforced concrete cores were designed, and their performances were compared with those of the regular buildings. According to the analysis results, the progressive collapse potential of the tilted structures varied significantly, depending on the location of the removed column. It was also observed in the tilted structures that the plastic hinges formed not only in the bays from which a column was removed, but also in the nearby bays. Similar results were observed in the analysis of the twisted structures. The progressive collapse potentials of the tilted structure were high when a column was removed from the tilted side. However, the twisted structures considered in this study had progressive collapse potentials not very large compared with those of the corresponding regular structures, mainly because more structural elements were involved in resisting progressive collapse when a structural member was eliminated. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.