TOWARD THE CODIFICATION OF MODELING PROVISIONS FOR SIMULATING STRUCTURAL COLLAPSE

Research has progressed near to the goal of directly simulating sidesway collapse for some types of structural systems. A complete collapse performance assessment involves many aspects such as directly modeling sidesway collapse, considering local collapse modes, and properly accounting for the numerous uncertainties involved in collapse prediction. Ideally, the collapse performance assessment should be based solely on scientific models and principles, but realistically many aspects of the assessment require significant judgment. Therefore, this paper proposes that the newly emerging models and methods be put thorough a consensus and codification process. This consensus process is critical to ensure that collapse assessment guidelines are not based on the judgment of a small number of individuals. This paper presents selected research advancements by the Pacific Earthquake Engineering Research that the authors hope can contribute to such a consensus process. Specifically, a calibrated reinforced-concrete beam-column element model is presented, which is capable of capturing the important modes of deterioration that precipitate sidesway collapse. Comparing this model and the FEMA 273/356 backbone curves against test data clearly shows that the new model provides a more realistic representation of observed response.