Experimental and Numerical Investigations of RC Frame Stability Failure under a Corner Column Removal Scenario

In recent decades, interest in the resistance of buildings and structures to progressive collapse has been increasingly sparked in research communities. Although several experimental, numerical, and analytical research projects on the robustness of building frames under a column removal scenario have been implemented, some aspects of this problem remain understudied. These aspects encompass failure mechanisms of reinforced concrete frames with slender columns, as well as criteria used to evaluate such failures. This paper focuses on experimental and numerical investigations of the structural behavior and failure of a scale reinforced concrete frame with slender columns under a sudden corner column removal scenario. In addition, we analyze the stability failure mechanism of a reinforced concrete frame with slender columns and the tangent stiffness criterion, which allow for evaluation of the ultimate state of a structure subjected to an accidental impact. A scale physical model of a reinforced concrete frame of a multistory building was designed and tested using the theory of functional similarity. For numerical study purposes, a finite element model was made that exactly the same as the test frame. We validated the findings by comparing simulation results and experimental data. The studies on the behavior of a reinforced concrete frame subjected to quasistatic loading with unequal concentrated loads identified the load transfer between columns through beams. Although these effects were minor in the frame under consideration, they can become more significant in cases of long-term loading. Numerical simulation and physical modeling of an accidental impact allowed for identification of the mechanism of load capacity exhaustion triggered by stability failure. Such failure was fragile. The moment of stability failure of the column of the experimental frame corresponded to the extremum on the force–displacement curve, indicating that zero tangent stiffness was reached. Hence, a criterion of tangent stiffness can be proposed for evaluation of the ultimate state of a structure subjected to an accidental impact.