Abstract

The study aims to investigate the progressive collapse behavior of low-rise reinforced concrete buildings designed for different occupancy classes. For this objective, two low-rise reinforced concrete framed buildings were designed independently according to the Turkish Seismic Code for Buildings by considering the Residential Occupancy Class and Government Buildings Occupancy Class. A nonlinear dynamic analysis method was employed to evaluate the progressive collapse response of the buildings by using the alternate path direct design approach of UFC 4-023-03 and GSA-2016 guidelines. Three-dimensional finite element models were created for the analyses, and fiber hinges were used to represent the nonlinear behavior of the load-bearing members. Three column loss scenarios were implemented independently. The analysis results show that the residual displacement of the residential building is higher than that of the government building in all column removal scenarios. Moreover, the damage conditions of the residential building are commonly worse than the government building for all column loss scenarios. It is deduced from the study that the buildings experienced the most severe local damage, disproportionate to the initial failure, under the inner column loss scenario.