Investigation of the column loss scenario of one composite steel and concrete frame

Column removal in multi-storey buildings is an effective and popular damage scenario recommended for progressive collapse investigations. Redundancy, ductility and alternate load paths provide deformation capacity and collapse resistance in order to ensure a robust structural response. In this study, the response of composite steel and concrete frames under column removal is considered. 3D finite element models representing full-scale frames were set up by means of the software Abaqus. These models were validated against experimental data obtained from two full-scale tests conducted at the University of Trento. This paper presents the modelling technique and reports the comparison of the numerical and experimental results for the first tested frame.