Table Of ContentProgressive collapse of structures
Copyright © ICE Publishing, all rights reserved.
To Misuk, Rudi, Leo, Enno, and Lisa
Copyright © ICE Publishing, all rights reserved.
Progressive collapse
of structures
Uwe Starossek
Hamburg University of Technology
Copyright © ICE Publishing, all rights reserved.
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BlastEffectsonBuildings,secondedition,editedbyDavidCormie,GeoffC.Maysand
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ForensicEngineering:Fromfailuretounderstanding,4thInternationalConferenceon
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ModernStructuralAnalysis:Modellingprocessandguidance,byIainA.MacLeod,
ISBN:978-0-7277-3279-8
CoverphotographofthepartialcollapseoftheCharlesdeGaulleAirportTerminal
in2004—anexampleofastructuralfailurewhichdidnotleadtoprogressivecollapse
owingtostructuralsegmentation.ImagecourtesyofAP/PressAssociationImages.
Firstpublished2009
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Contents
Preface ix
1 Introduction 1
1.1 Opening 1
1.2 Failure incidents 2
1.3 State of research 5
1.4 Standards and guidelines 7
2 Typology of progressive collapse 11
2.1 General 11
2.2 Types of progressive collapse 12
2.2.1 Pancake-type collapse 12
2.2.2 Zipper-type collapse 14
2.2.3 Domino-type collapse 16
2.2.4 Section-type collapse 18
2.2.5 Instability-type collapse 20
2.2.6 Mixed-type collapse 23
2.3 Classes of progressive collapse 25
2.4 Collapse-promoting features 25
2.4.1 Dynamic action and force concentration 25
2.4.2 Brittle material behaviour 26
2.4.3 Overstrength and ductile material behaviour 26
2.4.4 Continuity or discontinuity 27
2.4.5 Series or parallel load transfer 28
2.4.6 Spatial orientation, size, and slenderness 28
2.4.7 Structuredness 29
2.5 Summary 30
3 Current design procedures 32
3.1 Inadequacy of current procedures 32
3.2 Possible improvements 34
v
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4 Design against progressive collapse 37
4.1 General 37
4.2 Two definitions 38
4.2.1 Robustness 38
4.2.2 Collapse resistance 39
4.3 Design criteria 40
4.3.1 Design requirements 40
4.3.2 Design objectives 42
4.3.3 Design methods 47
4.3.4 Verification procedures 48
5 Design methods 52
5.1 General 52
5.2 Prevent local failure 55
5.2.1 Specific local resistance 55
5.2.2 Non-structural protective measures 55
5.2.3 Discussion and further remarks 56
5.3 Assume local failure 58
5.3.1 General 58
5.3.2 Alternative load paths 59
5.3.3 Isolation by segmentation 62
5.3.4 Redundancy versus segmentation 71
5.3.5 Interaction and progressive collapse 77
5.4 Local failure: prevent or assume? 80
5.5 Prescriptive design rules 83
6 Applications 86
6.1 General 86
6.2 Design of collapse-resistant bridges 87
6.2.1 General 87
6.2.2 Continuous girder bridges 88
6.2.3 Cable-stayed bridges 89
6.2.4 Suspension bridges 97
6.2.5 Arch bridges 99
6.3 Design of collapse-resistant high-rise buildings 99
6.3.1 General 99
6.3.2 Specific local resistance 100
6.3.3 Non-structural protective measures 112
6.3.4 Alternative load paths 113
6.3.5 Isolation by segmentation 114
6.3.6 Fire protection, fire fighting, and evacuation 121
vi
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7 Measures of robustness and collapse resistance 123
7.1 General 123
7.2 Areas of application 123
7.3 Requirements 124
7.4 Present approaches 125
7.5 Stiffness-based measures of robustness 126
7.6 Damage-based measures of robustness 127
7.7 Energy-based measures of robustness 130
7.8 Summary and future directions 131
8 Conclusions 133
8.1 Synopsis 133
8.2 Outlook 137
References 139
Index 147
vii
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Copyright © ICE Publishing, all rights reserved.
Preface
I became involved with the topic of this book 16 years ago, when, as
a practising engineer involved in the design of the Confederation
Bridge, Canada, I was charged with the progressive collapse analysis
and design of that structure. Apart from a few papers, mostly on the
Ronan Point incident, and some references in building codes, little
was known about progressive collapse at that time. This was a blessing
in disguise, however, because my colleagues and I at J. Muller
International, San Diego, were free to develop our views and
approaches almost from scratch. I have remained involved with this
topic ever since. When entering academia a few years later, I had the
time to reflect on the previous project-related work and to develop it
further into a more formalised and generally applicable concept.
Progressive collapse is arguably the most dramatic and feared form
of failure in structural engineering. It usually occurs unexpectedly
and causes high losses. Although there has been an awareness for a
long time that such failures can occur, this has barely been reflected,
until recently, in a professional effort commensurate to the problem.
Since the bombing of the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building in 1995,
and even more so since the events of 11 September 2001, research
on progressive collapse has clearly intensified. Nevertheless, most
publications only focus on particular aspects of the problem, and
there is still no generally accepted use of nomenclature and
procedures. The standard provisions that exist today lack general
applicability.
Thisbookattemptstoclosethatgap.Itspurposeistogiveaplainand
comprehensive introduction to the phenomenon of progressive
collapse, to offer a consistent and generally applicable set of nomen-
clature and procedures, to provide guidance to the practicing engineer
in both a systematic and pragmatic manner, and to give an outlook on
future developments. Because the book is self-contained and requires
only a basic understanding of structural analysis and design, it is also
ix
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suitable and, I hope, particularly educational for advanced under-
graduate and graduate students.
ThebookisbasedonapreviouscontributiontoBetonkalender2008,
a yearbook popular among German-speaking structural engineers.
Thanks are due to Konrad Bergmeister, the editor who had invited
me to contribute, and to Ernst & Sohn Verlag, Berlin, the publisher
who has allowed the use of this previously published material.
Furthermore,Iwouldliketogratefullymentionafewindividualswho
helped shape my early understanding of the problem, namely Gerard
Sauvageot, Jean Muller, Paul Mondorf, Daniel Tassin, and Gamil
Tadros. More recently, discussions with Bob Smilowitz, Mohammed
Ettouney, Franco Bontempi, and Luisa Giuliani have influenced my
views in one way or another, which is also appreciated.
Special thanks are extended to Hyun-Moo Koh, my host at Seoul
National University. During my sabbatical stay there, the collapse
typology presented in this book came into being. Warm thanks are
also due to his graduate student Yong-Suk Park for our discussions
on bridge collapses.
I would like to thank my students at Hamburg University of Tech-
nology, most notably Maren Wolff and Marco Haberland, who were
involved in some of the studies reported here. Moreover, they have
read various parts and versions of the manuscript and helped to
improve its clarity and correctness. The latter also applies to my
brother Bernd Starossek. Thanks are also due to Deima Aslan and
Todd Parry for helping with preliminary translations of some parts of
the book, and to Axel Seils for preparing most of the illustrations.
Finally,it isagreat pleasureto acknowledgemyindebtednessto the
one person without whom this project would not have been realised.
Stuart Alexander encouraged me to submit the proposal for this book
to Thomas Telford Ltd, and was instrumental in getting it accepted
and bringing it to print. He reviewed the entire manuscript, and not
only helped straighten out my English but also made many invaluable
and helpful comments on the contents. Any remaining errors or
misconceptions are my own.
WholeheartedthanksgotomywifeMisukandourchildrenfortheir
patience during the work on this book.
Uwe Starossek
x
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