Progressive Collapse Resistance of Steel-Concrete Composite Floors

Abstract

This paper discusses the progressive collapse resistance of steel-concrete composite floors in which steel beams are attached to columns through shear tabs. This is a common type of system used for the gravity bay portions of steel buildings. The study is conducted using computational simulation models validated through extensive comparisons to disparate test data. The models are used to investigate key parameters influencing the robustness of generic composite floors subjected to the removal of a center column. In particular, the effects of deck thickness, steel reinforcement, and the numbers of bolts in the shear tab connection on the behavior of the system are studied as a function of the loading scheme. The simulation results show that the majority of collapse resistance comes from the steel deck and that, for the system considered, increasing connection strength by adding more bolts might not be that beneficial in increasing overall collapse strength. The dynamic impact factor, which is widely used to account for dynamic effects within a static design framework, is also computed and the DIF value recommended in existing design guidelines is evaluated.