Assessment of earthquake-induced progressive collapse in steel moment frames

Main objective of earthquake engineering is to provide an adequate margin of safety against any type of collapse. Progressive collapse can occur because of human-made and natural hazards such as blast, impact, fire and also earthquakes. In progressive collapse scenario, an initial local failure may cause a significant damage which then may lead to collapse of a major part of structure or even whole of it. The current progressive collapse analysis methods in guidelines and codes focus on the alternate load path method. Alternative load path method is a threat independent methodology. Progressive collapse of structures due to seismic loads has not received much attention in codes. In this paper, using the finite element method, an investigation has been carried out to examine the seismic progressive collapse. The results obtained allow an insight into the earthquake-induced progressive collapse in steel moment frames.