Effects of Non-Structural Walls on Mitigating the Risk of Progressive Collapse of RC Structures

Abstract

This study aims to investigate the effect of the infilled frames through various important parameters (i.e., the openings’ percentage in infill walls-several columns on the first floor are removed-partial infilled) in the RC structures, subject to progressive collapse scenarios. To this end, 3D finite element models were constructed by using the software ABAQUS. Numerical and experimental results were compared to substantiate the finite element models’ capability of simulating the experimental models’ behavior of Al-Chaar et al. (2002) in an accurate manner. The results showed that there was good agreement between experimental and numerical results. Moreover, the results indicated that there was a significant effect, which cannot be neglected, on the progressive collapse resistance; the reduction ratios in vertical displacement at the regions removed columns can reach up to 80%.