Abstract
The global building inventory consists of non-ductile reinforced concrete frames designed and built before enacting modern seismic codes. These buildings are considered deficient with insufficient detailing of frame members and lack strength and ductility for responding adequately to strong events, such as gas explosives, accidental overload, structural design errors, explosions, or vehicle/aircraft impact. Progressive collapse is a result of strong events and occurs in a building when the structural system experiences initial local damage that cannot be absorbed or avoided. In recent years, the issue of progressive collapse in reinforced concrete structures has gained significant attention due to its dangerous consequences on structural elements. This has motivated the international engineering community to bring amendments to the engineering guidelines by including procedures and methodologies to test the structural design for a potential progressive collapse and introduce prescriptive methods to resist or minimize the impact of failure. Unified Facilities Criteria (UFC) requires all department of defenses buildings to resist progressive collapse if it is three stories and more. The research investigates the influence of selected parameters, namely the building's number of stories (low, medium, and high-rise buildings) and column spacings, upon the potential of progressive collapse occurrence in the selected buildings. The buildings were designed based on Abu Dhabi Building Code using SAP2000 software and non-linear dynamic analyses stipulated in the Unified Facilities Criteria (UFC). Twenty-seven prototype buildings of dual systems having shear walls and columns with flat slabs were selected. Following the UFC code, a corner, an edge, and an internal column were chosen to be removed instantaneously. Building's responses were compared to the performance-based design limitations stipulated in the ASCE 41-13 standard. Buildings were assessed and compared with response limitations s
