Arresting failure propagation in buildings through collapse isolation.

Area of Science:

• Structural Engineering
• Civil Engineering
• Disaster Mitigation

Background:

• Catastrophic building collapses often result from the propagation of local failures.
• Current designs focus on increased component connectivity to redistribute loads, but this can worsen collapse propagation during large initial failures.

Purpose of the Study:

• To present an original design approach to arrest collapse propagation after major initial failures.
• To enhance the resilience of buildings against progressive collapse.

Main Methods:

• Developed a novel design strategy that intentionally fails specific elements before critical components.
• Conducted unique experimental tests on a full-scale building to validate the approach.
• Simulated the effects of increased connectivity versus the proposed design under large initial failures.

Main Results:

• The proposed design successfully arrested collapse propagation by separating the structural system.
• Demonstrated that current increased connectivity guidelines could lead to total collapse under similar failure scenarios.
• Experimental tests confirmed the effectiveness of the new approach in isolating collapse.

Conclusions:

• The novel design approach provides a last line of defense against progressive collapse.
• This method enhances building resilience by controlling failure propagation.
• The findings challenge current design practices and offer a safer alternative for critical structures.