Experimental investigation on the dynamic response of RC flat slabs after a sudden column loss

• Static and dynamic column removal tests were conducted on RC flat slabs.
• High speed camera footage provides information on the response.
• Slab structures can survive a column loss, provided shear failure is prevented.
• Dynamic effects are significant in predicting potential for failure.

To prevent disproportionate collapse under an extreme loading event, a sudden column loss scenario is often used to ensure the structure has suitable robustness. This study aims to investigate experimentally the dynamic response of reinforced concrete flat slabs after a sudden column loss. Seven 1/3 scale reinforced concrete flat slabs were tested under static load increases or dynamic column removal cases with different supports removed. Reaction forces and deflections were recorded throughout, along with reinforcement strains and concrete cracking patterns. During dynamic tests, a high speed camera was used to capture the dynamic motion.The experiments demonstrated that flat slabs, in general, are able to redistribute their loading effectively after a column loss. Although large levels of damage were observed, collapse due to flexural failure did not occur. However, punching shear was shown to be an issue due to the additional vertical loading on the adjacent supports. The inclusion of continuous bottom reinforcement through a column did not significantly improve the capacity, as the new load path is not primarily through the removed column location. The results also indicate that the dynamic effects due to a sudden column loss can be significant as deflections of up to 1.5 times the static case were measured within the elastic range. It is also shown that the Dynamic Amplification Factor (DAF) reduces when nonlinear damaging effects are included, which implies conventional code-based design methods for flat slab structures may be over conservative. Additionally, the increase in material strength due the strain rates is not viewed to be significant.