Progressive collapse potential of a typical steel building due to blast attacks

• A typical steel building was numerically studied for progressive collapse potential.
• LS-DYNA software was used to simulate the building response under blast scenarios.
• A published steel beam example was used for finite element validation.
• Recommendations are given for progressive collapse mitigation of steel buildings.

The recent terrorist attacks all around the world and the evidence of the threats found especially in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia have prompted the concerned authorities to address the risks to the critical infrastructure of the Kingdom. Understanding of the progressive collapse mechanism is an essential step to protect buildings against blast attacks. Buildings are very vulnerable to progressive collapse if one or more columns are lost due to extreme loadings. It is also important to study the likelihood of progressive collapse of buildings in Riyadh to avoid catastrophic events. The paper presents progressive collapse analysis of a typical multi-storey steel framed building in Riyadh to establish its vulnerability when subjected to accidental or terrorist attack blast scenarios. A commercial finite element (FE) package (LS-DYNA) was used to simulate the building response under blast generated waves. The numerical modeling was validated using the results of a published example of tubular steel beam subjected to blast load. Based on the FE analysis results, recommendations are given to mitigate (or control) the progressive collapse potential of steel buildings.