The pertinence of the fiber element approach to enable thorough numerical investigation on the potential for progressive collapse of reinforced concrete (RC) frame structures owing to interior column exclusion is examined using twenty-nine RC sub-assemblages with five different test setups and three different test scales. A qualitative examination of the results reveals a good agreement between the test results and the outcomes of the fiber-element-based numerical model using the finite element package SeismoStruct. Moreover, minor discrepancies between the test and numerical data demonstrate the capability of the fiber-element-based model to accurately simulate the behavior of RC elements with various boundary conditions and scales under the context of progressive collapse. Given the costly nature of experimental research, test errors, and the lengthy testing process, the proposed numerical model based on the fiber element approach can be considered a viable option for analyzing structures under progressive collapse due to the interior column exclusion scenario. Engineers and researchers can use the conclusions and comments highlighted in the study as a guide to create accurate models for the analysis of RC structures subjected to progressive collapse.

Traffic data are one of the key elements required for the structural design and analysis of pavement structures. They are required for estimating the loads that are applied to a pavement and the frequency with which these given loads are applied throughout the pavement's design life. Typical traffic data required for the design are tyre characteristics and inflation pressure, which are used to calculate pavement responses using mechanistic models. One major assumption frequently associated with the mechanistic models is the uniform tyre–pavement contact stress distribution over a circular or rectangular contact area with the contact stress that is simply equal to the tyre inflation pressure. However, experimental measurements and recent studies have demonstrated that the actual tyre pavement contact stress (loading condition) is non-uniform and depends on the tyre construction, tyre load and tyre inflation pressure. The main objective of this study was to present a numerical procedure for modelling the non-uniformity of the tyre contact stress by utilising finite elements method in calculating the rigid pavement responses. The analysis was performed using non-uniform tyre–pavement contact stress conditions for different tyre load and inflation pressure values. Finally, a comparison was conducted between the two different contact stress distributions (uniform and non-uniform). The data generated from this study illustrated that there is a significant difference between the responses computed with uniform (the conventional assumption) and non-uniform contact stress distributions.

The ability to predict the resistance of reinforced concrete (RC) structures to progressive collapse as a result of an interior column removal has become a need in structural design. In general, three resistance mechanisms characterize the structure resistance to progressive collapse, flexural action, compressive arch action, and tension catenary action. The objective of this study is to investigate the effects of floor system configurations on the progressive collapse-resistance of RC frame sub-assemblages and the amount of energy dissipated in each resistance mechanism. This investigation employs a fiber element-based modeling technique to present findings into the effects of beam size and reinforcement details on the progressive collapse-resistance and energy dissipation of RC beam-column sub-assemblages with four equal spans. Three different span lengths of 5, 6, and 7 m were considered. A total of 38 floor system designs for gravity loads were performed in accordance with the ACI 318-14 design code. The modeling technique employed in this study was validated and utilized by the authors in previously published works. The study shows that beam size and the presence of slab are critical as they significantly affect the energy dissipation and progressive collapse-resistance and failure pattern of the sub-assemblage frames. Moreover, the presence of a slab was found to increase the energy dissipation by around 28%.