Reliability analysis of reinforced concrete structure against progressive collapse

• An efficient approach for structural reliability analysis is developed. • A simplified numerical model is proposed. • The effect of masonry infill is investigated. • The reliability analysis of frames under various removal scenarios are conducted. New reliability computation framework is proposed based on polynomial chaos expansion method and used to investigate the reliability of four typical configurations of reinforced concrete (RC) frame structures under progressive collapse. The analytical model of considered structures was generated using displacement-based fiber elements to simulate frame structural components and an appropriate macro model to simulate masonry infills and subjected to pushdown analysis to assess the anti-collapse capacity of the structures. The reliability and failure mode of frame structures under different column-loss scenario are obtained from the analyses. Finally, based on PCE-based computation, sensitivity analyses are conducted. The effect of uncertain parameter on the progressive collapse resistance of RC frames are discussed. Results shows the failure probabilities of RC frame structure range from 0.0162 to 0.1373. The reliability of frame structures under side column-loss scenario is lower than the other conditions.