Effect of column loss location on structural response of a generic steel moment resisting frame

The effect of column loss location on the structural response of steel moment resisting frames (MRF) is investigated in this study. A series of nonlinear static and dynamic analyses were performed to determine the resistance of a generic frame to an arbitrary column loss and detect the structural members that are susceptible to failure progression beyond that point. Both force-controlled and deformation-controlled actions based on UFC 4-023-03 and ASCE/SEI 41-06 were implemented to define the acceptance criteria for nine APM cases defined in this study. Results revealed that the structural resistance against an arbitrary column loss in the top story is at least 80% smaller than that of the bottom story. In addition, it was found that the dynamic increase factor (DIF) at the failure point is at most 1.13.