Numerical investigation on residual bearing capacity of columns after collision of light weight vehicle

When components in a building structure are subjected to a vehicle collision, they may partly lose the bearing capacity, which may trigger progressive collapse of the entire structure. In order to clarify the factors affecting the residual bearing capacity of framed columns subjected to the collision of a light weight vehicle, numerical investigation is conducted in this paper. Three kinds of square columns, i. e, reinforced concrete (RC) columns and concrete filled steel tubular (CFST) columns and steel tubular (ST) columns, are designed, of which the nominal axial bearing capacities are equal. The effects of four factors, i.e., the vehicle velocity, impact direction, axial compression ratio and types of the columns, on the residual axial bearing capacity are analyzed. The results show that the residual axial bearing capacity becomes lower as the impact velocity increases. The residual axial bearing capacity under the impact along the direction of diagonal 45 degree is higher than that under front impact. The effects of the compression ratio on the residual bearing capacity depend on the types of columns. Under the same conditions, RC columns are the most vulnerable to the vehicle collision. The difference in residual capacity between CFST and ST columns is small under the impact of light weight vehicle.