Robustness of multistory corner-supported modular steel frames against progressive collapse

In current practice, a relatively wide range of different interconnections and assembly systems is being used for the design of modular buildings made of volumetric prefabricated frames. The integration strategies and design criteria for providing structural robustness or prevention of disproportionate collapse for such buildings are completely different with those with conventional systems. This is mainly because of their fundamentally different configuration of joints and the redundancy they provide for the structure. This paper studies the robustness of multistory modular structures, made of prefabricated volumetric steel frames, against progressive collapse, which can be triggered by various column or module loss scenarios. In this study, the flexibility of modules and propagation of the damage inside the individual modules are taken into account, and the buckling of columns, as well as the effects of material nonlinearity on the responses and capacity of the entire system, are also considered. Load redistribution patterns and possible gravity-induced collapse mechanisms are inspected in various collapse scenarios for a typical mid-rise modular steel frame. In the numerical model, each individual prefabricated volumetric module is composed of discrete beam and column frame elements, connected through conventional rigid beam-column connections. The volumetric modular steel frames are connected via corner vertical and horizontal intermodule joints; each one is modeled utilizing one axial and two shear springs with predefined nonlinear force-displacement behavior in a 3D finite element analysis. The local damage scenarios are assumed to be due to instantaneous loss of columns or entire modules, for which the interactions between the modular units, overall structural robustness, load redistribution, possible collapse mechanisms, and progressive collapse response of the frames are investigated. The results indicate that the additional redundancy may help the modular steel frames survive from some corner column or single module removals but will not be able to maintain their robustness under combined module removal scenarios.