Required ties in continuous RC beams to resist progressive collapse by catenary action

Ties are mandated by many design guidelines and codes to prevent the progressive collapse of buildings initiated by local failures. This study develops a model to estimate catenary/cable action capacity and the required ties in continuous reinforced concrete beams to bridge above the potential failed interior columns. The developed model is derived based on virtual work method and verified using test results presented in the literature. Also, parametric investigations are conducted to estimate the required ties in continuous reinforced concrete beams supporting one-way slab systems. A comparison is conducted between the estimated tie reinforcement using the developed model and that provided by satisfying the integrity provisions of the ACI 318-14 (2014) code. It is shown that the required tie reinforcements to prevent progressive collapse using the developed model are obviously larger than that provided by the integrity requirements of the ACI 318-14 (2014) code. It has been demonstrated that the increases in the demanded tie reinforcements over that provided by satisfying ACI 318-14 (2014) integrity provisions are varied between 1.01 and 1.46.