CASCO: a simulator of load paths in 2D frames during progressive collapse

Modern structural design software can simulate complex collapse dynamics, but the main physical processes driving collapse propagation are often hidden among structure-specific details. As a result, it is still unclear which structural geometries and material properties should be preferred when approaching the design of a damage-tolerant structure. This manuscript presents a new approach to explore the relationships between structural geometry, local mechanical properties, and collapse propagation. The insight comes from a unique ability to trace the evolution of load paths during collapse, achieved by combining energy conservation with local mechanisms of plastic failure and a few simplifying assumptions. The method is implemented in a new simulator of collapse of 2D frames, called CASCO and programmed in MATLAB. Simulation results for reinforced concrete frames predict collapse loads and mechanisms in agreement with fully non-linear, dynamic simulations, while also providing a graphical description of the evolving structural topology during collapse. A first application of CASCO to mechanically homogeneous and heterogeneous frames, indicates certain evolutions in number and density of load paths during collapse that may be targetted to improve collapse resistance.