Robustness of Frame Structures

The paper considers general issues associated with robustness of structures. Initially, a brief overview of the problem is presented including basic approaches to ensure structural robustness, which is done within a probabilistic framework. Since a combination of a probabilistic analysis with nonlinear structural models requires considerable computational effort, a simplified method to evaluate the reliability of a multi-storey structure using results of a nonlinear deterministic analysis has been described in this paper. The implementation of the Alternate Path method to the design of reinforced concrete structures is then illustrated by checking the robustness of a 20-storey reinforced concrete building.