When – Tuesday 11th August 2026
Where – Room 401, Building 401, University of Auckland - 20 Symonds Street, Auckland Central, Auckland.
Agenda –
17:30 pre-presentation refreshments
18:00 presentation
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Study of Seismic Performance of Reinforced Concrete Frame Structures
Description:
Registration opens at 28-07-2026 18:00
Registration closes at 11-08-2026 16:00
Max Participants: 100
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Abstract:
Reinforced concrete (RC) frame structures remain one of the most widely used structural systems worldwide. Although modern seismic design has substantially improved their earthquake resistance, observations from recent major earthquakes, such as the 2008 Wenchuan Earthquake, have demonstrated that RC frame structures remain vulnerable to severe damage, progressive collapse, and collapse-induced interactions under extreme seismic events. A comprehensive understanding of the failure mechanisms and collapse behaviour is therefore essential for improving seismic resilience and advancing the next generation of performance-based seismic design.
This presentation summarises recent research on the seismic performance and collapse behaviour of RC frame structures, spanning investigations from the component scale to the urban scale. The first part examines the seismic behaviour and failure mechanisms of RC frames with different types of masonry infill walls, highlighting the influence on structural stiffness, force transfer mechanisms, and damage evolution. The second part investigates the progressive collapse behaviour of both cast-in-situ and precast RC frame structures, with particular emphasis on load redistribution, alternative load paths, and structural robustness. The third part explores the damage evolution and collapse resistance of RC frames subjected to mainshock-aftershock earthquake sequences, revealing the effects of cumulative damage, stiffness degradation, and changing dynamic characteristics on post-earthquake structural performance, together with potential strategies for enhancing collapse resilience. Finally, the presentation introduces recent research on the mechanisms of collapse-induced impact among adjacent RC frame buildings during extreme earthquakes, providing new insights into cascading structural failures in densely built urban environments and highlighting the importance of considering inter-building interactions in seismic design and urban seismic risk assessment.
Presenter Biographies:
Prof. Xiang-Lin Gu
Prof. Xiang-Lin Gu is a distinguished professor at Tongji University. He was awarded the Ph.D. degree from Tongji University in 1996. Prof.Gu is the Chief Scientist of China's National Key Research and Development Program and currently serves as the Director of the Key Laboratory of Performance Evolution and Control for Engineering Structures, Ministry of Education. He is also a member of the International Committee on Structural Analysis of Architectural Heritage, Chairman of the Chinese Chapter of the American Concrete Institute (ACI), Chairman of the Chinese Chapter of the International Union of Laboratories and Testing and Research Institutes for Materials and Structures (RILEM), Deputy Director of the National Steering Committee for Professional Degree Graduate Education, and Vice President of the China Civil Engineering Society.
The research interests of Prof. Gu focus on the performance evolution, assessment, and control of civil engineering structures. He has created a design method for predicting the service life of structures based on time-variant reliability, expanded the theory of the life-cycle design of structures, optimised the simulation and analysis method of the multi-scale failure process of concrete structures based on the discrete element method, and enriched the theory of structural disaster control. Furthermore, he has proposed an integrated methodology for the performance assessment and functional enhancement of existing structures based on perception information and new structural materials, and perfected the theory of the life-cycle maintenance of structures.
Professor Gu has authored more than 380 journal papers in both domestic and international journals and has published 6 academic books. His research has made important contributions to the advancement of structural engineering, particularly in life-cycle design, structural resilience, and infrastructure maintenance.