This paper discusses a study performed by the Portland Cement Association (PCA) to examine the application of the progressive collapse analysis and design guidelines included in the U.S. General Services Administration (GSA) publication 1 "Progressive Collapse Analysis and Design Guidelines for New Federal Office Buildings and Major Modernization Projects" to concrete frame buildings. Three reinforced cast in place concrete moment-resisting frame buildings, each 12 stories high and each with

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... ferent seismic design categories (SDC), were analyzed and designed using the ETABS Nonlinear version 8.11 2 structural analyses and design software. The flexural and shear reinforcement for each building was calculated according to the strength requirements of the 2000 International Building Code 3 (2000 IBC). The seismic use group, site class definition, and spectral response accelerations were selected to represent seismic design categories A, C, and D for each building used in the study. Each SDC requires the use of different types of concrete frames; ordinary moment frame, intermediate moment frame, and special moment frame as defined in the 2000 IBC 3 . However, for this study, only strength requirements are evaluated and compared for the three frames. Reinforcement detailing and ductility requirements of the three types of frames are not evaluated in this study. The study showed that the building columns in each of the three seismic categories do not require additional reinforcement to prevent progressive collapse. Also, the study showed that the beams proportioned and reinforced according to the strength requirements for the most severe seismic category, SDC D, have sufficient strength to resist progressive collapse. The perimeter beams designed to satisfy the strength requirements for SDC C need additional reinforcing only for the beams in the lower four stories. The perimeter beams designed for SDC A need additional flexural reinforcement in the stories one through eleven in order to prevent progressive collapse. The cost of the additional reinforcement required to satisfy the GSA criteria is quite nominal.