Strength and stiffness reduction factors for infilled frames with openings

Framed structures are usually infilled with masonry walls. They may cause a significant increase in both stiffness and strength, reducing the deformation demand and increasing the energy dissipation capacity of the system. On the other hand, irregular arrangements of the masonry panels may lead to the concentration of damage in some regions, with negative effects; for example soft story mechanisms and shear failures in short columns. Therefore, the presence ofinfill walls should not be neglected, especially in regions of moderate and high seismicity. To this aim, simple models are available for solid infills walls, such as the diagonal no-tension strut model, while infilled frames with openings have not been adequately investigated. In this study, the effect of openings on the strength and stiffness of infilled frames is investigated by means of about 150 experimental and numerical tests. The main parameters involved are identified and a simple model to take into account the openings in the infills is developed and compared with other models proposed by different researchers. The model, which is based on the use of strength and stiffness reduction factors, takes into account the opening dimensions and presence of reinforcing elements around the opening. An example of an application of the proposed reduction factors is also presented.

Earthquake Response Characteristics of Contained Masonry Infilled Frames

The strength and stiffness contribution of infill masonry is generally ignored in the design, due to the uncertainty in the strength properties of masonry, separation of infill from frame, low tensile strength, brittle characteristics of masonry walls, less out of plane strength and stiffness, etc.. They are considered as nonstructural elements which is reasonable for the frames under gravity loads but it is not true for the frames under seismic loads. Contained masonry as infill in RC （reinforced concrete） frames provides better contact at the interface and a higher out of plane strength and stiffness. Considering the seismic action on the frames which are likely to be subjected to in-plane as well as out of plane shaking, a research work has been carried out by the authors to investigate the seismic performance of RC frames with and without contained masonry infill panels using FE （finite element） computer program （ANSYS-Ver. l 1） and experimentally using the tri-axial shake table to evaluate the methods proposed in IS-1893-2002 to calculate the fundamental natural frequency. The RC frames were designed and detailed as per IS （Indian Standard） specifications such as IS 456-2000, IS 1893-2002 and IS 13920-1993. Based on the experimental and analytical investigations, the contained masonry infill panels significantly affect the seismic load resisting characteristics of the RC frames. The IS 1893-2002 formulation does not predict the values and hence the recommendation needs to be validated with experimental results.

Seismic performance evaluation of an infilled rocking wall frame structure through quasi-static cyclic testing

Earthquake investigations have illustrated that even code-compliant reinforced concrete frames may suffer from soft-story mechanism.This damage mode results in poor ductility and limited energy dissipation.Continuous components offer alternatives that may avoid such failures.A novel infilled rocking wall frame system is proposed that takes advantage of continuous component and rocking characteristics.Previous studies have investigated similar systems that combine a reinforced concrete frame and a wall with rocking behavior used.However,a large-scale experimental study of a reinforced concrete frame combined with a rocking wall has not been reported.In this study,a seismic performance evaluation of the newly proposed infilled rocking wall frame structure was conducted through quasi-static cyclic testing.Critical joints were designed and verified.Numerical models were established and calibrated to estimate frame shear forces.The results evaluation demonstrate that an infilled rocking wall frame can effectively avoid soft-story mechanisms.Capacity and initial stiffness are greatly improved and self-centering behavior is achieved with the help of the infilled rocking wall.Drift distribution becomes more uniform with height.Concrete cracks and damage occurs in desired areas.The infilled rocking wall frame offers a promising approach to achieving seismic resilience.

Nonlinear pushover analysis of infilled concrete frames

Six reinforced concrete frames with or without masonry infills were constructed and tested under horizontal cyclic loads. All six frames had identical details in which the transverse reinforcement in columns was provided by rectangular hoops that did not meet current ACI specifications for ductile frames. For comparison purposes, the columns in three of these frames were jacketed by carbon-fiber-reinforced-polymer （CFRP） sheets to avoid possible shear failure. A nonlinear pushover analysis, in which the force-deformation relationships of individual elements were developed based on ACI 318, FEMA 356, and Chen＇s model, was carried out for these frames and compared to test results. Both the failure mechanisms and impact of infills on the behaviors of these frames were examined in the study. Conclusions from the present analysis provide structural engineers with valuable information for evaluation and design of infilled concrete frame building structures.