A Rational Approach to Analytical Modeling of Masonry Infills in Reinforced Concrete Frame Buildings

Abstract eng:
Masonry infills, which generally have high stiffness and strength, play a crucial role in lateral load response of reinforced concrete (RC) frame buildings. Geographically, there is a large variation in material properties of masonry. Moreover, masonry behaves in a highly nonlinear manner. Therefore, a generalized yet rational model is required for masonry infills that can efficiently incorporate its linear and nonlinear material properties and common failure modes in RC members and masonry infills under the action of lateral forces. Interestingly, national codes of most of the countries do not specify modeling procedures for such structural systems. On the other hand, several analytical models for masonry infills are available in literature, for example, equivalent diagonal strut models, finite element models, etc. Therefore, a comparative study was carried out considering different analytical models for masonry infills using experimental results for nonlinear material properties of masonry infills. Analytical models considered in the present study include single-strut model, 3-strut model, and finite element models. By linear and non-linear analyses, it was observed that the 3-strut model can estimate force resultants in RC members with sufficient accuracy, in addition to modeling the local failures in infills and in beams and columns due to interaction between masonry infills and RC frame. It was also observed that the single-strut model can be effectively used in cases where masonry infill walls are discontinued in the first-storey to generate parking space (for example, soft or open storey buildings).

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