Interlocking Block Infill Capable of Resisting Out-of-Plane Loads

Abstract eng:
This paper proposes new masonry infill walls using ductile interlocking blocks, and describes their availability for retrofitting existing structures. Although no reinforcement is provided in the proposed infills, they can resist out-of-plane loads by the interlocking mechanism between blocks. Three reinforced concrete frames were prepared, and two of them were retrofitted by installing the proposed infills, which were constructed in different bond patterns. Quasi-static loading tests of the specimens were carried out in the in-plane and out-of-plane directions, to compare their seismic performance. As a result, it was found that the installed infills significantly affected and enhanced the seismic performance of the existing frames. Although the proposed infills were designed so that the interlocking mechanism was effective only for out-of-plane loads, the infills also contributed to increase the in-plane strength of the frames, which can be explained based on the lateral force-resisting mechanism of this kind of structures. Focusing on the behavior in the large deformations, the un-retrofitted frame axially collapsed as soon as the columns failed in shear. In the case of the retrofitted ones, however, the installed infills supported axial loads instead of the collapsed columns. Moreover, one of the proposed infills also exhibited not only a substantial lateral resistance in the in-plane direction, which was caused by friction between the blocks under axial loads transferred from the collapsed columns, but also a sufficient deformation capacity in the out-of-plane direction.

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