Influence of Openings on the Seismic Performance of Infilled Reinforced Concrete Frames with Masonry Walls

Abstract eng:
This paper presents the results from an extensive experimental and analytical program involving singe-bay, single-story, masonry-infilled, non-ductile Reinforced Concrete (RC) frames. The design details of the reinforced concrete frames considered here are similar to the construction practice in California in the 1920s. The experimental study includes an RC frame with solid infill and three frames with similar design infilled with masonry walls with different opening configurations. The test results provide useful information on the effect that doors and windows have on the lateral load resisting mechanism of infills. The specimens have been modeled with a recently developed nonlinear finite element modeling scheme [1] which combines the discrete and the smeared-crack approaches. The comparison of the analytical and experimental results demonstrates the capabilities of the modeling scheme. Moreover, the numerical models provide useful insight on the frame-infill interaction and the influence of the windows and doors on the load-resisting mechanism and lateral strength of infilled frames. The analysis of the numerical results indicates that the commonly perceived notion of the infill panels acting as struts along the diagonals of the panels is not very precise and cannot explain the failure patterns exhibited by the fames. The validated models have been used in a parametric study which considers masonry infilled RC frames with five different opening geometries: four different window sizes and a door. The parametric study also investigates the effect of the location of the opening by considering five different locations for each of the opening configurations. The results indicate the size of an opening affects the initial stiffness and the structural behavior for relatively small lateral drifts. However, for larger drifts the location of the opening is critical as it influences the failure mechanism of the structure. The experimental and analytical results have been used for the development of a simplified analytical method which can be used to assess the performance of such structures under seismic loads.

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