Behavior of Brick Infilled Reinforced Concrete Frames Under Reversed Cyclic Loading F

Structural frames are often filled with masonry walls serving as partitions or as cladding. Although infills usually are not considered in the structural design, their influence on the behavior of the frame is considerable. Up until the infills cracks, the contribution of the infill to both lateral stiffness and strength is very significant. The infill also changes the dynamic characteristics of the frame. The change in lateral stiffness, strength and natural period of the frame structure due to the presence of infills change the behavior of the building under seismic action. The object of this study was to investigate the behavior of such infilled frames under seismic loads. For this purpose, six two story, one bay brick infilled frames were tested under reversed cyclic loading simulating seismic action. Furtheremore, six infill panels were tested to determine the infill characteristics. Effects of plaster and concrete quality on infilled frames behavior were the main parameters investigated. The behavior of the infilled frames was compared with the behavior of bare frames. Analytical works was done to understand the stiffness, strength and behavior of these types of frames. As a result of these studies, conclusions were drawn related to the behavior of these types of infilled reinforced concrete frames.