Out-of-plane cyclic response of masonry infilled RC frames: An experimental study

This paper presents the development of an experimental campaign to investigate the cyclic, out-of-plane response of reinforced concrete frames containing masonry infill walls, using non-contact optical techniques to measure contour strains and deformations. Bare RC frames, as well as fully infilled walls, both with and without window and door openings, were tested in the laboratory. From the analysis of the results, it was found that neither the infill walls nor the openings significantly affected the overall behaviour of the specimens. However, the infill walls suffered substantial damage within a storey drift ratio of 1.25-2.50%, which poses a risk to life and livelihoods. In addition, it was found that masonry walls containing openings, sustained further damage, especially those with eccentrically positioned openings, when compared with the fully infilled frames. Finally, in the case of masonry infills containing openings and when debonding of the infill from the surrounding frame occurred, parts of infill walls could fall out due to inertia and could influence the overall combined, in-plane behaviour of the specimen.