The Role of Infill Walls in the Dynamic Behavior and Seismic Upgrade of a Reinforced Concrete Framed Building

Abstract

Masonry infill walls are commonly used in the frames of reinforced concrete (RC) buildings around the world. The seismic performance of these buildings is strongly affected by the presence of the infill walls and partitions, as shown by the post-earthquake damage in many cases. The effect of these components is particularly important for RC frame constructions underdesigned for seismic actions that usually are characterized by deformable frames magnifying the contribution of the infill walls to the seismic response. Also the flexibility of the floors could be influenced by the collaboration of the infill walls to the transversal stiffness of the building. The paper addresses the seismic assessment of a typical infilled RC frame building designed only for gravity loads in the 1960s in the Southern of Italy that currently is a high-seismic zone. The structural identification of the building based on ambient vibration test has been already done pointing out the significant role of infill walls and partitions through the updating of the numerical model. Based on the results of the calibrated model, the effect of the floor flexibility on the dynamic behavior of the structure is discussed, and the seismic capacity at life safety limit state (LSLS) is assessed by means of the linear dynamic analyses. The effects of the infill walls on the seismic performance of the building are discussed in detail considering a strengthening solution that involves the infill panels as masonry walls cut from the RC columns to avoid the local interaction but strengthened by composite grids in mortar matrix (FRCM).

Seismic Fragility Assessment of Irregular High Rise Buildings using Incremental Dynamic Analysis

“…The main limitation of the study is that weight of the infill wall is considered and no actual modeling of the wall is done during analysis. Infill wall plays a significant role in the seismic performance of structures [12]. Soil structure interaction is not considered during the study and the base of the structure is considered fixed.…”

Vibration-Based Tests and Results for the Evaluation of Infill Masonry Walls Influence on the Dynamic Behaviour of Buildings: A Review

“…Also, Dhakal et al [79] adopted modal parameters obtained from in-situ AVTs to calibrate FE models of two four-storey infilled RC frame building in Nepal, and, in addition to the infills, they also calibrate the soil deformability to account for the soil-structure interaction. De Angelis and Pecce [80,81] calibrated FE models of buildings tested with AVTs and also considering the internal partitions, that are modelled within the refined numerical models. Asgarian and McClure [82] performed model calibrations of two infilled RC hospital buildings in Canada based on AVT recordings on both buildings, as well as Mora et al [83], who adopted a genetic algorithm to calibrate the infill mechanical properties of a real building built around 1950s.…”

“…At last, few authors investigated the effects of non-structural components and equipment on the building dynamic [78] FVs (shaker) EDS Dhakal et al [79] AVTs Shell De Angelis and Pecce [80] AVTs EDS De Angelis and Pecce [81] AVTs EDS Asgarian and McClure [82] AVTs EDS and Shell Mora et al [83] AVTs EDS and Shell Pan et al [84] AVTs Shell Yun et al [85] AVTs EDS Zhou et al [86] AVTs EDS and Shell Su et al [87] AVTs Shell Aras [88] AVTs and ILTs (Hammer) Shell O'Reilly et al [89] AVTs and FVs (Earthquakes) EDS But and Omenzetter [90] FVs (Earthquakes) EDS behaviour. It is the case of Alembagheri et al [91], who dynamically tested a full-scale laboratory 3-D steel module with different gypsum-board walls, or Wang et al [92], who tested a full-scale steel structure specimen over a shaking table focusing also on the effects of interior partitions and plant piping.…”

Force–displacement relationship modelling of masonry infill walls with openings in hinged steel frames

“…Over the past several decades, extensive research works have been carried out to investigate the seismic behaviour of infilled frames especially for RC structures (e.g., Alwashali et al 2019;Cavaleri and Di Trapani 2014;De Angelis and Pecce 2020;Furtado et al 2019;Morandi et al 2018;Rodrigues et al 2018;Tan et al 2018)). In the experimental tests of infilled steel frames, some influential parameters were studied, and the test results showed that the structural stiffness and strength were significantly related to the rigidity of the steel beam-column connection (Mohammadi and Emami 2019) and the connection type between the infill and frame (Liu and Manesh 2013).…”