Cyclic testing of seismically designed RC frame with masonry infill wall

Abstract

RC frames with masonry infill walls are commonly used in many countries including Thailand. In general, the presence of masonry walls can increase the overall frame lateral strength. However, the infill-frame interaction can create an undesirable failure mode particularly the column shear failure which may lead to the loss of gravity load carrying capacity and frame stability. This research investigated the behavior of intermediate reinforced concrete moment frame with infill walls designed to prevent local shear damage in the columns due to infill-frame interaction. A full-scale RC frame with infill wall was tested in the laboratory under both the vertical and increasing lateral loads. Based on the result of this test, it was found that, if properly designed, the damage due to shear at the ends of the columns can be prevented. The test showed that the cracks appeared only in the horizontal direction characteristics of the flexural cracks. This resulted in the ductile behavior of the frame, and was in line with the concept of earthquake resistant structure design.