Abstract
The primary focus of this study is to evaluate the nonlinear response of reinforced concrete (RC) frames with two types of brick infills viz., unreinforced brick masonry infill (URM) and semi-interlocked brick masonry infill (SIM) together with lintel beams, subjected to seismic loads. The seismic response is quantified in terms of response reduction factor and base shear. Infill walls are modeled using double strut nonlinear cyclic element. Nonlinear static adaptive pushover analysis is performed in the finite element program SeismoStruct. The response reduction factor (R) is computed from adaptive pushover analysis and performance for all models is obtained. The results showed that the average R factor of the RC framed structure with semi-interlocked masonry (SIM) is 1.31 times higher than the RC frame with unreinforced masonry (URM) infill. The R value of the bare frame with the lintel beam is found to be less than the corresponding value recommended in the Indian Standard Code. The results obtained in this study highlight that if the impacts of lintel beams and various brick infill scenarios are considered in the RC frames then the R values used for the design of RC frame buildings with infills would be underestimated (i.e., the evaluated R values are greater than the R values used for the design purpose).
Highlights
Reinforced concrete (RC) with masonry infill walls is the most dominant construction system worldwide
Based on the analysis of reinforced concrete (RC) frame building with the combination of semi-interlocked masonry (SIM), unreinforced masonry (URM) infills, and lintel beam, this study assesses the variation in the seismic performance for several analysis scenarios
The average base shear value was 1.41 times greater in the case of the full RC-SIM infilled frame with lintel beam when compared to the full RC-URM infilled frame with lintel beam
Summary
Reinforced concrete (RC) with masonry infill walls is the most dominant construction system worldwide. Masonry infill walls are one of the most affected components during earthquakes as observed during recent earthquakes [1,2]. Masonry panels are nonstructural components, their presence in the frames has a huge impact on the seismic response of structures as they increase structural strength as well as stiffness. Seismic codes across the globe have different provisions for the response reduction factor for various types of buildings forms. In most countries, seismic codes do not address the effect of the lintel beam on the response reduction factor. The seismic response of such open ground story buildings will be different than the RC buildings with all walls provided with infill walls.
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