Abstract
The simple lateral mechanism analysis (SLaMA) is an analytical method to assess the force–displacement capacity curve of Reinforced Concrete (RC) structures composed of frames, cantilever walls or dual wall/frame systems. The current version of the method was proposed in the 2017 New Zealand guidelines for the seismic assessment (NZSEE in New Zealand Society for Earthquake Engineering, the seismic assessment of existing buildings—technical guidelines for engineering assessments, Wellington, 2017). Regarding frame structures, the possible influence of infill walls is currently considered locally with checks on the RC members. However, it is universally known that infills have a major effect on the global capacity curve of the frame. In this paper, a comprehensive SLaMA method for infilled frames is proposed, which allows considering the influence of the infills on the global force–displacement curve without any numerical algorithm. The extended SLaMA method is herein formalised and it is validated in a companion paper (part 2) through an extensive parametric analysis. The extended SLaMA is based on the possibility to separately calculate the base shear contributions of the frame and the infills, in turn based on global equilibrium considerations. Such considerations also allow defining a novel procedure to post-process the results of pushover or time-history analyses where infills are modelled as diagonal struts, or to interpret experimental tests. This allows, within a single numerical analysis, to decouple the frame and infills contributions to the base-shear capacity. The decoupling procedure is herein demonstrated for an ideal two-storey, one-bay masonry-infilled frame with different infills configurations.
Highlights
The determination of the structural capacity is paramount for the seismic assessment of existing buildings
Reliable seismic assessment procedures are needed to allow the simple identification of the potential structural weaknesses and their influence on the overall building capacity
The New Zealand Society for Earthquake Engineering (NZSEE 2017), provides an analytical tool to capture the behaviour of Reinforced Concrete (RC) frames, cantilever walls and dual wall/frame systems and identify their potential structural weaknesses: the Simple Lateral Mechanism Analysis, namely simple lateral mechanism analysis (SLaMA)
Summary
The determination of the structural capacity is paramount for the seismic assessment of existing buildings. The accuracy of such methods relies on the ability to properly capture the failure mechanism of the structure For this reason, reliable seismic assessment procedures are needed to allow the simple identification of the potential structural weaknesses and their influence on the overall building capacity. Reliable seismic assessment procedures are needed to allow the simple identification of the potential structural weaknesses and their influence on the overall building capacity To this extent, the New Zealand Society for Earthquake Engineering (NZSEE 2017), provides an analytical tool to capture the behaviour of RC frames, cantilever walls and dual wall/frame systems and identify their potential structural weaknesses: the Simple Lateral Mechanism Analysis, namely SLaMA.
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