INFLUENCE OF MASONRY INFILLS ON THE EARTHQUAKE RESPONSE OF MULTI-STORY REINFORCED CONCRETE STRUCTURES

The most important findings are included here from an experimental investigation on the behavior of two R.C. frame model structures with masonry infills subjected to a variety of horizontal base motions that included simulated earthquake excitation. Variations of the fundamental dynamic characteristics of these test structures, influenced from the sequence of building the infills as well as of the progressive intensity of the ground motion, are presented and discussed. The first structure is a 7-story 1/12.5 scaled 2-D planar frame model, which was tested at the Earthquake Simulator whereas the second, a much larger structure, is a 6-story 1/3 3-D frame model located at the European Test Site at Volvi. Both structures were examined with and without masonry infills. Through the recorded results, together with predictions from numerical simulations, this paper discusses influences arising from the incorporation of the masonry infills in various configurations.