Influence of connection and constructional details on masonry-infilled RC frames under cyclic loading

Infill walls significantly affect the dynamic characteristics and the seismic performance of reinforced concrete (RC) frames. To evaluate the influence of connection type and constructional details of infill on the cyclic response of RC frames, a quasi-static test was performed on four infilled frame specimens and a bare frame specimen. The infilled frames were constructed with rigid connection or flexible connection between frames and infills, and the infill walls were constructed with or without core columns. The test results show that the presence of the masonry infill wall increased the lateral strength, stiffness, ductility and energy dissipation capacity of the RC frame. The contribution of connection type and core column were analyzed and compared. Additionally, finite element (FE) modeling was conducted and validated with the experimental observations.