• Earthquakes and Structures
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• v.22 no.2
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• pp.121-135
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• 2022

Many public buildings such as schools, hospitals, etc., where partial infill walls are present in reinforced concrete (RC) structures, have undergone undesirable damage/failure attributed to captive column effect during a moderate to severe earthquake shaking. Often, the situation gets worsened when these RC frames are non-ductile in nature, thus reducing the deformable capability of the frame. Also, in many parts of the Indian subcontinent, it is mandatory to use fly-ash bricks for construction so as to reduce the burden on the disposal of fly-ash produced at thermal power plants. In some scenario, when the non-ductile RC frame, partially infilled by fly-ash bricks, suffers major structural damage, the challenge remains on how to retrofit and restore it. Thus, in this study, two full-scale one-bay, one-story non-ductile RC frame models, namely, bare frame and RC partially infilled frame with fly-ash bricks in 50% of its opening area are considered. In the previous experiments, these models were subjected to slow-cyclic displacement-controlled loading to replicate damage due to a moderate earthquake. Now, in this study these damaged frames were retrofitted and an experimental investigation was performed on the retrofitted specimens to examine the effectiveness of the proposed retrofitting scheme. A hybrid retrofitting technique combining epoxy injection grouting with an innovative and easy-to-implement steel jacketing technique was proposed. This proposed retrofitting method has ensured proper confinement of damaged concrete. The retrofitted models were subjected to the same slow cyclic displacement-controlled loading which was used to damage the frames. The experimental study concluded that the hybrid retrofitting technique was quite effective in enhancing and regaining various seismic performance parameters such as, lateral strength and lateral stiffness of partially fly-ash brick infilled RC frame. Thus, the steel jacketing retrofitting scheme along with the epoxy injection grouting can be relied on for possible repair of the structural members which are damaged due to the captive column effect during the seismic shaking.

• Earthquakes and Structures
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• v.12 no.3
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• pp.333-347
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• 2017

Masonry infill walls are unavoidable parts of any building to create a separation between internal space and external environment. In general, there are some prevalent openings in the infill wall due to functional needs, architectural considerations or aesthetic concerns. In current design practice, the strength and stiffness contribution of infill walls is not considered. However, the presence of infill walls may decisively influence the seismic response of structures subjected to earthquake loads and cause a different behavior from that predicted for a bare frame. Furthermore, partial openings in the masonry infill wall are significant parameter affecting the seismic behavior of infilled frames thereby decreasing the lateral stiffness and strength. The possible effects of openings in the infill wall on seismic behavior of RC frames is analytically studied by means of pushover analysis of several bare, partially and fully infilled frames having different bay and story numbers. The stiffness loss due to partial opening is introduced by the stiffness reduction factors which are developed from finite element analysis of frames considering frame-infill interaction. Pushover curves of frames are plotted and the maximum base shear forces, the yield displacement, the yield base shear force coefficient, the displacement demand, interstory drift ratios and the distribution of story shear forces are determined. The comparison of parameters both in terms of seismic demand and capacity indicates that partial openings decisively influences the nonlinear behavior of RC frames and cause a different behavior from that predicted for a bare frame or fully infilled frame.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Safety
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• v.32 no.1
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• pp.66-74
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• 2017

Masonry walls which are commonly used for partitions in low-rise reinforced concrete (RC) structures, can be easily exposed to high risks under strong earthquakes. Since the strength degradations cannot be protected under the ground motions, their applications cannot be recommended for building structures which are designed to possess high seismic performances. However, masonry-infilled walls are typically considered as non-structural elements in evaluating the seismic performance of building structures. In order to figure out this problem, this study performed experiments using two specimens-only RC frame and RC frame infilled with masonry walls- under static loading. Also, the study established analytical models representing fully infilled frames and bare frame, and compared their structural behavior with test results. In addition, analytical model representing partially infilled frames was established and analyzed. Test results indicated that strength and energy dissipating capacity were increased for IW-RN(fully infilled frames) compared to the NW(bare frame). The nonlinear static analysis of the three specimens was also conducted using the inelastic plastic hinge frame element and diagonal strut models, and the analytical results successfully simulated the nonlinear behaviour of the specimens in accordance with the test results.