Effects of masonry infill walls on free vibration of reinforced concrete structures

In this study, effects of nonstructural infill walls on the earthquake response of reinforced concrete structure are investigated theoretically. Considering reinforced concrete structures with different configuration of infill walls are dealt to examine the effects of irregular infill.Diagonal strut elements hinged at both ends are adopted and used for modeling infill walls. At first, a frequently seen reinforced concrete frame structure is considered, and a period investigation is done depending on to infill wall area. After, for determining the effects of infill walls on the structure period, 12 reinforced concrete buildings in Kırsehir are investigated. The effects of the openings on the stiffness of the infill walls are considered. As the results of analysis -the examination between simple structures and the same structures including infill walls-, it is seen that infill walls impressively changes the structure rigidity and period. Keywords: Infill walls, period, microtremor, dynamic analysis, earthquake.