Strengthening of non-ductile reinforced concrete frames by reinforced concrete partial infills

Strengthening of building with average heights against earthquakes byintroducing R/C infills into the existing R/C concrete frames has been a widelyused technique. In this study, the strengthening of non ductile concrete framesby introducing partial infills into existing frames has been investigated. Ninespecimens were tested under reversed cyclic lateral loads. Parameters of thestudy are the infill length to height ratio, the arrangements of infills into frameopenings, and the existence of edge member at the free and of infill. One bay,two story reinforced infilled frames were designed such that incorporatedfregmently found construction faults in our country. Test results showed thatpartial infills significantly improved the lateral load carrying capacity, stiffnessand energy dissipation capacity of the bare frame. The more infill length toheight ratio of partial infill was utilized, the more lateral load capacity, stiffnesswas observed. The most successful results were obtained when the partial infillwall was connected to both columns and beams of the frame. In addition, theexistence of edge members, also affected the specimen?s lateral load carryingcapacity, stiffness and energy dissipation capacity. Strength and stiffnessdeficiency of bare frames were affected the behavior and failure of strengthenedpartial infilled frames.Science Code :911Key Words :Bare Frame, Strengthening, Reinforced Concrete Infill withOpeningsPage Number :202Adviser :Prof. Dr. Sinan ALTIN