Influence of masonry on infilled frame with and without opening

Abstract

The effect of masonry infills on the global response of frames is widely recognized but it is often neglected in the analytical models. Because of lack of effectively technique for modelling the infilled frame, in current practice, the structure is normally designed as a pure frame and masonry is considered as static load. Researches show that an infilled frame structure without opening actually performs better than a bare frame one against statistic or dynamic forces but when masonry infills have opening, however, the analytical model is again difficult. In this study, masonry infills are considered a building envelope with load-bearing function. A finite element procedure for the effective properties of microcracked viscoelastic masonry based on homogenization technique is provided to take into account the influence of crack density and time. It is also recommended as a simple means of modeling the behavior of the masonry infilled frame with and without opening. The results showed that under statistic loads, the masonry infills even in case with opening much reduce the displacement of frame compared with bare frame and the masonry significantly influences the principal stress field upheaval in the frame. This suggests that it is necessary to take into account the behavior of micro-cracked viscoelastic masonry to evaluate more accurately the global response of frames and the masonry infills with and without opening.