Effects of In-Plane Damage of infill Walls on Their Out-of-Plane Bearing Capacity Reduction Factors

Abstract

: Infill walls are commonly subjected to bidirectional seismic actions in actual seismic events. A robust interaction prevails between the in-plane and out-of-plane seismic performance of infill walls, where in-plane damage often diminishes the out-of-plane bearing capacity of infill walls. A finite element model for RC frames with infill walls was established and validated against experimental data, and extensively employed in numerical analysis. The objective was to delve into the seismic performance of masonry infill walls under bidirectional loading, considering the effects of loading modes, aspect ratio, slenderness ratio, and block compressive strength on the out-of-plane bearing capacity of infill walls with prior in-plane damage. Based on experimental data and parameter analysis, a formula for predicting out-of-plane bearing capacity reduction factors of masonry infill walls with prior in-plane damage was proposed. A new comprehensive geometric parameter was introduced considering the mechanism of out-of-plane load transfer for infill walls. The new formula exhibited a superior fit with experimental data compared to existing equations.