Behaviour and Failure Mechanism of Infill Walls

SEMINAR ON BEHAVIOUR AND FAILURE MECHANISM OF INFILL WALLS
Introduction
Masonry infilled walls are provided within the reinforced concrete
structures without being analyzed as a combination of concrete

and brick elements, though in reality they act as a single unit during earthquakes. The performance of such structures during earthquakes has proved to be superior in comparison to the bare frames in terms of stiffness, strength and energy dissipation. There are plenty of researches done so far for infilled frames, however partially infilled frames are still the topic of interest. Though it has been understood that the infills play significant role in enhancing the lateral stiffness of complete structure, the past experience in various earthquakes have proved that the partially infilled framed structures somehow are affected adversely.
Types Of Infill Provisions
Influence Of Infill Walls
Infill walls provide durable and economical
partitions.
The presence of infill wall changes the behavior of frame action into truss action.
The structural response is quite complex as it involves an interaction of infill behavior,
reinforced concrete frames behavior and length of contact between infill and frame.
Properties of infill walls
If the infills are very light and flexible, or
completely isolated from the RC frame,

presence of infills does not affect the
structural response of the system.
Infills are expected to remain in the elastic range.
Infills are expected to suffer significant damage during the seismic event.
Advantages of Infill Walls
Higher stiffness and lower displacement
Higher strength.
Lower ductility requirements.
Frame design for small lateral loads.

Reduce contribution of frame in lateral
resisting.
Design practice of Infill walls
Infills are adequately separated from the RC
frame such that they do not interfere with the

frame under lateral deformations.
Infills are built integral with the RC frame, but

considered as non-structural elements.
Infills are built integral with the RC frame, and considered as structural elements.
Difficulties in Consideration Of Infill Walls In Structural Design

Computational complexity. Structural uncertainties. The non-linear behaviour of infilled frames. Various cracking patterns and concentration of forces in structural components.
Effects Of Infill Walls
Unequal distribution of lateral forces.
Vertical irregularities in strength and stiffness.

Horizontal irregularities.
Inducing the effect of short column or captive

column in infilled frame.
Cause of casualities.
Behaviour Of Infill Walls
The structural load transfer mechanism is
changed from frame action to predominant truss

action.
Infills interfere with the lateral deformations of the

RC frame; separation of frame and infill takes place along one diagonal and a compression strut forms along the other.
Change In Lateral Load Transfer Mechanism Owing To Inclusion Of Masonry Infill Walls
(a) Frame action in bare frame
(b) Predominant truss action in infilled frame
Behaviour Of Infill Walls
The state of stress in the infill gives rise to a

principal compressive stress along the
diagonal and a principal tensile stress in the perpendicular direction.
When infills are strong, strength contributed by the infills may be comparable to the strength of the bare frame itself.
Separation of frame and infill takes place along one diagonal and a compression strut forms along the other
In-plane Behavior
The in-plane capacity of the wall depend on
the relative strength of the masonry and the

mortar.
The level of the axial load significantly

controls the type of failure.
The crack propagation either follows the mortar joints or passes through the masonry units, or both.
Out-of-plane Behaviour
Crushing along the edges for low height to
thickness ratio.
Snap-through (small effect of arching) for
high
height
to
thickness
ratio
i.e.
approximately between 20 and 30.
Behaviour of Partially Infilled Frames
In majority of hospitals, academic institutions
and commercial complexes, partial infills are

provided to attain light within the rooms.
It is observed that such walls on one hand contribute in enhancing the lateral stiffness of the structure while on the other hand they
play ironic role with an adverse effect called

"short column effect".
Behaviour of Partially Infilled Frames
Lateral deformation in bare frame
Lateral deformation in partially infilled frame
Behaviour Of Infill Frames With Openings
In most cases, door or window openings are
provided in masonry infill panels because of

the functional and ventilation requirements of
buildings.
Introducing openings in an infill wall alters its behavior and adds complexity in behavior.
Behaviour Of Infill Frames With Openings
Right loading
Left loading
Soft Storey
One of the main reasons of failure of
structures due to earthquakes is discontinuity

of lateral force resisting elements like
bracing, shear wall or infill in the first story.
Failure Mechanism Of Infilled Walls
Shear Cracking
Stepped Cracking Along the Mortar Joints
Shear Cracking
Horizontal Sliding Along the Mortar Joints
Shear Cracking
Cracking Due to Diagonal Tension
Compression Failure
Crushing of the Loaded Corner
Flexural Cracking
In those cases where flexure effects are
predominating, such as multistory infilled

frames, and the columns of the frame are
very weak, flexure cracks can open in the

tensile side of the panel due to the low tensile strength of the masonry .
Conclusions
Many structural engineers ignore such infills when
assessing the seismic vulnerability of these frames.

Consequently, more research is needed to evaluate the strength and stiffness of masonry-infilled frames with openings.
Masonry
infill
wall
panels
increase
strength,
stiffness, overall ductility and energy dissipation of the building. More importantly, they help in
drastically reducing the deformation and ductility demand on RC frame members.
Conclusions
The better collapse performance of fully-infilled
frames is associated with the larger strength and

energy dissipation of the system, associated with the added walls.
The presence of infills leads, in general, to decreased shear forces on the frame columns.
However, in the case of infilled frame with a soft

ground story, the shear forces acting on columns are considerably higher than those obtained from
References
I.S. 1893(Part I)-2002, Criteria for Earthquake Resistant
Design of Structure, General Provisions and Buildings,

Bureau of Indian Standards, New Delhi.
Asteris, P. G., Kakaletsis, D. J., Chrysostomou, C. Z. &
Smyrou, E. E. (2011). Failure Modes of In-filled Frames

Electronic Journal of Structural Engineering 11(1) , 11-20.
Das, D., Murty, C. V. R. (2004). Brick masonry infills in seismic design of RC framed buildings: Part 1 Cost implications The Indian Concrete Journal, vol78 No7: 3943.
References
Wijanto L. S., (2007). Seismic Assessment of Unreinforced Masonry Walls, A thesis, University of Canterbury Christchurch,
New Zealand.
Zhang B., (2006). Parametric Study On The Influence Of Infills On The Displacement Capacity Of Rc Frames For
Earthquake Loss Estimation A Dissertation, European School

For Advanced Studies In Reduction Of Seismic Risk. Pradhan, P. M., Pradhan, L.P., & Maskey, R.K. (2012). A Review On Partial Infilled Frames Under Lateral Loads, Kathmandu University Journal Of Science, Engineering And Technology, VOL. 8, No. I, 142-152.
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SEMINAR ON BEHAVIOUR AND FAILURE MECHANISM OF INFILL WALLS

structures without being analyzed as a combination of concrete

Types Of Infill Provisions

Influence Of Infill Walls

Infill walls provide durable and economical

The structural response is quite complex as it involves an interaction of infill behavior,

Properties of infill walls

If the infills are very light and flexible, or

completely isolated from the RC frame,

structural response of the system.

Infills are expected to remain in the elastic range.

Advantages of Infill Walls

Higher stiffness and lower displacement

Frame design for small lateral loads.

Design practice of Infill walls

Infills are adequately separated from the RC

frame such that they do not interfere with the

Infills are built integral with the RC frame, but

Difficulties in Consideration Of Infill Walls In Structural Design

Effects Of Infill Walls

Unequal distribution of lateral forces.

Vertical irregularities in strength and stiffness.

Inducing the effect of short column or captive

Behaviour Of Infill Walls

The structural load transfer mechanism is

changed from frame action to predominant truss

Infills interfere with the lateral deformations of the

(a) Frame action in bare frame

(b) Predominant truss action in infilled frame

Behaviour Of Infill Walls

The state of stress in the infill gives rise to a

diagonal and a principal tensile stress in the perpendicular direction.

The in-plane capacity of the wall depend on

the relative strength of the masonry and the

The level of the axial load significantly

Crushing along the edges for low height to

Snap-through (small effect of arching) for

approximately between 20 and 30.

Behaviour of Partially Infilled Frames

In majority of hospitals, academic institutions

and commercial complexes, partial infills are

play ironic role with an adverse effect called

Behaviour of Partially Infilled Frames

Lateral deformation in bare frame

Lateral deformation in partially infilled frame

Behaviour Of Infill Frames With Openings

In most cases, door or window openings are

provided in masonry infill panels because of

Behaviour Of Infill Frames With Openings

structures due to earthquakes is discontinuity

bracing, shear wall or infill in the first story.

Failure Mechanism Of Infilled Walls

Stepped Cracking Along the Mortar Joints

Horizontal Sliding Along the Mortar Joints

Cracking Due to Diagonal Tension

Crushing of the Loaded Corner

In those cases where flexure effects are

predominating, such as multistory infilled

very weak, flexure cracks can open in the