Research Article
Niruba S
Abstract
In many literatures, studies show that infill’s modify the behavior of framed structures under lateral loads; the contribution of panels is generally neglected in common structural analyses. The structural effect of brick infill is generally not considered in the design of columns as well as other structural components of RC frame structures. The brick walls have significant in-plane stiffness contributing to the stiffness of the frame against lateral load. The lateral deflection is reduced significantly in the infilled frame compared to the deflection of the frame without infill. It is observed that frames with infill produce much smaller deflections as compared to frames without infill. The results reflect the significance of infill in increasing the strength, stiffness and frequency, of the entire system depending on the position and amount of infilling. Lower infilling is noted to provide more stiffness for the system as compared with upper locations. A number of non-linear static (pushover) analyses were performed on proper structural models of the building, considering both bare framed structure and the infilled one, in order to appraise the influence of infill walls on the failure mechanisms. In particular, a sensitivity analysis was performed by assigning different Partial Safety Factors (PSF) to the mechanical parameters of infill walls, in order to investigate their effect on the overall structural response of the building.