MORANDI, PAOLO1; HAK, SANJA2; MAGENES, GUIDO3

1) Researcher, University of Pavia, Department of Civil Engineering and Architecture & Eucentre Pavia, paolo.morandi@unipv.it

2) Research assoc., University of Zagreb, Faculty of Civil Engineering & Eucentre Pavia, sanja.hak@grad.hr

3) Assoc. Prof., University of Pavia, Department of Civil Engineering and Architecture & Eucentre Pavia, guido.magenes@unipv.it

In line with the current European building practice, clay masonry infills are commonly adopted for the construction of enclosures and partitions in RC frame structures. In order to improve further the understanding of the seismic response of masonry infills in newly designed RC structures, within the scope of a systematic numerical and experimental research program, the in-plane response of external masonry infills constructed with tongue and groove clay block masonry units has been studied. Particular attention has been devoted to the infill performance, the related damage distribution and a possible definition of performance limit states for future developments in the current design approach. This paper reports the framework and discusses the results of in-plane static cyclic tests on full-scale, single-storey, single-bay RC frame specimens with strong masonry infills designed following European seismic design provisions, carried out at the Eucentre and the University of Pavia.

Keywords: masonry infills, static cyclic tests, experimental response, in-plane damage