VERLATO NICOLO’1, GUIDI GIOVANNI2, DA PORTO FRANCESCA3

1 Research fellow, University of Padova, Dept. of Civil, Architectural and Environmental Engineering, Via Marzolo 9, 35131, Padova, Italy, nicolo.verlato@dicea.unipd.it

2 Ph.D., University of Padova, Dept. of Civil, Architectural and Environmental Engineering, Via Marzolo 9, 35131, Padova, Italy, giovanni.guidi@dicea.unipd.it

3 Assistant Professor, University of Padova, Dept. of Civil, Architectural and Environmental Engineering, Via Marzolo 9, 35131, Padova, Italy, francesca.daporto@unipd.it

This work presents experimental test results obtained on clay unit masonry infill walls for framed structures. Tests were carried out on one-bay, real scale reinforced concrete frames, by imposing in-plane cyclic displacements at the frame top beam until reaching pre-determined drift levels. Afterwards, the infill walls were tested out-of-plane, until collapse. The tested masonry systems are made of thick (300 mm) clay units, and are both unreinforced and reinforced. The masonry walls fully fill the RC frame or have a central opening. After carrying out the tests, a numerical model implementing non-linear laws for the masonry wall and the reinforcement was developed. The model is able to reproduce the static non-linear behaviour of the wall loaded out-of-plane, reproducing either the actual boundary conditions of the test or different conditions. The model was used for parametric analysis of the construction system, in order to understand the main factors influencing the out-of-plane behaviour, including the effect of in-plane damage. After a short review of the experimental results, this paper presents the developed numerical model and the main outcomes of the analyses.

Keywords: Clay masonry infill walls; combined in-plane/out-of-plane behaviour; numerical modelling