ABSTRACT
Masonry infill in reinforced concrete frames has been recognised as being a strong factor influencing the seismic behaviour of buildings. The development of innovative infill systems, coupled with the rigorous study of their behaviour, is of significant importance. Within the framework of the INSYSME project, a new infill system was designed and tested. The finite element modelling consists in individually simulating the behaviour of the frame, masonry and interfaces between the masonry and the infill and between the three wallettes. The chapter presents the experimental campaign that involving in-plane cyclic shear tests performed on a reinforced concrete frame with a masonry infill divided into smaller wallettes. A nonlinear finite element analysis is employed in the simulation of the experiments, which is enriched through a parametric investigation. The experiments are simulated using nonlinear finite element analysis in an effort to highlight the features of the response of the actual structure, to predict the maximum force and to reproduce the failure mode.
