ABSTRACT
This chapter addresses the influence of non-structural masonry infill on the resistance of multi-storey buildings to progressive collapse under sudden column loss scenarios. The realistic contribution of masonry panels towards collapse arrest is examined considering the results from full-scale laboratory tests and accurate numerical simulations. Novel real-scale tests are performed on different two-bay frames with brick-masonry infill subjected to incremental pushdown deformation, capturing the dominant deformation mode actually found following removal of an edge column. Different infill configurations are tested, including central openings and initial gaps between masonry and frame elements. In structural design, Unreinforced Masonry infill panels are often assumed as nonstructural components, neglecting their potential contribution when assessing the integrity of the primary structure. The objective is to quantify the pushdown capacity of the confined masonry panels under pushdown deformation and identify the typical response mechanisms.
