COMPARISON OF EXPERIMENTAL AND ANALYTICALLY PREDICTED OUT-OF-PLANE BEHAVIOR OF FRAMED-MASONRY WALLS CONTAINING OPENINGS

. During an earthquake, structures are loaded in both in-plane and out-of-plane direc-tion. This paper investigates the behaviour of load-bearing frames with infill walls that contain openings. As when they are subjected to out-of-plane, inertial loads. In the experimental cam-paigns of like structures, it was found that even with openings, the beneficial arching-action was able to develop. However, its effectiveness was limited. Namely, the deformation capabilities in all cases were significantly lowered. Same can not be stated for the load-bearing capacities, as some researches found no reduction while others did. Additionally, this paper analyses the existing equations that can calculate the load-bearing capacity of such structures. Low corre-lations were found between the experimental and analytical capacities. Hence, further research endeavours should be addressed in order to gain a reliable analytical model