Effect of infill wall properties on seismic response of RC structures

Brick infill walls (BIW) have significant effects on reinforced concrete (RC) structures' seismic performances. However, mechanical effects on the structural performance of BIWs, which are regarded as only weight at the design stage, are not considered in many seismic codes. Therefore, seismic performances of new and existing RC structures could not be realistically obtained. This study aims to investigate the effects on the structural behavior of BIWs, stucco types, and soft story. RC structures with and without BIWs are modeled by using the SAP2000 program. BIW is modeled with the equivalent diagonal compression strut method, and mechanical properties of BIWs plastered with conventional and polypropylene fibrous stuccos are taken from literature. Seismic performances of all structures are investigated using the pushover analysis method, according to Turkish Seismic Code-2007 (TSC-2007) principles. Besides, natural periods, rigidities, ductilities and energy dissipation capacities of all structures are obtained. As a result of analyses, it is determined that BIWs have significant effects on structural performances in terms of rigidity and ductility, and fibrous stucco considerably increases RC structures' rigidity and ductility. These walls can even lead to the collapse of structures in severe earthquakes if design engineers don't regard BIWs or BIWs are placed as asymmetric or deficient on the structure.