Assessment of the in-plane nonlinear behaviour of masonry-infilled RC frames using micro-modelling approaches

Experimental tests are considered the most realistic approach to assessing thenonlinear behaviour of masonry-infilled reinforced concrete (RC) frames. Therefore,their results can be used to validate the properties of macro-models such as strut-typemodels, which are widely used in performance studies of masonry infilled RC framesdue to their computational efficiency. However, the significant cost of experimentaltests is the main barrier to their use. This paper introduces the use of detailed finiteelement models as an alternative to experimental tests to model the behaviour ofinfilled RC frames. The proposed modelling approach was developed using commercialsoftware (ANSYS®) in order to be more easily replicated by other researchers. Thecomparison between numerical and experimental results shows the developednumerical models can capture the nonlinear behaviour of the physical specimens andpredict their overall strength and failure mechanisms. Therefore, they can be used asan alternative to experimental tests