THE EXPERIMENTAL INVESTIGATION ON BENEFICIAL EFFECTS OF THE LOCAL BRICK MASONRY INFILLS TO SEISMIC PERFORMANCE OF R/C FRAME STRUCTURES IN WEST SUMATERA

The field observation of damage caused by past Sumatera earthquakes clearly indicates that the response of reinforced concrete (R/C) structures may significantly be affected by the contribution of the masonry infill walls. The effect of infill walls on the seismic performance of R/C frame structures can be significant, even if masonry infill walls are usually considered as nonstructural elements. This paper presents some laboratory experimental results on the lateral monotonic tests of R/C frame structures with were infilled by brick masonry wall. The experimental works were conducted to investigate the beneficial of the several types of brick masonries which are commonly used as infill wall in West Sumatera, Indonesia, on seismic performance of the R/C frame structures. All types of the bricks used in this study, are locally produced in West Sumatera. The 1:4 reduce-scale singe-bay single-story R/C frame specimens were tested in this study. Three types of 1:4 reduce-scale brick masonries were placed as infills, i.e. burnt clay brick, hollow concrete brick and lightweight brick. It was seen that the brick masonry infills contribute significantly to the lateral stiffness, lateral strength, and overall ductility of the R/C frame specimens. Usage of the burnt clay brick masonry as infill wall has been given better seismic performance of R/C frame structure than other brick masonries. Considering that such brick masonry infill in R/C frame are most common type structures used for low-rise building construction and landed unreinforced brick masonry residential in West Sumatera, there is need to develop satisfy seismic design procedures for such buildings.