The test of a full-scale three-story RC structure with masonry infill walls

Masonry infill walls are used as partitions in many countries. There is no consensus on whether infill walls make a reinforced concrete frame more or less vulnerable to the effects of strong ground motion. To provide hard evidence to address this question, a full-scale three-story reinforced-concrete structure was tested with and without infill walls made out of solid clay bricks. During the test without the walls, the structure experienced a punching shear failure at a slab–column connection. After this first test, infill walls were built with solid bricks. The walls filled completely full bays and ran continuously from the foundation to the roof. It was observed that the walls increased the stiffness and the strength of the structure. The drift capacity of the structure with walls was observed to be 1.5%. Up to this level of deformation, masonry infill walls in structures similar to the one described here can be expected to help control inter-story drift provided that measures are taken to prevent their out-of-plane failure.