Behaviour of reinforced hollow block masonry infill in multistorey RC frames under lateral loading

An experimental investigation was conducted to study the effect of reinforced masonry infill on the performance of the reinforced concrete frame. The focus of the study was to assess the behaviour of reinforced masonry infill when subjected to lateral loading. Three quarter scale, two-bay, five-storey reinforced concrete (RC) frames without infill, with hollow block infill and with reinforced hollow block infill were tested. Results demonstrated the effectiveness of the infills with respect to ductility, stiffness, strength and hystcretic characteristics. Reinforced infill exhibited a better performance in resisting the lateral loads. The experimental results indicated that infill panels can significantly improve the performance of RC frames.