PERFORMANCE OF REINFORCED CONCRETE FRAME INFILLED WITH LIGHTWEIGHT MATERIAL UNDER EARTHQUAKE LOAD

• Main Author: Aryanto, Aris
• Format: Theses
• Language: Indonesia
• Subjects: Teknik sipil
• Online Access: https://digilib.itb.ac.id/gdl/view/64391
• Institution: Institut Teknologi Bandung

It has been established that the more the weight of infill materials used for infilled reinforced concrete (R/C) frame structures, the more the earthquake forces generated in the structures. One way to reduce the mobilization of the earthquake forces in in-filled frames structures is by using lightweight infill materials. Autoclaved aerated concrete (AAC) is one of the lightweight materials that can be used as infill materials. However, the knowledge on the behavior of frame structures in-filled with lightweight materials, such as AAC blocks, under in-plane lateral loads is still limited. This thesis presents experimental research conducted to study the in-plane behavior of R/C frames in-filled with AAC blocks. The tests are performed on two single bay, single story in-filled frame specimens with ½ scale models. One of the test specimens is in-filled with conventional clay brick materials and the other is in-filled with AAC blocks. The loading used in the tests is in the form of cyclic in-plane lateral loads, simulating earthquake forces. The objective of the tests is to study the influence of physical and mechanical characteristics of the infill materials used on the resulting seismic performance of the test specimens. Behavior of the frame structures is evaluated through the observed strength and deformation characteristics, and also through the measured hysteretic energy dissipation capability. The test results showed that at failure AAC infill developed strut mechanism in the form of diagonal cracking. On the other hand, clay infill exhibited mode of failure in the form of sliding shear and partial infill crushing. The strength and cumulative energy dissipation of both specimens exhibited similar behavior throughout the tests. Although at the beginning clay infill posses higher initial stiffness, the AAC infill produced less stiffness degradation and demonstrated better hysteretic behavior than the clay infill. Because of that, it can be concluded from this study that AAC block units can provide good behavior of in-filled frame under lateral load. Therefore, these materials can basically be used to replace clay brick units as infill materials for R/C frames built in the earthquake prone region.