Seismic strengthening of masonry infilled reinforced concrete frames with steel-fibre-reinforced mortar

In addition to high seismicity, poor construction quality, incorrect detailing and structural mistakes in Turkey have caused enormous loss of life and property. Therefore, seismic rehabilitation has been a major topic for civil engineers in Turkey. The object of this research is to develop a simple method that will provide strengthening of buildings without evacuating the inhabitants. This study is based on application of steel-fibre-reinforced mortar on masonry infill walls with the aim of converting nonstructural partition walls into load-carrying walls. The specimens were one-third scale, two-storey, single-bay reinforced concrete frames with hollow brick masonry infills. The main variables were the ratio of fibre (0% and 2%), fibre reinforced mortar thickness (0, 10 and 20 mm), existence of anchorage (non-anchored or anchored) and type of fibres (steel fibre, polypropylene fibre or hybrid fibre). Strengthening by the application of steel-fibre-reinforced mortar on infill walls of frames retarded the early out of plane failure of the walls and converted the existing non-structural walls into load-carrying walls, so that the strength, stiffness and energy dissipation capacity of the frame increased significantly.