Behaviour of Hybrid Fibre-Reinforced Concrete Frames with Infills Against Lateral Reversed Loads

Infilled frame construction represents a common type of construction in urban areas. The frames carry gravity loads and earthquake loads while the infills provide a building envelope and or internal partitioning. In several moderate earthquakes, buildings with infills have shown excellent performance even though many such buildings were not designed and detailed for earthquake forces. It is seen that the masonry infills contribute significant lateral stiffness, strength, overall ductility and energy dissipation capacity during moderate earthquakes. By providing fibres in the critical zones, it is possible to improve the performance of the frames against lateral loading. Hence, an attempt is made by using hybrid fibres (a combination of Polyolefin and Steel fibres) in the joints of the frames in various proportions and to determine the behaviour of the hybrid fibre-reinforced concrete (HFRC) frames under lateral reversed load. The percentages of fibres used are 0, 0.75, 1.5 and 2%. This research work presents the experimental results of RC frames and HFRC frames and also the comparison of the same using ANSYS.