2nd Croatian Conference on Earthquake Engineering 2CroCEE

The seismic vulnerability of masonry infills has been observed persistently during post seismic surveys, and their seismic behaviour has been investigated for decades due to its complexity involving different aspects that need to be addressed and the diversity of existing masonry infill typologies. Despite the copious experimental studies conducted, only a few of them had the opportunity to analyse different aspects of the same masonry typology due to the reduced number of specimens usually involved in a testing campaign. The out-of-plane response of masonry infills, and the reduction of the out-of-plane resistance of the infill panels due to the damage caused by in-plane deformations, are usually the most critical aspects regarding human life safety. Furthermore, the out-of-plane experimental tests on masonry infills have almost always been conducted through pseudo-static tests with different loading techniques (4 point loading, central loading, constant pressure with airbags or other systems), meanwhile a complete experimental campaign on existing masonry infills through dynamic tests on shaking table has not taken place yet.
Within this framework, an experimental campaign with a total of 15 non-ductile infill specimens made of horizontally hollowed weak clay units representing one of the most common infill systems present in the Mediterranean area, is currently ongoing at the Eucentre Foundation of Pavia. In the present paper, the preliminary results of the ongoing study will be discussed.
In the scope of this research program, in-plane cyclic tests and out-of-plane dynamic tests are conducted on full-scale infill panels built inside composite steel/reinforced concrete frames, along with tests of characterization of the masonry materials. The first batch of tests, which included 5 specimens, were focused on masonry infills with well-built boundary conditions, meanwhile the second batch of tests including 4 specimens aimed to investigate the influence of a poorly detailed top bed mortar joint at the frame-infill interface. Finally, the third and fourth phases of the experimental campaign will investigate the influence of openings, testing six specimens.