An insight into equivalent strut modelling of infill-RC frames

Abstract

Past studies have confirmed that the behaviour of an infill-frame can be remarkably different from that of a bare frame. This becomes specifically critical when the structure is under lateral loads such as wind and earthquake. This paper looks into the fundamentals of the most commonly used analytical method for the analysis of such structures, i.e. equivalent strut modelling. A FE model at a micro level has been used to demonstrate that not only the total width of strut(s), but also the number and location of strut(s) may vary from one infill-frame to the next. It has therefore been shown that even though several equivalent strut models have been proposed since 1950s, none can be considered..