Damages and failures observed in infill walls of reinforced concrete frame after 1999 Kocaeli earthquake

Abstract

The infilled walls are used to provide enclosure, sub-division of space and weather protection in reinforced concrete frames. In addition, the infill walls are subjected to the horizontal loads while restraining the movement of the frame systems. If the infill walls do not resist the horizontal loads, the wall is damaged and some cracks occur. Especially, faulty design and unsymmetrical arrangement of the infill walls cause the damages and failures in the infill walls. The earthquake damages of some buildings reveal the fact that the infill walls do strengthen the building. In this work, damages occurred in the infill walls during 1999 Kocaeli Earthquake are defined and some evaluations are made for the causes of the damages observed in infill walls. The paper also suggests the means of improving the load carrying capacity of infill walls.