Experimental and analytical study of masonry infilled frames

The structural behavior of a framed masonry wall subjected to in-plane mono tonic loading is investigated by a full-scale test and the method of discon tinuous deformation analysis. The concept of artificial joints is adopted t o refine discontinuous deformation analysis so that it can analyze both con tinuous and discontinuous behavior of the masonry structure. The numerical solutions are compared with experimental results. A satisfactory agreement is obtained. The structural behavior and stress distributions of the framed masonry wall show that the characteristics of the masonry structure is hig hly influenced by the failure of mortar. In addition, the filled masonry wa ll affects dominantly the behavior of the framed masonry structure. The par tially filled masonry wall induces a short column effect and leads to a sev ere failure of the column. On the other hand, the completely filled masonry wall increases the stiffness of the structure and the adjacent column fail s in the configuration of nearly uniform cracks.