Full-scale testing of Masonry-Infilled RC Frames retrofitted with Cross-Laminated Timber Panels

This paper presents the results from an experimental study on an innovative timber-based seismic retrofit solution for existing reinforced concrete (RC) buildings. The intervention aims at enhancing the overall seismic resistance of RC framed structures with a light, cost-effective, sustainable, and reversible approach, allowing possible integration with energy efficiency upgrades. The study examines two intervention configurations with different degrees of invasiveness: the first (RC-TP) involves replacing the existing masonry infill wall with a cross-laminated timber (CLT) panel, whereas the latter (RC-TPext) consists in applying the panel to the outer face of the frame. The experiments comprised tests on four specimens: a non-retrofitted masonry-infilled frame employed as a reference specimen and three frames strengthened with CLT panels as infills or externally connected retrofitting elements. The paper presents construction details of the strengthening interventions, demonstrates a step-by-step application procedure, and summarises the main observations from the tests, illustrating the evolution of structural damage, the ultimate failure mode, and the cyclic hysteretic response of the specimens. The experiments showed promising results, specifically, the RC-TP and RC-TPext retrofit interventions increased the lateral strength of the reference frame by approximately 170% and 105%, respectively.

SMIROLDO Francesco;  KALLIORAS Stylianos;  SOMMACAL Giovanni;  BOURNAS Dionysios;  PIAZZA Maurizio;  GIONGO Ivan; 

2023-12-15

ELSEVIER SCI LTD

JRC133840

0141-0296 (online),   

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S014102962301204X,    https://publications.jrc.ec.europa.eu/repository/handle/JRC133840,   

10.1016/j.engstruct.2023.116789 (online),