The Effects of Plaster Thicknesses on Cyclic Behavior of Infill Walls with Different Materials

Reinforced concrete structure systems are usually designed as frame or shear wall-frame systems. It is possible to reduce the deformation and displacement in the system by increasing the structural stiffness. Besides, large displacements on the floors caused by horizontal load are damped by the cracks in these walls. The present paper aims to examine the effects of materials used in the wall construction as well as thickness of the plaster on the behavior of infill walls under cyclic loads. In order to investigate the above mentioned effects, three Infill walls that were produced from three different materials namely, horizontal hollow bricks, pumice blocks and aerated concrete blocks were tested in three setups (without plaster, with 1 cm plaster and 2.5 cm plaster on it). In order to determine pure wall contribution, the infill walls were placed in a steel frame test set-up which was hinged from all four corners and were then exposed to cyclic loads taking into account the displacement controlled loading protocol proposed in FEMA 461. Right after applying the plaster to the infill walls, load carrying and energy dissipation capacities of the walls were examined comparatively. Load-displacement, backbone curve and cumulative dissipated energy curves of each infill walls are generated using the data collected from the experiments and the infill walls behaviors are graphically explained. Test results showed that existence and thickness of plaster significantly affected cyclic behavior of the test walls by increasing energy dissipation capacities and load carrying capacities.