Serviceability limit state related to excessive lateral deformations to account for infill walls in the structural model

Brazilian Codes NBR 6118 and NBR 15575 provide practical values for interstory drift limits applied to conventional modeling in order to prevent negative effects in masonry infill walls caused by excessive lateral deformability, however these codes do not account for infill walls in the structural model. The inclusion of infill walls in the proposed model allows for a quantitative evaluation of structural stresses in these walls and an assessment of cracking in these elements (sliding shear diagonal tension and diagonal compression cracking). This paper presents the results of simulations of single-story one-bay infilled R/C frames. The main objective is to show how to check the serviceability limit states under lateral loads when the infill walls are included in the modeling. The results of numerical simulations allowed for an evaluation of stresses and the probable cracking pattern in infill walls. The results also allowed an identification of some advantages and limitations of the NBR 6118 practical procedure based on interstory drift limits.