Investigating the Effect of Opening on Seismic Behavior of Combined System of RC Frame with Panel Sandwich Infill

Abstract

Growing use of pre-cast concrete sandwich panels in the construction industry as infill has gained popularity due to better integration
compared with the masonry infill against forces as well as their light weight and ease of use, which at the same evaluation of their seismic
behavior have become more important. However, because of necessity of opening in the infill and change in behavior and interaction among
the frame and panel sandwich with the opening effect further precise studies are required. Accordingly, the present study aims to do a nonlinear dynamic analysis on the opening effect with conventional geometrical shapes on the seismic behavior of the combined system with
different floors under seismic records. After verifying by the Abaqus software, the combined system with opening was investigated. The
results indicated that by full infill in frames, the rectangular opening of infill has a remarkable impact on reduced stiffness and shear potential
particularly in the short combined structure and in the first floor compared with the circular opening. Moreover, the reinforcement effect in
different openings of infill is discussed.