Macro-Modelling of IP-OoP Interaction in Unreinforced Solid Masonry Infills under Earthquake-Induced Actions: A Review

Abstract

Unreinforced masonry-infilled reinforced concrete frames are a prevalent taxonomy class not only in the Mediterranean region but also in Europe and worldwide, where buildings of this type abound or are ubiquitous. Thus, somewhat expectedly, various earthquake events and sequences have repeatedly shown the poor seismic behaviour of masonry infill walls, which, in turn, have brought into question issues of the variability, uncertainty, and interaction of in-plane (IP) and out-of-plane (OoP) responses. The latter aspect is examined in this paper, which provides a systematic review concerning the conceptualisation and development of numerical macro-models for simulating the behaviour of solid infill wall panels taking their IP–OoP interaction into account. To this end, the most important parameters involved in the cyclic behaviour of unreinforced solid masonry infill walls are addressed first, and then the main models currently available in the literature are scrutinised and key features discussed, with emphasis posed on issues of accuracy/suitability and easiness or level of complexity/sophistication.