Engineering Structures 197 (2019) 109437

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Engineering Structures
journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/engstruct

Seismic performance of RC frames with EPSC latticed concrete infill walls T

a b b,c,⁎ d a a
Baizan Tang , Su Chen , Xiaojun Li , Lihong Xiong , Hua-Peng Chen , Qingsong Feng
a
Engineering Research Center of Railway Environmental Vibration and Noise, Ministry of Education, East China Jiaotong University, Nanchang 330013, China
b
Institute of Geophysics, China Earthquake Administration, Beijing 100081, China
c
College of Architecture and Civil Engineering, Beijing University of Technology, Beijing 100124, China
d
Key Laboratory of Earthquake Engineering and Engineering Vibration, Institute of Engineering Mechanics, China Earthquake Administration, Harbin 150080, China

ARTICLE INFO ABSTRACT

Keywords: An expansive polystyrene granule cement (EPSC) latticed concrete wall, which has advantages of higher load-
EPSC latticed concrete wall bearing and better environmental-friendly construction, has been widely applied in reinforced concrete (RC)
RC frame frames to form a new structural system, and its seismic performance has become a hot topic in the field of
Shaking table test earthquake engineering. This paper presents the experimental and numerical studies on the seismic performance
Numerical analysis
of RC frames with EPSC latticed concrete infill walls. A full-scale single-storey model structure with openings in
Seismic performance
the walls, various spacings of steel rebar and binding methods between the walls and the RC frame was designed,
and then tested on a shaking table to investigate the seismic performance. A numerical analysis model was
constructed using the nonlinear dynamic modelling software ABAQUS. The comparative analysis of the test data
and simulation results indicate that the designed RC frame with EPSC latticed concrete infill walls has sa-
tisfactory seismic performance, including the good collapse resistance and energy dissipation capacity.
Especially the latticed concrete walls can significantly strengthen the RC frame and increase its lateral stiffness,
and the model structure undergoes a super-major earthquake with minor inter-storey rotational displacements
(only 1/513). Reduction in spacing of bars can delay the growth of cracks in the walls and increase the ductility
of the structural system. Both local binding method and through-rebar binding method can effectively restrain
the walls. Compared with local binding method, the through-rebar binding method can play an effective role in
the out-of-plane stability of the wall, thus improve the integrity of the structural system. The proposed analytical
procedure can be also applied in simulating the seismic performance of infilled multi-storey RC frames. To
achieve more comprehensive assessment the performance of the RC frames with latticed concrete infill walls,
further study on its global and local ductility relationships and the failure model of the infilled multi-storey
frame should be carried out.

1. Introduction Expansive polystyrene granule cement (EPSC) latticed concrete

Reinforced concrete (RC) frames with masonry infills are a popular
structural system in regions of seismic risks, in which the materials of
infilled wall commonly used are clay bricks or hollowed light aggregate
concrete blocks [1–4]. Recently, negative effects of masonry infill have
been observed in earthquakes [5–10], including cracks, soft-storey ef-
fect, captive-column effect, torsion and out-of-plane collapse, which
indicates the seismic vulnerability of this type of buildings to strong
earthquakes. Meanwhile, with the sustainable development and urba-
nisation in China, the reform of wall materials has been undertaken in
the field of architectural and civil engineering for the energy-saving,
emission-reduction, soil-saving and environmental protection [11].
Hence, it is imperative to develop new wall materials for practical uses.
walls have been proposed with the characteristics of lightweight, better
load-bearing, thermal insulation, fireproof, energy-saving and en-
vironmental protection [12–14]. This wall is typically constructed by
standard EPSC elements, and is built into the wallboard under stag-
gered joint assembling on site. By configuring reinforcement in its
horizontal and vertical cylindrical cavities, and pouring self-compacting
vibration-free concrete with high fluidity, a grid-shaped concrete
composite wall with horizontal and vertical limbs is formed, as shown
in Fig. 1. The wall also can be prefabricated in blocks in a factory and
then transported to the site for installation. The EPSC is made from
cement, waste polyphenylene particles, water and other admixtures. It
can act as a formwork for cast-in-place grid concrete walls during the
construction stage, and can be used as the thermal insulation and

⁎
Corresponding author.
E-mail address: beerli@vip.sina.com (X. Li).

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.engstruct.2019.109437
Received 13 February 2019; Received in revised form 13 July 2019; Accepted 22 July 2019
Available online 31 July 2019
0141-0296/ © 2019 Published by Elsevier Ltd.
B. Tang, et al.
Fig. 1. EPSC latticed concrete wall.
fireproof materials of external building walls at service stage. There-
fore, the new type of walls can not only effectively tackle many
common problems of wall insulation materials, including shortcomings
of wall cracking, low fire resistance, easy combustion, cold/thermal
bridge generation and poor durability, but also have the advantages of
good integrity, fast construction, low cost and combination of various
structural forms. Thus, the wall has very broad application prospects in
multi-storey and high-rise buildings.
The implementation of EPSC latticed concrete walls generates a
significant challenge, particularly in the regions of seismic risk, because
of the lack of historical seismic performance of this relatively new wall
structural system. Currently, shaking table/pseudo-static tests and nu-
merical simulations are the most important approaches for studying the
seismic performance of the infilled frame structure, due to continuously
developing model test technology and improvement of computer cap-
ability. Numerous studies on the seismic performance of latticed con-
crete walls have been conducted through pseudo-static tests. Dusicka
and Kay [15,16] performed pseudo-static tests of full-scale insulated
concrete form grid walls and demonstrated that the wall failure mode
initiates from the fracture of the individual vertical cores, and the effect
on drift capacity and ductility of the wall depends on the aspect ratio.
Sun et al. [17] and Wang et al. [18] conducted pseudo-static tests and
concluded that the lateral stiffness of the latticed concrete wall can be
calculated by an equivalent solid shear wall with the thickness of two-
third of the original wall thickness. Zhang et al. [19] performed pseudo-
static tests on the latticed concrete wall with grid size of
400 mm × 400 mm to study the failure mode, hysteretic characteristics
and deformation capacity. Cao et al. [20–22] conducted a series of
model tests on EPS modules-recycled concrete composite walls, which
reflects the seismic performance of walls with different construction
methods, shear span ratio and thickness, and then concluded that the
EPS modules-recycled concrete composite walls can be used in low-rise
and multi-storey seismic resistance structures at villages and towns. In
numerical simulations, several methods are available in the literature
for the evaluation of the seismic response of the latticed concrete wall.
By using finite element software ABAQUS, Asadi et al. [23] carried out
numerical analysis for Screen-Grid ICF walls and presented the ductility
and response modification factor of the wall system. Kony and Childs
[24] used finite difference method to analyse dynamic performance of
the latticed concrete wall. By combining with the results of pseudo-
static tests, Zhao [25] conducted non-linear finite element analysis on
EPS grid frame to explain its seismic failure mechanism. In general, the
existing investigations were mainly performed under cyclic lateral
loading. Only limited studies are available on seismic behaviour of RC
frames with EPSC lattice concrete infill walls, and the investigations on
dynamic interaction between the RC frame and the lattice concrete wall
are rarely reported.
This paper investigates the seismic response of the RC frame
structure with latticed concrete infill walls using shaking table tests and
2
Engineering Structures 197 (2019) 109437
numerical analyses, and the effect of new walls on the seismic perfor-
mance of the RC frame is investigated. The results from this study
provide technical guidance to the seismic design of RC frames with
EPSC latticed concrete infill walls, and promote the application of EPSC
lattice concrete walls in RC frames.
2. Shaking table test
2.1. The test model
The test model of the prototype building is a twelve-storey RC frame
with EPSC latticed concrete infill walls. By considering the limited
bearing capacity and size of the shaking table, the model structure was
designed and fabricated as a full-scale single storey and single bay
structure. The model was tested on the 5 m × 5 m shaking table at
Institute of Engineering Mechanics, China Earthquake Administration,
as shown in Fig. 2, where the dimensions of the test model and the
definitions of x-, y-, z-direction in the following analysis are given.
The construction sequence of the test model is also shown in Fig. 2.
The infill walls were casted after the RC frame and slab, and the RC
frame and the infill wall were connected by steel rebar, then the gap was
filled with flexible foaming agent. The connection of steel rebar linking
the new walls and frame beams was designed to be a flexible connection.
For the new wall, the standard size of the EPSC is
900 mm × 600 mm × 250 mm. The cross section of the concrete lattice
beam and column is circular with a nominal diameter of 160 mm, and
the spacing of the concrete lattice beams or columns is 300 mm. The
compressive strengths of concrete are 9.4 MPa and 29.1 MPa for latticed
wall concrete and frame concrete, respectively. The mix ratio of the
concrete is designed as water:cement:sand:gravel = 0.44:1.00:1.06:2.26
for latticed wall concrete and 0.47:1.00:1.82:3.87 for frame concrete,
respectively. Meanwhile, the steel rebar of HPB300 embedded in slabs
has a nominal diameter of 8 mm and a design value of strength of
270 MPa. The steel rebar of HRB335 embedded in the RC frame has a
nominal diameter of 14 mm and a design value of strength of 300 MPa.
The steel rebar of HRB400 connecting between the wall and RC frame
has a nominal diameter of 8 mm and a design value of strength of
360 MPa. To investigate the effect of rebar spacing and binding methods
between the latticed concrete wall and the RC frame on the seismic be-
haviour of the infilled frame structures, the spacing of vertical rebar of
600 mm (twice the spacing of lattice columns) is placed on the left side of
the openings and 300 mm on right side. Two types of binding methods
are involved, including local binding method and through-rebar binding
method (as shown in Fig. 3). Local binding is constructed by steel rebar
embedding into the walls with the length of 600 mm and setting along
both sides of the frame column with the spacing of 600 mm. Through-
rebar binding is constructed linking a section of steel rebar with the steel
rebar in local binding method to make the linked steel rebar pass throng
the wall. The anchorage length of the rebar is 250 mm, which meets the
B. Tang, et al.
Fig. 2. Model structure used for testing.
requirements of Chinese current Code for Design of Concrete Structures
[26] for details of seismic design. Due to the lifting capacity of the crane
in the laboratory, the slab was lifted separately from the model structure
and bonded together with epoxy resin adhesives. By taking the effect of
live load on the slab into consideration, the rectangle lead blocks of di-
mensions of 400 mm × 80 mm × 70 mm with a total additional mass of
1500 kg were placed evenly on the slab.
2.2. Instrumentation
The physical quantities measured in this test include the accelera-
tion, lateral displacement and strain of the model structure. The entire
measuring system comprises 14 accelerometers, 4 displacement meters,
and 45 strain gauges. Accelerometers (Nos. A1–A14) were placed on the
wall and slab to record the horizontal acceleration responses.
Displacement sensors (Nos. D1-D4) were installed along the height of
the model to record the lateral displacement responses in the y-direc-
tion. Strain gauges (Nos. S-A1, S-B16, S-C8 and S-C9) were attached to
the bottom of the frame columns to record the strains of concrete.
Additional strain gauges (denoted as S) were also attached to the rebar
connecting the walls and the RC frame to record the strains of steel bars.
The layout of sensors in the tests is shown in Fig. 3.
2.3. Loading conditions
The site condition is a critical factor affecting the frequency prop-
erty of earthquake ground motions, thus, the strong ground motions in
different site conditions should be considered in selecting the input
motion for the seismic response analysis of structures. In the tests, three
different types of strong ground motions, e.g., the Taft earthquake re-
cord (E-W component), El-Centro earthquake record (N-S component)
and Wolong earthquake record (E-W component), were chosen as the
input motion of the shaking table. The Taft E-W record was recorded at
No. 095 Taft Lincoln School Tunnel strong motion station during the
3
Engineering Structures 197 (2019) 109437
California Kern County earthquake in 1952, with an original peak
ground acceleration (PGA) of 152.7 Gal and duration of 54.36 s. The
Taft record is suitable for the soil condition of type I/II in Chinese code.
The El-Centro N-S record was recorded at No. 117 El Centro site strong
motion station during the California Imperial Valley earthquake in
1940, with an original PGA of 341.7 Gal and duration of 53.73 s. The El-
Centro record is suitable for the soil condition of types II/III in Chinese
code. The Wolong E-W record was recorded at No. 051 WCW strong
motion station during the Wenchuan earthquake in 2008, with an ori-
ginal PGA of 957.7 Gal and duration of 180.0 s. The Wolong record is
suitable for the soil condition of types II in Chinese code. Fig. 4 shows
the time histories of acceleration and spectra of the three input motions.
This indicates that the spectral component of the motions is significant
enough for the study.
The selected ground motions were applied individually only in the
y-direction. The model structure was tested under 14 sequences of input
motions with gradually increased PGA and 4 sequences of input mo-
tions with white noises. The maximum testing PGA was 0.30 g for Taft
record, 0.30 g for El Centro, and 1.00 g for Wolong, respectively. Fig. 5
shows the test loading sequences. Sequences 2 to 7 were applied in the
second stage, then sequences 9 to 12 in the third state, and sequences
14 to 16 in the fourth stage. There were three intervals between the four
stages. White noise scanning was conducted before and after each stage
to detect changes of the fundamental frequency of the tested model.
3. Test results and interpretations
3.1. Maroscopic phenomena
During the tests, there was no noticeable shaking and structural
damage observed under minor earthquakes (e.g., PGA = 0.10 g). In the
sequence of moderate earthquakes (e.g., PGA = 0.20 g), the model was
responded with small amount of vibrations, and some micro vertical
cracks were found on the surfaces of the EPSC. When subjected to major
B. Tang, et al.
Fig. 3. Layout of sensors in the tested model structure (unit: mm).
earthquakes (e.g., PGA = 0.30 g or 0.40 g), the model vibrated ob-
viously, and cracks were clearly observed on the surfaces of the EPSC,
including the horizontal cracks appearing at the locations near the base
and diagonal cracks developing primarily at the locations near the
opening of walls. When subjected to super-major earthquakes (e.g.,
PGA = 0.60 g, 0.75 g or 1.00 g), the model structure vibrated sig-
nificantly and the cracks in the EPSC of walls propagated and widened
through the walls (see Fig. 6a). Since the floor and frame were bonded
by epoxy resin, the floor and frame beams were dislocated and shifted
under 1.0 g earthquake excitation, while no spalling or cracks of con-
crete and buckling of steel rebar were found on the surface of the RC
frame. Generally, the RC frame had no obvious damage.
After the tests, removing the EPSC (see Fig. 6b), only tiny horizontal
and circular cracks at the concrete lattice columns were found at places
with large steel strains. The results indicate that the cracking of the
EPSC and the latticed concrete column have a function of energy dis-
sipation, thus the extent of the damage of the walls and RC frame is
reduced. Moreover, there is a great difference in failure modes for the
walls under pseudo-static tests. The lattice beams and columns behaved
similarly with a typical shear failure mode under cyclic lateral load
[17–19,23], but the shear failure mode did not appear on the lattice
beams and columns during actual ground motions.
4
Engineering Structures 197 (2019) 109437
3.2. Dynamic characteristics of the test model
The fundamental dynamic frequency and damping ratio of the test
model can be extracted from the dynamic responses of the slab under
the input of white noise with PGA = 0.05 g [27]. The original funda-
mental frequency of the test model was 14.21 Hz before testing. After
the tests, the fundamental frequency was reduced to 11.99 Hz, de-
creasing by about 15.6% of the initial value. In the meantime, the
damping ratio increased from 0.84% to 2.57%. The results indicate that
the structural stiffness decreases due to the damage of the EPSC latticed
concrete infill walls under continuous strong ground motions.
3.3. Responses of the test model
Table 1 shows the peak acceleration responses and acceleration
amplification factor K (ratio of the acceleration of the slab to the ac-
celeration of the shaking table, note that there are some differences
between the response acceleration of the shaking table and the accel-
eration of the input motion of the shaking table) of the test model under
different ground motions. From the results, as the PGA increases from
0.10 g to 0.60 g, there are some changes in the amplification factor, but
the difference is not significant. The amplification factors of the test
B. Tang, et al.
Fig. 4. Acceleration time history and spectral acceleration of various ground motion records.
model are different under the Taft, El Centro and Wolong record inputs
with the same PGA, and the amplification factors induced by the Wo-
long record input are greater than those induced by the Taft and El
Centro record inputs. This indicates that the seismic responses of the
test model are more sensitive to the Wolong record with narrower
frequency components and long duration.
Fig. 7 shows the distribution of relative displacement along the
height of the structure under the Wolong record input. The relative
displacement of the walls increases firstly and then decreases in the y-
direction (out-of-plane). At the top of wall, the relative displacement
has smaller values than those in the middle of the wall, which indicates
that both the local binding method and through-rebar binding method
between the walls and RC frame have effect on restraining the out-of-
plane displacements of the walls. To further reduce the out-of-plane
displacement in the middle of the walls, the vertical rebar in local
binding method should be replaced with that in through-rebar binding
method.
The relative displacement between the frame beam and the top of
the wall exhibites significant difference. The results demonstrate that
the connections of steel rebar linking the new walls and RC frame are
Fig. 5. Test loading conditions.
5
Engineering Structures 197 (2019) 109437
flexible. Generally, the damage extent of the RC frame with infilled
walls under flexible connections is less than that of pure RC frames, also
the damage extent of infilled walls is reduced due to flexible connec-
tions [28].
The maximum inter-storey displacement of the test model was only
about 5.536 mm under strong ground motions, and the maximum inter-
storey displacement angle was 1/513. According to the code [29], the
limit values of elastic and elastic-plastic inter-storey displacement angle
for RC frame structures are 1/550 and 1/50, respectively. The test re-
sults indicate that the latticed concrete walls have greater lateral stiff-
ness. The infill walls can strengthen the RC frame, and increase its
stiffness and resistance, thus the structural system can effectively resist
shear deformation. The test model suffered cumulative damage under
continuous strong motions, but was still in the normal service condi-
tion. Since the RC frame had no obvious damage when subjected to
super-major earthquakes (e.g., PGA = 0.60 g, 0.75 g or 1.00 g), as il-
lustrated in Fig. 6, it is suggested that the spacing of concrete lattice
beams and/or columns can be increased appropriately, and nominal
sizes of concrete lattice beam and/or column can be reduced appro-
priately for the RC frame with the infill walls in residential buildings.
B. Tang, et al. Engineering Structures 197 (2019) 109437

Cracks Unit: g

0.5 0.5
0.5 0.3
0.5
0.2
0.5
0.2 0.2
0.5
0.3
0.5 1.0
0.2 0.75
0.2 0.5 0.75 0.8 Wall A
0.2 0.2
0.3 0.2
0.75
0.3 0.2 0.3

(a) Wall A

Concrete lattice column Concrete lattice column

Frame beam Inside

Outside
Frame column

Cracks
EPSC
Wall B removal

(b) Wall B
Fig. 6. Observed cracks in the test model.

Table 1 around the openings and at the bottom of walls are greater than those
Responses of the test model. on the frame columns, indicating remarkable spatial effect, as shown in
Sequence Input PGA (g) Slab
Fig. 8a and b. The strain responses on the left side of the openings (e.g.,
motions S-A1 and S-B2) are greater than those on the left side of the openings
Amax* (g) K* Dmax* Dr,max* θmax (e.g., S-A2 and S-B3). This may be related to the vertical rebar spacing,
(mm) (mm) where the spacing of vertical rebar is 600 mm on the left side of the
2 Taft 0.10 0.095 0.990 28.77 3.348 1/821
opening and 300 mm on the right side. Meanwhile, cracks in the EPSC
5 0.20 0.224 1.120 56.61 3.653 1/753 on the left side of the openings are more severe than those on the right
9 0.30 0.325 1.109 72.40 3.751 1/733 side of the openings (see Fig. 6), suggesting that reduction in spacing of
3 El 0.10 0.113 0.958 32.38 3.821 1/720 the steel rebar can delay the appearance of cracks in the walls, and
6 Centro 0.20 0.221 0.991 56.88 3.821 1/720 provide the ductility of the structural system.
10 0.30 0.309 1.031 72.6 3.864 1/712 When subjected to super-major earthquakes (e.g., PGA = 0.75 g or
4 Wolong 0.12 0.141 1.178 14.5 2.770 1/993 1.00 g), the test model has the maximum tensile strain at measuring
7 0.17 0.209 1.227 17.8 2.567 1/1071 points S-B1 and SB2, reaching 2724.0 με and 1917.6 με, respectively,
11 0.30 0.400 1.316 33.6 2.979 1/923 which exceed the yield strain of the steel bars (1800 με). The results
12 0.40 0.517 1.293 43.0 3.137 1/877
14 0.60 0.718 1.197 52.4 4.471 1/615
indicate that the vertical steel rebar on the left side of the openings with
large spacing of 600 mm was yield, and the top of the infill walls suf-
Note: *A: Acceleration response; K: Acceleration amplification factor; D: fered local damage.
Displacement response; Dr: Relative displacement response. At the height of 1.2 m of wall B, the steel strain of the latticed
column is larger than that of the latticed beam (e.g., measuring points
3.4. Strain responses S-B12). This is because that the overturning moment was generated
under input motions for wall B with larger aspect ratio, and the internal
Fig. 8 shows the tensile strain responses of the latticed concrete force was primarily supported by the latticed column. Therefore,
walls and the RC frame under the Wolong record input. The tensile compared with local binding method, the through-rebar binding
strain in the infill walls varies significantly, and the tensile strain method can play an effective role in the out-of-plane stability of the

6
B. Tang, et al.
Fig. 7. Relative displacements of the model under Wolong record input.
wall, thus improve the integrity of the structural system.
The local binding method was adopted in wall C, and while the
through-rebar binding method was adopted in wall D. Both the wall C
and wall D have aspect ratio of 1.0. From the results in Fig. 8c, the
strain responses of the lattice beam at height of 2.4 m are greater than
those at the height of 1.8 m, and the strain responses of the lattice beam
at the height of 0.6 m have the minimum values. Compared with local
binding method adopted in wall C, the strain responses of the through-
rebar binding method adopted in wall D have smaller values. For wall
D, the strain responses at the middle of the wall are significantly greater
than those at other positions. The test results indicate that the steel
strains have positive correlation with the structural height, and the two
types of binding methods can effectively restrain the walls to enhance
the good collapse resistance and energy dissipation capacity.
For frame columns, the maximum concrete tensile strain is 117 με
(measuring points S-A11 and S-B16), which is close to the ultimate
tensile strain of concrete. This agrees well with the experimental ob-
servation that no cracks appeared on the surface of the frame columns.
4. Numerical simulations
4.1. Numerical modelling
To further analyse the experimental results of the shaking table test
on the RC frame model structure with latticed concrete infill walls, a 3-
D finite element (FE) model is developed based on the commercial
software ABAQUS version 6.14, as shown in Fig. 9. The numerical
model is discretized with the C3D8R (an eight-node linear brick re-
duced integration hourglass control) elements by using the Arbitrary
Lagrangian-Eulerian (ALE) adaptive meshing method. The RC frame
and latticed concrete walls are modelled with solid elements and the
steel rebar is modelled as the T3D2 (a 2-node linear 3-D truss) element
embedded into the concrete. To study the effect of FE meshing on the
results, numerical modelling is investigated by coarse and fine meshes.
The dynamic contact with finite sliding and separating at the in-
terface between the RC frame and the latticed concrete infill walls is
simulated by using different algorithms, such as the Lagrangian mul-
tiplier method and penalty function method. At the interface, the
normal compressive stress transfers between the RC frame and the
latticed concrete infill walls by contact constraints. The elements and
nodes at the interface satisfy the Hooke law and the deformation
compatibility condition. When the wall is separated from the frame, the
contact constraint is removed on the associated elements and nodes,
and then the contact surface converted to free surface. In addition, the
tangential contact shear stress is transferred on the interface, and is
7
Engineering Structures 197 (2019) 109437
governed by the Coulomb's friction law, as
= µ ·P (1)
crit
where crit is the critical shear stress; µ denotes the interface friction
coefficient, taken as 0.4 in this study [30]; and P is the normal contact
compressive stress. When the tangential contact shear stress exceeds
crit , relative slipping occurs on the interface. By considering the input
ground motions only in the horizontal direction, the constraint of the
translational ins of freedom (DOF) of the nodes in the Y direction has to
be released to model the boundary conditions.
First, the gravity is applied in static analysis, followed by the dy-
namic analysis of the model structure. The Newmark direct integration
method is adopted to solve the FE dynamic problems. To satisfy the
higher frequency of interest f and ensure computational accuracy, the
integration time step size t is generally determined by taking the first
vibration mode into consideration, and the integration time step size t
is taken as 2.5 × 10−3 s in this study.
1
t=
20f (2)
Rayleigh damping is assumed with the damping matrix proportional
to the mass and initial stiffness matrices with coefficients. The coeffi-
cients are calibrated to give a damping ratio of 1.0% for the first and
third modes of the structure in the plane of excitation. This is a rea-
sonable assumption on the base of the experimental results and the
knowledge from field testing of structures, where the measured
damping ratios are typically less than 2% in the elastic range [31,32].
4.2. Constitutive models for concrete and steel
A plastic damage constitutive model, including compression and
tension damage variables and multi-hardening variables in the yield
function under different damage conditions, is constructed for the
earthquake response analysis of concrete structures [33,34]. Mean-
while, a simplified scalar degradation model is adopted to specify the
effect of damage on the elastic stiffness and the recovery of stiffness
after crack closure. The mechanical parameters of concrete, the RC
frame stress-strain and damage-strain curves are shown in Fig. 9.
The dynamic behaviour of steel rebar, as shown in Fig. 9, is simu-
lated by using the modified Menegotto-Pinto constitutive model
[35–37], where the tension stiffening effect of the steel rebar is con-
sidered in the numerical model. In this model, the relationship between
stress and strain describes a curved transition from a straight-line
asymptote with slope E0 (initial Young’s modulus) to another asymptote
with slope E1 = bE0, e.g., lines (a) and (b), respectively, in Fig. 9. In the
Menegotto-Pinto steel model, b = (fu f y )/( u y ) E denotes the strain
B. Tang, et al. Engineering Structures 197 (2019) 109437

Wolong 0.12g/0.40g/0.75g
28.2/109.5/507.2 3.6/35.0/64.5 517.9/1917.6/1522.0 31.3/36.4/60.4

S-A1 S-A2 31.1/61.3/498.9 S-B2 S-B3

30.2/145.5/601.4 6.9/19.8/199.8 22.8/105.9/152.0
S-A3 S-A4 S-B7 S-B8
Wall A 10.2/28.2/143.0
invalid 15.1/21.7/64.9 56.3/165.4/114.7
S-A5 S-A6 S-B9 S-B10
S-A7 21.2/71.9/93.1 S-B11 26.0/42.1/78.4 S-B12
2.6/38.8/159.5 160.9/741.1/416.9
4.4/48.0/65.4 S-B13
Wall B
S-A9

S-A10 S-A11 S-B15

7.5/12.8/117.1 S-B16 16.1/245.8/363.6
42.0/85.9/282.6 4.7/14.3/56.0 43.9/251.5/868.0 S-B17

Shaking direction

(a) In-plane peak tensile strains

Frame beam 122.3 140.0

100
746.9 73.5 498.9 S-B1 2724.0
601.4 200.0 1080.2
Steel
143.1 91.5 220.8
invalid
1077.6
Wall A 93.7 99.4
77.7 344.2 476.4
87.4 87.4 Frame column Wall B

282.6 56.0 117.1 868.0 363.6

Shaking direction

(b) In-plane max tensile strains

750 S-D5
100
S-C3 S-D5 S-D7
S-C3
625 S-C5 S-D7 S-D8
S-C5
S-C7 80 Wall D
Wall C S-D8
S-D9
S-C7
500 S-D9
60
Strain
Strain

375
40
250

20
125

0 0
0.0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1.0 0.0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1.0
PGA (g) PGA (g)

(c) Out-of-plane peak tensile strains

Fig. 8. Peak strain responses at the walls and frame columns under Wolong record input (unit: με).

hardening ratio; fy and y are yield stress and strain, respectively; fu and
u are ultimate tensile stress and strain, respectively; 0 and 0 are stress
and strain at the intersection point of the two asymptotes (e.g., point A);
similarly, r and r are stress and strain at point B, as shown in Fig. 9.
This model can reflect the Bauschinger’s effect under cyclic loads ac-
curately and efficiently.
spectra of the numerical model in the middle (A5) and at the top (A13)
of the structure under Wolong record input. It shows that the simulated
results (SR) of the acceleration responses have a good agreement with
the test records (TR) in both time and frequency domains.
The relative error is adopted to compare the difference between
the simulated results and the test records, defined as

xi xi
4.3. Simulation results and comparative analysis = × 100%
xi (3)

4.3.1. Acceleration response
A series of nonlinear dynamic analyses were conducted on the
constructed numerical model built above, in which the same input
ground motions used in the test were applied to the numerical model-
ling. Fig. 10 plots the time histories of acceleration and the Fourier
where x i denotes the simulated results; x i denotes the test records; and
subscript i represents the number index of sensor positions.
The simulated results of the acceleration responses are illustrated in
Table 2 and Fig. 11. The results indicate that the peak acceleration and
acceleration amplification factor, obtained from experiments and

8
B. Tang, et al. Engineering Structures 197 (2019) 109437

Fig. 9. 3-D FE model.

simulations, are very close to each other. The differences between si-
mulated results and test records are no more than 10%. However, with
the increase of the input motion intensity, the difference between si-
mulated results and test records gradually becomes significant. For
example, the absolute difference in the peak accelerations of the slab
between simulations and experiments under the Taft record input in-
creases from 4.17% to 7.38%. The reason is probably that when the
structure is subjected to major earthquakes, high geometric non-
linearity occurs, and some of the structural members suffers from da-
mage, while the numerical modelling may not capture it.

9
B. Tang, et al. Engineering Structures 197 (2019) 109437

Fig. 10. Time histories of acceleration and Fourier spectra of the model structure under Wolong record input.

4.3.2. Displacement responses
The time histories of lateral displacements at the bottom of the
frame beam (D1) and at the top of wall (D2) are shown in Fig. 12.
Table 3 lists the simulated results of the displacement responses. The
simulated results show a good agreement with the test records. From
the results in Table 3, the absolute differences of peak lateral
displacements between the simulation and the test are less than 10%.
The lateral displacements obtained in simulations are generally smaller
than those recorded in the tests. The reason for this may be that when
the structure undergoes large deformation, the geometric nonlinearity
becomes stronger in the shaking table tests.

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B. Tang, et al. Engineering Structures 197 (2019) 109437

Table 2
Difference of the acceleration responses between simulated results (SR) and test records (TR).
Input motions PGA (g) Accelerometer (g)

A6 (Bottom) A5 (Middle) A13 (Top)

TR SR (%) TR SR (%) TR SR (%)

Taft 0.10 0.094 0.087 −7.45 0.101 0.098 −2.97 0.096 0.100 4.17
0.20 0.200 0.194 −3.00 0.214 0.210 −1.87 0.224 0.211 −5.80
0.30 0.293 0.278 −5.12 0.296 0.302 2.03 0.325 0.301 −7.38

El Centro 0.10 0.118 0.116 −1.69 0.120 0.114 −5.00 0.114 0.115 0.88
0.20 0.223 0.211 −5.38 0.228 0.221 −3.07 0.221 0.223 0.90
0.30 0.291 0.291 0.00 0.298 0.282 −5.37 0.302 0.285 −5.63

Wolong 0.40 0.415 0.378 −8.90 0.496 0.530 6.85 0.530 0.582 9.81
0.60 0.566 0.551 −2.65 0.594 0.568 −4.4 0.719 0.678 −5.7
0.75 0.741 0.728 −1.75 0.779 0.776 −0.4 0.934 0.860 −7.9

Fig. 11. Peak acceleration amplification factor along the structural height under Wolong record input.

Fig. 12. Displacement time histories of the model structure under the El Centro record input.

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B. Tang, et al. Engineering Structures 197 (2019) 109437

Table 3
Comparison of the lateral displacement responses of the model structure.
Input motions PGA (g) Displacement transducer (mm)

D1 (Frame beam bottom) D2 (Top of wall) D3 (Middle of structure)

TR SR (%) TR SR (%) TR SR (%)

Taft 0.10 28.36 27.46 −3.17 26.30 27.47 4.45 27.12 27.46 1.25
0.20 56.60 57.76 2.05 55.11 57.79 4.86 55.75 57.76 3.61
0.30 72.40 70.84 −2.15 71.2 70.83 −0.52 71.81 70.84 −1.35

Wolong 0.12 14.47 13.55 −6.36 13.41 13.56 1.12 13.75 13.55 −1.45
0.17 17.75 16.23 −8.56 16.41 16.21 −1.22 16.63 16.25 −2.29
0.30 33.58 32.23 −4.02 32.15 32.28 0.40 32.29 32.24 −0.15
0.40 43.03 42.34 −1.60 41.08 42.39 3.19 41.73 42.34 1.46
0.75 69.07 67.67 −2.03 67.86 67.74 −0.18 67.95 67.69 −0.38

4.3.3. Damage assessment
To evaluate the damage condition of the model structure, Fig. 13
shows the damage contours of the model structure in compression and
tension under the El Centro and Wolong record inputs. In General, the
compressive damage of the model structure is very small, and the in-
tensity of the input ground motions has no obvious effect on the com-
pressive damage. However, the tensive damage is much more serious
for the same input motion.
In Fig. 13, the compressive damage occurs at the concrete lattice
beams and columns, but no damage appears at the concrete lattice
beam-column joints. Meanwhile, the tensive damage occurs at the
concrete lattice beam-column joints, and the damage region is ap-
proximately formed as “X” shape. Hence, the compressive damage of
the wall could be caused by the captive column effect, while the tensive
damage of the wall could be caused by the shear failure. Moreover, as
the input PGA increases, both the initial and severe damage areas (e.g.,
areas ① and ② in Fig. 13) appear at the corner of the door opening. This
is because the stress concentration occurs around the door openings.
The simulated results are consistent with the test macroscopic phe-
nomena, in which the horizontal and inclined cracks occure around the
openings.
Based on structural damage caused by compressive and tensive
stresses, it is obvious that the latticed concrete infill walls can transfer
loads to the RC frame in through inner arch actions. The failure me-
chanisms of the RC frame with latticed concrete infill walls are de-
monstrated in Fig. 13.

Fig. 13. Damage distribution contour diagram of the model structure under different ground motions.

12
B. Tang, et al.
5. Conclusions
In this paper, the large-scale shaking table tests and the numerical
analyses were performed on a scaled down RC frame with latticed
concrete infill walls. The main conclusions from the test results and
numerical analyses are summarised as follows:
(1) The RC frame with latticed concrete infill walls has satisfactory
seismic performance, in particular under super-major earthquakes.
Horizontal and circular cracks occured on the EPSC and partial
concrete lattice columns under the continuous strong ground mo-
tions, while no damage appeared in the RC frame.
(2) The lattice concrete walls greatly strengthen RC frame, and increase
its stiffness and resistance. The maximum inter-storey rotational
displacement of the test model was only 1/513 under super-major
earthquakes, which is slightly larger than the limit value of elastic
inter-storey rotational displacement of a RC frame structure (1/
550). It is suggested that the spacing of concrete lattice beams and/
or columns can be increased appropriately and nominal diameter of
concrete lattice beam and/or column can be reduced appropriately
for the RC frame with the infill walls in residential buildings.
(3) The connections between the new type walls and the RC frame can
be modelled as flexible connection. The steel strain responses have
positive correlation with the structural height. Reducing the steel
rebar spacing can delay the appearance of cracks in the walls and
increase the ductility of the structural system.
(4) Local binding method and through-rebar binding method can ef-
fectively restrain the walls to enhance the significant collapse re-
sistance and energy dissipation capacity. Compared with local
binding method, the through-rebar binding method can play an
effective role in the out-of-plane stability of the walls, and improve
the integrity of the structural system.
(5) The simulated results are verified by the shaking table test results.
The simulated acceleration, displacement response and tensive
damage of the model structure have a good agreement with the test
records. The good agreement between them also shows that the
proposed numerical methods can be further useful for analysing the
RC frames with latticed concrete infill walls.
To achieve a more comprehensive evaluation on the seismic per-
formance of the RC frame with latticed concrete infill walls, more
studies are expected: (1) to investigate seismic responses of the infilled
multi-storey frames on the base of the proposed numerical methods,
including its global and local ductility relationships, dissipative me-
chanisms and plastic hinges; (2) to compare the seismic performance of
latticed concrete infill walls with that of conventional infill walls.
Acknowledgments
The authors gratefully acknowledge the financial support provided
by the National Key Research and Development Program of China
(2017YFC1500400), Supporting Plan for the Construction of High-level
Teachers in Beijing Universities (CIT&TCD20180101) and the National
Natural Science Foundation of China (U1839202, 51421005).
Declaration of Competing Interest
The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.
Appendix A. Supplementary material
Supplementary data to this article can be found online at https://
doi.org/10.1016/j.engstruct.2019.109437.
13
Engineering Structures 197 (2019) 109437
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