Effect of Concrete Sandwich Infill Panels with Opening on In-plane Behaviour of Steel Frames

With the advent and expansion of new technologies in recent years, masonry infill walls are gradually being replaced by other materials such as sandwich composite panels. Ignoring the effect of concrete sandwich panel (CSP) as infill on the behaviour of framed buildings in the analysis and design process, especially in seismic regions, is not always on the safe side. In the present study, the effect of presence of CSP, as infill, with opening on the in-plane behaviour of steel frames is numerically investigated by using finite element modelling. First, the proposed model is validated with existing experimental data. Next, a parametric study is conducted to evaluate the influence of effective factors e.g. size, type (window and door) and location of the openings (eccentric and central). The results show that the presence of openings within an infill panel modifies the lateral behaviour of the infilled frame by changing the distribution of stresses and formation of compression diagonal struts and leads to considerable change in the lateral stiffness and strength of the infilled frames.