Lateral stiffness of masonry infilled reinforced concrete (RC) frames with central opening

Window and door openings are inevitable parts of infill walls for functional reasons. Currently, publications like FEMA-273 and ATC-40 contain provisions for the calculation of stiffness of solid infilled frames mainly by modeling infill as a "diagonal strut." However, such provisions are not provided for infilled frames with openings. The present study proposes a reduction factor for effective width of diagonal strut over that of the solid reinforced concrete (RC) infilled frame to calculate its initial lateral stiffness when a central window opening is present. The study is based on initial lateral stiffness which is taken at 10% of the lateral strength of the infilled frames.