Behavior of Steel Moment Frames with Autoclaved Aerated Concrete Infills

The objective of this work is to determine in-plane lateral stiffness, strength, and hysteretic behavior of steel moment frames infilled with autoclaved aerated concrete (AAC). A typical bare steel frame was first tested under a history of reversed cyclic loading to monotonically increasing lateral displacements. The frame was then infilled with AAC and subjected to the same loading history. A comparison of the resulting lateral load-deflection curves of the bare and infilled frame is used to extract hysteretic behavior of the AAC infill. This extracted hysteretic behavior of the AAC infill is used to verify equations for stiffness and strength of infills being developed by Masonry Standards Joint Committee (MSJC) in the United States. The hysteretic behavior of the AAC infill is also used to calibrate an analytical model for AAC infills based on the equivalent strut approach that can be used to study seismic behavior of AAC-infilled frames. [PUBLICATION ABSTRACT]