Numerical Study on CFRP Strengthening of Reinforced Concrete Frames with Masonry Infill Walls

In the last decade, a new strengthening methodology has been developed for reinforced concrete (RC) frames with hollow clay tile (HCT) infill walls by means of diagonally applied carbon fiber-reinforced polymer (CFRP) fabrics. In the experimental part of a study conducted by the authors, this user-friendly methodology was experimentally investigated considering different aspect (height/width) ratios of the infill walls. In this study, first a numerical model of the FRP strengthened infill walls strengthened with the proposed methodology is developed. Afterwards, the numerical simulation results are validated by use of experimental response curves and finally, a parametric study, which further investigates the effect of aspect ratio of HCT infill walls is presented.