Innovative Systems for Masonry Infill Walls Based on the Use of Rubber Joints: Combined in-Plane / Out-of-Plane Tests

Within the INSYSME Project, funded under the 7th Framework Program by the Com- mission of the European Communities and aimed at developing innovative systems for masonry enclo- sure walls, the University of Padova and ANDIL (Italian Association of Clay Bricks and Roofing Tiles Producers) proposed a construction system named DRES (Damage Reduction Enclosure System). The system is made of a single-leaf clay masonry wall, with three horizontal deformable joints within the clay unit rows, to be employed in RC frame buildings in regions prone to medium/high intensity earthquakes. To understand the behaviour of this system, an experimental campaign on four real-scale, one-bay, one- storey RC frames infilled with both partial and full enclosure walls, was performed. The tests combine cyclic in-plane and monotonic out-of-plane loading of the specimen. Two variants of the DRES system and a reference plain masonry enclosure were first tested in the in-plane direction and then in the out-of- plane direction. An additional specimen infilled with two partial enclosures, one built with DRES and one with plain masonry, was first tested in the out-of-plane direction and then, after removal of damaged walls from the bare frame, tested in the in-plane direction. An analysis, in terms of strength, ductility parameters and damage, of the in-plane and the out-of-plane test results is carried out.