An Updated Model of Equivalent Diagonal Strut for Infill Panels

Recently the interest of the scientific community in infills in framed structures has increased, recognizing their non-negligible effects on the primary structure. Although different codes, as a reflex, stress the need to take the infills into account in the analysis of framed structures, often this invitation does not correspond to proper and detailed code rules. In this connection, in this paper, the European and American codes are discussed, stressing that a defined and appropriate approach to this problem is missing in them. Further, a simplified tool for the evaluation of the effects of the infills is suggested, to be adopted by technical codes and used in practical applications. This approach, recalling the well-known equivalent strut model, is based on the usual assumptions, but considers some aspects of the problem of the frame-infill interactions, which are recognized as basic in the literature but not included in the available models.