Numerical Assessment of URM Infilled RC Frames Retrofitted With Near-Surface Mounted Reinforcing Steel Bars

This paper presents a study on a retrofit technique for masonry infilled reinforced concrete (RC) frames. The proposed retrofit technique involves the addition of reinforcing steel bars into epoxy-filled pre-cut grooves on the surface of infill walls. The feasibility of the developed technique is initially investigated experimentally through pull-out tests conducted on near-surface mounted (NSM) reinforcing steel bars. The experimental results are used to augment an existing nonlinear finite element modeling approach used to simulate the response of RC frames with the retrofitted infill panels and to calibrate the numerical models developed.