###### Abstract
To advance toward a more rational and performance-based design methodology, two key provisions must be considered:  
* Masonry infill panels should be explicitly included in analytical models used for seismic design, recognizing their nonlinear, potentially brittle behavior. * The seismic performance of infill walls should be evaluated against structural demands derived from nonlinear time-history or pushover analyses. The challenge becomes even more pronounced when dealing with the seismic assessment of existing RC buildings, many of which were not designed according to modern seismic standards. In such structures, the presence of infill walls often plays a dominant role in resisting lateral loads--especially in substandard RC frames with low ductility or inadequate detailing, as commonly found in Southern Europe and the broader Mediterranean region. As noted by [PERSON] et al. [33], the failure to account for infill effects in these vulnerable building stocks has contributed to widespread damage and collapse in past earthquakes, revealing a critical weakness in both design and assessment methodologies. To address these deficiencies, the development of comprehensive, experimentally validated modeling strategies--combined with codified design and retrofit procedures for infill walls--is essential. Such advances would enable engineers to achieve both structural safety and economic efficiency in seismic design, in alignment with modern performance-based engineering principles. The main objective of this research is to propose and test an innovative method for the column-infill connection, minimizing unexpected seismic damage and provide optimal solutions and design recommendations for masonry infilled RC frame structures in seismic prone areas. As recommended by previous researchers [6; 14], the presence of little reinforcement significantly improves the response of a single infilled frame, particularly for what concern damage limit states. With this optimal solution by including reinforcement technique in the connection of the infill, the RC frame column members are protected from premature shear failure and tend to deform as initially designated in the design, while providing favorable integrity and in-plane stability of the infill panels. The proposed detailing method will achieve optimal and favorable force-displacement behavior between a fully infilled RC frame and a bare frame and most significant it is a simple solution which can be easily implemented in every construction environment. The complicated failure modes of tight-fit infill panels dominated by a large number of interacting parameters, and the dangerous soft/weak story phenomenon are also anticipated to be solved. More specifically, the goals of the research are as follows:  
* To design and construct scaled RC frame models based on the seismic code of practice and rigorous similitude requirements. To design and validate experimental instrumentation and test protocols. * To investigate the effectiveness of the proposed innovative seismic damage mitigation detailing method by conducting shake-table tests on scaled three-story two-bay specimens. * To propose design guidelines identifying the advantage of the proposed connection system and make intro towards design recommendations for infilled reinforced concrete frames.