Simple design of masonry infilled reinforced concrete frames for earthquake resistance

•Application of compressive diagonals as a reliable approach for presenting the behaviour of the infilled frame system.•Damage states for infilled frames were determined.•Parametric nonlinear dynamic analysis considering the influence of certain parameters (geometric and material properties of frame and infill, different ground motion records) and their relation to damage states.•A new design-oriented approach for simple and reliable application in design of infilled frames according to the expected behaviour.