BASE ISOLATION CONCEPT AND

TECHNIQUES

BY
SYED ISHTIAQ AHMAD
PROFESSOR,
DEPT. OF CIVIL ENGINEERING,
BANGLADESH UNIVERSITY OF ENGINEERING & TECHNOLOGY,
DHAKA
BANGLADESH
 1. What is Earthquake?

 Earthquake by itself, is not a disaster, it is natural phenomenon result from

ground movement and volcanic activity sometimes violent.

 These produce surface waves, which cause vibration of the ground and
structures standing on top.

 Depending on the characteristics of these vibrations, the ground may

develop cracks, fissures and settlements.
 The possible risk of loss of life adds a very serious dimension to seismic
design, putting a moral responsibility on structural engineers.

 In recent times, many new systems have been developed, either to reduce
the earthquake forces acting on the structure or to absorb a part of seismic
energy.

 One of the most widely implemented and accepted seismic protection

systems is base isolation.
 2. BASE ISOLATION

 Base isolation is one of the most widely accepted seismic protection

systems in earthquake prone areas.

 It mitigates the effect of an earthquake by essentially isolating the

structure from potentially dangerous ground motions.

 Seismic isolation is a design strategy, which uncouples the structure for

the damaging effects of the ground motion.
2. BASE ISOLATION

 The term isolation refers to reduced interaction between structure and the
ground.

 When the seismic isolation system is located under the structure, it is referred
as “base isolation”.

 The other purpose of an isolation system is to provide an additional means of

energy dissipation, thereby reducing the transmitted acceleration into the
superstructure.

 The decoupling allows the building to behave more flexibly which improves
its response to an earthquake.
 3. CONCEPT OF BASE ISOLATION

 The concept of base isolation is explained through an example building

resting on frictionless rollers.

 When the ground shakes, the rollers freely roll, but the building above
does not move.

 Thus, no force is transferred to the building due to shaking of the ground;

simply, the building does not experience the earthquake.
3. CONCEPT OF BASE ISOLATION
3. CONCEPT OF BASE ISOLATION

 Now, if the same building is rested on flexible pads that offer resistance
against lateral movements, then some effect of the ground shaking will be
transferred to the building above.

 The flexible pads are called base-isolators, whereas the structures

protected by means of these devices are called base-isolated buildings.

 The main feature of the base isolation technology is that it introduces

flexibility in the structure.
3. CONCEPT OF BASE ISOLATION
3. CONCEPT OF BASE ISOLATION

Flexible structures the structure will not move, the ground will.
BASIC ELEMENTS OF SEISMIC ISOLATION

The three basic elements in seismic isolation systems are,

 A vertical-load carrying device that provides lateral flexibility so
that the period of vibration of the total system is lengthened
sufficiently to reduce the force response
 A damper or energy dissipater so that the relative deflections across
the flexible mounting can be limited to a practical design level
 A means of providing rigidity under low (service) load
 Steel plates, vulcanized rubber, and a lead plug in the center of the
design create these functional contrasting directional components.
5. SUITABILITY OF BASE ISOLATION

 Earthquake protection of structures using base isolation technique is

generally suitable if the following conditions are fulfilled
 The subsoil does not produce a predominance of long period ground motion.

 The structure is fairly jointed with sufficiently high column load.

 The site permits horizontal displacements at the base of the order of 200 mm or
more.

 Lateral loads due to wind are less than approximately 10% of the weight of the
structure.
 6. Fixed Base Structure vs Isolated Base
Structure
 During earthquakes, the conventional structure without seismic isolation is
subjected to substantial story drifts, which may lead to damage or even
collapse of the building.

 Whereas the isolated structure vibrates almost like a rigid body with large
deformations or displacements restricted by the isolation bearings.

 The decoupling effect gives this extra advantage to isolated structures.

6. Fixed Base Structure vs Isolated Base Structure

 The lateral forces of the isolated building are not only reduced in
magnitude but also fairly redistributed over the floors, which further
mitigates the overturning moment of the structure.
ANIMATION SHOWING BASE ISOLATION

FIXED BASE ISOLATED BASE

6. Fixed Base Structure vs Isolated Base Structure
7. DIFFERENT TYPES OF ISOLATORS

 Elastomeric Isolators
 Natural Rubber Bearings
 Low-Damping Rubber Bearings
 Lead-Rubber Bearings
 High-Damping Rubber Bearings

 Sliding Isolators
 Resilient Friction System
 Friction Pendulum System
7. ISOLATION COMPONENTS

 Elastomeric Isolators
 These are formed of horizontal layers of natural or synthetic rubber in thin
layers bonded between steel plates.

 The steel plates prevent the rubber layers from bulging and so the bearing is
able to support higher vertical loads with only small deformations.

 Plain elastomeric bearings provide flexibility but no significant damping and

will move under service loads.
7. ISOLATION COMPONENTS

 Methods used to overcome these deficits include lead cores in the bearing,
specially formulated elastomers with high damping and stiffness for small
strains or other devices in parallel.
7. ISOLATION COMPONENTS

 Low Damping Natural or Synthetic Rubber Bearings

 Elastomeric bearings use either natural rubber or synthetic rubber (such as
neoprene), which have little inherent damping, usually 2% to 3% of critical
viscous damping.

 For isolation they are generally used with special elastomer compounds (high
damping rubber bearings) or in combination with other devices (lead rubber
bearings).

 They are also flexible at all strain levels.

7. ISOLATION COMPONENTS

 Lead Rubber Bearings

 A lead-rubber bearing is formed of a lead plug force-fitted into a pre-
formed hole in an elastomeric bearing.

 The lead core provides rigidity under service loads and energy
dissipation under high lateral loads.

 Top and bottom steel plates, thicker than the internal shims, are used to
accommodate mounting hardware. The entire bearing is encased in
cover rubber to provide environmental protection.
7. ISOLATION COMPONENTS

 When subjected to low lateral loads (such as

minor earthquake, wind or traffic loads) the
lead rubber bearing is stiff both laterally and
vertically.

 The lateral stiffness results from the high elastic

stiffness of the lead plug and the vertical
rigidity (which remains at all load levels)
results from the steel-rubber construction of the
bearing.
7. ISOLATION COMPONENTS

 Isolation Systems based on Sliding

 The second most common type of isolation system uses sliding elements
between the foundation and base of the structure.

 In this type of Isolation system, the sliding displacements are controlled by

high-tension springs or laminated rubber bearings, or by making the sliding
surface curved.

 These mechanisms provide a restoring force to return the structure to its

equilibrium position.
7. ISOLATION COMPONENTS

 Sliding isolator without Recentering capacity

 This consists of a horizontal sliding surface, allowing a
displacement and thus dissipating energy by means of
defined friction between both sliding components and
stainless steel.

 One particular problem with a sliding structure is the

residual displacements that occur after major
earthquakes.
7. ISOLATION COMPONENTS

 Sliding Isolator with Recentering Capacity

 Compared with sliding isolators, sliding isolation pendula (SIPs) with
recentering capacity have a concave sliding plate.

 Due to geometry, each horizontal displacement results in a vertical movement

of the isolator.

 The potential energy, stored by the superstructure, which has been pushed to
the top, automatically results in recentering the bearing into neutral position.
7. ISOLATION COMPONENTS

 They remain horizontally flexible, dissipate energy and recenter the

superstructure into neutral position.
7. ISOLATION COMPONENTS

 Friction Pendulum System

 The Friction pendulum system (FPS) is a sliding isolation system wherein
the weight of the structure is supported on spherical sliding surfaces that
slide relative to each other when the ground motion exceeds a threshold
level.
 8. Isolator Locations
 The requirement for installation of a base isolation system is that the
building be able to move horizontally relative to the ground, usually at
least 100 mm.

 The most common configuration is to install a diaphragm immediately

above the isolators.

 If the building has a basement then the options are to install the isolators at
the top, bottom or mid-height of the basements columns and walls.
8. Isolator Locations
 9. IS IT AN ECONOMIC SOLUTION?
 Base isolation allows for a reduction in structural elements of the building with less ductile
detailing needed
 Widely held misconception is that seismic isolation is expensive
 E.g. Union House built in Auckland in 1983 with base isolation produced an estimated 7%
cost saving in the total construction cost of $6.6million which included a construction time
saving of 3 months due to the structural form requiring less seismic force, ductility
demands and structural deformations
 As a general rule the inclusion of all aspects of seismic isolation in a new structure will add
no more than 3% to total construction cost and considerably less when assessed against the
benefits of isolation
 Seismic isolation devices require no maintenance during the life of the building
 Following any significant event they should be inspected to ensure bolts and load plates
are still in place.
 Devices do not need replacing after an earthquake unless the event was in excess of their
design specification in which case removal of some devices for testing is recommended.
 Because the building is protected from major damage, repair costs following an earthquake
will be lower to non-existent
10. BASE ISOLATION IN REAL BUILDINGS
Seismic isolation is a relatively recent and evolving technology. It has been in increased
use since the 1980s, and has been well evaluated and reviewed internationally.
1st application in New Zealand in 1974
1st US application in 1984
1st Japanese application in 1985
1st Indian application in 2001

Traditionally, the application of the system is seen in larger buildings and bridges.
Additionally, engineers have made an effort to apply the system at a lower cost in
residential areas.
Base isolation techniques have been utilized worldwide for retrofitting historical
structures and monuments to reduce any possible destruction. Also on a smaller scale,
museums have started to use the system to ensure the security of artifacts
 Base Isolators need not be placed only at foundation level to resist earthquake ground
motions. They can even be placed at any floor level to isolate vibrations of machine also
10. BASE ISOLATION IN REAL BUILDINGS

 The figure shows the base isolation technique used in the Bhuj Hospital
building with the help of Base Isolators.
10. BASE ISOLATION IN REAL BUILDINGS
10. BASE ISOLATION IN REAL BUILDINGS
 11. CONCLUSION
 Seismic base isolation method has proved to be a reliable method of earthquake
resistant Design.

 The success of this method is largely attributed to the development of isolation

devices and proper planning.

 Adaptable isolation systems are required to be effective during a wide range of

seismic events.

 Efforts are required to find the solutions for the situations like near fault regions
where wide variety of earthquake motions may occur.