DESIGN OF SEISMIC

ISOLATED STRUCTURES

Design of Seismic Isolated Structures: From Theory to Practice.. F. Naeim and J. M. Kelly
Copyright © 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
DESIGN OF SEISMIC
ISOLATED STRUCTURES
From Theory to Practice

Farzad Naeim, Ph.D., S.E.

Director of Research and Development
John A. Martin and Associates, Inc. Los
Angeles, California

James M. Kelly, Ph.D.

Professor in the Graduate School
University of California at Berkeley
Berkeley, California

JOHN WILEY & SONS, INe.

New York / Chichester / Weinheim / Brisbane / Singapore / Toranto
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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Naeim, Farzad.
Design of seismic isolated structures : fmm theory to practiee /
Farzad Naeim, James M. Kelly.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references and indexo
ISBN 0-471-14921-7 (a1k. paper)
l. Earthquake resistant designo 1. Kelly, James M. n. Tille.
T A658.44.N34 1999
624. l'762-dc2 1 98-51588
Printed in the United States of America.
10 9 8 7 6 5
To the memory of precious lives
lost to earthquakes worldwide
CONTENTS

PREFACE xiii

CHAPTER 1. DEVElOPMENT OF SEISMIC ISOlATION

WORlDWIDE 1
1.1 Introduction / 1
1.2 Base Isolation in thc United States / 6
1.3 Base Isolation in Japan / 18
lA Base Isolation in Europe / 20
1.5 Base Isolation in New Zcaland / 21
1.6 State of Isolation Technology Today / 23

CHAPTER 2. THEORETICAl BASIS OF SEISMIC ISOlATION 25

2.1 Linear Theory / 25
2.2 Extension of Theory to Buildings / 31
2.2.1 M -Dcgree-of-Frcedom Equations of Motion / 31
2.2.2 Modal Analysis of M-DOF System / 33
2.3 Analysis of Coupled Dynamic Equations / 36

CHAPTER 3. ISOlATION SYSTEM COMPONENTS 47

3.1 Introduction / 47
3.2 Elastomeric-Bascd Systems / 47
vii
viii CONTENTS

3.2.1 Low-Damping Natural and Synthetic Rubber

Bearings / 48
3.2.2 Lead-Plug Bearings / 49
3.2.3 High-Damping Natural Rubber Systems
(HDNR) / 50
3.3 lsolation Systems Based on Sliding / 52
3.3.1 Electricité-de-France System / 55
3.3.2 EERC Combined System / 55
3.3.3 The T ASS System / 56
3.3.4 Resilient-Friction Base lsolation System / 56
3.3.5 Friction Pendulum System / 57
3.4 Spring-Type Systems / 58
3.5 Sleeved-Pile Isolation System / 58
3.6 Rocking Systems / 61

CHAPTER 4. CODE PROVISIONS FOR SEISMIC ISOLATION 63

4.1 lntroduction / 63
4.2 Seismic Hazard Level / 64
4.3 Design Methods / 65
4.4 Static Analysis / 65
4.4.1 Seismic Zone Factor Z / 67
4.4.2 Site Soil Profile Type / 68
4.4.3 Seismic Source Types: A, B, and C / 68
4.4.4 Near-Source Factors: NA and N v / 68
4.4.5 MCE Response Coefficient M M / 70
4.4.6 Spectral Seismic Coefficients: C VD , C VM and CAD,
CAM / 70
4.4.7 Oamping Coefficients: B D and BM / 71
4.4.8 Effective System Vibration Periods: T D and T M / 73
4.4.9 Total Design Displacements: Dm and DTM / 74
4.4.10 Design Forces / 75
4.4.11 Vertical Distribution of Force / 76
4.4.12 Orift Limits / 77
4.5 Dynamic Analysis / 78
4.5.1 Time History Analysis / 78
4.5.2 Scaling / 78
4.6 Other Requirements for Nonstructural Components / 80
4.7 Peer Review / 80
 CONTENTS ix

4.8 Design and Testing Requirements for Isolators / 81

4.9 OSHPD-96 Requirements / 82
4.10 Other Considerations / 84
4.11 Step-by-Step Procedurc for UBC-97 Compliant Design / 85
4.11.1 Preliminary Dcsign Stcps / 85
4.11.2 Final Design Steps / 87
4.11.3 Design Example / 89

CHAPTER 5. MECHANICAL CHARACTERISTICS ANO

MOOELlNG OF ISOLATORS 93
5.1 Introduction / 93
5.2 Mechanical Characteristics of Elastomeric Bearings / 93
5.3 Mechanical Characteristics ol' Lead-Plug Bearings / 100
5.4Mcchanical Characteristics ol' Friction Pendulum
System / 101
5.5 Modeling 01' Isolation Bearings by Bilinear Modcling / 104
5.6 Implications of Bilinear Modeling / 107
5.6.1 Energy Dissipation in High-Damping Natural Rubbcr
Bearings / 111
5.6.2 Adjustments to the Modcl to Account for High-Strain
Stiffening / 115
5.6.3 Comparisons with Experimental Data / 117

CHAPTER 6. BUCKLlNG ANO STABILlTY OF ELASTOMERIC

ISOLATORS 121
6.1 Introduction / 121
6.2 Stability under Large Lateral Displacement / 126
6.3 Rollout Stability / 133

CHAPTER 7. OESIGN EARTHQUAKE GROUNO MOTIONS 137

7.1 Introduction / 137
7.2 Characteristics of Earthquake Ground Motions / 139
7.3 From Response Spectra to Design Spectra / 143
7.4 Earthquake Energy Content and Energy Spectra / 149
7.5 Various Ground Motion Predictive Formulations / 150
7.5.1 Source Characterizations / 150
7.5.2 Attenuation Relations / 155
7.6 Deterministic and Probabilistic Approaches / 158
7.6.1 Deterministic Seismic Hazard Evaluation / 158
X CONTENTS

7.6.2 Probabilistic Seismic Hazard Evaluation / 159

7.6.3 Limitations of Deterministic and Probabilistic Seismic
Hazard Analysis / 166
7.6.4 Seismic Hazard Maps / 170
7.7 Code Interpretations of Design Ground Motions / 172
7.8 Application of Earthquake Time Histories / 174
7.8.1 UBC-94 Provisions / 174
7.8.2 UBC-97 Provisions / 175
7.8.3 OSHPD-91 Provisions / 176
7.8.4 OSHPD-96 Provisions / 176
7.8.5 Time-Domain Scaling of Time Histories / 176
7.8.6 Frequency-Domain Scaling of Time Histories / 180
7.8.7 Analytic Dilemma of Designing by Time History
Analysis / 183

CHAPTER 8. DESIGN EXAMPLES 185

8.1 Design Example for a High-Damping Rubber Bearing / 185

8.1.1 Bearing Stiffnesses / 186
8.1.2 First Estimate of Design Displacement DI} / 187
8.1.3 Actual Bearing Stiffness / 188
8.1.4 Composite Stiffness / 188
8.1.5 Composite Damping / 188
8.1.6 Allowance for Torsion / 189
8.1.7 Elastic Base Shear from Code / 190
8.1.8 Bearing Detail / 191
8.1.9 Buckling Loads: Safety Factor / 193
8.1.10 Calculation of MCE Displacement DM / 195
8.1.11 Rollout Displacement / 196
8.2 Design Example for a Lead-Plug Bearing / 196

CHAPTER 9. COMPUTER APPLlCATIONS 203

9.1 Introduction / 203
9.2Preliminary Selection of Design Loads and Isolator
Sizes / 203
9.2.1 Overview / 203
9.2.2 Selection of Design Loads by Linear Regression and
Least-Squares Analysis Techniques / 204
 CONTENTS xi

9.2.3 The ISOSEL Solution Strategy / 206

9.2.4 Application of the ISOSEL Computer Program / 207
9.3Computer Programs for Ana1ysis of Seismically Isolated
Structures / 216
9.3.1 N-PAD / 217
9.3.2 3D-BASIS / 217
9.3.3 ETABS / 218
9.3.4 SAP-2000 Non1inear / 218
9.3.5General Nonlinear Three-Dimensional Analysis
Programs / 220
9.4 Nonlinear Dynamic Time History Analysis / 220

CHAPTER 10. SPECIFICATIONS FOR DESIGN,

MANUFACTURING, AND TESTING OF
ISOLATION DEVICES 233
10.1 Introduction / 233
10.2 Sample Specifications / 234

APPENDIX. COMPANION SOFTWARE AND EARTHQUAKE

DATA FILES 255
REFERENCES 273
INDEX 282
PREFACE

Seismic isolation is a simple structural design approach to mitigate or reduce

earthquake damage potentiaI. Seismic isolatcd structures are currently difficult to
analyze, dcsign, and implement, howevcr, due to complex code requirements. This
book serves as a guide to hclp thc reader navigate and understand the con-cepts and
procedures involved in analysis, design, and deve]opment of specifi-cations for
seismie isolatcd structures. The book is intendcd as a reference for practicing
enginecrs and architects as weIl as a tcxt for graduate-Ieve] eourses on seismie
isolation.
It provides a complete and up-to-date coverage of the subject and numerical
examples and systematic development of the concepts in theory and practical
applieation. The book is partiaIly developed from lecture notes generated over the
period of two decades of teaching graduate classes at the University of Cali-fornia
at Bcrkeley. The material is complemented by practical insights obtained from
many years of involvcmcnt in analysis, design, and review of major seis-mic
isolated projeets in the UnÍted States.
In response to the damage generatcd by recent earthquakes in densely pop-
ulated areas, scismic design eodes for the design of buildings, bridges, and
industrial facilities changed with the intention of leading to bcttcr seismic per-
formance. This process has been repeated in response to aIl recent damaging
earthquakes, such as the 1989 Loma Prieta, 1994 Northridge, and 1995 Kobe
events. In addition, damaging earthquakes in Mexieo, Australia, Armenia, Iran, and
India have aH caused changes in thc seismic design codes and procedures.
Consequently, aH structural engineers designing earthquake-resistant structurcs
have had to contend with increasingly eomplex code requirements.
Seismic isolation is an approach to earthquakc-resistant design that is based

xiii
xiv PREFACE

on the concept of reducing the seismic demand rather than increasing the earth-
quake resistance capacity of the structure. Proper application of this technology
leads to better performing structures that wiJl remain essentially elastic during
large earthquakes. Surprisingly, the basics of this approach are rather simple.
Unfortunately, however, the seismic design eode provisions for design of
seismic isolated structures are complicated and difficult for the engineer to apply.
This textbook is intended to clarify for the practicing engineer, as well as
engineering student, the basic concepts of seismic isolation and the funda-mental
principies of seismic isolation designo It provides a framework for the design
professional to satisfy the code requirements while retaining the favor-able, cost-
effective, damage control aspects of this new technology. It is the authors'
contention that, once the intimidating barriers of code application are bypassed, the
use of seismic isolation will become a routine proeedure for many types of
structures.
The theoretical underpinning of seismic isolation has been firmly established
and the technology has been verified by extensive experimental work over the past
quarter century. The relevant material is covered in many technical reports,
archived publications, and journal articles. But no general collection of this
research in a form accessible to the practicing engineer has be en available until
this time. This textbook will bring much of this information to the engineering
profession and will compliment it with knowledge gained by the authors from
years of experience as designers, consultants, and reviewers of many seismic
isolated projects.
The authors would like to express their gratitude to the following individu-als
and institutions: Ashraf Habibullah and Computers and Structures, Ine., for kindly
permitting the edueational version of the SAP2000 computer program to be used as
a companion to this book; Syed Hasanain and lqbal Suharwardy for their valuable
assistance in this regard; Claire Johnson for her expert typing of the manuscript;
Roy Lobo for coding the optimization algorithm for the com-panion ISOSEL
computer program; lan Aiken and Fredrick Tajirian of Seismic Isolation
Engineering, lnc., for providing the sample specification included in Chapter 10 of
the book; and last but not least, Mark Day, Andrew Besirof, Evita Oseguera, and
Nicki Hyde for their valuable assistancc with the artwork and logistics during the
coursc of preparation of the manuscript.

F ARZAD N AEIM JAMES M KELLY

.
Los AI1f?eles, California Berkele}; California
CHAPTER 1

DEVElOPMENT OF SEISMIC
ISOlATION WORlDWIDE

1.1 INTRODUCTION

In August 1909 J. A. Calantarients, a medical doctor from the northern English city
of Scarborough, wrote a letter to the Director of the Seismological Service of Chile
in Santiago calling his attention to a method of building construction that he had
developed whereby "substantial buildings can be put up in earth-quake countries on
this principIe with perfect safety since the degree of severity of an earthquake loses
its significance through the existence of the lubricated free joint." Calantarients had
submitted a patent application to the British patent office for his construction
method, which proposed that the building be built on his "free joint" and a layer of
fine sand, mica, or tale that would allow the building to slide in an earthquake,
thereby reducing the force transmitted lo the building itself.

What the doctor was prescribing was an early examplc of an earthquake-

resistant design strategy known as base isolation or seismic isolation. Many
mechanisms have been invented over the last century to try to achieve the goal of
uncoupling the building from the damaging action of an earthquake, for example,
rollers, balls, cables, rocking columns, as well as sand. Buildings have been built
on balls, including a building in Sevastopol, Ukraine, and a five-story school in
Mexico City. At least one building, a four-story dormitory for the State
Seismological Observatory in Beijing, has been built on a sand layer between the
building and the foundation specificaJly designed to slip in the event of an
earthquake.
Or. Calantarients mentions in his letter that, "1 made the experiment with balls
many years before it was done in Japan, or at any event before any amount

Design of Seismic Isolated Structures: From Theory to Practice.. F. Naeim and J. M. Kelly
Copyright © 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
2 DEVELOPMENT OF SEISMIC ISOLATION WORLDWIDE

of it appeared in the papers about 25 years ago." Thc reference is almost cer-tainly
to thc Englishman John Milne, who was a Professor 01' Mining Engincer-ing in
Tokyo in the years 1876 through 1895. During this period Milne became very
interested in earthquake phenomena, and he devised and improved a num-ber 01'
seismoscopes and seismographs. Milne carried out pioneering research on
seismology, so much so that he is often referred to as the "Father 01' Modern
Seismology." He also gave much thought to the design 01' buildings in seismi-
cally active areas and published rules for earthquake-resistant construction that are
still valid today.
While at the University 01' Tokyo, he built an example 01' an isolated building.
The structure was built on balls in "cast-iron plates with saucer-like edges on the
heads 01' piles. Above the balls and attached to the buildings are cast-iron plates
slightly con cave but othcrwise similar to those below." The building was instru-
mented and apparently experienced earthquake movement. In 1885 he described
this experiment in a report to the British Association for the Advancement of
Science. Apparently he was not completely satisfied with the performance of his
building under wind load, so he changed the isolation system, and in 1886 he
described the new version in a follow-up report to the association. The first balls
had been 10 inches in diameter; 8-inch balls were tried, then l-inch balls. Finally
the house was rested at cach of its piers on a handful of cast-iron shot, each 1/4
inch in diameter. By this means the building became stable against wind loads. The
final dcsign was evidently successful under actual earthquake action.

The concept of scismic isolation has become a practical reality within the last 20
years with the development 01' multilayer elastomeric bearings, which are made by
vulcanization bonding 01' sheets 01' rubber to thin steel reinforcing plates. These
bearings are very stiff in the vertical direction and can carry the vertical load 01'
the building but are very flexible horizontally, thereby enabling the building to
move laterally under strong ground motion. Their development was an extension of
thc use of elastomeric bridge bearings and bearings for the vibration isolation of
buildings. In recent years other systems have been developed that are modifications
of the sliding approach. The concept of base isolation is now widely accepted in
earthquake-prone regions of the world for protecting important structures from
strong ground motion, and there are now many examples in the United States and
Japan. A smaller number 01' base-iso-lated buildings have been built in New
Zealand and in Italy, mainly for large and important buildings. Demonstration
projects that apply low-cost base iso-lation systems for public housing in
developing countries have been completed in Chile, the People's Republic 01'
China, Indonesia, and Armenia.
It is not surprising that most applications are for important buildings that house
sensitive internal equipment. The basic dilcmma facing a structural engi-neer charged
with providing superior seismic resistance of a building is how to minimize interstory
drift and floor accelerations. Large interstory drifts cause damage to nonstructural
components and to equipment that interconnects sto-ries. Interstory drifts can be
minimized by stiffening the structure, but this
1.1 INTRODUCTION 3

leads to amplification of the ground motion, which leads to high ftoor acceler-
ations, which can damage sensitive internal equipment. Floor accelerations can be
reduced by making the system more ftexible, but this leads to large inter-story
drifts. The only practical way of reducing simultaneously interstory drift and ftoor
accelerations is to use base isolation; the isolation system provides the necessary
ftexibility, with the displacements concentrated at the isolation leve!.

The concept of base isolation is quite simple. The system decouples the building
or structure from the horizontal components of the ground motion by interposing
structural elements with low horizontal stiffness between the struc-ture and the
foundation. This gives the structure a fundamental frequency that is much lower
than both its fixed-base frequency and the predominant frequen-cies of the ground
motion. The first dynamic mode of the isolated structure involves deformation only
in the isolation system, the structure aboye being to all intents and purposes rigid.
The higher modes that produce deformation in the structure are orthogonal to the
first mode and, consequently, to the ground motion. These higher modes do not
participate in the motion, so that the high energy in the ground motion at these
higher frequencies cannot be transmitted into the structure. The isolation system
does not absorb the earthquake energy, but rather deftects it through the dynamics
of the system; this effect does not depend on damping, but a certain leve! of
damping is beneficial to suppress possible resonance at the isolation frequency.

The first use of a rubber isolation system to protect a structure from earth-
quakes was in 1969 for an e!ementary school in Skopje, Yugoslavia. The
Pestalozzi School, a three-story concrete structure designed and built by Swiss
engineers (Fig. 1.1), is isolated by a system known as the Swiss Full Base Isolation-
3D (FBI-3D) System [116]. Unlike more recently developed rubber bearings, the
rubber blocks used here (Fig. 1.2) are completely unreinforced so that the weight of
the building causes them to bulge sideways. Glass blocks (Fig. 1.3) acting as
seismic fuzes are intended to break when the seismic load-ing exceeds a certain
threshold. Because the vertical and horizontal stiffness of the system is about the
same, the building will bounce and rock backward and forward in an earthquake.
These bearings were designed when the technology for reinforcing rubber blocks
with steel plates-as in bridge bearings-was not highly developed or widely known,
and it is unlikely that this approach wilJ be used again.

Most recent examples of isolated buildings use multilayered laminated rub-ber

bearings with steel reinforcing layers as the load-carrying component of the
system. Because of the reinforcing steel plates, these bearings are very stiff in the
vertical direction but are very soft in the horizontal direction, thereby pro-ducing
the isolation effect. Easy to manufacture, these bearings have no moving parts, are
unaffected by time, and are very resistant to environmental degrada-tion.

Many isolation systems, particularly those used in New Zealand and Japan,
combine low-damping natural rubber bearings with sorne form of mechanical
4 OEVELOPMENT OF SEISMIC ISOLATION WORlDWIDE

.'ig. 1.1 Pcslalozzi School. Skopje.

Macedonia .

•' ig. 1.2 Bearings used in Ihe Pcslalozzi School.

 U INTAOOUCTIQN 5

Fig. 1.3 Seismic ruzes used in the PestuJozzi SchooL

dam¡:w!r. These inelude hydraulic dampers. slee l bars, sleel coils. or lead plugs
wilhin Ihe bearing itself. There are seveml dmwbacks 10 using dampers for iso~
I:lling slruClures: Every Iype of d:tmpcr--excepllhe inlernul lead plug- rcquires
Illechanical conneclors and rOUline mainlenance, Ihe yielding of rnelallic dampcrs
introduces a non li nearily inlO Ihe response Ihal compliCilles Ihe analy-sis of the
dynamic response of Ihe isolaled building, and Ihey reduce Ihe degree of i50lal ion
by causing response in higher modes.
In lhe United Slales Ihe mosl common ly used isolalion syslem is Ihe lead-plug
rubber beari ng. These bcarings are multilayered. laminated elaslomeric bearings
Ihat have one or more circular holes. Lead plugs are inserled into these holes to add
damping 10 Ihe isolation syslem. Allhough sorne projeels are isolated solely with
lead-plug rubbcr bearings. Ihey are generally used in combination wilh mult
ilayered elaSlomeric bcarings wilhoul le:ld plugs.
It is al so possible lO incorporate dumping inlo an isolation syslem by inelud-
ing dumping in Ihe elastomer ilsclf. Buildings inlhe Unitcd Stales. Italy. Jaran. Ihe
Peoplcs's Republic of Ch ina. and Indonesia have been ¡solated using these high-
damping natural rubber bcarings. und Ihe simplicily of Ihi s approach is sueh thal
its use can be expeeled 10 spread rapidly. The fi rsl base-isolaled build-ing 10 be
built in Ihe United Slales used this Iype of i50lalor: Ihe Foothill Com-munilies Law
and Juslice Cenler (FC U C).
8 0l h before and after Ihe beginning of implemenlalion of base isolalion in
slruetures in Ihe Uniled Slates. there was un exlensive program of reseurch on Ihe
subjccI al a num ber of uni vcrsilies. Much of Ihis research work was
6 DEVELOPMENT OF SEISMIC ISOLATION WORLDWIDE

sponsored by the U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF), with other funding
fram agencies such as the U.S. Department of Energy and the Electric Power
Research Institute.
This research included several shake table experiments at the large earth-quake
simulator at the Earthquake Engineering Research Center (EERC) at the University
of California at Berkeley. The test pragrams used a series of increas-ingly larger
building models, ranging fram a 20-ton, three-story model to a 60-ton, nine-story
model, with increasingly realistic models of isolation bear-ings of several types. In
parallel with shake table tests, which generally used small models of isolators with
scale factors between 3 and 8, static tests were carried out on a wide range of
isolators at sizes closer to full size. These tests have permitted users of isolators to
study failure mechanisms and the influence of various parameters on the
mechanical characteristics 01' the isolators. The results of these test pragrams have
been reported in a series of EERC reports.
The concept of base isolation has also pravided a rich source of theoreti-cal
work, both in the dynamics of the isolated structural system and in the mechanics
of the isolators themselves. This theoretical work, widely published in structural
engineering and earthquake engineering journals, has led to design guidelines for
isolated structures and design rules for isolators. Several coun-tries are now
formulating design codes for isolated structures.
In the United States design codes havc bcen in use since 1986. The code-writing
pracess has undergone a stcady evolution through a code series that began with a
simple regulation titled 'Tentative Seismic Isolation Design Requirc-ments" based
mainly on equivalent static design methods [121], which was con-siderably modified
and became the 1991 version of the Uniform Building Code (UBC), "Earthquake
Regulations for Seismic-Isolated Structures" [53]. The 1994 and finally the 1997
version of the UBC are even more elaborate. Thc 1997 UBC
[55] is an extremely complex code based mainly on dynamic methods of designo
The 1986 Structural Engineers Association of Northern California (SEAONC)
code was deliberately straightforward and simple, with the intent of encouraging
the use of this new technology. As the code has evolvcd, it has becomc increas-
ingly difficult to use, and it now constitutes a considerable impedimcnt to the
implementing base isolation technology in the United States.

1.2 BASE ISOLATION IN THE UNITED STATES

The first base-isolated building to be built in the United States was the Foothill
Communities Law and Justice Center (FCLJC) (Fig. lA), a legal services center for
the County of San Bernardino, located in the city of Rancho Cucamonga, about 97
km (60 miles) east of downtown Los Angeles. Not only was it the first base-
isolated building in the United States, it was also the first building in the world to
use isolation bearings made fram high-damping natural rubber. The FCLJC was
designed with rubber isolators at the request of the County of San Bernardino. The
building is only 21 km (13 miles) fram the San Andreas Fault,
 1.2 BASE ISOLATlON IN THE UNITEO STATES 7

Fig.I.4 Foolhill Comrnunilics Law and Juslicc CCnler. RanchoCucarnonga. California.

which is c¡¡pable of generaling very large canhquakes on ils southcrn branch. As a

resull, Ihe county has had for Illany years olle of Ihe mosl thorough eanhq uake
preparedness programs in Ihe Uniled States.
2 2
Thc buildi ng. approximately 15.794 m ( 170.000 ( ) and four slories high
with a full basemenl. was designed to wilhsland an 8.3 magni lude earthquake.
Localed in a special subbasemenl. a total of 98 bearings were used 10 isolate Ihe
building. The conslrucl ion of Ihe bu ilding began in early 1984 and was complctcd
in mid - 1985 al a COsl of $38 million.
Four high-damping natural rubber compounds were dcvelopcd by Ihe Ma-
laysian Ru bbcr Producers' Research Association (MRPRA) of Ihe Un ited King-
dom for Ihis building [1231. Thc isolators are made from a highl y fill ed natural
rubbcr with mechanical propcrt ies thm make il ideal for a base isolal ion sys-lem .
Thc shear sliffness of th is rubbcr is high at small slr.:ai ns bul decrcases by a faclor
of aboul 4 or 5 as Ihe Slrain increases. reach ing a minimum value al 50% shcar
slrai n. For slrains grcalcr Ihan 100%. Ihe sliffness bcgins 10 increase again. Thus.
fo r small loading caused by wind or low- illlensilY carthquakes. rhe syslem has
high horizontal sti ffness and a short period: as the load intensilY in-creases. lhe
Sliffness drops and Ihe pcriod is lengthened. For very high loads. for example.
aboye maxi muITI capable earthquake (MeE) loads. Ihe sliffness increases again .
providing a fail -safe aClíon. The damping follows a simil ar bUI
8 OEVELOPMENT OF SEISMIC ISOLATION WORLOWIOE

less dramatic pallem. decreasing fro m an initial value of aboul 20% 10 a mini-
mum of afou nd 10% and Ihen increasing again . The syslem is designed so Ihal
Ihe minimum values of sli ffne ss and dalll ping are assumed, and Ihe response is
taken lO be linear. The high ini lial stiffness is used only for wind load resista nce
and the large strain response oll ly for fa il -safe aClion.
The same high-dampi ng rubber system was adopled for a bu ildi ng comlll is-
sioned by Los Angeles Coun ty. the Fire Command and Control Facility (FCCF) t l
ll (Fig. 1.5). The FCCF houses the computer and communications systems for the
fire emergency services progralll ofthe cou nty and is requ ired 10 remain func-
lional during and after an extreme earthquake. Th is buildi ng was isolated based on
a compari son of conventional and isolation schemes des igned lO provide the same
degree of prolection. On Ihis basis lhe isolated design was esl imated 10 cost 6%
less than Ihe conventional designo Por mOSI projecls an isolaled design gen-eral1y
Cosls arou nd 5% more when compared wi lh a convenlional code design;
however, the design code provides a min im um level of protecl ion against slrong
ground shaking. guaranleeing only Ih:lllhe buildi ng wi ll nol coll apse. It does nm
prOlect Ihe building from structura l damage. When eq uivalenl levels of design
performance are compared. an isolaled bui lding is always more cost-effect ive.
Addilionally. Ihese are the primary costs when conlemplating a slructu ral syslem
and do nol address the life-cycle COSIS, which are also more favo rable when an
isolat ion syslem is used as compared 10 convenliollal construction.
A secolld base-isolaled building has recel1 lly been completed for the Counly of
Los Angeles al Ihe same location as Ihe FCCE T he Emergency Operatiol1s Center
(EOC) (Fig. 1.6) is a two -story slee l braced frame Slructure isolated

Fig. 1.5 Fire Command and Control Faci lity. Los Angeles. Califomia.
 1.2 BASE ISOLATlON IN THE UNITED STATES 9

Fig. 1.6 Emergency Opcralions Ccnlcr. Los Angeles. California.

using 28 high-damping natural rubber bearings provided by Ihe Bridgeslone

Engineered ProduCIS Company.
A recent example of an isolaled eme rgency eenler is Ihe eonstrUClion of Ihe
tWO-Slory Tra ffi e Manageme nl Ce nle r for Cll llrans in Kearny Mesa. Cali fo
rni a. near San Diego [ IJ I J. The supe rslruclure has a sleel fmme with
coneentrically braced panels al Ihe perimele r. The isolati on syslem consisls of fon
y 600-mm - (24-in .-) diamete r high-damping natural ru bber isolalors provided by
Bridge-stone Engineered Products Ru bber Company. Thc no minll l isolalion
period is arou nd 2.5 seco and the MCE isolator displacemenl is arollnd 254 mm (
10 in.). The design base shear fo r Ihe supcrstructure is around 15 % of the
slructural wcight. Th is design is quile conserva li ve and Ihe slructure is very sliff.
T he expccted inte rstory drift al the MCE is nol expecled lO exceed 0.1 %, impl
ying thm there will be very lillle nonstruclural damage, even al the MCE.
Olher new base- isolated bu ilding projecIs in California include a number of
hospitals. The M. L. Kingj C. R. Drew Diagnoslics Trauma Cenler (Fig. 1.7) in
2 2
Willowbrook is a fi ve -story. 13.000-m ( 140.000-ft ) slructure supported on
70 high-dampillg natuml rubber bearings and 12 sliding bearings wit h lead -
bronze pl ates thal s lide on slainless steel surfaee. Built for Ihe Coullly of Los
Angeles and completed in 1995, Ihe bui lding is locatcd with il1 5 km (3 miles) 01'
Ihe Newpol1- lnglewood Fau ll, which is capable of generat ing 7.5 magll itude
earthquakes. The isolalors are 1.0 111 (40 in .) in diameler, alld al Ihe lime 01' Iheir
manufacture were Ihe largesl isolat ion bearings fabricaled in the United Slales.
10 DEVELOPMENT OF SE1SMIC ISOLATION WORLDWIDE

F'ig. 1.7 M. L. King/ C. R. Drcw Diagnoslics Trauma Cenler. Willowbrook. California.

There are several base isolal ion projccls for new conslruction in the Uniled
Slates oUlside of Cali fo rnia. One vcry early exalllple was a fl ighl simulator rnan -
ufacturi ng facility in Sal! Lake Cily cOlllpleted in 1988 [7. 108J (Fig. 1.8). The
purpose of lhe isolat ion syslcm was lO protecI Ihe in venlory of compuler sys-lems
in Ihe faci lilY (polenliall y over $ 100 mill ion worth of invenlOry al any one
lime). The buildi ng is localed very close lO Ihe Wastach Faull. which has been
assessed as be ing capable of generaling 7.0-7.5 magnilude earthquakes wilh a long
2 2
relurn periodo Thi s four- story, 10.800-m ( 116,000-fI ) bui lding is a sleel
moment-resisling frame slruclure. Therc are a total of 98 isolalors in Ihe SlruC-
lure: 50 of the bearings are 460 mm ( 18 in.) square with a 90-mm - (3 .5-i n. -) di -
amcter lead pl ug and are localed under Ihe momenl-rcsisting frame colurnns. The
olher isolators are 380 mm ( 15 in.) sq uare. plain elastomeric beari ngs, which are
localed under grav ily colulllns . The esti lllated displacement req uire-menl for lhe
system was 230 mm (9 in.) al a nominal period of 2.0 sec o
A large oftice building was reccntl y complcled in Memphis. Tennessee, for lhe
2
aUlolllobi le parts rewiling company AuloZone [791. This eighl-story. 23,226-m
2
(250.000-ft ) bui lding houses Ihe company's compuler equipment. Thc isolalion
systcm is composed of 24 lead- plug rubber isolalors and 19 high - damping natural
rubber isolalors. Including lhe isolal ion syslern , Ihe total cosl
 1.2 BASE ISOLATION IN THE UNITEO STATES 11

Fig. 1.8 Flight Simulalor Manufacluri ng FacililY. Sal! Lake elly, Utah.

of construc tion of the building was $27 million. Other reccntl y completed base-
isolated projects include two bu ildings in Oregon: a new laboratory for the Port - land
Water Bureau and the retrofit of Campbell Hall, a building on the campus of the
Wcstem Oregon Slate College in Monmouth, Oregon.
In addition tú the new buildings described aboye, there are a number of very large
buildi ngs in Californ ia thal were retrofitted using base isolation. The retrofit of the
Oakland City Hall was compleled in 1995 and the retroflt of the San Francisco Ci ty
Hall began in 1995. BOlh buildings were damaged in the 1989 Loma Pri eta
earthquake.
Built in 1914, Oak land City Hall (Fi g. 1.9) was the talles! building on the west
CO;ISI al Ihe lime of ils constructio n. lis hei ght was surpassed by Ihe Los Angeles
Cily Hal l. which was buíl! in 1928. The seismic rehabil ilati on of Oak-land City Hall
using base isolalion was recently completed, and il is now Ihe tallest seismicall y
isolated building in the world . When the seismic re habilita-tion of the Los Angeles
City Hall is completed, it will be the tallesl seismicall y isolated buildi ng in the world.

The Oakland City Hall isolat ion system uses 11 0 lead-plug rubbcr bearings rang
ing from 737 111111 (29 in.) to 940 mm (37 in .) in diamctc r [13 1] . A moat was
constructed around the building to prov idc a scismic gap 01' 508 mm (20 in. ).
Inslallalion 01' the ísolators provcd to be very complicated and required shoring up the
col umns, cuuing the colu mns. and transferring the column loads lO tem - porary
supports. In order to prolect the inte rio r, the columns were raised nOI more Ihan 2.5
mm (0.1 in.) durillg Ihe jacki ng process. The casi of the retrofi l
12 DEVElQPMENT OF SEISMIC ISOlATION WOAlDWIDE

.'ig. 1.9 Oakland Cily Hall. Oakhmd. California. (Pholo cour1esy of $ IE. Inc.)

was very substanlial - aboul $84 million- wilh Ihe isolalors around 2.5% of Ih:ll
figure.
The San Francisco C ily Hall (Fig. 1. 10) was designed in 191 2 lo replace the
previous stmclure Ihal was deslroyed in Ihe 1906 San Francisco eurthquuke . An
oUlstanding example of class ical ;lrc hileclure. il occupies IwO ci ly bl ocks and is
listed in the Nalional Register of Historie Plaees. Subslanti al damage slIslaincd
from 1989 Loma Prieta eanh(]uakc necessitaled cxtensive repair and seis mic
slrcnglhening. The relrofit strategy adoplcd for Ihe building was a base isolation
schemc with SUperslruclurc slrengthen ing using concrelC shear walls. Thi s fivc-
slory building has a 91 -m (300-ft) dome ¡¡nd an exterior facade clad with Sierra
granilc. The slruclural syslclll is a slccl frame with unrcinforced brick masonry
integral with the granile cladd ing. There are hollow clay tile infi ll walls. and many
of Ihe inte rior spaces are lincd with limestone and marblc panels.
1_2 BASE ISOLATION IN THE UNITEO STATES 13

Fig. 1.10 San Francisco Cily Hall. San Francisco, Cali fo rnia .

An interesting aspecl of Ihe original slruclural sysle1ll is that the rnain fl oor
level is a fl ex ible soft story and appears lo have becn intended by the structural
engineer to coneentrate the seisrnic displ aeemcnt al thi s level. The fl exible firsl-
story approach lO scismic design was fl rst proposed in the 1930s and again as Ihe
soft first story in the 1960s -lo a cenain cx tcnt it is a precursor of the base i50lalion
approach.
The primary goal of the relrofit strategy was to preserve Ihe hi stori e fab - rie of
the building 1901. Many opli ons were con sidered and base isolati on was
seleeled. The plane of ¡solation is jusI above ¡he exisling foundation. The bu ild-
ing was isolated with 530 lead -plug rubber bearings (Fi g. 1.1 1) ando as in Ihe
Oakland Cily Hall relrofi t project. the installation of the isoJation syste1ll proved
10 be a eornpJicaled process of cUtt illg, shoring, and inSlallalion. Many of the
eoJu1llns are supported 011 four isolalors under a erueiform sleel structure. Con-
Slruclion began in 1994 and is scheduled 10 be compleled in 1998.
The Los Angeles City Hall is a 28-slory steel frame building compleled in 1928,
2
with a total fl oor area close lo 83.000 m (890,000 ft !) (Fig. 1.1 2). The lateral
resistance is provided by several different elements. including sleel cross-brac ing.
reinforccd concrete walls, .md interior clay hollow-core lile walls; mOSI of Ihe
superstructure Sliffness is provided by masonry infill perimeler walls. The building
was damaged in Ihe 1994 Northridge earthquake, wilh Ihe 1110S1 severe damage
oceurring on the twenty-fifth und twenty-sixlh ftoors, which are charactcristically
soft stories . The base isolation retrofit sc heme ll 38J will use about 475 high-
damping rubber isolalors in combination with about 60 slid-
14 DEVELOPMENT OF SEISMIC ISOLATION WORLDWI OE

Fig. 1.11 Isolators undcr sllppol1s al San Francisco Cily Hall.

ers and is 10 be supplemented by abou! 52 mcchanical viscous dampers al Ihe

isolation leve!. [n addit ion, 12 viscous dampers will be instal1ed belween Ihe
twenty -fourlh and twenty-six!h noors 10 conlro l interstory dri fts al the sofl-slOry
levels. The total cost of Ihis retrofil is estimated 10 be around $ 150 million. with
the isolators comprising $3.5 million of thal fi gure.
The second moSI cornrnon Iype of isol:ll ion syslem uses sliding elements. This
approach aSSlI mes Ihat a low level of fri ction will limil Ihe Iransfcr of shear
across Ihe isolalion interface-Ihe lower Ihe coeffi cienl fri cli on , the Icss Ihe shear
Iransmitted. The earliesl and most sim ple of all Ihe proposed sys-lems. it is nOI
without its drawbacks. To provide adeqllale resistance 10 wind load and avoid
unnecessary movement under small earthquakes or olher di slur-bances. a fairly
high value of frictional coeffi cient is needed. Many frictional surfaces have slidi ng
characlerislics Ihal are sensiti ve 10 pressure alld 10 the relali ve velocilY of slip.
alld because Ihe slip process is inlrinsicall y nonlin-ear, ,\ propcr dynamic analysis
muSI also be nonlinellf. Furlhermorc. any sud-den change in Ihe sli ffness of Ihe
overall struclUre when slippi ng or slicking occurs has Ihe cffecl of generali ng
high-frequency vibralions in Ihe Slructure. vibrations al frequencies Ihal mighl nOI
be present in the ground mOl ion. The syslem responds by lransforming low-
frcquency energy in Ihe ground mOl ion into hi gh-frequcncy cnergy in Ihe slructu
re.
AnOlher problem wilh using sliders- and only sliders- in an isolation sys-lem is
Ihal there is no effective restoring force: Ihus. Ihe code requ iremenls for Ihe displ
acemell! become extremely large. Since Ihi s di splacement can be