Aseismic roof isolation system: analytic and shake table studies

Abstract

Presented are the features of a roof isolation system that is proposed as a device to reduce the seismic response of buildings. Presented also are the details of and results from analytical and experimental studies conducted with a small-scale laboratory model to assess the feasibility and effectiveness of such a device. The roof isolation system entails the insertion of flexible laminated rubber bearings between a building’s roof and the columns that support this roof, and the installation of viscous dampers that are connected to the roof and a structural element below the roof. It is based on the concept of a damped vibration absorber and on the idea of making the roof, rubber bearings, and viscous dampers respectively constitute the mass, spring, and dashpot of such an absorber. The model considered in the analytical and experimental studies is a 2·44-m high, five-storey, moment-resisting steel frame, with a fundamental natural frequency of 2·0 Hz. In the experimental study the frame is tested with and without the proposed roof isolation system on a pair of shaking tables under a truncated version of one of the accelerograms from the 1985 Mexico City earthquake. In the analytical study, the frame is also analysed with and without such a system and under the same ground motion except that the ground motion accelerations are properly magnified to study the effec tiveness of the roof isolation system when the frame is stressed beyond its linear range of behavior. It is found that the suggested device effectively reduces the seismic response of the frame, although the extent of this reduction depends on how large its non-linear deformations are. Based on these findings, it is concluded that the proposed roof isolation system has the potential to become a practical and effective way to reduce earthquake damage in low- and medium-rise buildings. Copyright © 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.