Development and Application of Thought of Balance between Force and Displacement in Seismic Isolation Design of Bridges Subjected to Near-Fault Ground Motions

Abstract

With the enhancement of the consciousness of sustainable development of society, seismic isolation design is getting more and more attention. Although seismic isolation technology has been developed for more than a century, the research on its core concept especially when the structure is subjected to near-fault ground motions is not yet available. In this paper, based on the philosophical thought of unity of the opposites, by analyzing the seismic damages of bridges, seismic fortification standards and the method for seismic response analysis, the principal contradiction that the existence and development between force and displacement is established, which is the key point of seismic isolation design of bridges under near-fault ground motions. A series of seismic isolated bridge systems and isolation devices such as cable-sliding friction aseismic bearings, high-performance isolation rubber bearings (HIRBs) and cable-sliding modular expansion joints (CMEJs) are proposed, which are widely used in the practical engineering.