Effect of Seismic Isolation on the Performance of High-Rise Buildings with Torsional Instability

Abstract

Seismic bearings have been used to mitigate the harmful effect of the earthquakes. Torsion mode, one of the most important irregularities, generally increases the shear forces to the vertical members such as columns and shear walls in turn this may results in brittle failure of the reinforced concrete (RC) members. Accordingly, it is vital to eliminate the torsion failure mode or switch to the higher modes with lower mass contribution. This study has evaluated the seismic performance of a high-rise building with torsion mode through push-over analysis including nonlinear time history analyses. The damage conditions of RC structural members are defined considering the Eurocode definitions and general performance assessments of the building have been evaluated accordingly. Lead rubber bearings have been used for base isolation system. By using enough number of rubber bearings, the dominant torsion mode (first free vibration mode) has been shifted to higher modes. Various earthquake records have been used in non-linear dynamic analysis to evaluate the positive effects of the bearings. The results revealed that proper arrangement of rubber bearings in structural plan of ground floor can effectively improve dynamic behavior of a high rise building with torsional instability to achieve better seismic performance.