Energy-Based Prediction of the Displacement of DCFP Bearings

Abstract

Isolation systems are currently being widely applied for earthquake resistance. During the design stage for such systems, the displacement response and input energy of the isolation layer are two of the main concerns. The prediction of these values is also of vital importance during the early stages of the structural design. In this study, the simple prediction method of double concave friction pendulum (DCFP) bearings is proposed, which can relate the response displacement of the isolation layer to the ground velocity through energy transfer with sufficient accuracy. Two friction models (the precise and simplified model) and a constant friction coefficient of double concave friction pendulum (DCFP) bearings are comprehensively validated by full-scale sinusoidal dynamic tests under various conditions. In addition, a response analysis, based on previous studies, was conducted using the friction models under selected unidirectional earthquake excitations, and the accuracy of using the simplified model in the response analysis was verified. Based on the response analysis data, this article verifies and optimizes the proposed prediction method by parameterizing the characteristics of earthquakes and combining the energy balance in order to gain a deeper understanding of the design of the isolation systems.