Aseismic roof isolation system: a feasibility study with 13-story building

摘要

An investigation is carried out with an actual 13-story building to assess the viability and effectiveness of a proposed passive roof isolation system to reduce the response of buildings to earthquakes. The proposed roof isolation system entails the insertion of flexible laminated rubber bearings between a building's roof and the top-story columns, and the addition of viscous dampers connected between the roof and the rest of the building. The properties and dimensions of these rubber bearings and viscous dampers are selected in a way that makes the roof, rubber bearings, and viscous dampers form a highly damped vibration absorber. The investigation includes the analysis of the building with and without the proposed isolation system and the design of the isolation system components. It is found that the proposed system is constructable and has the potential to become an attractive way to reduce structural and nonstructural earthquake damage in low and medium-rise buildings.