Structure\' base design for earthquake protection numerical and experimental study

A base isolation system is proposed for earthquake protection of structures. The system incorporates spherical supports for the base, a specially designed spring-cam system to keep the base rigidly supported under normal condition and to allow it to move for the duration of the earthquake under the constraint of a spring with optimized non-linear characteristics. A single-story model is constructed to investigate the feasibility of the concept. Numerical simulations of the system as well as experimental results show that 95% reduction of the transmitted force to the structure can be achieved. To demonstrate the effectiveness of this isolation mechanism, the maximum dynamic bending stress developed at pre-determined critical points within the frame of the structure is measured. Significant reduction of the dynamic stresses is obtained.