- Base isolation
Base Isolation, also known as "Seismic" or "Base Isolation System", is a collection of structural elements which should substantially
decouple asuperstructure from itssubstructure resting on a shaking ground thus protecting abuilding ornon-building structure 's integrity.Base Isolation is the most powerful tool of the
earthquake engineering pertaining to the passive structuralvibration control technologies. It is meant to enable a building or non-building structure to survive a potentially devastatingseismic impact through a proper initial design or subsequent modifications. In some cases, application of Base Isolation can raise both a structure'sseismic performance and itsseismic sustainability considerably."Base Isolation System" consists of "Isolation Units" with or without "Isolation Components", where:
1. "Isolation Units" are the basic elements of "Base Isolation System" which are intended to provide the mentioned
decoupling effect to a building or non-building structure.2. "Isolation Components" are the connections between "Isolation Units" and their parts having no decoupling effect of their own.
By their response to an earthquake impact, all "Isolation Units" may be divided into two basic categories: "Shear Units" [ [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2yXgu4aS8HE Lead Rubber Bearing being tested at the UCSD Caltrans-SRMD facility] ] and "Sliding Units" [ [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cfl-VueWTGE&feature=PlayList&p=660C7AFD70E81C12&index=27 Hybrid Simulation of Base Isolated Structures] ] . The first evidence of
architect s using the principle of Base Isolation for earthquake protection was discovered ins around the buildings, as well as making provisions against overturning and P-delta effect.
Base Isolation as a basic component of
earthquake engineering structures can be also used for a valuable reinforcement of "Dispensable Structural System" [ [http://www.seaint.org/seaocconvention/convention1999/Proceedings/BP_Shield.pdf Sails-Rigging Blast Protective Structural Shield, SEAINT] ] "for Blast Debris Protection" [ [http://www.ceworld.org/ceworld/Presentations/CriticalInftastructure/Shustov.cfin Terrorist Blast Protection: Dispensable Structural System Reinforced with Earthquake Buffer, ASCE] ] .Analytical research software called Earthquake Performance Evaluation Tool (EPET), which is publicly accessible online, enables concurrent virtual experiments on the building models "with" and "without" Base Isolation.
ee also
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Earthquake engineering structures
*Earthquake Protector Notes
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