Evaluation of Structural Implication of Incorporating Base Isolator as Earthquake Protection Device

Introduction of the flexible element at the base of a structure and at the same time ensuring damping is probably the best option for the seismic isolation technique. The device that meets such criteria is known as isolator. In this study incorporation of such base isolator in buildings has been investigated. A study was done considering different building with different plan to justify the applicability of base isolation. The characteristics and performance effect of a building with and without base isolator system were compared. Study shows the applicability of base isolator to the range up to buildings of 30m-40m height. The installation of isolator in building considerably increases the time period of building, which means it reduces the possibility of resonance of the structure. Provision of isolator in building often increases the total cost, but reinforcement requirement and construction material cost is reduced due to isolator. So, isolator may be incorporated at the bottom of the building to exploit economic and structurally safe alternative.