Seismic performance and design approach for friction dissipative foundations

Abstract The seismic actions transmitted to a structure can be limited by inserting a frictional system between the foundation and the underlying soil. This allows a controlled sliding when the seismic forces reach a given critical value, that should be chosen to provide a desired seismic performance of the structure. Although this type of dissipative foundation has recently been adopted for the towers of two long-span bridges, its design still requires the development of a clear and robust design approach. In this view, the present paper studies the response of dissipative foundations, developing a generalised non-dimensional formulation that can be useful for design. The dynamic response of the foundation is analysed using a Newmark rigid block model, that is modified to account for the multi-directionality of the ground motion and to include a simplified description of the dynamic response of the superstructure. The main factors affecting the dynamic response of the dissipative system are highlighted through an extensive parametric study, leading to the definition of an optimised design approach of the dissipative foundation.