Seismic Isolation and Response Control of Buildings in Japan

An overview of seismic isolation and structural control in Japan is presented. The paper includes a mention of the history of aseismic technology and the earthquake threat in Japan, summarizes the merits of seismic isolation and response control, and discusses the types of devices used and some recent project examples. The projects presented are mostly examples of response control used for high-rise buildings. These types of buildings are not amendable to seismic isolation, and are a challenge to applying damping devices, as their high aspect ratio means that their dominant deformation mode is bending. Japanese engineers have developed a range of unique techniques to apply response control to these types of structures. Concluding remarks discuss some of the current challenges to expanding the use of seismic isolation and response control technologies.