• Earthquakes and Structures
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• v.11 no.1
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• pp.25-43
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• 2016

The uneven distribution of rolling friction coefficient may lead to great uncertainty in the structural seismic isolation performance. This paper attempts to improve the isolation performance of a spring-damper-rolling isolation system by artificially making the uneven friction distribution to be concave. The rolling friction coefficient gradually increases when the isolator rolls away from the original position during an earthquake. After the spring-damper-rolling isolation system under different ground motions was calculated by a numerical analysis method, the system obtained more regular results than that of random uneven friction distributions. Results shows that the concave friction distribution can not only dissipate the earthquake energy, but also change the structural natural period. These functions improve the seismic isolation efficiency of the spring-damper-rolling isolation system in comparison with the random uneven distribution of rolling friction coefficient, and always lead to a relatively acceptable isolation state even if the actual earthquake significantly differs from the design earthquake.

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• v.40 no.3
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• pp.315-334
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• 2011

Seismic isolated building structures are examined in this study. The triple concave friction pendulum (TCFP) is used as a seismic isolation system which is easy to be manufactured and enduring more than traditional seismic isolation systems. In the TCFP, take advantage of weight which pendulum carrying and it's geometry in order to obtain desirable result of seismic isolation systems. These systems offer advantage to buildings which subject to severe earthquake. This is result of damping force of earthquake by means of their internal constructions, which consists of multiple surfaces. As the combinations of surfaces upon which sliding is occurring change, the stiffness and effective friction change accordingly. Additionally, the mentioned the TCFP is modeled as of a series arrangement of the three single concave friction pendulum (SCFP) bearings. A two dimensional- and eight- story of a building with and without isolation system are used in the time history analysis in order to investigate of the effectiveness of the seismic isolation systems on the buildings. Results are compared with each other to emphasize efficiency of the TCFP as a seismic isolation device against the other friction type isolation system like single and double concave surfaces. The values of the acceleration, floor displacement and isolator displacement obtained from the results by using different types of the isolation bearings are compared each other. As a result, the findings show that the TCFP bearings are more effective devices for isolation of the buildings against severe earthquakes.

• Earthquakes and Structures
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• v.13 no.6
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• pp.551-559
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• 2017

A large number of isolation systems are designed without considering the non-uniform friction distribution in space. In order to analyze the effects of non-uniform friction distribution on the structural response of isolation system, this paper presented a simplified rolling-damper-spring isolation system and analyzed the structural responses under earthquakes. The numerical results indicate that the calculation errors related to the peak values of structural acceleration, relative displacement and residual displacement are sequentially growing because of the ignorance of non-uniform friction distribution. However, the influence rule may be weakened by the spring and damper actions, and the unreasonable spring constant may lead to the sympathetic vibration of isolation system. In the case when the friction variability is large and the damper action is little, the non-uniform friction distribution should be taken into consideration during the calculation process of the peak values of structural acceleration and relative displacement. The non-uniform friction distribution should be taken into full consideration regardless of friction variability degree in calculating the residual displacement of isolation system.

• Smart Structures and Systems
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• v.16 no.4
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• pp.701-723
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• 2015

Friction isolators are one of the most important types of bearings used to mitigate damages of earthquakes. The adaptive behavior of these isolators allows them to achieve multiple levels of performances and predictable seismic behavior during different earthquake hazard levels. There are three main types of friction isolators. The first generation with one sliding surface is known as Friction Pendulum System (FPS) isolators. The double concave friction pendulum (DCFP) with two sliding surfaces is an advanced form of FPS, and the third one, with fully adaptive behavior, is named as triple concave friction pendulum (TCFP). The current study has been conducted to investigate and compare seismic responses of these three types of isolators. The structure is idealized as a two-dimensional single degree of freedom (SDOF) resting on isolators. The coupled differential equations of motion are derived and solved using state space formulation. Seismic responses of isolated structures using each one of these isolators are investigated under seven near fault earthquake motions. The peak values of bearing displacement and base shear are studied employing the variation of essential parameters such as superstructure period, effective isolation period and effective damping of isolator. The results demonstrate a more efficient seismic behavior of TCFP isolator comparing to the other types of isolators. This efficiency depends on the selected effective isolation period as well as effective isolation damping. The investigation shows that increasing the effective isolation period or decreasing the effective isolation damping improves the seismic behavior of TCFP compared to the other isolators. The maximum difference in seismic responses, the base shear and the bearing displacement, for the TCFP isolator are calculated 26.8 and 13.4 percent less than the DCFP and FPS in effective isolation damping equal to10%, respectively.

• Journal of the Earthquake Engineering Society of Korea
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• v.20 no.2
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• pp.125-134
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• 2016

In order to improve seismic safety of nuclear power plant (NPP) structures in high seismicity area, seismic isolation system can be adapted. In this study, friction pendulum system (FPS) is used as the seismic isolation system. According to Coulomb's friction theory, friction coefficient is constant regardless of bearing pressure and sliding velocity. However, friction coefficient under actual situation can be changed according to bearing pressure, sliding velocity and temperature. Seismic responses of friction pendulum system with constant friction and various velocity-dependent friction are compared. The velocity-dependent friction coefficients of FPS are varied between low-and fast-velocity friction coefficients according to sliding velocity. From the results of seismic analysis of FPS with various cases of friction coefficient, it can be observed that the yield force of FPS becomes larger as the fast-velocity friction coefficient becomes larger. Also, the displacement response of FPS becomes smaller as the fast-velocity coefficient becomes larger.

• Earthquakes and Structures
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• v.3 no.2
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• pp.169-180
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• 2012

The performance of pure friction isolation system with respect to the frequency bandwidth of excitation and the predominant frequency is investigated. A set of earthquake ground motions (artificial as well as recorded [with different combinations of magnitude-distance and local site geology]) is considered for investigating effectiveness of pure friction isolators. The results indicate the performance of pure friction base isolated system does not only depend upon coefficient of friction and mass ratio but the stick-slip behaviour depends upon the frequency content of the excitation as well. Slippage prevails if the excitation frequency lies in a suitable frequency range. This range widens with increasing mass ratio. For larger mass ratios, the sliding effect is more pronounced and the maximum acceleration response is further reduced in the neighbourhood of frequency ratio (${\omega}/{\omega}_n$) of unity. The pure friction isolation system is effective in the case of broadband excitations only and that too, in the acceleration sensitive range of periods. The pure friction system is not effective for protection against narrow band motions for which the system response is quasi-periodic.

• Smart Structures and Systems
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• v.17 no.5
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• pp.709-724
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• 2016

This study investigates the optimum design parameters of a superelastic friction base isolator (S-FBI) system through a multi-objective genetic algorithm to improve the performance of isolated buildings against near-fault earthquakes. The S-FBI system consists of a flat steel-PTFE sliding bearing and superelastic NiTi shape memory alloy (SMA) cables. Sliding bearing limits the transfer of shear across the isolation interface and provides damping from sliding friction. SMA cables provide restoring force capability to the isolation system together with additional damping characteristics. A three-story building is modeled with S-FBI isolation system. Multiple-objective numerical optimization that simultaneously minimizes isolation-level displacements and superstructure response is carried out with a genetic algorithm in order to optimize S-FBI system. Nonlinear time history analyses of the building with optimal S-FBI system are performed. A set of 20 near-fault ground motion records are used in numerical simulations. Results show that S-FBI system successfully control response of the buildings against near-fault earthquakes without sacrificing in isolation efficacy and producing large isolation-level deformations.

• Proceedings of the Earthquake Engineering Society of Korea Conference
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• 2003.09a
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• pp.403-410
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• 2003

This paper presents the results of experimental studies on the equipment isolation effect in the nuclear containment. For this purpose, shaking table tests were performed. The isolation system, known as Friction Pendulum System (FPS), combines the concepts of sliding bearings and pendulum motion was selected. Peak ground acceleration, bidirectional motion, effect of vertical motion and frequency contents of selected earthquake motions were considered. Finally, it is presented that the FPS systems are effective for the small equipment isolation. Key word equipment isolation, nuclear containment, shaking table test, Friction Pendulum System (FPS)

• Smart Structures and Systems
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• v.8 no.5
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• pp.501-524
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• 2011

Recent studies have discovered that a conventional passive isolation system may suffer from an excessive isolator displacement when subjected to a near-fault earthquake that usually has a long-period velocity pulse waveform. Semi-active isolation using variable friction dampers (VFD), which requires a suitable control law, may provide a solution to this problem. To control the VFD in a semi-active isolation system more efficiently, this paper investigates experimentally the possible use of a control law whose control logic is similar to that of the anti-lock braking systems (ABS) widely used in the automobile industry. This ABS-type controller has the advantages of being simple and easily implemented, because it only requires the measurement of the isolation-layer velocity and does not require system modeling for gain design. Most importantly, it does not interfere with the isolation period, which usually decides the isolation efficiency. In order to verify its feasibility and effectiveness, the ABS-type controller was implemented on a variable-friction isolation system whose slip force is regulated by an embedded piezoelectric actuator, and a seismic simulation test was conducted for this isolation system. The experimental results demonstrate that, as compared to a passive isolation system with various levels of added damping, the semi-active isolation system using the ABS-type controller has the better overall performance when both the far-field and the near-fault earthquakes with different PGA levels are considered.

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• v.51 no.2
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• pp.277-297
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• 2014

Since the isolation bearings undergo large displacements in base-isolated structures, impact with adjacent structures is inevitable. Therefore, in this investigation, the effect of impact on seismic response of isolated structures mounted on double concave friction pendulum (DCFP) bearings subjected to near field ground motions is considered. A non-linear viscoelastic model of collision is used to simulate structural pounding more accurately. 2-, 4- and 8-story base-isolated buildings adjacent to fixed-base structures are modeled and the coupled differential equations of motion related to these isolated systems are solved in the MATLAB environment using the SIMULINK toolbox. The variation of seismic responses such as base shear, displacement in the isolation system and superstructure (top floor) is computed to study the impact condition. Also, the effects of variation of system parameters: isolation period, superstructure period, size of seismic gap between two structures, radius of curvature of the sliding surface and friction coefficient of isolator are contemplated in this study. It is concluded that the normalized base shear, bearing and top floor displacement increase due to impact with adjacent structure. When the distance between two structures decreases, the base shear and displacement increase comparing to no impact condition. Besides, the increase in friction coefficient difference also causes the normalized base shear and displacement in isolation system and superstructure increase in comparison with bi-linear hysteretic behavior of base isolation system. Totally, the comparison of results indicates that the changes in values of friction coefficient have more significant effects on 2-story building than 4- and 8-story buildings.