EVALUATION OF THE EFFECTS OF THE DOUBLE FRICTION PENDULUM BEARING USED IN SEISMICALLY ISOLATED LOW-RISE BUILDINGS

Abstract

Seismic base isolation is known as a passive structural control technique. It offers a high efficiency in the seismic resistant design compared to traditional design solutions. The double friction pendulum (DFP) bearing is a vibration isolation device, it has been used very commonly in seismic isolation techniques in many developed countries recently. This paper evaluates in detail the seismic reduction effectiveness of the DFP bearing used in low-rise buildings subject to earthquakes. The study is conducted by analyzing a simple model of a 5-storey building with seismic isolation using the DFP bearing, subjected to 21 different ground-acceleration records in Matlab language. The analytical results show seismic reduction effectiveness of this bearing and its high adaptability to many ground acceleration records with varying characteristics. In addition, the effects of the friction coefficient and the impact occurring inside the bearing due to the large horizontal displacement are also estimated.