PARAMETRIC STUDIES ON THE RESPONSE OF EQUIPMENT IN RESILIENT-FRICTIONBASE-ISOLATED STRUCTURES SUBJECTED TO GROUND MOTION

The response of equipment in resilient-friction base isolated structur es subjected to harmonic and earthquake ground motion is investigated. Comprehensive parametric studies on the effect of isolator friction c oefficient, subsystem (equipment, structure, isolator) natural period, subsystem damping, and the equipment/structure mass ratio on the equi pment response are presented. The results are determined by an accurat e and efficient semi-analytical procedure and include interaction effe cts between the equipment, structure, and base isolator. The study ind icates that the resilient-friction base isolator is, in general, effec tive in reducing the accelerations in lightweight equipment components from the corresponding fixed base case.