EARTHQUAKE RESPONSE OF BUILDINGS FITTED WITH VIBRATION ISOLATORS

Abstract

The need to minimize earthquake damage in critical and important structures has led to the use of active and passive energy dissipation devices and base isolation techniques on a large scale in several earthquake-prone developed countries. These methods have been particularly used for retrofitting the existing structures. Though various energy dissipating techniques has been practiced over several years in localized vibration control, construction industry in India has yet to realize the potential of active and passive control in civil engineering structures. There is a big gap between the state-of-the art of the international level and the state-of-the practice in India. This thesis is aimed to help in bridging this gap. Numerous earthquakes, occurred in the past have shown the catastrophic effects on life and property. Recent earthquakes have causes a considerable loss of life and property eg. Latta Earthquake and the Gujarat Earthquake. Hence it is very necessary to isolate the building from the devastating effects of earthquakes.