The concept of seismic or base isolation as a means of earthquake protection seems to be more than 100 years old. However, until very recently, few structures were built using this principle. Today the concept has matured into a practical reality and is taking its place as a viable alternate to conventional (fixed base) seismic resistant construction. This paper reviews some of the history of isolation and restates the basic elements of a modern isolation system. It then proceeds to review current activity, worldwide. Progress in the United States is discussed first followed by that in China, France, Greece, Italy, Japan, New Zealand and the Soviet Union. Directories of isolated structures in the United States, New Zealand and Japan are also included. Finally the performance of a selection of these structures during actual earthquakes is given.

Elastomeric isolation bearings are required to be stable at high shear strains, which occur during strong earthquakes. Hence, rigorous determination of the critical axial load during design is important. Currently, the critical load is determined using the small displacement Haringx theory and modified to account for large shear strains by an approximate correction factor. The objective of this study is to experimentally determine the effect of horizontal displacement or shear strain on critical load and to study the validity of the approximate correction factor. Experiments were conducted on a series of elastomeric bearings with low shape factors. Test procedure and test results are presented in detail. It is shown that the critical load decreases with increasing horizontal displacement or shear strain. It is also shown that substantial critical load capacity exists at a horizontal displacement equal to the width of the bearing and is not zero, as predicted by the correction factor. It is further shown that the approximate formula is not conservative at smaller displacements and overly conservative at larger displacements. The critical loads obtained from experiments are compared with results from finite element analyses and nonlinear analytical solutions; the comparisons indicate that the effect of large horizontal displacements on the critical load can be reliably predicted.

In view of the widespread damage to coastal bridges during recent tsunamis (2004 Indian Ocean and 2011 in Japan) large-scale hydrodynamic experiments of tsunami wave impact on a bridge with open girders were conducted in the Large Wave Flume at Oregon State University. The main objective was to decipher the tsunami overtopping process and associated demand on the bridge and its structural components. As described in this paper, a comprehensive analysis of the experimental data revealed that: (a) tsunami bores introduce significant slamming forces, both horizontal (Fh) and uplift (Fv), during impact on the offshore girder and overhang; these can govern the uplift demand in connections; (b) maxFh and maxFv do not always occur at the same time and contrary to recommended practice the simultaneous application of maxFh and maxFv at the center of gravity of the deck does not yield conservative estimates of the uplift demand in individual connections; (c) the offshore connections have to withstand the largest percentage of the total induced deck uplift among all connections; this can reach 91% and 124% of maxFv for bearings and columns respectively, a finding that could explain the damage sustained by these connections and one that has not been recognized to date; (e) the generation of a significant overturning moment (OTM) at the initial impact when the slamming forces are maximized, which is the main reason for the increased uplift in the offshore connections; and (f) neither maxFv nor maxOTM coincide always with the maximum demand in each connection, suggesting the need to consider multiple combinations of forces with corresponding moments or with corresponding locations of application in order to identify the governing scenario for each structural component. In addition the paper presents “tsunami demand diagrams”, which are 2D envelopes of (Fh, Fv) and (OTM, Fv) and 3D envelopes of (Fh, Fv, OTM), as visual representations of the complex variation of the tsunami loading. Furthermore, the paper reveals the existence of a complex bridge inundation mechanism that consists of three uplift phases and one downward phase, with each phase maximizing the demand in different structural components. It then develops a new physics-based methodology consisting of three load cases, which can be used by practicing engineers for the tsunami design of bridge connections, steel bearings and columns. The findings in this paper suggest the need for a paradigm shift in the assessment of tsunami risk to coastal bridges to include not just the estimation of total tsunami load on a bridge but also the distribution of this load to individual structural components that are necessary for the survival of the bridge.

The control of structures to improve their performance during earthquakes was first proposed more than a century ago. But it has only been in the last 25 years that structures have been successfully designed and built using earthquake protective systems. Today these systems range from simple passive devices to fully active systems. This paper focuses on passive control and reviews recent developments in the state-of-the-art. Passive systems include tuned mass dampers, seismic (base) isolation systems, mechanical energy dissipators, and the like. Major developments in the theory, hardware, design, specification, and installation of these systems have permitted significant applications to buildings, bridges, and industrial plant. Applications are now found in almost all of the seismically active countries of the world, but principally in Italy, Japan, New Zealand and the United States. Noteworthy advantages have been demonstrated when retrofitting existing structures, and designing high-performance structures such as hospitals, emergency response facilities, defense installations, and critical bridges. Field experience in recent earthquakes has confirmed these expectations. There are however limitations to the use of passive systems and these deserve further study and research. They include the uncertainty of response in the near field of an active fault, the non- optimal behavior of passive systems for both small and large earthquakes, and a lack of certainty about the ultimate limit states in unexpectedly large events. As a consequence, in some jurisdictions, code provisions for passive systems are more onerous than for conventional construction, which is a strong disincentive to their use. The limited availability of design guidance in text books, code commentaries, and other design aids are further impediments to the wider use of these systems.

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