A Novel Three-Dimensional Composite Isolation Bearing and Its Application to the Mitigation of Earthquakes and Traffic-Induced Vibrations

Abstract

Potential damage caused by earthquakes combined with reduced comfort due to traffic has become a big challenge when designing modern buildings, and base-isolation is one of the most effective solutions to such a problem. However, most isolation bearings cannot provide sufficient mitigation for both earthquakes and traffic-induced vibrations simultaneously. To this end, this research proposes a new type of three-dimensional isolation bearing for the mitigation of both earthquake effects and traffic-induced vibrations, which is composited by a thick rubber bearing, an auto-reset flat sliding bearing, and a double concave friction pendulum bearing. In this study, the analytical hysteresis model of the proposed isolation bearing was derived and experimentally validated. In addition, the fatigue performance and vertical compression performance of the proposed isolation bearing was tested and analyzed. Finally, the mitigation effect for traffic-induced vibrations of the proposed isolation bearing was validated through a field test.