UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA AT LOS ANGELES CEE 247, Spring 2018

Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering Instructor: J. Zhang

CEE 247 EARTHQUAKE HAZARD MITIGATION

1. Introduction
1.1 Course Objectives
This course will provide a thorough understanding of the analysis and design topics related to
improving structural performance using advanced hazard mitigation techniques, including base
isolation, supplemental energy dissipation devices and structural control etc. The course will
discuss: 1) conceptual basis for seismic isolation and energy absorbing methods; 2) behavior and
modelling of isolation devices and passive energy dissipation systems; 3) response of structures
with seismic isolation and energy dissipation devices; 4) design method and code provision for
seismic isolation and energy dissipation devices.
1.2 Conventional Design vs. Seismic Isolation
In conventional design method, an acceptable design is achieved by proportioning a
structural member to make sure that its capacity exceeds the seismic demand imposed on it. The
seismic demand on structural members is estimated by evaluating the dynamic responses of
structures using typically linear or nonlinear analysis procedure with given ground motion inputs.
The seismic performance is often measured by demand parameters such as base shear, base
moment, floor acceleration, inter-story drift and ductility etc. The newly developed performance-
based earthquake engineering (PBEE) methodology extends the perform ace evaluation based on
multiple objectives in order to achieve the safety and low life-long maintenance cost. In essence,
the conventional way of structural design is achieved by increasing capacity through design so
that the objective of capacity bigger than demand (i.e. capacity > demand) is achieved.
In seismic isolation method, an acceptable design is achieved by reducing the seismic
demand rather than increasing the earthquake resistance capacity of the structures. Using seismic
isolation, the building response can be uncoupled from the damaging action of earthquake in
horizontal direction by interposing structural elements with low horizontal stiffness between the
structure and the foundation. Therefore, the safety of the design (i.e. capacity > demand) is
achieved by decreasing the demand of earthquake. In recent years, base isolation has become an
increasingly applied structural design technique for buildings and bridges in highly seismic areas.
Besides seismic isolation, there are many other seismic protective methods and strategies to
improve the performance of structures. In general, they can be characterized in three different
groups: a) passive control (e.g. seismic isolation, tuned mass damper, fluid dampers etc.); b)
active control (e.g. active mass damper, active tendon, active variable stiffness system etc.) and c)
semi-active control (Magnet-Rheological (MR) damper, Electric-Rheological (ER) damper etc.).
The passive devices are activated by the structural motion with no external power required. They
are easy to operate and reliable during large earthquake events when disruption of power is likely
to occur. However, passive devices are not adaptive enough for the changing earthquake
excitations. On the other hand, active devices are fully adaptive and act simultaneously with the
change of structural properties and external excitations. They can provide structure with the

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UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA AT LOS ANGELES CEE 247, Spring 2018
Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering Instructor: J. Zhang

variable stiffness and damping as needed. The major drawback of the active devices is that
significant external power supply and huge force generation equipment are required. Hence they
are vulnerable to the power supply failure and malfunction of the force equipment, which
occasionally can lead to instability of the structure. Due to these drawbacks of the active devices,
their applications in civil structures are limited. The semi-active devices were developed in recent
years to incorporate the adaptive property of active devices but only require small power supply
such as batteries. Without the power, the semi-active devices convert into passive devices and can
still provide some level of protection to structures. In this way, the harmful destabilization of
active devices is avoided. The semi-active devices are easy to manufacture and reliable to operate.
Total Acceleration Spectrum Relative Displacement Spectrum
0.39 18

ξ=0.05
0.38 16
ξ=0.10
ξ=0.15
0.37
Point A ξ=0.20 14
ξ=0.25

0.36 12

0.35 10
Sd (inch)
Sa (g)

0.34 8

Point B
0.33 6

0.32 4

0.31
damping 2 damping
increasing increasing
0.3 0
0 1 2 3 4 5 0 1 2 3 4 5
T (sec) T (sec)

(a). Total Acceleration Spectrum (b). Relative Displacement Spectrum

Figure 1.1 Response spectra of the 1940 El Centro earthquake record
1.3 Conceptual Basis of Base Isolation
The idea of the seismic isolation is fairly simple. The seismic demand is reduced by the
flexibility and additional damping provided by the seismic isolation devices. Figure 1.1a shows
the total acceleration response spectrum of the 1940 El Centro earthquake as function of structural
periods. The response of a fixed-base structure under earthquake is located at Point A (say
T fixed = 0.5s ). When seismic isolation is added at the base of the structure, the isolated
structure exhibits a much lower fundamental frequency (or longer period) than its fixed-base
frequency and ideally much lower than the predominant frequency of ground motion (say
T isolated = 2.5s ). This translates to Point B located on the spectrum, which corresponds to a
much lower acceleration demand as it is located on the descending branch of the spectrum.

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UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA AT LOS ANGELES CEE 247, Spring 2018
Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering Instructor: J. Zhang

Furthermore, due to the orthogonality of higher modes to the first mode, the isolated structure is
consequently de-coupled from the damaging higher frequencies of earthquake motion.
The seismic isolation devices also possess higher damping than the structural damping itself.
Figure 1.1b shows the relative displacement spectrum of the same earthquake corresponding to
different damping ratios. In general, when structure period elongates, the displacement demand
on structure will be increased although most of this displacement demand is carried by the
isolation devices while the structural drift is indeed very small. As the damping increases, the
displacement demand is also reduced. This is generally true for total acceleration responses as
well, as shown in Figure 1.1a. However, excessive damping can reduce the effectiveness of
isolation by acting as a conduct for energy to be induced in the higher modes of the isolated
structure.

(a). Conceptual basis of seismic isolation

(b). Performance of fixed base building and seismically isolated building.

Figure 1.2 Conceptual Basis of Seismic Isolation

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UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA AT LOS ANGELES CEE 247, Spring 2018
Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering Instructor: J. Zhang

Therefore, the conceptual basis of the base isolation can be summarized by Figure 1.2a where
the acceleration response of a fixed-base structure (Point A) is changed to Point B when isolation
is used, due to the elongation of structural period and the added damping. Figure 1.2b
schematically depict the expected responses of a fixed-base structure and a base-isolated structure
where the fixed-base structure experience much large inter-story drift and damage while the base-
isolated structure essentially experience rigid-body movement with very small inter-story drift as
the large displacement demand is carried in isolation devices mainly.
1.4 Isolation Systems
There are essentially two categories of base isolation devices: the bearing type (e.g. Natural
Rubber Bearings, Lead Rubber Bearings and High-Damping Rubber Bearings etc.) and the
sliding type (e.g. flat sliders, Friction Pendulum Systems). Using the bearings, the building or
structure is de-coupled from the horizontal components of the earthquake ground motion by
interposing a layer with low horizontal stiffness between the structure and foundation. This layer
gives the structure a fundamental frequency that is much lower than its fixed-base frequency and
also much lower than the predominant frequencies of the ground motion. The first dynamic mode
of the isolated structures involves deformation only in the isolation system while the structure
above it being almost rigid. The higher modes that will produce deformation in the structure are
orthogonal to the first mode and consequently also to the ground motion. These higher modes do
not participate in the motion, so that if there is high energy in the ground motion at these higher
frequencies, this energy can not be transmitted into the structure. The isolation system does not
absorb the earthquake energy, but rather deflects it through the dynamics of the system. This type
of isolation works when the system is linear and some damping is beneficial to suppress any
possible resonance at the isolation frequency. The sliding systems work by limiting the transfer of
shear across the isolation interface. Figure 1.3 shows the schematic sketches of the four isolation
systems described below.
• Natural Rubber Bearings (NRB)
The typical construction of laminated elastomeric bearings consists of thin layers of natural
rubber vulcanized and bonded to thin steel plates. They are very stiff along the vertical direction
but flexible along the horizontal direction, which is controlled by the low shear modulus of the
elastomer. Under seismic loading the bearing layer isolates the building from the horizontal
components of the ground movement while the vertical components are transmitted to the
structure relatively unchanged. The vertical stiffness of NRB is 400 to 1300 times the horizontal
stiffness, which depends on the shape factor. When natural rubber compound is used, the damping
of NRBs are in the range of 2 to 5% of critical damping, which is in the similar range of the
structure’s inherent damping. The mechanical behavior of NRBs resembles to the linear viscous
behavior. The advantages of the low damping NRBs include: a) simple to manufacture, b) easy to
model, c) their mechanical response is unaffected by rate, temperature, history or aging. The
disadvantage is that a supplemental damping system (e.g. viscous dampers and a variety of steel-
yielding devices, such as tapered rods, coiled yielding springs, lead bars and frictional elements)
is generally needed.

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UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA AT LOS ANGELES CEE 247, Spring 2018
Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering Instructor: J. Zhang

(a) Natural Rubber Bearing (NRB)

(b) Lead Rubber Bearing (LRB)

(c) Friction Pendulum System (FPS)

Figure 1.3 Schematic sketch of typical isolation systems: (a) Natural Rubber Bearing, (b) Lead
Rubber Bearing, and (c) Friction Pendulum System.

• Lead Rubber Bearings (LRB)

The lead rubber bearings have similar construction to the NRBs except a preformed hole in
the center which is press-fitted with a lead core. The steel plates in the bearing force the lead plugs
to deform in shear. The lead has a yielding stress around 10MPa (1500 psi). Since the lead

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UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA AT LOS ANGELES CEE 247, Spring 2018
Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering Instructor: J. Zhang

behaves in elasto-plastic (bilinear) manner, it ensures the rigidity under service loads (i.e. before
yielding) and provides stable hysteresis over a number of cycles. The repeated yielding of lead
does not cause fatigue at normal temperatures. For LRBs, the level of damping is controlled by
varying the diameter of the lead core. Typically, the LRBs can achieve damping in the range of 20
to 30% of critical damping. The LRBs are the most common isolation devices used in U.S.
• High-Damping Rubber Bearing (HDRB)
Rubber compound can be modified (by adding extra fine carbon block, oils or resins and
other proprietary fillers) to provide high damping. The high damping rubber bearings use the
same construction as NRBs but can provide 10 to 20% critical damping at 100% shear strain due
to the different rubber compound used. However, the behavior of HDRBs is no longer linear as
that of NRBs. The material is nonlinear at shear strain less than 20% and is characterized by
higher stiffness and damping, which tends to minimize responses under wind load and low-level
seismic load (i.e. provides a degree of ambient vibration reduction). Over the range of 20-120%
shear strain, the modulus is low and constant. At large strains the modulus increases due to a
strain crystallization process in the rubber that is accompanied by an increase in the energy
dissipation. This increase in stiffness and damping at large strains can be exploited to produce a
system that is stiff for small input, is fairly linear and flexible at the design level input, and can
limit displacements under unanticipated input levels that exceed design levels. The damping in
HDRBs is neither viscous nor hysteretic, but somewhat in between. It is possible to model
HDRBs by combining linear viscous and elastic-plastic elements.
• Friction Pendulum Systems (FPS):
The friction pendulum system is a sliding system that uses an articulated slider with special
interfacial material (e.g. self-lubricating high bearing capacity Teflon composite) moving on
stainless steel spherical interface (typically also coated with a low-friction composite material).
Under seismic action and once the friction force has been overcome at the interface, the sliding
initiates. It causes the supported mass to rise and the restoring force is provided by gravity.
Friction between the interface generates damping in isolators. Because the restoring force is
proportional to the weight carried by each FPS, the eccentricities in the isolation system is
eliminated. Dependent on the friction coefficient, the FPS can produce about 10% to 30% critical
damping. The effective stiffness of the isolator and the isolation period of the structure is
controlled by the radius of curvature of the concave surfaces.
1.5 Applications of Base-Isolated Structures
In recent years base isolation has become an increasingly applied structural design technique
for buildings and bridges in highly seismic areas. Many types of structures have been built using
this approach. They can be used in retrofitting the existing buildings or in constructing the new
structures.
The first use of a rubber isolation system to protect structure from earthquake was in 1969 for
an elementary school in Skopje, Yugoslavia (see Figure 1.4). The Pestalozzi School, a three story
concrete structure is isolated by a system known as the Swiss Full Base Isolation-3D System,
which is a un-reinforced rubber block. The weight of the building causes them to bulge sideways.

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UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA AT LOS ANGELES CEE 247, Spring 2018
Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering Instructor: J. Zhang

Because the vertical and horizontal stiffness of the system is about the same, the building will
bounce and rock backward and forward in an earthquake.

(a) The first rubber isolated building: the Pestalozzi elementary school in Skopje

(b) Unreinforced bearing in the Pestalozzi school building in Skopje

Figure 1.4 The first rubber isolated building completed in 1969 in Skopje, Yugoslavia (adapted
from Kelly & Konstantinidis 2011)

The first base-isolated building in the United States was the foothill Communities Law and
Justice Center, a legal service center located in the city of Rancho Cucamonga, California. It’s
also the first building in the world to use isolation bearings made from high-damping natural
rubber. The building is four stories high with a full basement and is located 20km from the San
Andreas fault. A total of 98 isolators were used to isolate the building. The construction of the
building began in early 1984 and was completed in mid-1985 at a cost of $38 million. The same

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UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA AT LOS ANGELES CEE 247, Spring 2018
Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering Instructor: J. Zhang

high-damping rubber system was adopted for the Fire Command and Control Facility of Los
Angeles County. This building houses the computer and communication systems for the fire
emergency services program of the county and is required to remain functional during and after an
extreme earthquake. The isolated design was estimated to cost 6% less than the conventional
design to provide the same degree of protection. Figure 1.5 shows the Foothill Communities Law
and Justice Center in Rancho Cucamonga, CA and Fire Command and Control Facility in Los
Angeles, CA. For most projects an isolated design generally costs around 5% more when
compared with a conventional code design. However, the conventional design only provides the
minimum level of protection against collapse but does not protect the building from structural
damage. When equivalent levels of design performance are compared, an isolated building is
always more cost effective. In addition, isolated building also provides more favorable life-cycle
costs when compared to conventional construction.

(a) Foothill Comminuties Law and Justice Center, Rancho Cucamonga, CA

(b) Fire Command and Control Facility, Los Angeles, CA

Figure 1.5 First base-isolated buildings in U.S. (a) and in Los Angeles (b)

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UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA AT LOS ANGELES CEE 247, Spring 2018
Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering Instructor: J. Zhang

The use of seismic isolation for emergency control centers is clearly advantageous since
these buildings contain essential equipment that must remain functional during and after
earthquake. They are designed to a much higher level of performance than conventional
buildings. Other base-isolated building projects include a number of hospitals, such as the M. L.
King Jr. - C. R. Drew Diagnostics Trauma Center in Willowbrool, California, University of
Southern california Teaching Hospital (completed in 1991), The Arrowhead Regional Medical
Center (completed in 1998) and the St. Johns Medical Center in Santa Monica, CA (completed in
2001). The USC hospital used lead rubber bearings as its isolation design. It performed
remarkably well in the 1994 Northridge earthquake.

Figure 1.6 The Los Angeles City Hall

In addition to new buildings there are a number of very large retrofit projects in California
using base isolation, including the retrofit of the Oakland City Hall (completed in 1995) and the
San Francisco City Hall, both of which were badly damaged in the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake
and the Los Angeles City Hall (completed in 1998). The Los Angeles City Hall was damaged in
the 1994 Northridge earthquake. The retrofit uses 416 high-damping natural rubber bearings in
combination with 90 sliders and is supplemented by 52 mechanical viscous dampers at the
isolation level. In addition, 12 viscous damper were installed between the 24th and 25th floors to
control inter-story drifts at the soft-story levels. It is the tallest seismically isolated building in the
world. Figure 1.6 shows the Los Angeles City Hall. On UCLA campus, the Kerckholf Hall has
also been retrofitted with base isolation, which preserves the historic feature of the original
building and reduce the earthquake demands. With some moderate strengthening of structural
members, the building satisfied the seismic design requirements.

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UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA AT LOS ANGELES CEE 247, Spring 2018
Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering Instructor: J. Zhang

Other applications of base isolation include bridges and nuclear power plants. The Eel River
Bridge in Rio Dell, California has two 92m long simple span steel trusses supported on steel
bearings originally and has non-ductile concrete wall piers. The steel bearings were replaced with
lead rubber bearings in 1987. The bridge remained in service after the 1992 Petrolia earthquake.
The Benicia-Martinez Bridge is one of three critical lifeline bridges in the San Francisco Bay
Area. The bridge is 6156 feet long with 10 steel truss spans supported by concrete piers. It is one
of the largest bridges to date to undertake a seismic isolation retrofit. The friction pendulum
bearings were installed at the tops of the concrete piers. Isolation used in conventional nuclear
plants greatly simplifies the expensive and time consuming design and qualification of the
equipment, piping, and support for seismic loading.
The wide applications of base isolation highlight their advantages. They are cost-effective
due to lower life-cycle costs (as result of less non-structural damages). They reduce the seismic
demands on structures and prevent high frequencies of motion transmitted into the structure. For
many historic buildings, seismic isolation is the only technique that provides seismic protection
with minimum intervention. However, there are barriers for implementing the base isolation,
including the design of superstructure to accommodate isolators, the selection of isolator
parameters to achieve the optimal responses and the practical considerations for utility lines,
moats and foundations etc. These topics will be discussed in this class through the modeling,
analysis and design of base islator and base-isolated structures.

Reading Assignment:
Chapter 1 Introduction in Kelly & Konstantinidis (2011)
Base isolation: origins and development, J.M. Kelly (1998)
Base isolation application handout

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