The Effect of the Statistical Distribution of Isolator Properties on Building Performance

By Tracy Becker, Stephen Alan Mahin

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Abstract

When designing buildings with seismic isolation, analyses must generally be run considering upper and lower bounds of isolator properties. Upper bounds on yield strength and stiffness generate higher lateral loads in the structure and increase the amount of damping. Lower bounds increase the isolator displacement, creating a need for a larger moat. Such bounding analyses require in a substantial number of costly nonlinear analyses and provide little insight into expected response. Alternatively, a probabilistic approach can identify the variability of performance indices due to the distributions of isolator yield strength and post-yield stiffness. Additionally, the probability that a limit state is exceeded given a set of isolator properties can be determined. By creating a link between the distribution of isolator properties and building performance, the need for costly over and underestimation of bearing properties is eliminated.

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Researchers should cite this work as follows:

  • Tracy Becker; Stephen Alan Mahin (2010), "The Effect of the Statistical Distribution of Isolator Properties on Building Performance," https://datacenterhub.org/resources/13500.

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