A low-cost seismic isolation and re-centering system for developing countries: modelling and large scale shaking table tests
A low-cost seismic isolation and re-centering system for developing countries: modelling and large scale shaking table tests
Seismic isolation systems have been widely used to reduce seismic accelerations transmitted to superstructures by decoupling their motion from ground shaking. A new low-cost seismic isolation system, based on a PVC-sand-PVC layer at the foundation level of a building, was recently proposed at the University of Bristol and implemented at full scale in a one-storey building in Nepal. Under seismic action, the building is allowed to slide on the PVC-sand-PVC 'fuse' when ground acceleration exceeds the design threshold. This paper reports the further development of the system by introducing a new re-centering device. Shaking table tests on a 1m by 1m prototype foundation were conducted to investigate the frictional properties and re-centering performance of the combined PVC-sand-PVC layer and the self-centering system under uniaxial Ricker ground motions. The results demonstrate the effectiveness of the combined system in isolating the building acceleration response from the input ground acceleration, while limiting the resulting residual displacement.
B. Ge; Yichen Zhang; Andrea Diambra; R. De Risi; A. Sextos
11th International Conference on Physical Modelling in Geotechnics (ICPMG2026)
Special Session 7: Geotechnical seismic isolation based on sustainable geomaterials
https://doi.org/10.53243/ICPMG2026-417