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Base Isolation for Seismic Retrofitting of

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DOI: 10.1061/(ASCE)1084-0680(2008)13:4(175)

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 Base Isolation for Seismic Retrofitting of Structures
Vasant A. Matsagar1 and R. S. Jangid2

Abstract: Analytical seismic responses of structures retrofitted using base isolation devices are investigated and the retrofit schemes are
illustrated. The retrofitting of various important structures using seismic isolation technique by incorporation of the layers of isolators at
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suitable locations is studied. Three specific structures such as historical buildings, bridges, and liquid storage tanks are selected to
investigate the effectiveness of the base isolation in seismic retrofitting. Different types of isolation devices, such as elastomeric bearings
and sliding systems are evaluated for their performance in the retrofitting works. The response of the retrofitted structural system is
obtained numerically by solving the governing equations of motion under different earthquakes and compared with the corresponding
conventional structure without any retrofit measures, in order to investigate the effectiveness of base isolation in retrofitting of structures.
It is observed that the seismic response of the retrofitted structures reduces significantly in comparison with the conventional structures
depicting effectiveness of the retrofitting done through the base isolation technique. This paper also distinctively elaborates on the methods
of construction in retrofitting works involving base isolation.
DOI: 10.1061/共ASCE兲1084-0680共2008兲13:4共175兲
CE Database subject headings: Base isolation; Bearings; Bridges; Earthquake engineering; Historic sites; Monuments;
Rehabilitation; Tanks; Seismic effects.

Introduction the earthquake ground motion and fundamental frequency of the

Many structures have their fundamental frequencies of vibration
within the band of frequencies where the energy of earthquake
ground motions is the maximum. In such cases, a structure am-
plifies the seismic ground vibrations and produces accelerations
within the structure that increase from the bottom of the structure
to its top. Besides producing undesirable levels of acceleration in
the structure, these amplified structural motions can cause severe
distress in the structural elements and large relative motions be-
tween different parts of the structure. This may result in perma-
nent damage to different parts of the structure, or may even lead
to catastrophic collapse. The amplified accelerations throughout
the structure act on the occupants and contents of the structure,
causing harm and damage to the occupants and contents even
when no structural damage may occur. A relatively new and cost-
effective procedure to mitigate such effects is to detach the struc-
ture from the earthquake ground motions by the use of base
isolators provided between the base and foundation of the struc-
ture. Seismic isolation is a design technique, which proposes de-
coupling of a structure, part of it, or even of equipment placed in
the structure, from the damaging effects of earthquakes. One of
the goals of seismic isolation is to shift the fundamental fre-
quency of the structure away from the dominant frequencies of
1
Postdoctorate Research Fellow and Adjunct Professor, Dept. of Civil
Engineering, Lawrence Technological Univ., Southfield, MI 48075-1058.
E-mail: vmatsagar@ltu.edu
2
Professor, Dept. of Civil Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology
Bombay, Powai, Mumbai-400 076, India. E-mail: rsjangid@civil.iitb.
ac.in
Note. Discussion open until April 1, 2009. Separate discussions must
be submitted for individual papers. The manuscript for this paper was
submitted for review and possible publication on July 12, 2006; approved
on January 9, 2008. This paper is part of the Practice Periodical on
Structural Design and Construction, Vol. 13, No. 4, November 1, 2008.
©ASCE, ISSN 1084-0680/2008/4-175–185/$25.00.
fixed-base superstructure. The other purpose of an isolation sys-
tem is to provide an additional means of energy dissipation,
thereby reducing the transmitted acceleration into the superstruc-
ture. This innovative design approach aims mainly at the isolation
of a structure from the supporting ground, generally in the hori-
zontal direction, in order to reduce the transmission of the earth-
quake motion to the structure. A variety of isolation devices
including elastomeric bearings 共with and without lead core兲,
frictional/sliding systems, and roller bearings have been devel-
oped and used practically for seismic design of buildings during
the past 20 years 共Kelly 1986; Buckle and Mayes 1990; Jangid
and Datta 1995兲. There have been several existing buildings and
bridges retrofitted seismically using base isolation over the last
decade, particularly in the USA, New Zealand, and Japan. The
building code requirements for seismic design are becoming more
stringent, through which improved design methods and require-
ments are expected to reduce the damage in the newer buildings
to acceptable levels, in the event of a moderate to strong earth-
quake 共Saatcioglu and Humar 2003兲. However, older buildings
designed to satisfy the older codes/regulations are likely to be
vulnerable to severe damage or total collapse under strong seis-
mic excitations. Past earthquakes have demonstrated that even
during small tremors older buildings have suffered extensive de-
struction, or collapsed, the buildings would have performed better
if they had been seismically retrofitted. Hence, the retrofit option
of using base isolation to improve seismic performance of exist-
ing structures is now being adopted 共Cheung et al. 1999兲. In order
to protect the historical appearance of a structure, base isolation is
the only way for seismic retrofitting of the structure. In addition,
the retrofit works using seismic isolation can be carried out when
the structure to be retrofitted is in use. To delineate the details of
isolation, such as the choice of isolation systems and its place-
ment, factors to be considered in the design of seismic isolation
and the influencing dynamic properties of the structure to be ret-
rofitted, a comprehensive study is highly necessary.

PRACTICE PERIODICAL ON STRUCTURAL DESIGN AND CONSTRUCTION © ASCE / NOVEMBER 2008 / 175

Pract. Period. Struct. Des. Constr. 2008.13:175-185.

 Herein, the analytical response of structures retrofitted using
the base isolation is investigated. The various types of structures
considered are a historical building, a bridge, and a liquid storage
tank. The specific objectives of the study are to: 共1兲 demonstrate
the usefulness of base isolation in seismic retrofitting of the struc-
tures; 共2兲 substantiate the efficacy of different isolation devices in
seismic retrofitting works; and 共3兲 study the various aspects influ-
encing the retrofitting works using the seismic isolation tech-
nique. Because no specific study prior had addressed construction
methodology to be used in retrofitting works involving base iso-
lation, this paper delineates the construction methodology to be
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used in retrofitting works using the base isolation technique.
Models of Isolation Systems
Essentially, there are two categories of isolation systems based on
their fundamental behavior, such as elastomeric bearings and slid-
ing systems. The choice of isolation systems and analysis proce-
dure has to be made such as to properly predict the seismic
response leading to the rational and economical design. The guide
specifications for seismic design of buildings, bridges, and other
structures 共NRCC 1995; BSSC 1997; ICBO 1997; AASHTO
1999兲 suggest the use of nonlinear dynamic time-history analysis
of the base-isolated structures. When subjected to ground motion,
the restoring forces developed in the bearings depend upon the
type of isolation systems utilized; and the aforementioned docu-
ments recommend that a linear equivalent mathematical model
can be adopted to carry out an equivalent static analysis for de-
signing the bearings and the superstructure. In the present study,
three representative isolation systems are considered for investi-
gation, the force-deformation characteristics of which are as ex-
plained below.
High-Damping Rubber Bearing
The high-damping rubber bearing 共HDRB兲 is the most commonly
adopted base isolation system. The basic components of HDRB
are steel and rubber plates built in the alternate layers as shown in
Fig. 1共a兲. Generally, the HDRB exhibits high-damping capacity,
horizontal flexibility, and high vertical stiffness. The damping
constant of the system varies considerably with the strain level of
the bearing 共generally of the order of 10%兲. The system operates
by decoupling the structure from the horizontal components of
earthquake ground motion by interposing a layer of low horizon-
tal stiffness between the structure and its foundation 共Kikuchi and
Aiken 1997兲. These devices can be manufactured easily and are
quite resistant to the environmental effects. Here, the code speci-
fied equivalent linear viscous model is adopted for the actual
force-deformation behavior of the HDRB as shown in Fig. 1共a兲
共ICBO 1997兲. It is to be noted that such an equivalent linear
model of isolation system is quite simple and generally accurately
predicts the results, except for few typical isolator parameters
共Matsagar and Jangid 2004兲. The restoring force developed in the
HDRB for bi-directional excitation is given by
再 冎 冋 册再 冎 冋 册再 冎
Fxb cxb 0 u̇xb kxb 0 uxb
= + 共1兲
Fyb 0 cyb u̇yb 0 kyb uyb
where uxb and uyb = bearing displacements, respectively in the x-
and y-directions; cxb = cyb and kxb = kyb = viscous damping and lat-
eral stiffness of HDRB, respectively in the x- and y-directions,
owing to the isotropic nature of individual isolation systems.
176 / PRACTICE PERIODICAL ON STRUCTURAL DESIGN AND CONSTRUCTION © ASCE / NOVEMBER 2008
Pract. Period. Struct. Des. Constr. 2008.13:175-185.
Fxb
kxb
uxb
(a) HDRB
Fxb
Fxy
αkxb
q uxb
(b) LRB
Fxb
fx
kxb
uxb
(c) FPS
Fig. 1. Schematics and force-deformation characteristics of various
isolation systems, namely, 共a兲 HDRB; 共b兲 LRB; and 共c兲 FPS
Therefore, note that the isolation time period, Tb in the x- and
y-directions is the same. The overdot denotes the derivative with
respect to time.
The design of isolation system requires specifying its lateral
stiffness kxb and viscous damping cxb. The linear stiffness and
equivalent damping of the HDRB is designed in such a way as to
provide the specific values of the two parameters, namely, the
isolation time period Tb and the damping ratio ␤eff expressed as
Tb = 2␲ 冑 m
kxb
共2兲
cxb
␤eff = 共3兲
2m␻xb
where ␻xb = 2␲ / Tb = isolation frequency; and m = total mass of the
structure resting on the isolators.
Lead-Rubber Bearing
The second type of elastomeric bearings is lead-rubber bearings
共LRB兲 as shown in Fig. 1共b兲. This base isolation system provides
the combined features of vertical load support, horizontal flexibil-
ity, restoring force, and damping in a single unit 共Skinner et al.
1975; Robinson 1982兲. These bearings are similar to the HDRB
except that a central lead core is used to provide an additional
means of energy dissipation. The LRB also provides energy ab-
sorbing capacity through additional hysteretic damping in yield-
ing of the lead core that reduces the lateral displacements of the
isolator, especially under ambient vibrations. The force-
deformation behavior of the LRB is generally represented by non-
linear characteristics following a hysteretic nature. For the present
study, a nonlinear model 共Park et al. 1986兲 is used to characterize
the hysteretic force-deformation behavior of the LRB, as shown
in Fig. 1共b兲. The restoring force developed in these isolation sys-
tems for bidirectional excitation is given by
 再 冎 冋 册再 冎
Fxb
Fyb
=␣
kx 0
0 ky
uxb
uyb
+ 共1 − ␣兲 再 冎再 冎
Fxy
Fyy
Zx
Zy
共4兲
where Fxy = Fyy = yield strengths of the bearing, respectively in the
x- and y-directions; ␣ = index that represents the ratio of post to
preyielding stiffness; kx = ky = preyield stiffness of the bearing, re-
spectively in the x and y-directions; and Zx = Zy = nondimensional
hysteretic displacement components satisfying the following non-
linear first order differential equation expressed as
再冎
冋 册
A − ␤兩u̇xb兩Zx兩Zx兩n−1 − ␶Znx − ␤兩u̇yb兩Zy兩Zx兩n−1 − ␶ZxZny
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Żx
q =
− ␤兩u̇xb兩Zx兩Zy兩n−1 − ␶ZyZnx A − ␤兩u̇yb兩Zy兩Zy兩n−1 − ␶Zny
再冎
Ży
u̇xb
⫻ 共5兲
u̇yb
where q = isolator yield displacement; A, ␤, and ␶
= dimensionless parameters; and parameter n = integer constant,
which controls smoothness of the transition from elastic to plastic
response. These dimensionless parameters A, ␤, ␶, and n are se-
lected such that the predicted response from the model closely
matches with the experimentally obtained results. In the present
study, the dimensionless parameters of the LRB are held constant
with q = 2.5 cm, A = 1, ␤ = ␶ = 0.5, and n = 2.
The LRB is characterized by the isolation period Tb and the
normalized yield strengths Fxy / W = Fyy / W. Here, W = mg = total
weight of the structure; and g = acceleration due to gravity. The
bearing parameter Tb is computed from Eq. 共2兲 using the post-
yield stiffness of the bearing.
Friction Pendulum System
One of the most popular and effective techniques for seismic
isolation is in the use of the sliding isolation devices. It is also a
widely preferred isolation system during the retrofitting works.
The sliding systems exhibit excellent performance under a variety
of severe earthquake loading and are very effective in reducing
the large levels of the superstructure acceleration. These isolators
are characterized by insensitivity to the frequency content of
earthquake excitation, because of the tendency of the sliding sys-
tem to reduce and spread the earthquake energy over a wide range
of frequencies. Another advantage of the sliding isolation systems
over the conventional rubber bearings is that because of the de-
velopment of the frictional force at the base, it is proportional to
the mass of the structure and the center of mass and center of
resistance of the sliding support coincides. Consequently, the tor-
sional effects produced by a typical asymmetric structure are di-
minished. The concept of sliding bearings is combined with the
concept of a pendulum type response, resulting in a conceptually
interesting seismic isolation system known as the friction pendu-
lum system 共FPS兲 as shown in Fig. 1共c兲. In FPS, the isolation is
achieved by means of an articulated slider on a spherical, concave
chrome surface 共Zayas et al. 1990兲. The slider is faced with a
bearing material, which when in contact with the polished chrome
surface results in the development of friction force, while a con-
cave surface produces a restoring force proportional to its radius.
The FPS develops a lateral force equal to the combination of the
mobilized frictional force and the restoring force developed be-
cause of rising of the structure along the spherical concave sur-
face. The force-deformation diagram of FPS is shown in Fig. 1共c兲.
The resisting force provided by the FPS for bidirectional excita-
tion is
PRACTICE PERIODICAL ON STRUCTURAL DESIGN AND CONSTRUCTION © ASCE / NOVEMBER 2008 / 177
Pract. Period. Struct. Des. Constr. 2008.13:175-185.
再 冎 冋 册再 冎 再 冎
Fxb
Fyb
=
kxb 0
0 kyb
uxb
uyb
+
fx
fy
共6兲
where kxb = kyb = bearing stiffness provided by virtue of inward
gravity action at the concave surface; and f x = f y = limiting fric-
tional forces in the x- and y-directions, respectively.
The system is characterized by an isolation time period Tb that
depends upon the radius of curvature of the concave surface, and
a friction coefficient ␮ = ␮x = ␮y. The isolation stiffness kxb = kyb is
adjusted such that the specified value of the isolation period
evaluated by Eq. 共2兲 is achieved.
Usually, there is a large difference in the damping of the struc-
ture and the isolation system, which makes the resulting assembly
nonclassically damped. In addition, the force-deformation behav-
iors of LRB and FPS are nonlinear. This leads to coupling of the
equations of the motion of a structure, and to analyze the system
correctly, complex modal analysis is required. Nevertheless, here
the governing equations of motion are solved by Newmark’s
method of integration using linear acceleration over a small time
step ⌬t.
Retrofitting Scheme
A review of a few of the major retrofitting projects successfully
completed using the base isolation technique around the world is
summarized here. It includes the historical buildings and bridges
retrofitted using seismic isolation systems, which clearly brings
about the fact that the uniqueness and aesthetics on the original
heritage structure is maintained intact even after its seismic retro-
fitting for improved performance during the earthquakes.
Details of Retrofitting Strategy
In order to implement the base isolation as a retrofit scheme, the
following points need to be considered:
1. Evaluation of dynamic properties of the existing structure,
through the ambient/forced vibration tests, essential in the
design of base isolation systems; and
2. Numerical studies required to arrive at the important deci-
sions regarding: 共a兲 the location of the isolators; and 共b兲 the
choice of the type of isolation system.
The choice of seismic isolation retrofitting scheme is dependent
upon the type of structure to be retrofitted as explained below.
Masonry Structures
In most of the projects of seismic retrofitting of the old monu-
ments, the structures are constructed of masonry in stone or brick
using lime or cement mortars. These structures transmit the self-
weight to the ground through masonry walls and are called load
bearing structures. While incorporating the seismic isolators, un-
derpinning is done to provide temporary supports along the ma-
sonry wall. Holes are created in the wall and a needle beam
共mounted over the seismic base isolators at a specified distance
apart兲 is constructed progressively below the masonry wall as
shown in Fig. 2共a兲. The temporary supports in the form of under-
pinning are then removed, thereby transferring the vertical load of
the structure towards the foundation through the needle beam and
the base isolators.
Framed Structures
In the case of structures constituting beams and columns, termed
as framed structures, an additional floor in the form of a base raft
 Needle-beam
ll
wa
ry
so n
Ma
Base-isolator
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(a) Load bearing masonry structure
Fig. 2. Details of isolator placement and its arrangements during retrofitting works using base isolation 共a兲 load bearing masonry structure; 共b兲
framed structure
is essential to incorporate the isolators. In a typical retrofitting
work involving base isolation in the case of a framed 共beam-
column兲 structure, near the column-foundation junction 共a pre-
ferred location兲, the column is cut using mechanical cutters and
the seismic base isolator is inserted as shown in Fig. 2共b兲 in
conjunction with a base raft. Alternatively, instead of constructing
the base raft new, the first floor slab could be used to serve as a
base raft, in which case, the isolators are placed at the top of the
first story columns; thereupon, strengthening of the first story col-
umns becomes necessary. Note that placing the isolation layer at
the first story is less effective as compared to the case in which
the base isolators are placed at ground level.
Modalities of Isolation as Retrofit Strategy
In comparison with the conventional retrofit schemes, the alterna-
tive of seismic isolation is beneficial for two basic reasons: 共i兲
conventional strengthening leaves the building susceptible to
damage and potential down time after any major earthquake
event; and 共ii兲 traditional retrofitting techniques have severe ef-
fects on the structure’s operations during the time that the retrofit
work is in progress. Similarly, retrofit work of the bridges using a
conventional strengthening approach results in unacceptably high
construction costs and prolonged construction time with major
disruption to the traffic flow, which can easily be eliminated by
relying upon base isolation as retrofit, improving its ability to
survive under the design earthquake with almost no damage. An
advantage of isolation as a retrofit technique is its unaltered su-
perstructure, especially for historic structures no variation in aes-
thetics of the building is required, helping in architectural
preservation of these monuments. In addition, the technique is
limited only to work at the base level; no superstructure activity
is involved and is free of influence from the superstructure
properties.
In retrofitting works using isolation, the entrance and related
details 共and utility services passing through the plane of isolation
such as gas lines, water supply lines, sever lines, etc.兲 need to be
worked out such that they should not fail during an earthquake
event as well as the isolation should not get locked. Moreover,
provision of separation gap distance 共moat width兲 is to be made in
178 / PRACTICE PERIODICAL ON STRUCTURAL DESIGN AND CONSTRUCTION © ASCE / NOVEMBER 2008
Pract. Period. Struct. Des. Constr. 2008.13:175-185.
Column
Moat
Base-raft
Base-isolator
Foundation
(b) Framed structure
order to accommodate the additional displacements occurring
across the isolation layer and to avoid collision on the adjacent
structures.
Retrofitting of Historical Buildings
The “old, traditionally built” heritage structures, such as the
monuments and traditional historical buildings, are generally
more affected during earthquakes. These buildings are mainly
constructed in the period before the ample use of reinforced con-
crete, with elements and technology based on the experience of
the masons/builders alone, without any structural-seismic design.
Nevertheless, interesting construction techniques could be seen in
these historical buildings throughout the prehistoric period up to
the first half of the twentieth century. In addition, the aging of
these structures and their wearing out due to various causes such
as humidity, ground settlements, pollution, earthquakes, etc. as
well as the lack of maintenance make these structures much more
vulnerable to earthquake action than the modern ones. Therefore,
improvement in the seismic performance of the traditional-
historical buildings is considered necessary, especially for those
located in seismically active regions. The retrofitting by base iso-
lation of such buildings becomes an obvious choice as the histori-
cal architectural characteristics of the building remain preserved.
A list of a few major retrofitting building projects completed
using base isolation is given in Table 1 for demonstration
purposes.
Fig. 3共a兲 shows a model historical building retrofitted by base
isolation. The isolators are installed between the base and foun-
dation of the building using either stone slab or reinforced beam.
Since the building is quite rigid in comparison to the isolation
system, as a result, the building can be idealized as a rigid block
with mass m as shown in the mathematical model in Fig. 3共b兲.
The simplified rigid body modeling of the superstructure of a
base-isolated building was extensively used in the past 共Younis
and Tadjbakhsh 1984; Chen and Ahmadi 1992; Jangid and Kelly
2000兲 and the difference between the responses of isolated struc-
ture with rigid and flexible superstructure was investigated
 Table 1. List of Major Retrofitting Building Projects Completed Using Base Isolation
Sr. number Project and country Year Isolation systems utilized
1. Salt Lake City and County Building Utah 1989 Lead rubber isolators
2. Rockwell International Corporate Headquarters—Building 80 1991 Lead rubber bearings and rubber bearing
Seal Beach, California
3. Campbell Hall Monmouth, Oregon 1993 Lead rubber isolator and rubber isolator
4. U.S. Court of Appeals San Francisco, California 1994 Friction pendulum system
5. New Zealand Parliament Library and Parliament House 1994 Hybrid system: lead rubber isolators, rubber isolators, and
Wellington, New Zealand sliding bearing isolators
6. Rockwell International Corporate Headquarters Seal Beach, 1994 Lead rubber isolator
California
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7. Oakland City Hall Oakland, California 1994 Lead rubber isolator and rubber isolator
8. Hughes Aircraft Building El Segundo, California 1994 Lead rubber bearing and rubber bearing
9. Caltrans Traffic Management Center San Diego, California 1994 High-damping rubber bearings
10. Long Beach V.A. Hospital Long Beach, California 1995 Lead rubber isolator, rubber isolator, and sliding bearing
11. Martin Luther King, Jr. Civic Center Building Berkeley, 1995 High-damping rubber bearing and lead rubber bearing
California
12. Kerckhoff Hall, UCLA Campus Westwood Village, 1996 Lead rubber isolator
California
13. San Francisco City Hall and Civic Center San Francisco, 1998 Lead rubber isolator
California
14. Public Safety Building—911 Emergency Communications 1998 Lead rubber bearing and sliding system
Center San Francisco, California
15. Head office of Himeji Shinkin Bank 共Himeji Credit Bank兲 2000 Rubber bearings and dampers
Himeji City, Hyogo, Japan
16. Laboratory Building of Kansai University Senriyama 2001 Rubber bearings, sliding bearings, and oil dampers
Campus of Kansai University, Suita City, Japan
17. Tokyo DIA Building Tokyo, Japan 2001 Rubber bearings and viscous dampers
18. Shinjuku Station West Entrance Main Building Tokyo, Japan 2002 Rubber bearings

共Kulkarni and Jangid 2002, 2003兲. The bearings considered are
isotropic with similar properties in two horizontal orthogonal di-
rections. The system is modeled as a two degree-of-freedom sys-
tem subjected to two horizontal components of earthquake ground
motion. The seismic response of the retrofitted building is ob-
tained under the 1995 Kobe Earthquake motion recorded at JMA
station. The EW component is applied in the x-direction of the
building, whereas the other normal component NS is applied in
the y-direction. The interaction of response in the x- and
y-directions is duly considered; thus, the actual behavior of struc-
tures is closely modeled. For the base-isolated building, the re-
sponse quantities of interest are the superstructure absolute
acceleration and the relative bearing displacement. The absolute
acceleration developed is directly proportional to the forces ex-
erted on the superstructure due to earthquake ground motion;
these forces are maintained lower than the resisting capacity of
the superstructure 共evaluated by ambient vibration tests兲 with an
appropriate safety margin. On the other hand, the relative base
displacement is crucial from the design point of view of the iso-
lation system.
Fig. 4 shows the time variation of the acceleration and dis-
placement of a retrofitted historical building under EW and NS
components of the 1995 Kobe Earthquake. The response is shown
for HDRB with bearing properties as Tb = 2 sec, and ␤eff = 0.1 and
compared with the corresponding response of the building with-
out retrofitting 共referred to as conventional兲. The figure indicates

u yb
Super- m u xb
structure

Base- kb , cb
isolator
u&&yg

u&&xg

(a) Retrofitted historical building (b) Mathematical model

Fig. 3. Retrofitting of historical building with base isolation 共a兲 retrofitted historical building; 共b兲 mathematical model

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Pract. Period. Struct. Des. Constr. 2008.13:175-185.

Downloaded from ascelibrary.org by Indian Institute of Technology, Delhi on 09/16/14. Copyright ASCE. For personal use only; all rights reserved.

Fig. 4. Time variation of acceleration and displacement of a building isolated by HDRB under the Kobe, 1995 Earthquake 共Tb = 2 sec, and
␤eff = 0.1兲

that there is significant reduction 共by a factor of 0.5 to 0.3兲 in the
superstructure acceleration of the building after being retrofitted
by the base-isolation technique. This implies that the base isola-
tion is effective in retrofitting the existing historical buildings.
The peak bearing displacements are 16.59 and 32.58 cm in the
x- and y-directions of the building, respectively, stipulating the
extent of separation gap distance 共moat width兲 required at the
foundation level to allow free movement of the base without oc-
currence of any impact or pounding.
Similar observations can also be made from the peak re-
sponses of the building mounted over different isolation systems
under the 1940 Imperial Valley, 1994 Northridge, and 1995 Kobe
Earthquakes as shown in Table 2. Seismic responses are also ob-
tained for LRB 共Tb = 2.5 sec, q = 2.5 cm, and Fxy / W = Fyy / W = 0.05兲
and FPS 共Tb = 2.5 sec, and ␮ = 0.05兲, in addition to the HDRB.
Besides the 1995 Kobe Earthquake, two orthogonal components
of the Imperial Valley Earthquake recorded at El Centro and the
Northridge Earthquake recorded at Sylmar Station are applied in
the x- and y-directions of the building and the seismic responses
are evaluated. The average reduction in acceleration imparted in
the superstructure upon using base isolation as a retrofitting
scheme with different isolation systems such as HDRB, LRB, and
FPS is of the order of 0.5.
Retrofitting of Bridges
In bridges, the base-isolation devices can rather easily be incor-
porated by replacing the traditional bridge bearings with the iso-
lation systems 共Kunde and Jangid 2003兲. Base isolation bearings
serve the dual purpose of providing a means for the movements
due to thermal actions as well as protecting the bridge from dy-

Table 2. Peak Seismic Response of a Building Retrofitted by Various Isolation Systems

Imperial Valley, 1940 Northridge, 1994 Kobe, 1995
Isolation Displacement Acceleration Displacement Acceleration Displacement Acceleration
system Direction 共cm兲 共g兲 共cm兲 共g兲 共cm兲 共g兲
Retrofitted HDRB x-direction 14.72 0.149 34.06 0.342 16.59 0.172
y-direction 14.40 0.146 49.55 0.501 32.58 0.338
LRB x-direction 13.02 0.112 46.65 0.313 17.15 0.130
y-direction 11.91 0.101 55.41 0.385 28.25 0.207
FPS x-direction 10.26 0.113 51.37 0.344 16.70 0.134
y-direction 10.64 0.095 66.98 0.466 25.71 0.210
Conventional x-direction 0.342 0.593 0.617
— — —
y-direction 0.210 0.827 0.818

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 Table 3. List of Major Retrofitting Bridge Projects Completed Using Base Isolation
Sr. number Project and country Year Isolation systems utilized
1. Eel River Bridge Robinson’s Ferry, Rio Dell, California 1988 Lead rubber isolators
2. Benicia-Martinez Bridge San Francisco, California 2000 Friction pendulum bearings
3. Offshore Bridge Structure Caspian Sea 2000 Spherical PTFE sliding bearing with steel hysteretic dampers
4. Highway Bridges in Illinois 2003 Friction pendulum bearings
5. Million Dollar Bridge on the Copper River Cordova, Alaska 2004 Friction pendulum bearings

namic loads by increasing the fundamental time period and dissi- sumption as the base isolation attempts to reduce the earthquake
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pating the seismic energy in hysteretic damping. A list of a few
major retrofitting bridge projects that utilized the base-isolation
technique is given in Table 3.
In order to demonstrate the effectiveness of seismic isolation, a
three-span continuous deck bridge made of reinforced concrete is
considered as shown in Fig. 5共a兲. The properties of the bridge
deck and piers are given in Table 4. The bridge is seismically
retrofitted by using the elastomeric bearings at pier and abutment
locations. The bridge is mathematically idealized as shown in Fig.
5共b兲 共Tongaonkar and Jangid 2002, 2003兲. The superstructure and
substructure of the bridge are modeled as a lumped mass system
divided into a number of small discrete segments. Each adjacent
segment is connected by a node, and two mutually perpendicular
degrees of freedom are considered at each node. The masses of
each segment are assumed to be distributed between the two ad-
jacent nodes in the form of point masses. In addition, the bridge
superstructure and piers are assumed to remain in the elastic
range during the earthquake excitation. This is a reasonable as-
Deck
Isolation system or
bearings
Abutment
Rock
line
response in such a way that the structure remains within the elas-
tic range.
The seismic response of a retrofitted bridge is investigated
under Kobe, 1995 Earthquake motion in which the EW and NS
components are applied in the x- and y-directions of the bridge,
respectively. The bridge is retrofitted by providing the identical
bearings at the abutment and pier locations. The total stiffness and
damping of these bearings is selected in such a way as to provide
specific values of the isolation period Tb and the damping ratio
␤eff based on the deck mass of the bridge; refer to Eqs. 共2兲 and
共3兲. In Fig. 6, the time variation of the base shear developed in the
pier and relative displacement of the bearings of the bridge retro-
fitted by the elastomeric bearings is shown. The bearing is de-
signed to provide isolation time period Tb = 2 sec 共based on rigid
deck and pier condition兲 and 10% damping ratio. As can be seen
from the figure, the base shear in the piers is significantly reduced
共about 80–90%兲 for the retrofitted bridge system as compared to
the conventional bridge system in both the directions of the
bridge. This indicates that the isolation systems are quite effective
in reducing the earthquake response of the bridge. The maximum
peak displacements of the bearing are 16.59 and 32.58 cm, re-
spectively, in the x- and y-directions of the bridge.
Similar observations can be made from the peak responses of
the isolated bridge using different isolation systems under the
1940 Imperial Valley, 1994 Northridge, and 1995 Kobe Earth-
Pier quakes as shown in Table 5. The average reduction in the base
shear generated in the piers upon using base isolation as a retro-
fitting scheme with different isolation systems such as HDRB,
LRB, and FPS is of the order of 0.8.

(a) Model of three-span continuous girder bridge

y1 yi Retrofitting of Liquid Storage Tanks

1 x1 2 Deck i xi

Isolation
Abutment
system
Abutment Liquid storage tanks are lifeline structures and strategically very
important, since they have vital use in industries and nuclear
Pier
yN power plants. Past earthquakes have confirmed the seismic vul-
xN
nerability of tanks, wherein, damage occurred in the form of
buckling of a tank wall due to excessive development of compres-
sive stresses, failure of piping systems, and uplift of anchorage
(b) Mathematical modeling of isolated bridge system. The seismic behavior of liquid storage tanks is highly
complex due to the liquid-structure interaction leading to a te-
Fig. 5. Typical three-span continuous bridge with seismic bearings dious design procedure from an earthquake-resistant design point
of view. A seismic retrofit strategy in the form of using friction
Table 4. Properties of the Bridge Deck and Piers
dampers in the tower of elevated liquid storage tanks was re-
Properties Deck Piers ported 共Hale and Pall 2000兲; however, no tank retrofit project is
Cross-sectional area 共m 兲 2
3.57 4.09 found by the writers in which a base isolation technique has been
Moment of inertia 共m4兲 2.08 0.64
utilized. However, similar to as explained above, the base isola-
tion technique can be effectively used as a retrofit scheme in the
Young’s modulus of elasticity 共N / m2兲 20.67⫻ 109 20.67⫻ 109
case of the liquid storage tanks as well.
Mass density 共kg/ m3兲 2.400⫻ 103 2.400⫻ 103
The structural model considered for a retrofitted cylindrical
Length/height 共m兲 3@30= 90 8
liquid storage tank is shown in Fig. 7, in which the seismic iso-

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Fig. 6. Time variation of base shear and bearing displacement of bridge isolated by HDRB under the Kobe, 1995 Earthquake 共Tb = 2 sec, and
␤eff = 0.1兲

lation systems are installed between the base and foundation of
the tank. This lumped mass model has been extensively used in
the past to study the effectiveness of seismic isolation for liquid
storage tanks 共Kim and Lee 1995; Malhotra 1997; Shrimali and
Jangid 2002a,b兲. The contained liquid is considered as incom-
pressible, inviscid, and has irrotational flow. During the base ex-
citation, the entire tank liquid mass vibrates in three distinct
patterns, such as sloshing or convective mass 共i.e., top liquid
mass, which changes the free liquid surface兲, impulsive mass 共i.e.,
intermediate liquid mass vibrating along with the tank wall兲, and
rigid mass 共i.e., the lower liquid mass, which rigidly moves with
the tank wall兲. There are various modes in which sloshing and
impulsive masses vibrate; however, the response can be predicted
by considering the first sloshing mode and the first impulsive
mode. Therefore, the continuous liquid is modeled as lumped
masses with flexible tank, i.e., Haroun’s model 共Haroun 1983兲.
The sloshing, impulsive, and rigid lumped masses are denoted by
mc, mi, and mr, respectively. The sloshing and impulsive masses
are connected to the tank wall by corresponding equivalent
springs having stiffness kc共=mc␻2c 兲 and ki共=mi␻2i 兲, respectively.
The parameters ␻c and ␻i denote the sloshing and impulsive fre-
quencies of the liquid mass, respectively. The base-isolated tank
system is considered to have six degrees of freedom under bidi-
rectional earthquake excitation. These degrees of freedom are de-
noted by uxc, uxi, and uxb, which denote the absolute displacement
of the sloshing, impulsive, and rigid masses, respectively, in the
x-direction. Similarly, the degrees of freedom in the y-direction
are denoted by uyc, uyi, and uyb, which denote the absolute dis-
placement of the sloshing, impulsive, and rigid masses, respec-
tively. Further, self-weight of the tank is neglected since it is very
small 共less than 5% of the effective weight of the tank兲. The

Table 5. Peak Seismic Response of Continuous Girder Bridge Retrofitted by Various Isolation Systems
Imperial Valley, 1940 Northridge, 1994 Kobe, 1995
Isolation Displacement Normalized Displacement Normalized Displacement Normalized
system Direction 共cm兲 pier base shear 共cm兲 pier base shear 共cm兲 pier base shear
Retrofitted HDRB x-direction 14.72 0.049 34.06 0.101 16.59 0.073
y-direction 14.40 0.045 49.55 0.144 32.58 0.102
LRB x-direction 13.01 0.037 46.63 0.090 17.15 0.066
y-direction 11.91 0.346 55.39 0.111 28.23 0.077
FPS x-direction 10.25 0.043 51.36 0.098 16.70 0.069
y-direction 10.64 0.032 66.98 0.127 25.71 0.072
Conventional x-direction 0.123 0.214 0.222
— — —
y-direction 0.076 0.300 0.294

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 冑
uyc
uxc P E
kc ␻i = 共11兲
mc H ␳s

冑 冉冊
uyi
uxi g
ki ␻c = 1.84 tanh共1.84S兲 共12兲
mi H R
Hc
uyb where ␥c, ␥i, and ␥r = mass ratios associated with the sloshing,
Hi uxb impulsive, and rigid masses of the tank liquid, respectively; ␳w
mr = mass density of the tank liquid; E and ␳s = modulus of elasticity
Hr and density of the tank wall, respectively; S = H / R = aspect ratio of
the tank 共i.e., ratio of the liquid height to the radius of the tank兲;
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Base-isolator
g = acceleration due to gravity; and P = dimensionless parameter.
u&&yg The parameters ␥c, ␥i, ␥r, and P are functions of the aspect ratio
u&&xg of the tank S and th / R ratio 共Haroun 1983兲.
The horizontal stiffness kb and viscous damping cb of the bear-
Fig. 7. Mathematical model of base-isolated liquid storage tank ings are designed such as to provide specific values of the two
parameters, namely, the isolation time period Tb and damping
ratio ␤eff defined in Eqs. 共2兲 and 共3兲, respectively, in both orthogo-
geometric parameters of the cylindrical tank considered are liquid nal directions owing to the isotropic nature of the seismic isola-
height, H; radius, R; and average thickness of the tank wall, th. tion systems. The mass considered to determine these parameters
The various masses and associated natural frequencies of the is the total effective mass M = mc + mi + mr of the isolated liquid
tank liquid are expressed as 共Haroun 1983兲 storage tank.
Time variations of different response quantities such as nor-
mc = m␥c 共7兲 malized base shear, Fs / W 共where W = effective weight of the
tank兲; impulsive displacements 共i.e., uxi = uxi − uxb, uyi = uyi − uyb兲,
mi = m␥i 共8兲 and relative bearing displacements 共i.e., uxb, uyb兲 of a slender tank
共S = 1.85, and H = 11.3 m兲 under EW and NS components of the
1995 Kobe Earthquake ground motion is shown in Fig. 8. The
mr = m␥r 共9兲 responses are shown for both conventional and retrofitted condi-
tions. The parameters of the isolation systems considered are Tb
m = ␲R2H␳w 共10兲 = 2 sec, and ␤eff = 0.1. It can be observed from the figure that the

Fig. 8. Time variation of response quantities of liquid storage tank isolated by HDRB under the Kobe, 1995 Earthquake 共Tb = 2 sec, and ␤eff
= 0.1兲

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 Table 6. Peak Seismic Response of Liquid Storage Tank Retrofitted by Various Isolation Systems
Imperial Valley, 1940 Northridge, 1994 Kobe, 1995
Isolation Displacement Normalized Displacement Normalized Displacement Normalized
system Direction 共cm兲 base shear 共cm兲 base shear 共cm兲 base shear
Retrofitted HDRB x-direction 11.0 0.113 26.08 0.270 15.55 0.158
y-direction 9.91 0.102 42.63 0.441 30.79 0.323
LRB x-direction 7.37 0.083 23.79 0.198 12.66 0.114
y-direction 7.67 0.098 42.17 0.323 23.28 0.196
FPS x-direction 5.29 0.080 35.44 0.260 13.18 0.118
y-direction 7.61 0.098 48.11 0.360 22.94 0.191
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Conventional x-direction 0.481 0.529 0.579

— — —
y-direction 0.313 0.756 0.859

base shear 共Fs / W兲 and impulsive displacement of the retrofitted
tank are less in comparison to that of the conventional system.
This indicates that the base isolation is quite effective in reducing
the base shear and impulsive displacement of the liquid storage
tank. Further, the peak bearing displacements in the isolator are
found to be of the order of 15.55 and 30.79 cm, respectively, in
the x- and y-directions. Thus, the base isolation is significantly
effective in seismic retrofitting of the existing liquid storage
tanks.
From Table 6, similar observations can be made wherein the
peak responses of the isolated liquid storage tank using different
isolation systems under the 1940 Imperial Valley, 1994
Northridge, and 1995 Kobe Earthquakes are tabulated. The aver-
age reduction in the base shear generated in the tank wall upon
using base isolation as a retrofitting scheme with different isola-
tion systems such as HDRB, LRB, and FPS is of the order of
60%.
Conclusions
The construction practice and effectiveness of the base isolation is
investigated for retrofitting works of the existing structures. The
analytical seismic responses of retrofitted structures 共such as his-
torical buildings, bridges, and liquid storage tanks兲 using different
isolation systems are obtained under different earthquakes and
compared with the corresponding conventional structure 共i.e.,
without retrofitting兲. This study distinctively presented modalities
involved in the construction technique of seismic retrofitting
using the base isolation strategy. The following conclusions are
arrived at from the presented study:
1. The seismic base isolation provides two important design
features for the structures: it reduces the seismic forces by a
factor ranging from 0.3 to 0.8 in the superstructures, and
controls the distribution of these reduced lateral forces
among the substructures and foundations to further enhance
the overall economy and effectiveness of the retrofit designs;
2. The seismic response of the retrofitted structures is signifi-
cantly reduced in comparison to the conventional structures,
implying that the base isolation is quite effective in retrofit-
ting the existing structures;
3. Both the elastomeric and sliding systems are found to be
effective in retrofitting of the building, bridge, and tank
structures;
4. The original uniqueness and aesthetic value of the historical
monumental structures are maintained unaltered, even after
retrofitting achieved through base isolation;
5. The retrofitting work can be carried out without interrupting
共or abandoning兲 the regular activities in case of any structure
being retrofitted using base isolation; and
6. The construction methodology described in this paper can be
adopted in the retrofitting projects involving base isolation
technique.
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