Καθ. κ. Giuseppe Oliveto
Πανεπιστήμιο Κατάνιας

Παρασκευή 22 Μαΐου 2009, 10:30πμ
Αίθουσα Συνεδριάσεων Τμήματος

Σεισμική αναβάθμιση και δυναμικές δοκιμές υφισταμένου κτηρίου οπλισμένου σκυροδέματος με σεισμική μόνωση

Seismic Retrofitting, Base Isolation, Dynamic Testing and System Identification: A Case Study in Sicily

     Around the turn of the century an opportunity arose for the seismic retrofitting of two reinforced concrete buildings in the Sicilian town of Solarino in the province of Syracuse. Site inspection, as well as vulnerability and strengthening studies showed that the most economical and effective retrofitting system would be seismic isolation. A hybrid base isolation system composed of 12 high damping rubber bearings (HDRB) and 13 low friction sliding bearings (LFSB) was designed and implemented. In order to gain information on the actual behaviour of hybrid base isolation systems it was decided to test one of the buildings by statically pushing it up to the design displacement and then suddenly releasing it. Six of such tests were performed in July 2004 and a wealth of information in the form of base displacements and floor accelerations was recorded and stored. The recorded data show typical features of hybrid isolation systems such as the decay in time of amplitude and period of vibration and sudden changes in sign of the friction forces.

     The subsequent phase of the study consisted of the interpretation of the results and stored data, to gain as much useful information as possible. During this stage of the study different approaches were used starting with elementary dynamics and going towards more sophisticated system identification methods both in the frequency and in the time domain. The aim of this presentation is to tell the story as it developed while, showing some of the tests and the results that were obtained.