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Sliding bearings have been extensively used to implement base isolation design in civil engineering works. Testing of isolators is conducted for characterizing the design properties to be used in structural analysis, as well as for verifying the performance of the devices before their application. The quantification of the effects of scaling specimens and testing on the observed coefficient of friction is an issue, due to the nonlinear dependence of friction on several factors like load, velocity and temperature. An effort to quantify such effects is pursued in the study. The coefficient of friction is parameterized as a function of few dimensionless quantities related to heating of the sliding surfaces, and similarity conditions are assessed under which the influence of scaling is below normal production variability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the recent past, numerical and experimental investigations on full-scale isolators have led to extensive improvements in seismic isolation techniques for bridge structures. Significant advances in dynamic testing techniques have been made at both software and hardware levels, and the response of an isolated bridge can be realistically simulated. In general, the response of an isolated bridge structure is strongly affected by the valley topography; therefore, high piers may not need isolation devices, since they are flexible enough to accommodate the design displacement in the elastic range. On the other hand, at those locations no hysteretic damping is provided and higher displacements can be achieved, compared to the maximum displacement allowance. In this work, a simplified procedure is proposed for the optimization of isolation systems for bridge structures. The seismic response of a designed case study structure is investigated through nonlinear time history analyses, and the effective contributions of both the nonlinear hysteretic behaviour of isolators and the elastic response of piers are considered. Regarding displacement and force responses in particular, the results show a very good agreement between mean and single-event peak responses, and the corresponding values returned by the proposed design procedure. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article presents a summary of the experimental dynamic response of curved surface sliders as resulting from more than 1000 dynamic tests on about 60 different types of devices performed at the laboratory of the EUCENTRE foundation. Two different kinds of low-friction sliding materials have been employed in the devices, derived from polyamide (PA), or polyethylene (PE) materials. The rate of change of the dynamic friction coefficient as a function of sliding velocity and contact pressure is assessed and the transition phase between dynamic and static friction, with the consequent possible evidence of static/stick-slip phenomena, has been carefully considered. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Concave surface slider (CSS) devices represent an effective solution for base-isolation design problems. In such isolators the energy dissipation capability is induced by the sliding motions which occur at one or more sliding interfaces. The spherical shape of the sliding surfaces provides a significant recentering behavior, by means of the stepwise projection of the applied vertical load with respect to both horizontal directions. For two-components earthquake excitations, the recentering force is computed as a linear spring with respect to displacements along the main directions of motion; whereas, the frictional response is returned by the stepwise projection of the total frictional force, which is aligned with respect to the trajectory of the device: thus, a bi-axial interaction of the directions of motion has to be accounted for, when a friction-based device is modelled. However, available commercial software which can capture such a behavior are limited. In this work an analytical procedure is defined, for the computation of an “equivalent uniaxial accelerogram” for the seismic assessment of a base-isolated structure, subjected to a bi-directional earthquake. Thanks to the proposed theory, it is possible to compute a single ground acceleration time-history, related to a proper direction angle, which can reproduce the same effects of a two-components seismic event on a base-isolated structural system: the analogy between the equivalent uniaxial and the bi-directional events has been studied in terms of acceleration, velocity and displacement spectra respectively. Results for the base-isolated structure have been analyzed in terms of displacement, absolute acceleration and interstorey shear responses. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the last decades, particular attention has been paid to the seismic vulnerability of existing reinforced concrete buildings designed for gravity loads only. Such buildings, designed before the introduction of capacity design in modern seismic codes, are very common, particularly in seismic prone countries of the Mediterranean area. Due to poor detailing and lacking of capacity design principles, high vulnerability has been highlighted in several past studies. In this article, inadequate seismic response and peculiar damage pattern are investigated by means of shake table tests performed on a 1:2 scaled 3-story infilled prototype. Particular attention is given to the role of beam-column joints and frame-panel interaction. The effectiveness of the EC8-based assessment approach is then evaluated; both linear and nonlinear numerical models, with different levels of sophistication, have been implemented in order to explore their behavioral aspects. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Real-Time Dynamic Hybrid Test (RTDHT) is a promising experimental testing technique, which combines numerical simulation and experimental testing of physical specimen in a complementary and efficient way. However, taking advantage of both numerical and experimental capabilities requires facing issues related to both environments. In this article, the design and implementation of a RTDHT hardware and software architecture is presented. Issues related both to the numerical model and to the experimental setup are discussed; this is done from a general perspective, as well as referring to a base isolated structure which represents the implemented case study. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The research work presented in this paper deals with the seismic assessment of hollow bridge piers strengthened with fibre-reinforced polymer (FRP). The scope of the strengthening is to overcome some common deficiencies derived from the use of non-seismic design rules, which can often lead to inadequate response when operating in cyclic loading. The strengthening design was studied by means of a parametric analysis considering different fibres and geometrical parameters applied to typical case studies. Quasi-static cyclic tests were performed on five 1:4 scaled piers designed according to old non-seismic Italian codes and strengthened according to the previous analytical study. Efficiency of FRP strengthening was evaluated by comparing the experimental results with those obtained in a previous experimental research performed on similar non-strengthened specimens. Base shear versus lateral deflection curves, dissipated energy and collapse mechanisms comparison shows the achievable effectiveness once the debonding risk has been overcome. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]