Seismic performance of a rolling-damper isolation system

The movement characteristics of a rolling-damper isolation system were analyzed to obtain a numerical analysis approach. Computer programs were compiled to analyze the influence of factors such as rolling friction coefficients and damping constants on the earthquake response of the isolation system. The rolling friction and the damper can efficiently decrease the relative displacement of the isolation system, and can considerably increase the acceleration of the isolation system. However, they cannot regularly affect the residual displacement of the isolation system. Therefore, when subjected to design earthquakes, it is desired to obtain a reasonable combination of damper and rolling friction that can decrease the relative displacement of the isolation system to the best while keep the acceleration of the isolation system in an allowable range. This paper provides suggestions on the optimized combination of damper and rolling friction for seismic design of isolation systems.