Advancing seismic performance: Isolators, TMDs, and multi-level strategies in reinforced concrete buildings

Abstract

Abstract This study evaluates seismic mitigation methods, including high damping rubber bearing, lead rubber bearing, double sliding pendulum (DSP), and tuned mass damper (TMD), considering earthquake intensity, building height, and isolation level. Moreover, the study delves into a novel approach that incorporates multi-level isolation and multi-level TMD. Reinforced concrete buildings, ranging in height from 4 to 40 storeys, were nalysed and nalysed using SAP2000 under the seismic influence of the Badra, El Centro, and Northridge earthquakes. The study reveals a significant rise in the fundamental period (T) with base isolation systems, reaching 378% of the fixed base value for a six-storey building. Building height directly affects T values, with simplified equations introduced for calculation. DSP proves 5% more efficient in reducing base shear (BS), while TMD is effective in weaker earthquakes for minimizing lateral displacement. Base isolators outperform mid-level isolation and TMD at the top storey. Combining base isolators with TMD at the top storey is deemed impractical and uneconomical. The study recommends multilevel isolation or multilevel TMD for enhanced seismic isolation efficiency, with four-level isolation achieving an 80% reduction in BS for 12-storey buildings. In addition, four-level TMD outperforms TMD at the top storey with a 44.5% reduction in BS, surpassing the 26.6% reduction achieved with TMD at the top storey only.