The base isolator efficiently protects power plants, LNG tanks, bridges and buildings from the earthquakes has the advantage of reducing the costs in comparison with the earthquake resistance design. As the base isolated structures behave inelastically under the earthquake, the experimental study should be conducted to estimate the seismic performance and to predict the seismic response of the base isolation system. In this thesis, pseudo-dynamic test method is used to evaluate the seismic performance of base isolated structures.
In this study, pseudo-dynamic technique on 1/4 reduced scale base isolator based on the similitude law is proposed which is able to simulate the behavior of the fullscale base isolator under the major earthquake. The effective period of the base isolated structure is determined by considering the relationship between the displacement and the acceleration of the roof of the base isolated structure for the specific period. The reductive effects of the seismic responses are dependent on properly selecting the effective period of base isolation system. Sub-structuring technique is used for pseudo-dynamic test of base isolated structures. Two types of framed structures were tested to evaluate the seismic performance and to predict the seismic response of base isolator on quasi-static testing facilities.
