Dynamic Analysis of High Rise Seismically Isolated Buildings

The purpose of this paper is to offer a relative understanding of the seismic performance enhancements that a typical 40-story steel office building can achieve through the implementation of base isolation technology. To reach this understanding, the structures of a fixed-base office building and a base-isolated office building of similar size and layout were designed; their seismic performance was compared in both response spectrum analysis and time history analysis. As a result of this paper, building owners and construction industry professionals can recognize the benefits of implementing base isolation on a wider range of projects, thereby creating the potential for a significant increase in the technology’s use.