DOI : https://doi.org/10.18517/ijaseit.15.2.20636

Earthquake Resilience in Low-Rise Concrete Buildings: A Study on the Effectiveness of Base Isolators

Riza Suwondo (1), Dawson Susanto (2), Made Suangga (3), Mohammed Sohaib Alama (4)
(1) Civil Engineering Department, Faculty of Engineering, Bina Nusantara University, Jakarta, Indonesia
(2) Civil Engineering Department, Faculty of Engineering, Bina Nusantara University, Jakarta, Indonesia
(3) Civil Engineering Department, Faculty of Engineering, Bina Nusantara University, Jakarta, Indonesia
(4) Civil Engineering Department, Faculty of Engineering, King Abdulaziz University, Saudi Arabia
Fulltext View | Download
How to cite (IJASEIT) :
[1]
R. Suwondo, D. Susanto, M. Suangga, and M. S. Alama, “Earthquake Resilience in Low-Rise Concrete Buildings: A Study on the Effectiveness of Base Isolators”, Int. J. Adv. Sci. Eng. Inf. Technol., vol. 15, no. 2, pp. 633–639, Apr. 2025.
Citation Format :
Earthquakes pose significant challenges worldwide, causing severe structural damage, loss of life, and socioeconomic disruptions. To mitigate seismic effects, base isolators have emerged as an effective design strategy for reducing structural damage by decoupling buildings from ground motion. This study investigates the seismic performance of a low-rise concrete building equipped with base isolators, focusing on the influence of isolator mass, stiffness, and damping ratio on key structural responses, including the base shear, natural period, and inelastic storey drift. A symmetric three-storey building was analysed using linear time-history analysis. The ground motions were scaled according to the Indonesian Seismic Code (SNI 1726:2019) to reflect local seismic hazards. Base isolators were modelled as joint springs, and variations in mass (15, 30, and 45 kN), stiffness (1500, 3000, and 4500 kN/m), and damping ratios (20%, 30%, and 40%) were systematically evaluated. The results reveal that increasing the stiffness of the base isolators significantly increases the base shear and inelastic storey drift, whereas higher damping ratios effectively reduce both parameters. Variations in the isolator mass have a minimal impact on the structural response. Additionally, the natural period of the building remained constant across different damping ratios, highlighting the dominant role of the mass and stiffness in the period determination. These findings emphasise the importance of optimising isolator properties to balance seismic performance and structural safety. This study provides critical insights into the design of base-isolated buildings and offers a valuable reference for enhancing the resilience and safety of structures in earthquake-prone regions.

N. H. Aswad, H. Parung, R. Irmawaty, A. A. Amiruddin, and Fakhruddin, "Structural ductility of RBS on castellated beam subjected to cyclic loading," IOP Conf. Ser.: Earth Environ. Sci., vol. 419, no. 1, p. 012151, 2020, doi: 10.1088/1755-1315/419/1/012151.

B. Castillo et al., "Seismic performance assessment of a low-rise thin reinforced concrete wall building with unconnected fiber reinforced elastomeric isolators using real-time hybrid simulations," J. Build. Eng., vol. 89, p. 109303, 2024, doi: 10.1016/j.jobe.2024.109303.

R. B. Taymus et al., "Seismic design optimization of space steel frame buildings equipped with triple friction pendulum base isolators," J. Build. Eng., vol. 92, p. 109748, 2024, doi:10.1016/j.jobe.2024.109748.

G. Pianese et al., "Shake table tests on a rigid block isolated with high-damping unbonded fiber-reinforced elastomeric isolators," Structures, vol. 64, p. 106595, 2024, doi: 10.1016/j.istruc.2024.106595.

T. Yu et al., "Modeling and model updating of a full-scale experimental base-isolated building," Eng. Struct., vol. 280, p. 114216, 2023, doi: 10.1016/j.engstruct.2022.114216.

M. Fakih et al., "Effect of Lead-Rubber Bearing Isolators in Reducing Seismic Damage for a High-Rise Building in Comparison with Normal Shear Wall System," SDHM Struct. Durab. Health Monit., vol. 15, no. 3, pp. 247–260, 2021, doi: 10.32604/sdhm.2021.015174.

X. Wang and Z. Qu, "Advantages of base isolation in reducing the reliability sensitivity to structural uncertainties of buildings," Eng. Struct., vol. 323, p. 119235, 2025, doi:10.1016/j.engstruct.2024.119235.

A. Azizi and M. Barghian, "Introducing a multi-layer pendulum isolator and investigating its effect on structures’ responses during some earthquakes," Structures, vol. 57, p. 105206, 2023, doi:10.1016/j.istruc.2023.105206.

P. J. Soares et al., "Experimental and numerical study of a base-isolated building subjected to vibrations induced by railway traffic," Eng. Struct., vol. 316, p. 118467, 2024, doi:10.1016/j.engstruct.2024.118467.

H. Fu, Y. Cao, and Z. Qu, "Substructural shake table testing for nonstructural elements of various damage sensitivity in a fixed-base and a base-isolated building," Eng. Struct., vol. 321, p. 119017, 2024, doi: 10.1016/j.engstruct.2024.119017.

S. Ebrahimi, H. Naderpour, and S. M. Zahrai, "Comprehensive evaluation of seismic fragility in base isolated buildings enhanced with supplemental dampers considering pounding phenomenon," Structures, vol. 68, p. 107077, 2024, doi:10.1016/j.istruc.2024.107077.

A. Pardo-Ramos and C. Marin-Artieda, "Effects of isolator modeling on the predicted responses of an HDR base-isolated building," Eng. Struct., vol. 294, p. 116743, 2023, doi:10.1016/j.engstruct.2023.116743.

L. Jiang, J. Zhong, and W. Yuan, "The pulse effect on the isolation device optimization of simply supported bridges in near-fault regions," Structures, vol. 27, pp. 853–867, 2020, doi:10.1016/j.istruc.2020.06.034.

A. Tsipianitis and Y. Tsompanakis, "Optimizing the seismic response of base-isolated liquid storage tanks using swarm intelligence algorithms," Comput. Struct., vol. 243, p. 106407, 2021, doi:10.1016/j.compstruc.2020.106407.

S. Radkia et al., "Investigating the effects of seismic isolators on steel asymmetric structures considering soil-structure interaction," Structures, vol. 27, pp. 1029–1040, 2020, doi:10.1016/j.istruc.2020.07.019.

D. H. Zelleke, S. K. Saha, and V. A. Matsagar, "Reliability-based multi-hazard design optimization of base-isolated buildings," Eng. Struct., vol. 301, p. 117242, 2024, doi:10.1016/j.engstruct.2023.117242.

D. De Domenico et al., "Full-scale experimental tests on unbonded fiber reinforced elastomeric isolators under bidirectional excitation," Procedia Struct. Integr., vol. 44, pp. 1498–1505, 2022, doi: 10.1016/j.prostr.2023.01.192.

F. Mazza, M. Mazza, and A. Vulcano, "Base-isolation systems for the seismic retrofitting of r.c. framed buildings with soft-storey subjected to near-fault earthquakes," Soil Dyn. Earthq. Eng., vol. 109, pp. 209–221, 2018, doi: 10.1016/j.soildyn.2018.02.025.

F. Mazza, "Seismic demand of base-isolated irregular structures subjected to pulse-type earthquakes," Soil Dyn. Earthq. Eng., vol. 108, pp. 111–129, 2018, doi: 10.1016/j.soildyn.2017.11.030.

J. Gudainiyan and P. K. Gupta, "A comparative study on the response of the L-shaped base isolated multi-storey building to near and far field earthquake ground motion," Forces Mech., vol. 11, p. 100191, 2023, doi: 10.1016/j.finmec.2023.100191.

M. C. Chen et al., "Performance-based seismic design framework for inertia-sensitive nonstructural components in base-isolated buildings," J. Build. Eng., vol. 43, p. 103073, 2021, doi:10.1016/j.jobe.2021.103073.

F. Khoshnudian and D. Motamedi, "Seismic response of asymmetric steel isolated structures considering vertical component of earthquakes," KSCE J. Civ. Eng., vol. 17, no. 6, pp. 1333–1347, 2013, doi: 10.1007/s12205-013-0115-5.

Y. Jalali, G. G. Amiri, and A. Shakouri, "Comparative response assessment of base-isolated braced-frame buildings considering effects of ductility design," J. Build. Eng., vol. 43, p. 103110, 2021, doi: 10.1016/j.jobe.2021.103110.

Z. N. Md, M. S. C., and S. K. R. Jyosyula, "Performance of low-cost unreinforced elastomeric isolator for masonry building: Experimental investigations and numerical analysis," Structures, vol. 63, p. 106365, 2024, doi: 10.1016/j.istruc.2024.106365.

A. Ziraoui et al., "Seismic behavior of base-isolated building structures with lead rubber bearings (LRBs)," Procedia Struct. Integr., vol. 61, pp. 171–179, 2024, doi: 10.1016/j.prostr.2024.06.023.

T. Falborski and R. Jankowski, "Behaviour of asymmetric structure with base isolation made of polymeric bearings," in Seismic Behaviour and Design of Irregular and Complex Civil Structures II, Z. Zembaty and M. De Stefano, Eds. Cham: Springer, 2016, pp. 333–341, doi:10.1007/978-3-319-14246-3_30.

A. Mahamied et al., "Influence of vertical irregularity on the seismic behavior of base isolated RC structures with lead rubber bearings under pulse-like earthquakes," SDHM Struct. Durab. Health Monit., vol. 17, no. 6, pp. 501–519, 2023, doi: 10.32604/sdhm.2023.028686.

S. Etedali and M. R. Sohrabi, "A proposed approach to mitigate the torsional amplifications of asymmetric base-isolated buildings during earthquakes," KSCE J. Civ. Eng., vol. 20, no. 2, pp. 768–776, 2016, doi: 10.1007/s12205-015-0325-0.

J. E. Luco, "Effects of soil–structure interaction on seismic base isolation," Soil Dyn. Earthq. Eng., vol. 66, pp. 167–177, 2014, doi:10.1016/j.soildyn.2014.05.007.

BSN, SNI 1727-2020: Beban desain minimum dan kriteria terkait untuk bangunan gedung dan struktur lain. Jakarta: Badan Standar Nasional Indonesia, 2020.

BSN, SNI 1726-2019: Tata cara perencanaan ketahanan gempa untuk struktur bangunan gedung dan non gedung. Jakarta: Badan Standar Nasional Indonesia, 2019.

CSI, ETABS Analysis Design and Building Systems. Walnut Creek, CA: Computers and Structures, Inc., 2023.

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

Authors who publish with this journal agree to the following terms:

    1. Authors retain copyright and grant the journal right of first publication with the work simultaneously licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution License that allows others to share the work with an acknowledgement of the work's authorship and initial publication in this journal.
    2. Authors are able to enter into separate, additional contractual arrangements for the non-exclusive distribution of the journal's published version of the work (e.g., post it to an institutional repository or publish it in a book), with an acknowledgement of its initial publication in this journal.
    3. Authors are permitted and encouraged to post their work online (e.g., in institutional repositories or on their website) prior to and during the submission process, as it can lead to productive exchanges, as well as earlier and greater citation of published work (See The Effect of Open Access).