Benefits of base-isolated building with laminated rubber bearings for indoor free-standing equipment

It is well-known that base-isolation can produce a very substantial reduction in seismic response of building, and can protect the internal equipment against damage in strong seismic event. The benefits of base-isolated building with laminated rubber bearings (LRB) for indoor free-standing equipment is presented in the paper. The free-standing equipment is modeled as a rigid body, and the base on which the equipment stands is regarded to be rigid. Taking the model of one story concrete reinforced frame building base-isolated by LRB under harmonic excitation on the shaking table in the Department of Civil Engineering of Huazhong University of Science & Technology as an analysis example, it can be concluded that building base-isolated by LRB can very well meet the need of protecting indoor free-standing equipment under strong seismic.