Recommended Design Criteria and Implementation Strategies for Seismic Isolation

Based on proven successful performance of select seismically isolated building and infrastructure projects under moderate to severe earthquakes around the world, the present paper provides a series of recommended design criteria and special considerations targeting the Continued Functionality of seismically isolated structures. The recommendations offered by the authors for building structures include inter-story drift limits, floor spectral acceleration limits, spectral response modification factors, and other key design parameters for the protected structure, targeting enhanced structural reliability and reduced collapse probability. Other special considerations involving limitations and applicability of different isolation systems, seismic deficiencies related to inadequate material selection for the isolation hardware, and comprehensive manufacturer and isolator qualification and quality control requirements, are also presented herein.