The Sliding isolation pendulum for seismic protection of buildings

Special measures for effective seismic protection of buildings are and will be applied more often in the future due to increasing requirements. The impact requirements, i.e. the earthquake data, get more severe, as in many countries revised probabilities for more severe earthquakes were and will be defined. On the resistance side the standards and national requirements define new limits for maximum stresses and accelerations within the building structure to provide best possible damage limitation. The principle of seismic isolation is a method to provide structural flexibility to avoid big accelerations within the structure. The Sliding Isolation Pendulum (SIP) is a device decoupling the structure from the ground, supporting the entire structure, granting for the necessary damping and ensuring the re-centring of the structure during and after an earthquake. The application of the SIP is illustrated for three recently constructed buildings in Greece and Turkey.