ABSTRACT
Nowadays seismic isolation is a design strategy that is becoming more popular. To protect the structure from seismic effects, this strategy is based on structure and soil movement decoupling. This is obtained adding flexible devices to horizontal displacement but rigid to vertical displacement. These devices must be located on the structure’s base
1.2 Seismic isolators history
On August 1909, Johannes A. Calantarients, addressed the Seismological Service of Santiago de Chile through a letter, in which he mentioned that he had developed a method where “major buildings can be saved by means of free lubricated joints in those countries where seismic issues are a fact”. This is the principle on which the seismic base isolation method was funded (Naeim et al., 1999).
