ABSTRACT
ABSTRACT: The concept of seismic isolation is essentially a method of controlling the seismic response of structures through yielding of the isolators possessing generally bilinear force deformation relationship. Recently, several studies have been conducted to identify important structural and ground motion parameters on the seismic response of simple structural systems with elasto-plastic and bilinear force-deformation relationships (Makris and Black 2004a; b). However, these research studies are broad and do not particularly address the practical issues concerned with the seismic performance of seismic-isolated bridges (SIBs). Several other researchers have attempted to study the performance of and identify the optimal design parameters for seismic-isolated buildings (Baratta and Corbi 2004, Fan et al. 1991). However, similar research pertaining to SIBs and the practical aspects of their design is scarce. Thus, further research is required to study the effect of isolator and substructure properties as well as the characteristics of the ground motion on the response of SIBs and identify critical issues with regard to the design of such bridges. Results from such a study may then be used by bridge engineers to arrive to a more sound and economical design of SIBs.
