- Author
- Shenton, H. W., III
- Title
- Draft Guidelines for Pre-Qualification and Prototype Testing of Seismic Isolation Systems.
- Coporate
- National Institute of Standards and Technology, Gaithersburg, MD
- Report
- NISTIR 5359, March 1994, 105 p.
- Distribution
- Available from National Technical Information Service
- Keywords
- base isolation | building technology | seismic isolation | standards | testing | quality control
- Abstract
- At the present time, at least in the United States, seismic isolation systems are custom designed and built on a per project basis. As a result, testing has become an essential element in the design and construction of isolated structures. Prototype and quality control tests are required by the 1991 Uniform Building Code and the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials, 1991 Guide Specifications for Seismic Isolation Design. Currently, however, standards do not exist for conducting these tests. The Building and Fire Research Laboratory of the National Institute of Standards and Technology has developed draft guidelines for testing and evaluation of seismic isolation systems. Presented in the report are guidelines for conducting pre-qualification and prototype tests. Pre-qualification tests are currently not required by the codes but are generally conducted during development of a new system and are aimed at evaluating fundamental properties and characteristics of the isolation system. The guidelines include general requirements of the test facility, instrumentation, calibration, data acquisition, data analysis and reporting of result. A total of twenty three tests are included in the guidelines. Performance criteria have been established for all tests, systems that do not meet or exceed these criteria may not function adequately in service. The guidelines are to serve as a resource document for voluntary standard/specification writing organizations, and for practitioners and researchers involved in the design, manufacture and testing of seismic isolation systems.