Seismic isolation for low-to-medium-rise buildings using granulated rubber-soil mixtures: Numerical study

  • Hing-Ho Tsang (Lead / Corresponding author)
  • , S. H. Lo
  • , X. Xu
  • , M. Neaz Sheikh

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

238 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

This paper presents the preliminary research works on a potential seismic isolation method that makes use of scrap rubber tires for the protection of low-to-medium-rise buildings. The method involves mixing shredded rubber tire particles with soil materials and placing the mixtures around building foundations, which provides a function similar to that of a cushion. Meanwhile, the stockpiling of scrap tires is a significant threat to our environment, and the engineering community has been looking for long-term viable solutions to the recycling and reuse of rubber. A finite element program has been developed for modeling the time-domain dynamic responses of soil-foundation-structure system, by which the effectiveness and robustness of the proposed method have been evaluated. In general, the structural responses, in terms of acceleration and inter-story drift, can be reduced by 40-60%.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)2009-2024
Number of pages16
JournalEarthquake Engineering and Structural Dynamics
Volume41
Issue number14
Early online date11 Oct 2012
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - Nov 2012

Keywords

  • Geotechnical
  • Mixture
  • Rubber
  • Scrap tire
  • Seismic isolation
  • Soil

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Civil and Structural Engineering
  • Geotechnical Engineering and Engineering Geology
  • Earth and Planetary Sciences (miscellaneous)

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