Testing of Multiple Floor Isolated Model Buildings Under Earthquake Conditions

In the face of earthquakes, occupants of buildings are at risk of injury or death, even with the current gold standard i.e., base isolation for earthquake protection in place. Base isolation separates the superstructure of a building from its foundation using isolators. This allows for the building to rock back and forth independently of the foundation. This is capable of protecting the building from structural damage, but damage to nonstructural components of the building is still very common. This can lead to grave injuries or even death to occupants, especially occupants of hospitals. In the event of an earthquake1 equipment throughout a hospital is capable of rolling or sliding fast enough to break bones or to cause brain damage. The goal of our research is to investigate a new method of preventing both structural and nonstructural damage to buildings. This method is referred to as floor isolation. In addition to placing the isolators between the foundation and superstructure, they are also placed between each of the lateral load bearing elements of the building. The goal of this research is to determine if floor isolation decreases floor accelerations in model buildings.