Nearly 90% of the building stock in the United States is made up of residential construction, yet close to none of these structures have the best seismic protection: seismic base isolation. The perception is that cost of implementation and non-traditional building methods are the main barriers against its use, but is this valid? Recent engineering and research developments say no.
In the communities most vulnerable to seismic activity, there is interest in a new, low-cost isolation system for new buildings that is ready for widespread adoption. In an effort to develop a low-cost isolation system, Stanford University embarked on research project to develop a complete structural system for residential construction that promises lower damage and higher seismic resilience. Along with a few of my colleagues at Forell Elsesser, we contributed to developing a high friction sliding dish isolator. When implemented it would allow residential structures to ride out the high frequency and violent shaking that damages most homes.
With almost all "off the shelf" parts the cost of implementing this isolation system is significantly less than commercially available isolators. A recent project that was designed, kept the cost of the isolator to less than $900 with an overall premium of 8% based on a study we performed in 2017 for homes in California.
Over the past few years, only a couple projects have utilized these developed that resulted from the full scale testing and research. During this time, community resiliency has become more prominent as governments and policy makers are building upon the role of government in encouraging and promoting the role the buildings play in recovery after disasters. Many forward thinking developers may soon realize that widespread adoption of this system is possible due to the lower cost system, improved seismic resiliency, and marketability of this technology in seismically prone areas.
For more information, see the link below.
And for a link to a technical paper for which Geoff was an author:
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