Author(s)

K. Yiannouris & G. C. Giuliani

Abstract

The use of seismic isolation proves to be very efficient for the construction of huge commercial centres because of the savings in the price of the structures and of the safety assurance given to the visitors and to the exhibited goods. In addition to the structural analysis and design, the application of the isolation calls for the correct solution of many problems, mainly related to the connections of the isolated parts to the ones fixed to the ground. The conceptual design and the most important features of three seismically isolated buildings already completed or under construction in Nicosia are illustrated. Keywords: seismic isolation, isolators, fail safe systems, joints, connections, buildings. 1 Features of the seismic isolation The principle of the seismic isolation is the decoupling of the construction from the horizontal ground motions, which in conventional solutions generate important horizontal shear actions and bending moments in the structural frame. It is of course possible to design normal anti-seismic frames, but the necessary resistance increases the stiffness, which increases the accelerations of the structures and therefore demands additional strength, which yields an additional stiffness, and so on. The final result is achieved in general, but the resistance can only be assessed while the horizontal accelerations of the elevated floors are higher than the ground ones: the persons staying inside can be injured and the non-structural parts of the building can be seriously damaged or destroyed. On the contrary, the fundamental advantages of the seismic isolation technique are the assurance of the complete safety of the human lives and the absence of any damage to the goods and to the non-structural components.

Keywords

seismic isolation, isolators, fail safe systems, joints, connections, buildings.