"Seismic analysis of a light-frame timber building with and without friction pendulum base isolation"

Light-frame construction is used extensively in the European, American and Australasian market for low and medium rise timber buildings. These buildings are light-weight and have a high dissipative capacity, and thus a high behaviour factor can be used in seismic design. On the other hand the use of a high behaviour factor may imply significant structural and non-structural damage at the end of a high intensity earthquake, leading to potentially significant economic losses. Passive base isolation is by far the most effective way to reduce the effect of an earthquake on a structure. In this paper, the use of passive base isolation is investigated for light-frame multi-storey timber buildings. Two designs of a three-storey light-frame building were carried out according to Eurocode 5 and the Italian regulation for construction: one with and the other without Friction Pendulum System isolators. The seismic performance and cost of both solutions are compared, demonstrating the convenience of using passive base isolation.