100th Anniversary

Earthquake Conference
Commemorating the
1906 San Francisco Earthquake

Implementation of Base Isolation

in Retrofit Applications

Presented by
Simin Naaseh, SE, Principal
Mason Walters, SE, Principal
Forell/Elsesser Engineers, Inc.
April 17th, 2006
Forell / Elsesser Engineers, Inc.
 Impetus for Base Isolation of
Existing Buildings

¾ Enhanced seismic protection

¾ Reduced extent of
superstructure retrofit

¾ Protection of historic fabric

¾ Protection of valuable contents

¾ Cost advantage

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 Technical Issues Unique to
Base Isolation Retrofit

¾ Isolation system is designed

to meet certain thresholds
9 Limited existing structure
capacity

9 Unique dynamic response of

the structure

9 Limits on floor acceleration

9 Limits on moat dimension

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 Base Isolation Retrofit
Planning and Design Challenges

¾ Accommodating the isolator

space

¾ Accommodating the moat

¾ Retrofitting the building

appendages to accommodate
free movement

¾ Retrofitting stairs and elevators

to accommodate large
displacements
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 Base Isolation Retrofit
Construction Challenges

¾ Minimize building vulnerability

during construction

¾ Minimize impact on brittle

elements

¾ Isolator installation sequence

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Seismic Retrofit of San Francisco City Hall

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Historic Rotunda

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Major Earthquake Response Issues

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Fixed Base Response - Shear Walls

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Major Earthquake Response Issues

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Fixed Base Response

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Base Isolated Response

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Sequence of Construction

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New Foundation

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New Foundation

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New Foundation

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Column Jacking

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Column Cutting

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Installation of Base Isolators

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Perimeter Shoring

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Perimeter Side Beams

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Perimeter Side Beams

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Installed Isolators at Perimeter

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New Ground Floor

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New Shear Walls

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Berkeley Civic Center

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 Section Looking West

Isolators at Basement Forell / Elsesser Engineers, Inc.

Basement Wall / Jacking Pier
Construction Sequence

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Column Jacking / Isolator Installation
Construction Sequence

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Existing Condition

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Install Foundation Reinforcing

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New Foundation Built

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Install Formwork for Jacking Piers
Around Existing Columns

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Jacking Pier Construction

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Jacking Pier Built

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Temporary Jacks Installed

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Existing Column Cut

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Existing Column Cut

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Isolator Installed

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Isolator Installed

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Isolator Locking Plates Installed

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Steel Bracing Installed

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Locking Plates Removed

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Isolators Installed

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Base Isolation Response at
Perimeter Wall

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Design an Construction
Problems and Solutions

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Construction Problems and Solutions

¾ Sequence of operations

¾ Symmetry and balance

¾ Cutting and jacking

¾ Preloading

¾ Temporary lateral strength

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 Structure Types

¾ Unreinforced masonry bearing wall

¾ Steel / masonry infill

¾ Reinforced concrete

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 Example:
Unreinforced Masonry
Bearing Wall Building

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Salt Lake City and County Building

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Bearing Wall Sequence

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Bearing Wall Sequence

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Isolator Installed
at Perimeter

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 Example:
Steel Framed Building
with Masonry Infill

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Oakland City Hall

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 Identification of Existing
Building Properties

¾ Archaic materials and infill systems

¾ Structure’s Modal frequencies

9 Forced/Ambient Vibration Tests

9 Historic Data

9 Old Accelerograms

¾ Masonry infill example

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 Identification of Existing
Building Properties
¾ Tests of Existing Masonry
9 In-situ cyclic tests

9 Obtain shear stress-strain relation, G

9 Obtain diagonal cracking strain, gcr

¾ Use G for elastic modeling of structure

¾ Use gcr to determine the limits of

acceptable inter-story drift

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In-Situ Masonry Test

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Stress Versus Deflection

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Local Wall Model

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 ETABS Model

(Non-Linear ANSR)

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Forell / Elsesser Engineers, Inc.
Forell / Elsesser Engineers, Inc.
Jacking of Existing Column

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Column Cutting

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 Example:
Reinforced Concrete
Frame Buildings

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Pasadena City Hall

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 Building Section
Showing Load Transfer
1 Shoring 4 Concrete Pedestal 7 PT Conc. Transfer Girder

2 Foundation 5 Temporary Shoring 8 Concrete Slab

3 Grade Beam & S.O.G. 6 Friction Pendulum Isolator 9 PT Threadbar

(Clamping Reinforcing)

Moat Cover

(E) Wall
(E) Column (E) Footing
(E) Wall
1 (to be Removed)

9 5 7 1
8

(E) Basement
Grade
6

4 2 3

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Installation of Isolators

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Utah State Capital Building

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 Overall
Basement
Plan

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Forell / Elsesser Engineers, Inc.
 Big Idea

¾ Rotunda base must be isolated with

remainder of building

¾ Main problem – getting isolators “beneath”

rotunda footing

¾ “Below” and “Above” approaches studied

¾ “Above” approach safer to build, requires

less excavation

Forell / Elsesser Engineers, Inc.

 Big Idea

¾ Existing concrete has relatively good

quality, strength

¾ Maintain footing – make it work as part of

new transfer girder

¾ “Composite”

¾ Allow new transfer structure to span to

isolators on new foundations (fig)

¾ New foundation can be built ahead of

transfer – outside existing footing
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Existing Footing

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How to Achieve Composite Action and
Transfer Load?

Stress Girders
Forell / Elsesser Engineers, Inc.
How to Achieve Composite Action and
Transfer Load?

Locate and
Mark PT Ducts
on Flange

Forell / Elsesser Engineers, Inc.

Rotunda Footing

Forell / Elsesser Engineers, Inc.

Forell / Elsesser Engineers, Inc.
 100th Anniversary
Earthquake Conference
Commemorating the
1906 San Francisco Earthquake

Implementation of Base Isolation

in Retrofit Applications

Presented by
Simin Naaseh, SE, Principal
Mason Walters, SE, Principal
Forell/Elsesser Engineers, Inc.
April 17th, 2006
Forell / Elsesser Engineers, Inc.