The Use of the Friction Pendulum Bearings for Isolation of the Built Environment

Base isolation systems have become a significant element of a structural system to enhance reliability during an earthquake. One type of base isolation system is Friction Pendulum Bearings in which the superstructure is isolated from the foundation using specially designed concave surfaces and bearings to allow sway under its own natural period during the seismic events. This study presents the concept of Friction Pendulum, The responses of a single degree of freedom system with and without base isolation are compared for free and forced vibrations. The results showed that the maximum acceleration experienced by the structure was double without base isolation comparing to the case using this system.