4.

8 DESIGN AND TESTING REQUIREMENTS FOR ISOLATORS

There are a number of design requirements for the isolator units that are derived
from loads produced on the isolators due to overturning of the building as a result
of horizontal accelerations. The building has to be checked for global overturning
at the MCE with the full dead load being used in the calculation. Uplift of
individual isolators is permitted when this check is made. When some isolators
uplift, others will experience increased downward load, and the isolators are
required by the code to be designed and tested for this increased downward load
as well as net upward load, if any. The precise design requirement states that an
isolator should be stable when displaced to the total maximum displacement D J M
under T2DL + TOLL + Lmax and 0.8DL- Emm at the MCE, where Lmax is the
maximum downward and Lmin is the minimum downward (or maximum upward)
vertical load on an isolator caused by overturning of the superstructure. The
increased or decreased dead load is intended to provide an allowance for vertical
accelerations in the ground motion.
This requirement appears again in the testing requirements for the isolators. In
many isolation projects the information needed for the preliminary design of the
isolation system and the superstructure is obtained by qualification or pre-
prototype tests that are not covered by the regulations. After the preliminary
design is completed, isolators are manufactured, and a very extensive program of
prototype tests are performed. The code requires that at least two full-sized
specimens of each type of isolator be tested. The tests required are a specified
sequence of horizontal cycles under DL + 0.5LL for small horizontal displace-
ments up to the total maximum displacement, with these primarily establishing
the mechanical characteristics of the bearings for use in verifying the design. A
sequence of extreme load tests are required where horizontal displacement cycles
are combined with maximum and minimum downward loads. The maximum
vertical load for these tests is defined as l .5DL + 0.5LL + Lmax and the minimum
is 0.8DL - L^. In some cases it is possible that the minimum load may actually be
a tension load.
Although rubber bearings can take a certain amount of tension, it is very dif-
ficult to carry out such a test because most test machines are unable to generate
tension forces and apply shear displacements simultaneously. Upward forces on
isolators tend to occur in designs where the horizontal forces in the superstructure
are carried by a few lines of lateral resistance. This leads to high overturning
forces on a few isolators because the dead load on these isolators is not enough to
overcome the uplift forces. If numerous columns participate efficiently in
resisting the horizontal load in the superstructure, the dead load in each column
will eliminate the possibility of uplift on all bearings, avoiding the problem of
designing the isolators for tension forces, thereby simplifying the testing
requirements. Note, if tension is produced in the bearings, not only will be
bearings need to be tested in tension, but the connections of the bearings to the
foundation and to the building will also need to be tested.