Iran Construction Engineers
Civil Engineering Team
A leader in the design and implementation of the latest and the most innovative engineering methods



Geo-Isolator

Patented
Geo-Isolator

The present invention is introduced as a new Seismic Isolator System with the aim of reducing forces of earthquake on structures and eliminating limitations of conventional seismic attenuating systems. This isolation system, without use of sophisticated and costly equipment that depend on educated and expert crews for installation and initiation, changes the upper soil layer of a site with new materials to completely separate the structure from underground soil. This idea is proposed inspired by the natural phenomena that the final portion of seismic waves traveling is often through the soil and characteristics of the soil can greatly influence nature of shaking at the ground surface. Therefore, by changing soil nature via materials with known specifications, 3D effect of deviation, refraction and reflection for both vertical and horizontal seismic waves before entering into structure is appeared. This isolation system that benefits whole structure with no need of maintenance and repairing is named “Geo Isolator”.

The results show the average reduction ability of 30~35% for geo-isolator while this magnitude is comparable to conventional methods such as base-isolation system.
What we do






Eartquake Mechanism

Seismic Isolation


From the beginning of the world, earthquakes have occurred and will continue happening in the future. The most dramatic and memorable images of earthquake damages are indeed those of structural collapse. There are two fundamental approaches to mitigate earthquake damages on structures. The first approach is fortifying the structural lateral resistance system in order to tolerate exerted earth motion forces. These systems include moment resistance frames, shear walls and braces. Diminishing earthquake forces before entering into the structure states as the second approach.


The first approach which is known by name of conventional method is well-known, constructor-accepted and it has been widely used within the engineering practice. However, this method increases dead load of structure which can be undesirably costly. The second approach is less practiced in the literature and needs to be more explored.


The main goal of partake quake-attenuating in buildings is to absorb energy and to attenuate the exerted forces into structures as a result of ground motions. Quake-attenuating systems are divided into two main categories of Dampers and Isolators. Quake-attenuating systems restrain transmission of forces into the structure; therefore, they make considerable subsidence in story acceleration and story drifts that overall result is visible in designing forces carried by each elements.


Notwithstanding achievements and developments in the field of quake-attenuating systems, applying them in the structures is proportional to following complicated technology and subtle engineering. Furthermore, installation and initiation of this systems depend on educated and expert crews and such attenuating systems need maintenance and repair during the useful structural life time. The aforementioned reasons lead to limitation and high-cost of utilizing such system especially in developing countries. Consequently, nowadays civil engineering suffers from the lack of such quake-attenuating systems to be able to respond simply but applicable mechanism at the same time for almost all types of structure.



Background


Nowadays civil engineering suffers from the lack of such quake-attenuating systems to be able to respond simply but applicable mechanism at the same time for almost all types of structure. Inspired by Patent No.: US 6,862,848B1, year 2008 Tsang published an article and introduced new system of isolation (Tsang 2008). This system is formed from rubber and soil mixture located in the base ground under structure foundation. Tsang showed the ability of mitigation of earthquake energy and isolation wave transition of this system for a ten story building. Afterward Kaneko conducted pseudo-dynamic response test and concluded that this system is effective for both seismic isolation and to prevent liquefaction and Xiong proposed that seismic isolation per-formance of rubber soil mixture is inferior to that of a foundation underlain by pure-sand, carried out by shak-ing table tests with a 1/3 scale rubbersoil mixtures model. All these evaluations prove the isolation ability of rubber-soil mixture as an isolator system. Therefore, researches over this new idea has begun and researches such as Senetakis et al. has started to find the behavioral parameters of rubber-soil mixture


.

Ground Isolation by Geo-Isolator


Seismic waves propagate through interior of the earth from earthquake focus to ground surface. The final portion of this traveling is often through the soil that can greatly influence the nature of shaking on the surface. Herein, a new isolation system is introduced to mitigate seismic waves before entering into the structure by changing the soil nature of underlying ground aggregates, named as geo-isolator (Sarraf et al 2024).


The Geo Isolator is placed between the structure and the sub soil to separate the structure from the bed soil. Consequently, separation of the whole structures and foundation on the entire contact surface from sub soil leads to change the nature of single point isolation into the extended continuous surface of 3D isolation over entire foundation-soil surface. In fact, the Geo Isolator effects whole incoming seismic waves by utilizing 3D effect of wave mitigation, damping, refraction and reflection for both vertical and horizontal seismic waves of all kinds of surface or body waves due to system mechanism that designed for all seismic arrival waves through the body of the bed soil.



Geo-Isolator Material


Base-isolators is made from two parts of resistant section (lead) and mitigating section (rubber). Geo-isolator system categorizes in the same manner; however, allowable range of material stresses decrease from steel power to soil power by transferring isolator system from column-foundation junction to underground position. This changing over range of stresses help to consider more types of material as isolator aggregates. Appropriate choice for resistant section of geo-isolator is the same soil which not only accessible but also economical. For mitigating section, materials with high damping features, considerable hysteretic curve, low stiffness and rea-sonable ultimate stress is intended. Thus, although material used by past researchers was rubber, other materials with those four specific features have to find this chance to be considered. Such material may be named as elastomers, soft polymers, oil derivatives and etc. In spite of this consideration, this research, similar to past researches, utilizes the mixture of rubber and soil as geo-isolator material. In geotechnical engineering, the mix of shredded tires and sand is known as rubber-sand mixture or RSM. ASTM D6270 08 (Reapproved 2012) standard approve applicability of this material and determines some rules for the manner of being used in civil engineering project such as lightweight retaining wall backfill, drainage layers for roads, thermal insu-lation to limit frost penetration, vibration damping layers for rail lines, lightweight embankment and replace-ment for soil or rock in other field applications. One of the important rule which is relevant to this project states that RSM layer cannot be buried more than of 3 m depth.

Geo-Isolator
1. Structure
2. Bed soil
3. Foundation
4. Geo Isolator system
4.1 Main section
4.1.e Main section element schematic property
Surrounding Section:
4.2 Vertical surrounding section
4.3 Horizontal surrounding section
4.3.a Upper horizontal surrounding section
4.3.a.e Upper horizontal surrounding section element schematic property
4.3.b Lower horizontal surrounding section

Geo-Isolator Advantages


Geo-isolator is a new isolation system, which is located in the ground under the foundation. This system mit-igates earthquake peak acceleration such that for the worst case of ground 0.7g excitation, isolated structure experiences 0.35g peak acceleration. Results of this research are offered in the form of design spectra, by evaluating seven scaled excitations soil response analyses. The important outcomes of this research are as follow:


  • Based on frequency content, duration, peak values, number of high magnitude vibration and codes sug-gestion from FEMA-P695 and FEMa-440a, seven earthquake records are chosen and applied to a nonlinear plastic behavior model. Responses are in the form of response spectra that are changed into design curves for two types of pure ground soil and isolated soil.
  • Geo-isolator shows the average reduction of 30~35% for seismic waves effect, while this value is remark-able compared to the base-isolator system. This reduction is due to the number of vibration exceed the minimum level of 0.2g acceleration; in fact, this system limits the maximum value of acceleration that ground surface can experience.
  • Geo-isolator shows considerable reduction in low period range and equal values for high period domain. However, imposing weigh of real structure for high period range is forecasted to show notable reduction for those ranges too.
  • Geo-isolator system has the ability of being utilized for any superstructure with different shape, usage, and dimension. In fact, geo-isolator is located outside of the structure that makes a series of function between the isolator and superstructure response.
  • The great advantage of this new isolation system is the lack of requirement for making any changes into superstructure design procedure. Actually, since geo-isolator system changes the nature of ground motion, this system can be designed separately and the structure is designed via isolated design curve.
  • Codes obtain minimum design criteria which maintain a level of non-destructive protection for building. Geo-isolator system not only maintain this feature, but it is able to guarantee performances of important building after earthquake excitation because of its reduction level.
  • Although foundation has specific dimension, results can be expanded to conventional structures because of equal surface foundation node movement which is tied to the superstructure node.



RSM Material
Composit backfill Isolator (CBI)

A new method called Composit backfill Isolator (CBI) has been introduced and designed to address dynamic waves. In this method, different modeling is used to determine the optimal design, thickness, and appropriate levels for the outer wall of the tunnel. The goal is for this wall to act as a protective cover, significantly reducing the interaction between the tunnel structure and the surrounding ground during an earthquake. By using the isolator to manage the incoming stress wave from the surrounding environment, the force distribution remains intact, and transverse deformation and bending forces are minimized. This protective layer functions by reducing the intensity of passing waves, thereby lowering the energy level experienced by the structure.

To better understand how these isolators reduce earthquake forces, the distribution of stress in the direction of dynamic wave application is analyzed. This analysis compares the isolated state with normal soil conditions, as demonstrated in the reinforcement of the subway tunnel at Nakagawa Station in Yokohama, Japan, in 2007.

The delay in transmission and damping of earthquake waves after passing through or striking these walls reduces the stresses on the tunnel structure, which is the primary goal of this research to develop this type of seismic reducer. The seismic isolator system has been evaluated in two modes: borehole isolator and peripheral isolator. Both modes have shown very promising results, with an average reduction of 35% in stress according to the earthquake’s intensity.

Geo-Isolator for Underground Seismic Isolation

History of Seismic Isolators

The current state of technical knowledge on seismic reduction systems used globally in buildings is as follows:

Seismic Attenuating Systems
The primary purpose of seismic reduction systems in buildings is to absorb a portion of the earthquake energy, thereby reducing the force exerted on the structure. This approach contrasts with merely increasing the structural strength to withstand earthquake forces. Seismic attenuators function by absorbing energy and altering the frequency of the earth’s vibrational movement, thus reducing the force transmitted to the structure. These systems are broadly categorized into two types:

Vibration Control Systems
Dampers: These devices are installed in various parts of a structure to reduce building vibrations during an earthquake. By absorbing energy, dampers decrease the earthquake’s force in the areas where they are installed.

Seismic Isolation Systems
Isolators: These act as barriers between the building and the earthquake forces, reducing the intensity of the seismic waves passing through. Seismic isolation involves separating the entire structure or parts of it from the ground or other structural components to minimize seismic response during an earthquake. This method is among the most advanced techniques for securing buildings and mitigating earthquake damage.

Historical Development of Seismic Isolation

Bedrock Isolation:
The earliest use of this system dates back to the 6th century BC in Pasargadae, ancient Iran. This method involved a foundation made of deep, wide stone and smooth mortar placed on another layer of smooth, wide stone. These foundations were connected in a way that kept the structure intact during earthquakes.

Rubber Isolators:
The first application of rubber as a seismic isolator was in a three-story elementary school building in Yugoslavia in 1969. This concrete building was constructed on cube-shaped rubber blocks. However, the rubber blocks deformed under the building’s weight, causing instability during earthquakes. Consequently, this method was abandoned.

Reinforced Rubber Separators:
Invented by French engineer Freyssinet in 1954 and patented in France, reinforced rubber combines vertical stiffness (due to steel layers) with horizontal flexibility (due to rubber). This technology became widely adopted and has been used as a seismic insulator for buildings in earthquake-prone areas since 1980.

Recycled Tire Rubber Isolators:
In 2002, Lang proposed a method for seismic isolation of small residential buildings using recycled car tires filled with crushed stone, placed under the building. This method was patented in the United States in 2005.

Soil and Tire Rubber Separators:
In 2007, Tsang introduced a seismic isolation method for developing countries using a mixture of soil and recycled car tires. Despite the advantage of increased soil damping, the high thickness of the separation layer (10 to 20 meters) and the large protrusion (10 meters from each side of the building) make this system impractical.

Geo-Isolation Inspiration


Introduction: In the field of civil engineering, there is a pressing need for innovative solutions to address the dynamic forces caused by earthquakes and explosive loads. Traditional strengthening systems often come with significant challenges and complications. This project aims to introduce a novel approach that offers efficient and effective mitigation of these forces.


Concept: Seismic waves travel from the earthquakes epicenter to the earths surface, primarily passing through the soils of the earths crust in the final stages. The properties of these soils significantly influence the nature of these waves and the resulting surface vibrations. Essentially, these soils act as filters, altering the frequencies of seismic waves.


Inspiration: Drawing inspiration from this natural phenomenon, the proposed idea involves modifying the subsoil characteristics using materials with specific properties. This modification aims to deviate (through refraction and reflection) and dampen seismic waves before they reach the structure.


Methodology: By examining how changes in soil characteristics affect the reduction of earthquake wave impacts, the project will identify the optimal materials for this purpose. The goal is to overcome the limitations of existing separation systems by introducing the concept of bed separation.


Implementation: The soils characteristics greatly influence ground-level vibrations and the conditions of the construction site (soil under the foundation). These factors significantly affect the amplitude, frequency content, and duration of seismic movements. The core idea is to transfer the seismic isolation system from the structure itself into the soil.


Execution: The isolation system is moved from the base of the columns on the foundation to the bed soil beneath the foundation. This extends the seismic isolation level across the entire surface under the foundation, effectively separating the entire building (including the structure and foundation) from the underlying soil.


Materials: The separation of the building from the underlying soil is achieved using materials that can withstand the buildings gravity loads while reducing and controlling the passage of earthquake waves. This isolator system reduces the force applied to the structure and its components during an earthquake, significantly decreasing floor acceleration and relative displacement between floors.


Benefits: As a result, design forces are reduced, leading to a lighter building skeleton and lower implementation costs.


This innovative approach promises to enhance the resilience of buildings against seismic activities, offering a practical and efficient solution for modern civil engineering challenges.

Seismic Isolator System Operation

Introduction: The seismic isolator system operates by altering the conditions of the existing building site. Before construction begins, a layer of soil beneath the foundation is replaced with a mixture of materials designed for specific resistance and damping properties.

Mechanism: The performance of this replaced layer depends on its constituent materials, thickness, and properties, which are tailored for each construction project. By designing and implementing this isolation layer, buildings can be significantly protected against earthquake effects, enhancing their efficiency and reliability.

Objective: The primary goal of this isolation system is to modify the building conditions to reduce the transmission of earthquake forces to the structure.

Application to Underground Structures: For underground structures, such as tunnels, the behavior is highly dependent on the interaction between the tunnel walls and the surrounding soil. The best approach to seismically strengthen these structures is to use a system that influences this interaction. By controlling and reducing seismic waves, or isolating the tunnel from its surrounding environment, the design and modeling of the structure’s interaction can be optimized.

Conclusion: Implementing these strategies can significantly improve the seismic resilience of both above-ground and underground structures, ensuring better protection and performance during earthquakes.


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Iran Construction Engineers

Civil Engineering Team
A leader in the design and implementation of the latest and the most innovative engineering methods

Iran Construction Engineers

Civil Engineering Team
A leader in the design and implementation of the latest and the most innovative engineering methods


Geo-Isolator

Patented


Geo-Isolator

Patented
Geo-Isolator

The present invention is introduced as a new Seismic Isolator System with the aim of reducing forces of earthquake on structures and eliminating limitations of conventional seismic attenuating systems. This isolation system, without use of sophisticated and costly equipment that depend on educated and expert crews for installation and initiation, changes the upper soil layer of a site with new materials to completely separate the structure from underground soil. This idea is proposed inspired by the natural phenomena that the final portion of seismic waves traveling is often through the soil and characteristics of the soil can greatly influence nature of shaking at the ground surface. Therefore, by changing soil nature via materials with known specifications, 3D effect of deviation, refraction and reflection for both vertical and horizontal seismic waves before entering into structure is appeared. This isolation system that benefits whole structure with no need of maintenance and repairing is named “Geo Isolator”.

The results show the average reduction ability of 30~35% for geo-isolator while this magnitude is comparable to conventional methods such as base-isolation system.
What we do

Eartquake Mechanism
Geo-Isolator

The present invention is introduced as a new Seismic Isolator System with the aim of reducing forces of earthquake on structures and eliminating limitations of conventional seismic attenuating systems. This isolation system, without use of sophisticated and costly equipment that depend on educated and expert crews for installation and initiation, changes the upper soil layer of a site with new materials to completely separate the structure from underground soil. This idea is proposed inspired by the natural phenomena that the final portion of seismic waves traveling is often through the soil and characteristics of the soil can greatly influence nature of shaking at the ground surface. Therefore, by changing soil nature via materials with known specifications, 3D effect of deviation, refraction and reflection for both vertical and horizontal seismic waves before entering into structure is appeared. This isolation system that benefits whole structure with no need of maintenance and repairing is named “Geo Isolator”.

The results show the average reduction ability of 30~35% for geo-isolator while this magnitude is comparable to conventional methods such as base-isolation system.
Eartquake Mechanism

Seismic Isolation


From the beginning of the world, earthquakes have occurred and will continue happening in the future. The most dramatic and memorable images of earthquake damages are indeed those of structural collapse. There are two fundamental approaches to mitigate earthquake damages on structures. The first approach is fortifying the structural lateral resistance system in order to tolerate exerted earth motion forces. These systems include moment resistance frames, shear walls and braces. Diminishing earthquake forces before entering into the structure states as the second approach.


The first approach which is known by name of conventional method is well-known, constructor-accepted and it has been widely used within the engineering practice. However, this method increases dead load of structure which can be undesirably costly. The second approach is less practiced in the literature and needs to be more explored.


The main goal of partake quake-attenuating in buildings is to absorb energy and to attenuate the exerted forces into structures as a result of ground motions. Quake-attenuating systems are divided into two main categories of Dampers and Isolators. Quake-attenuating systems restrain transmission of forces into the structure; therefore, they make considerable subsidence in story acceleration and story drifts that overall result is visible in designing forces carried by each elements.


Notwithstanding achievements and developments in the field of quake-attenuating systems, applying them in the structures is proportional to following complicated technology and subtle engineering. Furthermore, installation and initiation of this systems depend on educated and expert crews and such attenuating systems need maintenance and repair during the useful structural life time. The aforementioned reasons lead to limitation and high-cost of utilizing such system especially in developing countries. Consequently, nowadays civil engineering suffers from the lack of such quake-attenuating systems to be able to respond simply but applicable mechanism at the same time for almost all types of structure.


Background


Nowadays civil engineering suffers from the lack of such quake-attenuating systems to be able to respond simply but applicable mechanism at the same time for almost all types of structure. Inspired by Patent No.: US 6,862,848B1, year 2008 Tsang published an article and introduced new system of isolation (Tsang 2008). This system is formed from rubber and soil mixture located in the base ground under structure foundation. Tsang showed the ability of mitigation of earthquake energy and isolation wave transition of this system for a ten story building. Afterward Kaneko conducted pseudo-dynamic response test and concluded that this system is effective for both seismic isolation and to prevent liquefaction and Xiong proposed that seismic isolation per-formance of rubber soil mixture is inferior to that of a foundation underlain by pure-sand, carried out by shak-ing table tests with a 1/3 scale rubbersoil mixtures model. All these evaluations prove the isolation ability of rubber-soil mixture as an isolator system. Therefore, researches over this new idea has begun and researches such as Senetakis et al. has started to find the behavioral parameters of rubber-soil mixture


Ground Isolation by Geo-Isolator


Seismic waves propagate through interior of the earth from earthquake focus to ground surface. The final portion of this traveling is often through the soil that can greatly influence the nature of shaking on the surface. Herein, a new isolation system is introduced to mitigate seismic waves before entering into the structure by changing the soil nature of underlying ground aggregates, named as geo-isolator (Sarraf et al 2024).


The Geo Isolator is placed between the structure and the sub soil to separate the structure from the bed soil. Consequently, separation of the whole structures and foundation on the entire contact surface from sub soil leads to change the nature of single point isolation into the extended continuous surface of 3D isolation over entire foundation-soil surface. In fact, the Geo Isolator effects whole incoming seismic waves by utilizing 3D effect of wave mitigation, damping, refraction and reflection for both vertical and horizontal seismic waves of all kinds of surface or body waves due to system mechanism that designed for all seismic arrival waves through the body of the bed soil.


Geo-Isolator Material


Base-isolators is made from two parts of resistant section (lead) and mitigating section (rubber). Geo-isolator system categorizes in the same manner; however, allowable range of material stresses decrease from steel power to soil power by transferring isolator system from column-foundation junction to underground position. This changing over range of stresses help to consider more types of material as isolator aggregates. Appropriate choice for resistant section of geo-isolator is the same soil which not only accessible but also economical. For mitigating section, materials with high damping features, considerable hysteretic curve, low stiffness and rea-sonable ultimate stress is intended. Thus, although material used by past researchers was rubber, other materials with those four specific features have to find this chance to be considered. Such material may be named as elastomers, soft polymers, oil derivatives and etc. In spite of this consideration, this research, similar to past researches, utilizes the mixture of rubber and soil as geo-isolator material. In geotechnical engineering, the mix of shredded tires and sand is known as rubber-sand mixture or RSM. ASTM D6270 08 (Reapproved 2012) standard approve applicability of this material and determines some rules for the manner of being used in civil engineering project such as lightweight retaining wall backfill, drainage layers for roads, thermal insu-lation to limit frost penetration, vibration damping layers for rail lines, lightweight embankment and replace-ment for soil or rock in other field applications. One of the important rule which is relevant to this project states that RSM layer cannot be buried more than of 3 m depth.

Geo-Isolator
1. Structure
2. Bed soil
3. Foundation
4. Geo Isolator system
4.1 Main section
4.1.e Main section element schematic property
Surrounding Section:
4.2 Vertical surrounding section
4.3 Horizontal surrounding section
4.3.a Upper horizontal surrounding section
4.3.a.e Upper horizontal surrounding section element schematic property
4.3.b Lower horizontal surrounding section

Geo-Isolator Advantages


Geo-isolator is a new isolation system, which is located in the ground under the foundation. This system mit-igates earthquake peak acceleration such that for the worst case of ground 0.7g excitation, isolated structure experiences 0.35g peak acceleration. Results of this research are offered in the form of design spectra, by evaluating seven scaled excitations soil response analyses. The important outcomes of this research are as follow:


  • Based on frequency content, duration, peak values, number of high magnitude vibration and codes sug-gestion from FEMA-P695 and FEMa-440a, seven earthquake records are chosen and applied to a nonlinear plastic behavior model. Responses are in the form of response spectra that are changed into design curves for two types of pure ground soil and isolated soil.
  • Geo-isolator shows the average reduction of 30~35% for seismic waves effect, while this value is remark-able compared to the base-isolator system. This reduction is due to the number of vibration exceed the minimum level of 0.2g acceleration; in fact, this system limits the maximum value of acceleration that ground surface can experience.
  • Geo-isolator shows considerable reduction in low period range and equal values for high period domain. However, imposing weigh of real structure for high period range is forecasted to show notable reduction for those ranges too.
  • Geo-isolator system has the ability of being utilized for any superstructure with different shape, usage, and dimension. In fact, geo-isolator is located outside of the structure that makes a series of function between the isolator and superstructure response.
  • The great advantage of this new isolation system is the lack of requirement for making any changes into superstructure design procedure. Actually, since geo-isolator system changes the nature of ground motion, this system can be designed separately and the structure is designed via isolated design curve.
  • Codes obtain minimum design criteria which maintain a level of non-destructive protection for building. Geo-isolator system not only maintain this feature, but it is able to guarantee performances of important building after earthquake excitation because of its reduction level.
  • Although foundation has specific dimension, results can be expanded to conventional structures because of equal surface foundation node movement which is tied to the superstructure node.


 

RSM Material

Seismic Isolation


From the beginning of the world, earthquakes have occurred and will continue happening in the future. The most dramatic and memorable images of earthquake damages are indeed those of structural collapse. There are two fundamental approaches to mitigate earthquake damages on structures. The first approach is fortifying the structural lateral resistance system in order to tolerate exerted earth motion forces. These systems include moment resistance frames, shear walls and braces. Diminishing earthquake forces before entering into the structure states as the second approach.


The first approach which is known by name of conventional method is well-known, constructor-accepted and it has been widely used within the engineering practice. However, this method increases dead load of structure which can be undesirably costly. The second approach is less practiced in the literature and needs to be more explored.


The main goal of partake quake-attenuating in buildings is to absorb energy and to attenuate the exerted forces into structures as a result of ground motions. Quake-attenuating systems are divided into two main categories of Dampers and Isolators. Quake-attenuating systems restrain transmission of forces into the structure; therefore, they make considerable subsidence in story acceleration and story drifts that overall result is visible in designing forces carried by each elements.


Notwithstanding achievements and developments in the field of quake-attenuating systems, applying them in the structures is proportional to following complicated technology and subtle engineering. Furthermore, installation and initiation of this systems depend on educated and expert crews and such attenuating systems need maintenance and repair during the useful structural life time. The aforementioned reasons lead to limitation and high-cost of utilizing such system especially in developing countries. Consequently, nowadays civil engineering suffers from the lack of such quake-attenuating systems to be able to respond simply but applicable mechanism at the same time for almost all types of structure.


Background


Nowadays civil engineering suffers from the lack of such quake-attenuating systems to be able to respond simply but applicable mechanism at the same time for almost all types of structure. Inspired by Patent No.: US 6,862,848B1, year 2008 Tsang published an article and introduced new system of isolation (Tsang 2008). This system is formed from rubber and soil mixture located in the base ground under structure foundation. Tsang showed the ability of mitigation of earthquake energy and isolation wave transition of this system for a ten story building. Afterward Kaneko conducted pseudo-dynamic response test and concluded that this system is effective for both seismic isolation and to prevent liquefaction and Xiong proposed that seismic isolation per-formance of rubber soil mixture is inferior to that of a foundation underlain by pure-sand, carried out by shak-ing table tests with a 1/3 scale rubbersoil mixtures model. All these evaluations prove the isolation ability of rubber-soil mixture as an isolator system. Therefore, researches over this new idea has begun and researches such as Senetakis et al. has started to find the behavioral parameters of rubber-soil mixture


Ground Isolation by Geo-Isolator


Seismic waves propagate through interior of the earth from earthquake focus to ground surface. The final portion of this traveling is often through the soil that can greatly influence the nature of shaking on the surface. Herein, a new isolation system is introduced to mitigate seismic waves before entering into the structure by changing the soil nature of underlying ground aggregates, named as geo-isolator (Sarraf et al 2024).


The Geo Isolator is placed between the structure and the sub soil to separate the structure from the bed soil. Consequently, separation of the whole structures and foundation on the entire contact surface from sub soil leads to change the nature of single point isolation into the extended continuous surface of 3D isolation over entire foundation-soil surface. In fact, the Geo Isolator effects whole incoming seismic waves by utilizing 3D effect of wave mitigation, damping, refraction and reflection for both vertical and horizontal seismic waves of all kinds of surface or body waves due to system mechanism that designed for all seismic arrival waves through the body of the bed soil.


Geo-Isolator Material


Base-isolators is made from two parts of resistant section (lead) and mitigating section (rubber). Geo-isolator system categorizes in the same manner; however, allowable range of material stresses decrease from steel power to soil power by transferring isolator system from column-foundation junction to underground position. This changing over range of stresses help to consider more types of material as isolator aggregates. Appropriate choice for resistant section of geo-isolator is the same soil which not only accessible but also economical. For mitigating section, materials with high damping features, considerable hysteretic curve, low stiffness and rea-sonable ultimate stress is intended. Thus, although material used by past researchers was rubber, other materials with those four specific features have to find this chance to be considered. Such material may be named as elastomers, soft polymers, oil derivatives and etc. In spite of this consideration, this research, similar to past researches, utilizes the mixture of rubber and soil as geo-isolator material. In geotechnical engineering, the mix of shredded tires and sand is known as rubber-sand mixture or RSM. ASTM D6270 08 (Reapproved 2012) standard approve applicability of this material and determines some rules for the manner of being used in civil engineering project such as lightweight retaining wall backfill, drainage layers for roads, thermal insu-lation to limit frost penetration, vibration damping layers for rail lines, lightweight embankment and replace-ment for soil or rock in other field applications. One of the important rule which is relevant to this project states that RSM layer cannot be buried more than of 3 m depth.


Geo-Isolator
1. Structure
2. Bed soil
3. Foundation
4. Geo Isolator system
4.1 Main section
4.1.e Main section element schematic property
Surrounding Section:
4.2 Vertical surrounding section
4.3 Horizontal surrounding section
4.3.a Upper horizontal surrounding section
4.3.a.e Upper horizontal surrounding section element schematic property
4.3.b Lower horizontal surrounding section

RSM Material

Geo-Isolator Advantages


Geo-isolator is a new isolation system, which is located in the ground under the foundation. This system mit-igates earthquake peak acceleration such that for the worst case of ground 0.7g excitation, isolated structure experiences 0.35g peak acceleration. Results of this research are offered in the form of design spectra, by evaluating seven scaled excitations soil response analyses. The important outcomes of this research are as follow:


  • Based on frequency content, duration, peak values, number of high magnitude vibration and codes sug-gestion from FEMA-P695 and FEMa-440a, seven earthquake records are chosen and applied to a nonlinear plastic behavior model. Responses are in the form of response spectra that are changed into design curves for two types of pure ground soil and isolated soil.
  • Geo-isolator shows the average reduction of 30~35% for seismic waves effect, while this value is remark-able compared to the base-isolator system. This reduction is due to the number of vibration exceed the minimum level of 0.2g acceleration; in fact, this system limits the maximum value of acceleration that ground surface can experience.
  • Geo-isolator shows considerable reduction in low period range and equal values for high period domain. However, imposing weigh of real structure for high period range is forecasted to show notable reduction for those ranges too.
  • Geo-isolator system has the ability of being utilized for any superstructure with different shape, usage, and dimension. In fact, geo-isolator is located outside of the structure that makes a series of function between the isolator and superstructure response.
  • The great advantage of this new isolation system is the lack of requirement for making any changes into superstructure design procedure. Actually, since geo-isolator system changes the nature of ground motion, this system can be designed separately and the structure is designed via isolated design curve.
  • Codes obtain minimum design criteria which maintain a level of non-destructive protection for building. Geo-isolator system not only maintain this feature, but it is able to guarantee performances of important building after earthquake excitation because of its reduction level.
  • Although foundation has specific dimension, results can be expanded to conventional structures because of equal surface foundation node movement which is tied to the superstructure node.

 

Composit backfill Isolator (CBI)

A new method called Composit backfill Isolator (CBI) has been introduced and designed to address dynamic waves. In this method, different modeling is used to determine the optimal design, thickness, and appropriate levels for the outer wall of the tunnel. The goal is for this wall to act as a protective cover, significantly reducing the interaction between the tunnel structure and the surrounding ground during an earthquake. By using the isolator to manage the incoming stress wave from the surrounding environment, the force distribution remains intact, and transverse deformation and bending forces are minimized. This protective layer functions by reducing the intensity of passing waves, thereby lowering the energy level experienced by the structure.

To better understand how these isolators reduce earthquake forces, the distribution of stress in the direction of dynamic wave application is analyzed. This analysis compares the isolated state with normal soil conditions, as demonstrated in the reinforcement of the subway tunnel at Nakagawa Station in Yokohama, Japan, in 2007.

The delay in transmission and damping of earthquake waves after passing through or striking these walls reduces the stresses on the tunnel structure, which is the primary goal of this research to develop this type of seismic reducer. The seismic isolator system has been evaluated in two modes: borehole isolator and peripheral isolator. Both modes have shown very promising results, with an average reduction of 35% in stress according to the earthquake’s intensity.
Composit backfill Isolator (CBI)

A new method called Composit backfill Isolator (CBI) has been introduced and designed to address dynamic waves. In this method, different modeling is used to determine the optimal design, thickness, and appropriate levels for the outer wall of the tunnel. The goal is for this wall to act as a protective cover, significantly reducing the interaction between the tunnel structure and the surrounding ground during an earthquake. By using the isolator to manage the incoming stress wave from the surrounding environment, the force distribution remains intact, and transverse deformation and bending forces are minimized. This protective layer functions by reducing the intensity of passing waves, thereby lowering the energy level experienced by the structure.

To better understand how these isolators reduce earthquake forces, the distribution of stress in the direction of dynamic wave application is analyzed. This analysis compares the isolated state with normal soil conditions, as demonstrated in the reinforcement of the subway tunnel at Nakagawa Station in Yokohama, Japan, in 2007.

The delay in transmission and damping of earthquake waves after passing through or striking these walls reduces the stresses on the tunnel structure, which is the primary goal of this research to develop this type of seismic reducer. The seismic isolator system has been evaluated in two modes: borehole isolator and peripheral isolator. Both modes have shown very promising results, with an average reduction of 35% in stress according to the earthquake’s intensity.

Geo-Isolator for Underground Seismic Isolation

Geo-Isolator for Underground Seismic Isolation

History of Seismic Isolators

The current state of technical knowledge on seismic reduction systems used globally in buildings is as follows:

Seismic Attenuating Systems
The primary purpose of seismic reduction systems in buildings is to absorb a portion of the earthquake energy, thereby reducing the force exerted on the structure. This approach contrasts with merely increasing the structural strength to withstand earthquake forces. Seismic attenuators function by absorbing energy and altering the frequency of the earth’s vibrational movement, thus reducing the force transmitted to the structure. These systems are broadly categorized into two types:

Vibration Control Systems
Dampers: These devices are installed in various parts of a structure to reduce building vibrations during an earthquake. By absorbing energy, dampers decrease the earthquake’s force in the areas where they are installed.

Seismic Isolation Systems
Isolators: These act as barriers between the building and the earthquake forces, reducing the intensity of the seismic waves passing through. Seismic isolation involves separating the entire structure or parts of it from the ground or other structural components to minimize seismic response during an earthquake. This method is among the most advanced techniques for securing buildings and mitigating earthquake damage.

Historical Development of Seismic Isolation

Bedrock Isolation:
The earliest use of this system dates back to the 6th century BC in Pasargadae, ancient Iran. This method involved a foundation made of deep, wide stone and smooth mortar placed on another layer of smooth, wide stone. These foundations were connected in a way that kept the structure intact during earthquakes.

Rubber Isolators:
The first application of rubber as a seismic isolator was in a three-story elementary school building in Yugoslavia in 1969. This concrete building was constructed on cube-shaped rubber blocks. However, the rubber blocks deformed under the building’s weight, causing instability during earthquakes. Consequently, this method was abandoned.

Reinforced Rubber Separators:
Invented by French engineer Freyssinet in 1954 and patented in France, reinforced rubber combines vertical stiffness (due to steel layers) with horizontal flexibility (due to rubber). This technology became widely adopted and has been used as a seismic insulator for buildings in earthquake-prone areas since 1980.

Recycled Tire Rubber Isolators:
In 2002, Lang proposed a method for seismic isolation of small residential buildings using recycled car tires filled with crushed stone, placed under the building. This method was patented in the United States in 2005.

Soil and Tire Rubber Separators:
In 2007, Tsang introduced a seismic isolation method for developing countries using a mixture of soil and recycled car tires. Despite the advantage of increased soil damping, the high thickness of the separation layer (10 to 20 meters) and the large protrusion (10 meters from each side of the building) make this system impractical.
History of Seismic Isolators

The current state of technical knowledge on seismic reduction systems used globally in buildings is as follows:

Seismic Attenuating Systems
The primary purpose of seismic reduction systems in buildings is to absorb a portion of the earthquake energy, thereby reducing the force exerted on the structure. This approach contrasts with merely increasing the structural strength to withstand earthquake forces. Seismic attenuators function by absorbing energy and altering the frequency of the earth’s vibrational movement, thus reducing the force transmitted to the structure. These systems are broadly categorized into two types:

Vibration Control Systems
Dampers: These devices are installed in various parts of a structure to reduce building vibrations during an earthquake. By absorbing energy, dampers decrease the earthquake’s force in the areas where they are installed.

Seismic Isolation Systems
Isolators: These act as barriers between the building and the earthquake forces, reducing the intensity of the seismic waves passing through. Seismic isolation involves separating the entire structure or parts of it from the ground or other structural components to minimize seismic response during an earthquake. This method is among the most advanced techniques for securing buildings and mitigating earthquake damage.

Historical Development of Seismic Isolation

Bedrock Isolation:
The earliest use of this system dates back to the 6th century BC in Pasargadae, ancient Iran. This method involved a foundation made of deep, wide stone and smooth mortar placed on another layer of smooth, wide stone. These foundations were connected in a way that kept the structure intact during earthquakes.

Rubber Isolators:
The first application of rubber as a seismic isolator was in a three-story elementary school building in Yugoslavia in 1969. This concrete building was constructed on cube-shaped rubber blocks. However, the rubber blocks deformed under the building’s weight, causing instability during earthquakes. Consequently, this method was abandoned.

Reinforced Rubber Separators:
Invented by French engineer Freyssinet in 1954 and patented in France, reinforced rubber combines vertical stiffness (due to steel layers) with horizontal flexibility (due to rubber). This technology became widely adopted and has been used as a seismic insulator for buildings in earthquake-prone areas since 1980.

Recycled Tire Rubber Isolators:
In 2002, Lang proposed a method for seismic isolation of small residential buildings using recycled car tires filled with crushed stone, placed under the building. This method was patented in the United States in 2005.

Soil and Tire Rubber Separators:
In 2007, Tsang introduced a seismic isolation method for developing countries using a mixture of soil and recycled car tires. Despite the advantage of increased soil damping, the high thickness of the separation layer (10 to 20 meters) and the large protrusion (10 meters from each side of the building) make this system impractical.

Geo-Isolation Inspiration


Introduction: In the field of civil engineering, there is a pressing need for innovative solutions to address the dynamic forces caused by earthquakes and explosive loads. Traditional strengthening systems often come with significant challenges and complications. This project aims to introduce a novel approach that offers efficient and effective mitigation of these forces.


Concept: Seismic waves travel from the earthquakes epicenter to the earths surface, primarily passing through the soils of the earths crust in the final stages. The properties of these soils significantly influence the nature of these waves and the resulting surface vibrations. Essentially, these soils act as filters, altering the frequencies of seismic waves.


Inspiration: Drawing inspiration from this natural phenomenon, the proposed idea involves modifying the subsoil characteristics using materials with specific properties. This modification aims to deviate (through refraction and reflection) and dampen seismic waves before they reach the structure.


Methodology: By examining how changes in soil characteristics affect the reduction of earthquake wave impacts, the project will identify the optimal materials for this purpose. The goal is to overcome the limitations of existing separation systems by introducing the concept of bed separation.


Implementation: The soils characteristics greatly influence ground-level vibrations and the conditions of the construction site (soil under the foundation). These factors significantly affect the amplitude, frequency content, and duration of seismic movements. The core idea is to transfer the seismic isolation system from the structure itself into the soil.


Execution: The isolation system is moved from the base of the columns on the foundation to the bed soil beneath the foundation. This extends the seismic isolation level across the entire surface under the foundation, effectively separating the entire building (including the structure and foundation) from the underlying soil.


Materials: The separation of the building from the underlying soil is achieved using materials that can withstand the buildings gravity loads while reducing and controlling the passage of earthquake waves. This isolator system reduces the force applied to the structure and its components during an earthquake, significantly decreasing floor acceleration and relative displacement between floors.


Benefits: As a result, design forces are reduced, leading to a lighter building skeleton and lower implementation costs.


This innovative approach promises to enhance the resilience of buildings against seismic activities, offering a practical and efficient solution for modern civil engineering challenges.

Seismic Isolator System Operation

Introduction: The seismic isolator system operates by altering the conditions of the existing building site. Before construction begins, a layer of soil beneath the foundation is replaced with a mixture of materials designed for specific resistance and damping properties.

Mechanism: The performance of this replaced layer depends on its constituent materials, thickness, and properties, which are tailored for each construction project. By designing and implementing this isolation layer, buildings can be significantly protected against earthquake effects, enhancing their efficiency and reliability.

Objective: The primary goal of this isolation system is to modify the building conditions to reduce the transmission of earthquake forces to the structure.

Application to Underground Structures: For underground structures, such as tunnels, the behavior is highly dependent on the interaction between the tunnel walls and the surrounding soil. The best approach to seismically strengthen these structures is to use a system that influences this interaction. By controlling and reducing seismic waves, or isolating the tunnel from its surrounding environment, the design and modeling of the structure’s interaction can be optimized.

Conclusion: Implementing these strategies can significantly improve the seismic resilience of both above-ground and underground structures, ensuring better protection and performance during earthquakes.

Geo-Isolation Inspiration

 

Introduction: In the field of civil engineering, there is a pressing need for innovative solutions to address the dynamic forces caused by earthquakes and explosive loads. Traditional strengthening systems often come with significant challenges and complications. This project aims to introduce a novel approach that offers efficient and effective mitigation of these forces.


Concept: Seismic waves travel from the earthquakes epicenter to the earths surface, primarily passing through the soils of the earths crust in the final stages. The properties of these soils significantly influence the nature of these waves and the resulting surface vibrations. Essentially, these soils act as filters, altering the frequencies of seismic waves.


Inspiration: Drawing inspiration from this natural phenomenon, the proposed idea involves modifying the subsoil characteristics using materials with specific properties. This modification aims to deviate (through refraction and reflection) and dampen seismic waves before they reach the structure.


Methodology: By examining how changes in soil characteristics affect the reduction of earthquake wave impacts, the project will identify the optimal materials for this purpose. The goal is to overcome the limitations of existing separation systems by introducing the concept of bed separation.


Implementation: The soils characteristics greatly influence ground-level vibrations and the conditions of the construction site (soil under the foundation). These factors significantly affect the amplitude, frequency content, and duration of seismic movements. The core idea is to transfer the seismic isolation system from the structure itself into the soil.


Execution: The isolation system is moved from the base of the columns on the foundation to the bed soil beneath the foundation. This extends the seismic isolation level across the entire surface under the foundation, effectively separating the entire building (including the structure and foundation) from the underlying soil.


Materials: The separation of the building from the underlying soil is achieved using materials that can withstand the buildings gravity loads while reducing and controlling the passage of earthquake waves. This isolator system reduces the force applied to the structure and its components during an earthquake, significantly decreasing floor acceleration and relative displacement between floors.


Benefits: As a result, design forces are reduced, leading to a lighter building skeleton and lower implementation costs.


This innovative approach promises to enhance the resilience of buildings against seismic activities, offering a practical and efficient solution for modern civil engineering challenges.


Seismic Isolator System Operation

Introduction: The seismic isolator system operates by altering the conditions of the existing building site. Before construction begins, a layer of soil beneath the foundation is replaced with a mixture of materials designed for specific resistance and damping properties.

Mechanism: The performance of this replaced layer depends on its constituent materials, thickness, and properties, which are tailored for each construction project. By designing and implementing this isolation layer, buildings can be significantly protected against earthquake effects, enhancing their efficiency and reliability.

Objective: The primary goal of this isolation system is to modify the building conditions to reduce the transmission of earthquake forces to the structure.

Application to Underground Structures: For underground structures, such as tunnels, the behavior is highly dependent on the interaction between the tunnel walls and the surrounding soil. The best approach to seismically strengthen these structures is to use a system that influences this interaction. By controlling and reducing seismic waves, or isolating the tunnel from its surrounding environment, the design and modeling of the structure’s interaction can be optimized.

Conclusion: Implementing these strategies can significantly improve the seismic resilience of both above-ground and underground structures, ensuring better protection and performance during earthquakes.

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Based on the experiences we have gained, we decided to extend our field of activity to other countries and export designed and constructed structures that can be prefabricated.

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