Slide 1
Support that can move sideways
Te Papa in Aotearoa New Zealand uses base isolation to support its building while permitting relative horizontal movement.
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Te Papa in Aotearoa New Zealand uses base isolation beneath its building. The isolating layer supports the structure while allowing relative horizontal movement. That flexibility changes how ground shaking is transmitted into the building above.
Slide 2
Different materials, different roles
In lead-rubber isolation bearings, rubber and steel layers combine horizontal flexibility with support for vertical loads.
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Layers of rubber and steel combine horizontal flexibility with the ability to carry vertical load. A lead core contributes energy dissipation as it deforms. The bearing works through these roles together; it is not simply a soft cushion under the building.
Slide 3
Change the path of motion
Base isolation lets a structure move relative to the ground through its bearings, reducing transmission of some shaking.
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A fixed-base structure is closely coupled to movement at its foundation. An isolated structure can move relative to the ground across its bearings, reducing transmission of some shaking. A qualitative comparison illustrates the principle without predicting motion in a particular earthquake.
Slide 4
Movement needs room
Base isolation requires space for displacement as well as capacity to carry a building's weight.
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An isolating system must be designed to accommodate displacement as well as carry load. Clearance and the interfaces with surrounding services matter because the building and its surroundings may move differently. Flexibility is useful only within an engineered system and its design limits.
Slide 5
Isolation is not a guarantee
Base isolation manages earthquake response; it does not make a building earthquake-proof.
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Base isolation is a method of managing earthquake response, not a promise that a building is earthquake-proof. Te Papa provides a concrete example of combining support, flexibility and energy dissipation. Performance claims require engineering analysis of the structure and the shaking considered.
Sources
- Halting the jolts: How Te Papa resists earthquakes
Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa
- Base isolation and seismic dampers
University of Waikato, Science Learning Hub