Seismic Behavior of Base Isolated Civil Protection Operative Center in Foligno, Italy

Abstract

The analysis of the actual seismic behavior of the Operative Building of the Civil Protection Centre in Foligno, Italy, which is seismically isolated by means of high damping rubber bearings (HDRBs), is shown. An accelerometer network was installed on the structure. It recorded all the events of the seismic sequence that hit central Italy from August 2016 to January 2017. All the events had epicenters far from the building, so the effects at the site were quite low and the resonance frequencies measured were higher than the frequencies assumed in the design phase. The seismic filtering was effective. The strongest earthquake occurred on October 30, 2016, Mw=6.5, with epicenter at Norcia, was studied in detail. A nonlinear law for the rubber shear modulus was deduced, which fits quite well with experimental data and was used for a nonlinear dynamic analysis of the entire building. The model was first tested analyzing the effects of the acceleration time-histories recorded during the mentioned event at the building basement. The responses obtained numerically at the sensor locations were compared with those recorded at the same locations during the quake. Then the model was used to analyze the structural response to a strong earthquake.