Proof test of base-isolated building using high damping rubber bearing

Growing expectations have recently arisen concerning the base isolation system, and as a consequence, more than twenty base-isolated buildings have been built in Japan. The present research is intended to prove the effectiveness of the base isolation system by on-site experiments and the observation of actual earthquakes for full-sized structure. The authors used a system consisting of six rubber bearings and twelve oil dampers. After several experiments, they conducted the earthquake observations. Totally, thirty earthquakes were recorded from June 1986 to July 1988. From the results of these tests and the earthquake observations, the base isolation system was provided to be very effective in reducing the response acceleration. The system was replaced with the high damping rubber bearings in July 1987. In this paper, the authors report the dynamic loading test and the earthquake observations of these high damping rubber bearings