PROPOSAL OF SEISMIC ISOLATION OF PERUVIAN ECONOMIC HOUSES THROUGH FREE-STANDING COLUMNS

Modern seismic protection systems, like base isolation, have proven to be effective reducing expected damage of buildings due to seismic events. Around the world, this technology had been applied more frequently to important buildings, however, there’s no reference of its application to a massive use in low-rise buildings (economic houses). New studies of seismic protection systems, such as free-standing columns has been developed by researchers and would be applied to economic houses. This article resumes the expressions developed by some researchers to evaluate the response of free-standing columns subjected to movement in its base, in particular type pulse signals. Also, in this paper it is evaluated the influence of the maximum horizontal acceleration on the base, the duration of the seismic signal and the effect of vertical acceleration, column size and slenderness on the seismic response of the oscillating columns. Typical Peruvian signals have a frequencies content different to harmonic functions to impulsive signal, therefore the seismic response of free-standing columns could be very difficult to predict. The objective of this paper is to predict the seismic response of typical RC columns subjected to Peruvian record motions. Results indicate low rotations in rare earthquakes, concluding that free-standing columns could be applied to economic buildings trying to create a mechanism of seismic isolation.