Base–structure interaction of linearly isolated structures with lateral–torsional coupling

The linear earthquake response of seismically isolated structures with lateral–torsional coupling is investigated. Emphasis is placed on developing simplified procedures for estimating the amplification of edge displacements of the superstructure and isolated base. The three-dimensional response of asymmetric buildings is cast under a dynamic base–superstructure interaction formulation. Among the wide range of possibilities to represent this interaction, two simplified models were selected. The first model accounts for the base–superstructure interaction through a correction of the mass matrix of the superstructure, while the second assumes a pseudo-static response of the superstructure subject to three lateral inertial force distributions. Symbolic expressions are derived to compute the edge response by using the pseudo-static method. Such expressions are simple to use and show better accuracy than the one implicit in current isolation codes. Finally, the response of a six-story asymmetric building example demonstrates the application of the proposed procedure, and results are compared with the true peak response at both edges computed from integration of the equations of motion of the isolated structure.