Component Test of the Full Scale MFPS Base Isolator

In recent years, there have been more and more engineering applications of the base isolation to enhance the seismic resistibility of the existing structures. The elastomeric base isolator and the sliding base isolator are the most popular types in the engineering applications. In this paper, the experimental results for the component test of the full scale multiple friction pendulum system (MFPS) have been introduced. The MFPS base isolator is a base isolator which possesses characteristics of the elastomeric and sliding type base isolators. The effectiveness of the device in reducing the seismic response of structures during earthquakes has been confirmed from the experimental results of the shaking table tests. In order to test the mechanical behavior of a full scale MFPS base isolator, the component tests of the device subjected axial loads of 500 tons, 900 tons and horizontally cyclic loadings have been executed. The experimental results show that the MFPS base isolator has a very stable mechanical behavior under many cycles of loadings. Hence, the durability of the MFPS base isolator can be proved from these experimental results.