Abstract: | A structure incorporating the mechanism of sliding, as used in seismic isolation, along with the mechanism of uplift, but at a different elevation, is proposed to study the possible beneficial effects on the response of the structure, as compared to allowing partial base uplift only. A two-mass model of system uplift and sliding is established. The equations of motion for both the phase of full contact and the phase of base uplift are derived. The criteria governing the transformation of these two phases are given. Both the time history and the response spectrum results show that the structure with both uplift and sliding mechanisms is superior to that with only the uplift mechanism. Not only is the response of the structure lessened, but also the amount of uplift is greatly reduced because of the added sliding mechanism. |