Improved equivalent viscous damping model for base-isolated structures with lead rubber bearings

• An improved equivalent linearization model for structures isolated by lead rubber bearings is proposed.
• The model yields more accurate estimates of equivalent damping ratio.
• Compared with other models, the proposed model improves the prediction capability of equivalent linear analysis.

Nowadays, seismic isolation system has been widely applied in the world to mitigate damage risk of structures. Although maximum displacement demand can be obtained through nonlinear time history (NLTH) analysis, many approximate methods are frequently recommended in structural specifications to reduce the required computational time. One of the best-known methods is the equivalent linear (EL) method, in which the nonlinear response of isolator can be adequately modeled using a fictitious viscously damped elastic structure. In this paper, a comparison between existing expressions supplying the state of research is carried out and then, an improved expression is presented for equivalent linearization of structures supported on lead rubber bearings (LRB). Based on the concept of secant stiffness, the optimal damping ratios, which minimize the errors of maximum displacement between EL analysis and NLTH analysis, are calculated and averaged over 12 ground motions. Then, a rational model to estimate equivalent damping ratio is derived through statistic analysis of the optimal damping ratios. To examine the prediction accuracy of the proposed model, mean ratios of approximate to exact maximum displacement and root mean square error for different isolated period are calculated as evaluation indicator. Compared with other EL models, the newly proposed model predicts a displacement that is in better agreement with the one obtained through NLTH analysis.