Evaluation of equivalent lateral force procedure in estimating seismic isolator displacements

Simplified methods of analysis described in codes and specifications for seismically isolated structures are always used either directly in special cases or for checking the results of nonlinear response history analysis (RHA). In this study, the maximum isolator displacements and base shears determined by nonlinear RHA are compared with those determined by the equivalent lateral force (ELF) procedure in order to assess the accuracy of the simplified method in the case of earthquakes with near field characteristics. Features of this study are that the ground motions used in analysis are selected and scaled using contemporary concepts and that the ground excitation is considered bi-directional. It is shown that the simplified method provides acceptably accurate predictions of shear isolator displacements and shear forces for a range of isolator properties and ground motions representative of stiff and soft soil conditions.