Constrained optimization for 1-D dynamic and earthquake response analysis of hybrid base-isolation systems

The paper presents a constrained optimization procedure (COP) for the dynamic analysis of hybrid base isolation systems under earthquake excitation. After a description of the hybrid system considered, the mechanical model used for its representation is introduced, along with the governing equations. Mid-point central difference time-discretization is used to cast the computations in each time increment as a quadratic optimization problem with non-linear constraints. Numerical applications illustrate the accuracy and robustness of the formulation and highlight some typical performance characteristics of hybrid base isolation systems.