Friction Pendulum System- A Parametric Study of Friction Coefficient

Damage to buildings during an earthquake can be prevented or reduced by base isolation technique in which isolators are installed beneath the structure. Friction Pendulum System (FPS) is a one type of sliding isolation systems consists of steel bearing with spherical sliding surface and slider. The lateral stiffness is provided by spherical surfaces of the FPS and the energy is dissipated by the friction provided in the contact surface. The restoring force equal to the tangential component of the vertical load on the bearing is given by the curvature of the sliding surface. These isolators are designed to be very stiff and strong so that they can carry the weight of the building and protect from strong shakes. When earthquake occurred, the bearing decouples the structure and reduces the force transmitted to the superstructure. In this paper, the model of the isolator is analysed using ANSYS software to study the behaviour of the isolator. A parametric study dealing with the coefficient of friction using nonlinear static analysis is done and the results are interpreted.