Earthquakes cause enormous damage to buildings. The collapse of buildings can lead to fatalities, as was the case in 2023, when at least 60,000 people lost their lives in an earthquake in Turkey and Syria. Protecting critical infrastructure from seismic activity is particularly essential. Base isolation has proven to be one of the most effective and economical methods of reducing the impact of earthquakes on buildings.
The aim of the planned work is to test, validate, and further develop calculation methods for simulating the structural mechanical behavior of building structures and components as a result of seismic effects and to determine and quantify the influence of base isolation on earthquake safety. The results of seismological in-situ measurements at a base-isolated French nuclear facility, which are made available to participants as part of the OECD/NEA SMATCH benchmark, will be used to validate the calculation methods. The validation is carried out on the structures of the reactor building, including internal components, taking into account the soil-structure interaction and the nonlinear, amplitude- and frequency-dependent behavior of the bearings, with consideration given to aging effects.
Publications:
Engelke, C.; Bahr, L.; Zouatine, M.; Sadegh-Azar, H.: FIRST ASSESSMENTS OF THE SEISMIC RESPONSE OF THE CRUAS BASE ISOLATED NPP (SMATCH Benchmark), SMIRT 28th Toronto, Canada
Engelke, C.; Sadegh-Azar, H.: Wirksamkeit von Basisisolationssystemen mit variierenden charakteristischen Festigkeiten unter in Deutschland möglichen seismischen Anregungen bei unterschiedlichen Struktureigenfrequenzen, 19. D-A-CH-Tagung Erdbebeningenieurwesen & Baudynamik Wien, Österreich