Applications
Notable Projects
Dynamic Isolation Systems has been at the forefront of seismic isolation for 30 years.
It has supplied isolators for the majority of prominent isolation projects completed to date.
San Diego Coronado
Bay Bridge
This prominent project was the first to feature high-speed testing of isolators. Caltrans built a state-of-the-art test facility at the University of
San Diego, California for its
toll bridge retrofit program.
The test rig was the first to be able to test bearings at actual earthquake velocities. The bearings are designed to accommodate a 1.2 meter
fault rupture beneath the bridge.
BAPS Temple, California
Shown here (left) is Dr. Amarnath Kasalanti, our Director of Engineering, at a ceremony for the installation of the first isolators for the new BAPS Temple. The building is designed for a 500-year life and uses stainless steel for the isolator and slider flange plates. The finished temple will be decorated with extensive stone carvings from India.
San Francisco City Hall
This West Coast landmark was damaged by the 1989 Loma Prieta Earthquake and has been restored and protected from future seismic activity. 530 DIS seismic isolators were installed, making it the largest seismic retrofit project in the world.
Tan Tzu Medical Center
At 1.7 million square feet, the Tan Tzu Medical Center in Taiwan is the largest isolated structure in the world. (Shown here under construction.) It is the third hospital in Taiwan for which DIS has provided isolators. Base isolation was chosen so that the hospital would be operational immediately following an earthquake.
Salt Lake City and County Building
The City and County Building was the first
seismic isolation retrofit in the world. The
retrofitted building is designed to withstand earthquakes up to 7.0 on the Richter Scale. It is a bearing wall structure constructed of unreinforced brick and sandstone. It was completed in 1894 in the Richardson Romanesque style.
Building Retrofits
Seismic isolation is the best method for upgrading historic buildings to current earthquake design standards. As isolation reduces the forces in the structure, the original architectural fabric of the building can be retained.
Utah State Capitol
Built in 1915, this building (left) features Corinthian Architecture and integrates design concepts borrowed from other National Capitols. Local materials and custom-designed ornamental features give the building its unique character.
The Old Bank Shopping Arcade
This building in Wellington, New Zealand was retrofitted and transformed into a shopping plaza. Isolation was used to meet the seismic requirements.
The HSR building and Kudan Post Office are examples of retrofits of moment frame structures. These buildings are easier to retrofit than masonry structures that have many load-bearing walls.
Other retrofits using DIS isolators include Oakland City Hall and Campbell Hall at Western Oregon State College.
New Zealand Parliament Buildings
Base isolation was chosen to meet conservation objectives. It allowed the maximum retention of original materials and workmanship within the buildings and avoided any changes to the exterior appearance.
The East and West Parliamentary Libraries
in New Zealand
were also retrofitted
with DIS isolators.
Hospitals
DIS has isolated 28 hospitals around the world. It is essential that hospitals remain operational following an earthquake. Isolation eliminates damage to the hospital, its operation and protects staff and patients.
Xindian General Hospital Testing for this hospital in Taiwan was performed at the University of San Diego to one meter lateral displacement. The shear strain in the isolator was 400% which is well in excess of the demand of the design earthquake. Such testing
demonstrates the high
performance of DIS
isolators. DIS also
provided isolators for
Hualin and Tan
Tzu Hospitals in Taiwan.
Erzurum Hospital
Workmen install isolators for
Erzurum Hospital in Eastern
Turkey. The Turkish Ministry
of Health plans to build many
new hospitals over the next
ten years and is a proponent of superior-performing technology such as base isolation.
The Tan Tzu Hospital, shown here under construction, has 400 isolators and is located 200 meters from a major fault.
The USC Hospital saw ground accelerations of 0.4g during the 1994 Northridge Earthquake. The accelerations in the building were reduced by a factor of three to 0.13g by the DIS isolators.
The Arrowhead Medical Center
in Southern California is comprised of 5 independently isolated buildings.
Isolators for the new Okinawa Naval Hospital being installed in 2009.
The new GTB Hospital in India was isolated in response to hospitals that were collapsed by the Magnitude 7.7 Bhuj Earthquake in 2001.
A slider installed at Takasu Hospital in Japan.
This Colombian Hospital (shown here under construction) was isolated to ensure that it will remain operational during and after an earthquake. The owner chose to isolate the hospital after an earthquake had severely damaged one of its
non-isolated hospitals in the 2004 Magnitude 7.2 Cali Earthquake. Base isolation reduces the accelerations that the building will experience by a factor of 4.
New Bridges
Isolation reduces forces in the foundations by up to 70%. An isolated bridge has superior performance and a lower cost.
Patria Acueducto
Reduced substructure forces in the isolated condition allow for aesthetic expression with sleek members in this bridge in Guadalajara, Mexico. The reduced foundation forces resulted in 50% fewer piles.
JFK Light Rail
The elevated JFK Light Rail System connects JFK Airport to the New York subway system. The bridge is 10 miles long and is supported by 1,364 DIS isolators. The design-build contractor chose isolation to save foundation costs. As the foundations were smaller, significant other cost savings were realized by minimizing the relocation of underground services at the airport and along the Van Wyck Freeway.
Oakland Bay Bridge
The temporary by-pass
on the Oakland Bay
Bridge in California is
isolated with four DIS
bearings. The temporary
bridge was rolled into
place in September 2009 over the Labor Day Weekend .
DIS provided custom design and manufacturing of this lockup ring which was featured as part of the bearing assembly.
Woodrow Wilson
Bridge
This bascule bridge spans the Potomac River near Washington, DC. This critical bridge, which carries over 250,000 vehicles each day, is in a low seismic zone. However, the redistribution of forces and performance under service-load conditions made seismic isolation an appealing option for the designers.
Mexicali Bridge Isolation halved the foundation cost on this bridge in Mexicali. The foundations required only two-thirds of the concrete and one-third of the reinforcing steel that would have been required with a conventional design. This bridge performed as expected in the April 2010 earthquake and suffered no damage.
The Autoroute 25 Bridge in Montreal, Canada, shown here under construction.
Bridge Retrofits
Bridges benefit from isolation as strengthening of the existing piers and foundations can be avoided. Isolation reduces the seismic forces in the structure and allows the designer to redistribute forces throughout the structure. DIS isolators have been used in more than fifty bridge retrofit projects.
Rio Vista Bridge Typical location
of an isolator
in the retrofitted
Rio Vista Bridge
in California.
Richmond San Rafael Bridge
The Richmond San Rafael Bridge benefits
from isolation as forces can be redistributed throughout
the structure. Without isolation the significant height
differences of the piers would cause the shorter, stiffer piers to attract the majority of the lateral force. The structure required a higher than normal level of initial strength because of high wind loads. DIS designed and built 55-inch diameter isolators with three 11-inch diameter lead cores.
Feather River Bridge
Lead rubber isolators are a perfect choice for the harsh conditions found around bridges. DIS isolators (above) have no moving parts
that can be degraded by road salts or the environment.
Golden Gate Bridge North The North Approach of the Golden Gate Bridge is retrofitted with DIS isolators. Isolation ensures that the bridge will withstand an earthquake of magnitude 8.3.
Unique Applications
DIS’s experience and engineering expertise allow us to solve almost any seismic protection challenge.
The Stanford Linear Accelerator in California is protected by DIS isolators.
Broadway Pier
This San Diego pier
is being retrofitted to reduce the lateral loads in the existing piles. DIS bearings are ideal in a marine environment as they have no moving parts or sliding surfaces to degrade. The owner specified stainless steel plates as an additional durability measure.
Myrtle St. Water Tanks, Seattle, USA These water tanks in Seattle were retrofitted to ensure service after an earthquake. Many of the recent large earthquakes have highlighted the vulnerability and importance of protecting such utilities.
Mobile Data Center, Costa Rica
These mobile data centers housed in shipping containers are isolated with our low mass isolation system (below).
Berry Street Project
The 2009 winner of the ATC & SEI “SEISMIC ISOLATION PROJECT OF THE DECADE AWARD”,
this San Francisco building features isolation at the roof level of an existing three-story building, enabling the owner to add two extra stories with minimal strengthening of the existing structure. As this application is quite unique, testing was conducted to 45 inches of lateral displacement, well in excess of the 30-inch MCE design displacement.
Round Butte Reservoir This one of a kind design combines a fish collector and water flow controller. The “Selective Water Withdrawal Tower” changes the current to attract fish into a collection facility and modifies the temperature of Lake Billy Chinook and the lower Deschutes River to improve the fish habitat. The tower incorporates DIS isolators at its base in approximately 200 feet of water. The rubber used has very low permeability making it well suited to being permanently submerged.
Data Centers
Isolation is a natural design solution for data centers. It complements other fail-safe technologies such as backup power and the duplication of data and servers. Increasing demands from our clients to have servers and data centers continuously operational can only be obtained with the performance that isolation provides.
Buildings With High-Content Value
Isolation also prevents damage to the building contents in the event of an earthquake.
Conexant
Semiconductor Plants
Three Conexant Semiconductor
plants in Mexico and California are
protected by DIS isolators. In the event of an earthquake
they protect assets in the billions and prevent the loss of millions
in sales and market share.
Television studios and telecommunications buildings, such as these
in Japan, have
been isolated to ensure
they are functional
immediately following an
earthquake.
Hughes Building
The Hughes S-12 building in Los Angeles is critical to Hughes’ Satellite operation. The 12-story building remained operational during the retrofit.The likelihood of damage or downtime in an earthquake has
virtually been eliminated.
Immunex Campus
This Research and Technology Center located on Seattle’s industrial waterfront hosts immune system studies and drug therapy development. It also houses
$50 million of state-of-the-art equipment.
The owner was concerned that an
earthquake could prevent them from
working for several months which would
be costly for the corporation.
Emergency Centers
These buildings are designed to be operational after a disaster to serve as a single location from which government and rescue teams may operate.
Berkeley Public Safety Building
The Berkeley Public Safety Building is one of
many emergency centers recently built through-
out the United States. The state-of-the-art
building is designed to withstand a magnitude
7.0 earthquake on the Richter Scale and remain operational. It houses the City’s 911 emergency Communication Center which is a vital hub in
the City’s Emergency Response Plan.
The Los Angeles Regional Transportation Management Center (LARTMC) manages traffic on 525 miles of mainline roadway within LA and Ventura County regions.
Projects In Japan
Dynamic Isolation Systems has supplied isolators to more than 130 projects in Japan. Japan has lead the world in using advanced technologies such as base isolation.
The MM21 Building in Yokohama is a
large-scale office
project that used 53
base isolators.
High City Kyosumi used 1500mm diameter isolators, the largest isolators ever built.
The Funabashi Fire Station is one of many fire stations in Japan that are base isolated.
Yuzawa Hospital uses isolators and sliders supplied by Dynamic Isolation Systems.
Museums
Museums are natural candidates for seismic isolation as it provides the best protection available for a building’s contents.
Asian Art Museum
The former San Francisco City Library was retrofitted and now houses more than $7 billion of Asian artwork. It is protected by 200 DIS isolators.
F-Museum
Ten lead rubber
isolators protect this
7-story, 40,000
square-foot building
in Tokyo, Japan.
Condominiums
Many residents choose to live in better-protected isolated buildings.