Seismic Performance of Base-Isolated Buildings with Vertically Staggered Foundations on Hilly Terrain under Near- and Far-Field Earthquakes
Downloads
Rapid urbanization and limited land availability have encouraged construction on sloping terrains, where framed structures remain highly vulnerable to seismic damage. Base isolation provides a proven means of enhancing resilience. This study investigates staggered buildings equipped with isolation systems, specifically lead rubber bearings, under near-field and far-field earthquakes using ETABS models of isolated and non-isolated irregular structures. Results for regular buildings were validated against existing solutions. Slope angles between 0° and 45° were analyzed to assess seismic parameters including vibration period, base shear, storey displacement, drift, and overturning moment. Findings show that near-field earthquakes intensify slope effects, amplifying base shear, displacement, drift, and overturning moment, while far-field motions exhibit lower sensitivity. Base isolation consistently reduced force-based responses across slope angles, though displacement amplification was most pronounced in steep-slope buildings under near-field motions. Overall, base isolation demonstrates strong potential to improve seismic safety and resilience of staggered buildings in hilly terrains.
Downloads
Kumar, S. and Bansal, V.K., A GIS-based Methodology for Safe Site Selection of a Building in a Hilly Region, Frontiers of Architectural Research, 5(1), 2016, pp. 39-51.
Roshan, P. and Pal, S., Structural Challenges for Seismic Stability of Buildings in Hilly Areas, Environmental Science and Pollution Research, 30(44), 2023, pp. 99100-99126.
Rc, B., Rani, V., Suleiman, M.F., Biradar, B.B., Vyas, R., Ahmad, A., and Shirkol, A.I., Seismic Performance Evaluation and Comparative Study of Reinforced Concrete Building on a Sloped Terrain with Regular Building by Considering the Effect of URM Infill Walls, Buildings, 14(1), 2023, Article 33.
Sudeep, Y.H., Ujwal, M.S., Sridhar, H.N., Chandra, S.S., Kumar, G.S., and Ramaraju, H.K., Comparative Study of Step-back and Step-back Setback Configurations of Multi-story Buildings with Varying Height on Sloped Terrain, Asian Journal of Civil Engineering, 2024, 25(7), 2024, pp. 5067-5088.
De Stefano, M. and Pintucchi, B., A Review of Research on Seismic Behaviour of Irregular Building Structures Since 2002, Bulletin of Earthquake Engineering, 6, 2008, pp. 285-308.
Gokdemir, H., Ozbasaran, H., Dogan, M., Unluoglu, E., and Albayrak, U., Effects of Torsional Irregularity to Structures During Earthquakes, Engineering Failure Analysis, 35, 2013, pp. 713-717.
Jain, A. and Surana, M., In-plan Distribution of Peak Floor Acceleration Demands in Torsionally Irregular Buildings, Journal of Building Engineering, 90, 2024, Article 109360.
Jarapala, R. and Menon, A., Seismic Performance of Reinforced Concrete Buildings on Hill Slopes: A Review, Journal of the Institution of Engineers (India): Series A, 104(3), 2023, pp. 721-745.
Roshan, P. and Pal, S., Evaluation of Seismic Performance of Hillside Step-back RC Buildings Incorporating Soil-Structure Interaction, Journal of Vibration Engineering & Technologies, 13(1), 2025, Article 83.
Halkude, S.A., Kalyanshetti, M.G., and Ingle, V.D., Seismic Analysis of Buildings Resting on Sloping Ground with Varying Number of Bays and Hill Slopes, International Journal of Engineering Research and Technology, 2(12), 2013, pp. 3632-3640.
Surana, M., Singh, Y., and Lang, D.H., Seismic Characterization and Vulnerability of Building Stock in Hilly Regions, Natural Hazards Review, 19(1), 2018, Article 04017024.
Suresh, G. and Arunakanthi, D.E., Seismic Analysis of Buildings Resting on Sloping Ground and Considering Bracing System, International Journal of Engineering Research & Technology, 3, 2014.
Aggarwal, Y. and Saha, S.K., Seismic Performance Assessment of Reinforced Concrete Hilly Buildings with Open Story, Structures, 34, 2021, pp. 224-238.
Jarapala, R. and Biswal, K.C., Dynamic Behavior of Vertically Irregular Sloping Ground Buildings, Asian Journal of Civil Engineering, 22(1), 2021, pp. 125-136.
Maheshwari, R., Singh, B.K., and Marques, R., Seismic Performance of Confined Versus Unreinforced Masonry Buildings on Hilly Slopes Using Linear Static and Dynamic Analysis Approaches, Arabian Journal for Science and Engineering, 48(10), 2023, pp. 13839-13869.
Acharya, V. and Sengupta, P., Seismic Vulnerability Assessment of Step-back Hill Buildings Through Experimental Investigation, Numerical Simulation and Fragility Estimation, Bulletin of Earthquake Engineering, 22(2), 2024, pp. 395-434.
Govindaraju, L., Seismic Behavior of Stepback Buildings with Slope Stability: An Empirical–Numerical Study, Geotechnical and Geological Engineering, 42(2), 2024, pp. 1423-1444.
Singh, R., Sekhawat, R.S., and Gupta, T., Seismic Response of RCC Buildings on Hill Slopes with Step Back and Step Back-Set Back Configuration, Journal of Scientific Research and Reports, 30(3), 2024, pp. 259-274.
Warn, G.P. and Ryan, K.L., A Review of Seismic Isolation for Buildings: Historical Development and Research Needs, Buildings, 2(3), 2012, pp. 300-325.
Gkournelos, P.D., Triantafillou, T.C., and Bournas, D.A., Seismic Upgrading of Existing Reinforced Concrete Buildings: A State-of-the-Art Review, Engineering Structures, 240, 2021, Article 112273.
Chandra, J., and Warnitchai, P., Application of Buckling Restrained Braces for Seismic Strengthening of Irregular Gravity Load Designed Reinforced Concrete Frame Buildings, Civil Engineering Dimension, 13(2), 2011, pp. 65-74.
Rahman, M.R.A., Saputra, A., and Satyarno, I., Effectiveness of Elastomeric Bearings in Reducing Pounding Effects between Reinforced Concrete Buildings under Seismic Condition, Civil Engineering Dimension, 27(1), 2025, pp. 47-58.
Trifunac, M.D., The Role of Strong Motion Rotations in the Response of Structures Near Earthquake Faults, Soil Dynamics and Earthquake Engineering, 29(2), 2009, pp. 382-393.
Jangid, R.S. and Kelly, J.M., Base Isolation for Near-fault Motions, Earthquake Engineering & Structural Dynamics, 30(5), 2001, pp. 691-707.
Pan, P., Zamfirescu, D.A.N., Nakashima, M., Nakayasu, N., and Kashiwa, H., Base-isolation Design Practice in Japan: Introduction to the Post-Kobe Approach, Journal of Earthquake Engineering, 9(1), 2005, pp. 147-171.
Matsagar, V.A. and Jangid, R.S., Base Isolation for Seismic Retrofitting of Structures, Practice Periodical on Structural Design and Construction, 13(4), 2008, pp. 175-185.
De Luca, A. and Guidi, L.G., State of Art in the Worldwide Evolution of Base Isolation Design, Soil Dynamics and Earthquake Engineering, 125, 2019, Article 105722.
Sheikh, H., Van Engelen, N.C., and Ruparathna, R., A Review of Base Isolation Systems with Adaptive Characteristics, Structures, 38, 2022, pp. 1542-1555.
Santoso, A. K., Sulistyo, D., Awaludin, A., Setiawan, A. F., Satyarno, I., Purnomo, S., and Harry, I., Structural systems Comparison of Simply Supported PSC Box Girder Bridge Equipped with Elastomeric Rubber Bearing and Lead Rubber Bearing, Civil Engineering Dimension, 24(1), 2022, pp. 19-30.
Wang, X. and Hutchinson, T.C., Elastic and Inelastic Acceleration Amplification of Nonstructural Components Characterized using Recorded Building Responses, Engineering Structures, 302, 2024, Article 117306.
Cardone, D., Flora, A., and Gesualdi, G., Inelastic Response of RC Frame Buildings with Seismic Isolation, Earthquake Engineering & Structural Dynamics, 42(6), 2013, pp. 871-889.
Lu, X., Wang, D., and Wang, S., Investigation of the Seismic Response of High-rise Buildings Supported on Tension-resistant Elastomeric Isolation Bearings, Earthquake Engineering & Structural Dynamics, 45(13), 2016, pp. 2207-2228.
Anajafi, H., Poursadr, K., Roohi, M., and Santini-Bell, E., Effectiveness of Seismic Isolation for Long-period Structures Subject to Far-field and Near-field Excitations, Frontiers in Built Environment, 6, 2020, Article 24.
Jangid, R.S., Optimum Lead-rubber Isolation Bearings for Near-fault Motions, Engineering Structures, 29(10), 2007, pp. 2503-2513.
Hu, J.W., Response of Seismically Isolated Steel Frame Buildings with Sustainable Lead-rubber Bearing (LRB) Isolator Devices Subjected to Near-fault (NF) Ground Motions, Sustainability, 7(1), 2014, pp. 111-137.
Shoaei, P., Orimi, H.T., and Zahrai, S.M., Seismic Reliability-based Design of Inelastic Base-isolated Structures with Lead-rubber Bearing Systems, Soil Dynamics and Earthquake Engineering, 115, 2018, pp. 589-605.
Kim, J.H., Kim, M.K., and Choi, I.K., Experimental Study on Seismic Behavior of Lead-rubber Bearing Considering Bi-directional Horizontal Input Motions, Engineering Structures, 198, 2019, Article 109529.
Yurdakul, M. and Yıldız, M.B., A Study on Seismic Isolation of Building Used LRB, Challenge Journal of Structural Mechanics, 6(2), 2020, pp. 52-60.
Raheem, S.A., Omar, M., Zaher, A.A., and Taha, A., Effects of Numerical Modeling Simplification on Seismic Design of Buildings, Coupled Systems Mechanics, 7(6), 2018a, pp. 731-753.
Raheem, S.A., Zaher, A.A., and Taha, A., Finite Element Modeling Assumptions Impact on Seismic Response Demands of MRF-buildings, Earthquake Engineering and Engineering Vibration, 17, 2018b, pp. 821-834.
Chandra, J., Lokito, V. N., and Tambuna, J. A., Seismic Performance of Precast Concrete Special Moment Frames with Hybrid Connection System in Five and Ten Story Buildings, Civil Engineering Dimension, 25(2), 2023, pp. 85-95.
Ma, X.T., Bao, C., Doh, S.I., Lu, H., Zhang, L.X., Ma, Z.W., and He, Y.T., Dynamic Response Analysis of Story-adding Structure with Isolation Technique Subjected to Near-fault Pulse-like Ground Motions, Physics and Chemistry of the Earth, 121, 2021, Article 102957.
Liu, L., Liu, D., Zhang, L., Li, Q., Ma, B., Shan, H., and Lei, M., Study on Seismic Response of Staggered Story Isolated Structure Under Ordinary and Long-period Earthquake, Journal of Vibration Engineering & Technologies, 12(1), 2024, pp. 667-679.
Zhao, T., Liu, D., Guo, Z., Shan, H., Huo, Y., Li, X., and Lei, M., Study on the Overturning Resistance of a New Staggered Story Isolated Structure, Structures, 65, 2024, Article 106709.
Zhou, W., Huang, C., Li, X., Liu, D., Zhang, Y., and Fang, S., Analysis of Shock Absorption Performance of a New Staggered Story Isolation Structure Under Far-field Long-period Ground Motions, Soil Dynamics and Earthquake Engineering, 177, 2024, Article 108411.
Shu, T., Li, H., Wang, T., Liu, D., Yao, S., and Lei, M., Study on the Seismic Response of New Staggered Story Isolated Structure Under Different Parameters, Frontiers in Earth Science, 11, 2023, Article 1115235.
Chimamphant, S. and Kasai, K., Comparative Response and Performance of Base-isolated and Fixed-base Structures, Earthquake Engineering & Structural Dynamics, 45(1), 2016, pp. 5-27.
Mazza, F., Seismic Demand of Base-isolated Irregular Structures Subjected to Pulse-type Earthquakes, Soil Dynamics and Earthquake Engineering, 108, 2018, pp. 111-129.
Mazza, F., Mazza, M., and Vulcano, A., Base-isolation Systems for the Seismic Retrofitting of RC Framed Buildings with Soft-storey Subjected to Near-fault Earthquakes, Soil Dynamics and Earthquake Engineering, 109, 2018, pp. 209-221.
Mazza, F., Effects of the Long-term Behaviour of Isolation Devices on the Seismic Response of Base-isolated Buildings, Structural Control and Health Monitoring, 26(4), 2019, Article e2331.
Deringöl, A.H. and Güneyisi, E.M., Single and Combined Use of Friction-damped and Base-isolated Systems in Ordinary Buildings, Journal of Constructional Steel Research, 174, 2020, Article 106308.
Zelleke, D.H. and Matsagar, V.A., Multi-hazard Stochastic Response Assessment of Base-isolated Buildings, Structure and Infrastructure Engineering, 20(3), 2024, pp. 301-325.
Bhandari, M., Bharti, S.D., Shrimali, M.K., and Datta, T.K., The Numerical Study of Base-isolated Buildings Under Near-field and Far-field Earthquakes, Journal of Earthquake Engineering, 22(6), 2018, pp. 989-1007.
Shahbazi, S., Mansouri, I., Hu, J.W., and Karami, A., Effect of Soil Classification on Seismic Behavior of SMFs Considering Soil-Structure Interaction and Near-field Earthquakes, Shock and Vibration, 2018(1), 2018, Article 4193469.
IS 1893 (Part 1), Criteria for Earthquake Resistant Design of Structures, Bureau of Indian Standards, New Delhi, 2016.
IS 1893 (Part 6), Base Isolated Buildings - Criteria for Earthquake Resistant Design of Structures, Bureau of Indian Standards, New Delhi, 2022.
IS 875 (Part 1), Code of Practice for Design Loads (Other than Earthquake) for Buildings and Structures – Dead Loads: Unit Weights of Building Materials and Stored Materials, Bureau of Indian Standards, New Delhi, 1987.
IS 875 (Part 2), Code of Practice for Design Loads (Other than Earthquake) for Buildings and Structures – Imposed Loads, Bureau of Indian Standards, New Delhi, 1987.
IS 875 (Part 5), Code of Practice for Design Loads (Other than Earthquake) for Buildings and Structures – Special Loads and Load Combinations, Bureau of Indian Standards, New Delhi, 1987.
Shirol, S. and Kori, J.J., Seismic Base Isolation of RC Frame Structures with and without Infill, International Research Journal of Engineering and Technology, 4, 2017, pp. 1783-1792.
Copyright (c) 2026 Jyoti Ranjan Barik, Aman Parashar, Kishore Chandra Biswal
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
Authors who publish with this journal agree to the following terms:- Authors retain the copyright and publishing right, and grant the journal right of first publication with the work simultaneously licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution License that allows others to share the work with an acknowledgement of the work's authorship and initial publication in this journal.
- Authors are able to enter into separate, additional contractual arrangements for the non-exclusive distribution of the journal's published version of the work (e.g., post it to an institutional repository or publish it in a book), with an acknowledgement of its initial publication in this journal.
- Authors are permitted and encouraged to post their work online (e.g., in institutional repositories or on their website) followingthe publication of the article, as it can lead to productive exchanges, as well as earlier and greater citation of published work (See The Effect of Open Access).
