Friction pendulum bearings are made from
two horizontal steel plates that can slide over each other
because of their shape and an additional articulated slider.
The bearings are placed between the bottom of a building
and its foundation .
They are designed to be very stiff and strong
for vertical load, so that they can carry
the weight of the building. However, the fact that they slide
means that earthquake movements will occur mainly in the bearings.
Friction pendulum bearings have been used in the San
Francisco Airport International Terminal. The building
has been designed to resist a magnitude 8 earthquake occurring
on the San Andreas fault.
San Fransisco Airport Terminal
Photographs on this page
are courtesy of Earthquake Protection Systems Inc.
friction pendulum bearing between
a column of the building and it's foundations.
