CHALLENGES IN RECENT APPLICATION OF BASE ISOLATION TECHNIQUE IN HOSPITALS

As Iran is located in one of the most seismically active regions, the design and construction of hospitals should consider the need to be operational during and after strong earthquakes for post-disaster rescue purposes. Keeping performance of IO (Immediate Occupancy) for structural and nonstructural elements during earthquake is verychallenging, which is not often achievable through conventional systems. One of the techniques that has been shown that is able to improve the performance level of both structural and nonstructural components of the building with sufficient reliability is base isolation system (Naeim, 1999). This study is focused on the challenges of construction process of one of the new and modern hospitals in the country. Currently, this project is under construction in the city of Kashan, in the central part of Iran. Although there are lots of challenges in design, modelling and proper distribution of base isolation units; however, a review of application of this system to the Kashan hospital shows that the main challenges are in the management and construction phase of the project. In fact, these management and construction aspects of the project have direct impact on its structural issues. Thus, the project delivery process, construction, and installation of isolators will be discussed in this paper. The relatively higher cost of base isolation construction has always been a controversial issue for authorities. As such, this article is considered financial issues too by comparing cost of conventional structural and base isolation systems. Providing a comprehensive view of the most important parameters for a hospital base isolation project is among the most innovating aspects of this research.

Keywords:

Base isolation , Hospital , Infrastructure , Concrete structure , Steel frame