Abstract Summary
A novel sliding-stretching seismic isolator is illustrated in this work. The device is inspired by the tendons and bones of human limbs, using 3D-printed components and metallic parts [1]. The isolator is made of a unit cell formed by a central post that carries the vertical load and slides against a base plate. The central post is linked to four corner posts by stretchable membranes (“tendons”) and rigid members (“limbs”). In the present work, a scalable approach to the design of this system is illustrated. It is worth mentioning that the displacement capacity of the developed device depends only on the geometry of the rigid members, while the vibration period of the unit can be easily tuned by dynamically varying the elongation of the tendons in the nonlinear stress–strain regime.A comparative analysis on the estimated cost of the presented seismic isolator and the ones available on the market is also presented.
