SEISMIC PROTECTION OF CULTURAL HERITAGE BUILDING CONTENTS BY KINEMATIC ISOLATION DEVICES

The University of Pavia and the EUCENTRE Foundation in Italy conducted an experimental study to evaluate the effectiveness of a new seismic isolation device in protecting cultural heritage building contents. The device, called “Kinematic Steel Joint (KSJ)”, is made entirely of steel components and uses a multiple articulated quadrilateral mechanism. The KSJ isolator can be manufactured in different sizes, payloads, and displacement ranges, making it suitable for global building-level seismic isolation or local non-structural component protection. While current isolation devices effectively reduce seismic accelerations, they can add to construction costs and may require specific maintenance. The KSJ solution, on the other hand, offers a reduction in manufacturing and maintenance burdens. This paper presents the results of a shake-table test using four prototypes of the KSJ device. The test involved a rigid mass supported by the isolators, two marble blocks representing nonstructural components, a museum showcase with a small-scale replica of Michelangelo's David, and two clay vases. Accelerometers and potentiometers were used to monitor the kinematic response of the isolators and their effect on the dynamic response of the rigid mass and different nonstructural elements. The experiment was conducted both with and without seismic isolation, to compare the response of the non-structural components and understand the effect of the KSJ devices on the overall test assembly and sub-components. The influence of the vertical earthquake component in fixed-base conditions was also investigated.