Earthquake Remediation by Use of Rocking Columns–Finite Element Method Simulations

— Rocking columns have been used in ancient civilization in the form of large stone columns supporting massive stones above them in seismically active regions such as Greece and Rome; however, their behavior under earthquakes is not well investigated using modern computer simulation technologies. Rocking columns generate a form of seismic isolation of earthquake forces and unlike conventional seismic isolators, rocking columns do not have a constant period of rocking. The natural frequency and stiffness of a rocking column changes based on the amount of horizontal displacement. Therefore, the system over rocking columns has ever changing natural (fundamental) frequency and does not get into a resonance state with the dominant earthquake frequencies. This paper includes a detailed investigation of rocking columns by using nonlinear and large deformation analysis techniques, which were compared and validated against rocking columns in the lab. The verification process enabled simulation of full-size rocking columns of modern buildings.