RSIT

RSIT has become the preferred structural design technique for buildings and bridges in highly seismic areas, that is, areas most susceptible to earthquakes. The technology was developed by the Rubber Research Institute of Malaysia (“RRIM”) and the Earthquake Engineering Research Centre at the University of California in Berkeley in the 1980s.

Rubber Seismic Isolator (“Seismic Isolator”) is a device that is very stiff and strong in vertical direction but flexible in horizontal direction, placed between a structure and its foundation to minimise the impact of earthquake waves by one-half to one-third. Seismic Isolator supports structures and provides elastic restoring force and damping factor of between 10-15%.

Providing a base isolation device like the Seismic Isolator between the building and the ground can minimize the level of earthquake force transmitted to the buildings by between one-half to one-third. This system protects the building finish, furniture, utensils, electronic apparatus, building frames, etc, from the shock of an earthquake. With Seismic Isolator, the building is separated from the foundations. Steel or reinforced concrete beams replace the connections to the foundations while under these materials layered rubber bearings replace the material removed. This base isolation allows the ground to move while the building, restrained by its inertial mass, remains relatively static.