The New Camerino University research center: Design of the base-isolated buinding and dynamic testing

This paper deals with the new Research Centre designed for the University of Camerino and entirely financed by the national Civil Protection Department (DPC), following the seismic events in Central Italy in 2016. The building consists of a base-isolated steel braced superstructure and r.c. sub-structures able to adapt to the complex morphology of the area. In particular, the first part of the paper illustrates the design choices made to achieve a high level of resilience and robustness of the building, i.e. to limit damage to structural and non-structural components and equipment under moderate and design seismic actions and to avoid disproportionate consequences in the event of extreme actions, larger than the design ones. The second part of the paper is focused on static and dynamic tests performed during the construction phase of the building. At the end of the structural system construction (including sub-structures, the isolation system composed by elastomeric bearings and flat sliders and the steel superstructure), the building has been tested by means of static and dynamic (snap-back) in-field tests up to a displacement of the isolation system of 280mm and 220mm, respectively. Displacements have been imposed by means of a properly designed testing mechanism and different measure instruments have been placed in the building to register the structural response.