Teflon bearings in aseismic base isolation: experimental studies

Teflon-steel interfaces have been proposed as a major part of aseismic base isolation systems that attempt to decouple the functions of carrying the vertical load and of providing the necessary stiffness and energy absorption capacity. The actual condition in service of these interfaces is quite different than that of mechanical Teflon bearings, for which a substantial amount of data on friction is available in the literature. Three experimental programs are described in this paper that were designed to provide information on the frictional properties of these interfaces under conditions of interest in base isolation.