Research

Geotechnical Seismic Isolation

The Smart-G team has extensive experience in scientific research in the field of geotechnical engineering, with particular focus on Ground Improvement. The expertise gained in this area allows to handle a wide range of geotechnical issues, including geotechnical seismic isolation and liquefaction risk mitigation.

Super-Absorbent-Polymers (SAP)

This Super Absorbent Polymer can absorb a high amount of water, resulting in a gel-material formation. An important decrease in the shear stiffness of the soil can be achived, either using pure SAP or mixed with soil. This effect can be usefull to reduce drastically the propagation of the dynamic waves through the ground layers. Effective dynamic isolation systems can be realized using SAP to isolate new and existing structures and infrastructures

Innovative seismic isolation system (SMART-GAP)

This innovative base seismic isolation system to reduce inertial forces acting on super-structure during seismic events. This solution allows to seismically isolate existing structures, thanks to a low-invasive installation procedure. The system can be usefully applied to the foundations of masonry buildings that represent the majority of the existing structures, and particularly those of historical and cultural heritage. The isolating device, as well as its installation methodology, must own several innovative characteristics in order to: i) be diffusively installed below foundation (rather than in keybearing columns, thus constricted to the structural characteristics); ii) be installed without acting on the super-structure; iii) transfer static bearing stresses to the isolation devices. All those aspects result in an innovative isolation system taking advantages of the use of the well-known micropiles – widely used for underpinning existing structures in geotechnical practice – coupled with tiny isolation devices able to be installed between two micropile’s segments, in proximity of the pile cap.

(Sistema e metodo di fondazione con isolamento sismico di edifici – Italian Patent n.102020000016588)