The feasibility of separating the pipe rack from the foundation to reduce the effects of earthquakes

One of the most important structures are pipe racks, which are usually made from concrete, steel, or a combination of the two materials that are used to maintain pipes and other equipment at the required levels. Seismic isolation is one of the most powerful earthquake engineering tools in the field of passive control. This method can effectively protect building and non-building structures against a devastating earthquake. In other words, seismic isolation can be used to increase the performance level of pipe racks. In this article, the performance of seismic isolators in a pipe rack that consists of 4 parts, by two types of lead-rubber isolators and friction pendulum, under the effect of near and far-field earthquakes, has been studied. The results show that the use of seismic isolators in pipe racks reduces the damage to the structure and pipes after an earthquake and has a very good performance. The seismic isolator was used in three ways in this research, firstly, the isolator was used under the structures, and in the next step, the floor of the floors was isolated, and at the end, the isolators were placed under the pipes. The behavior of this type of isolators is almost the same, and according to the project conditions, it is possible to decide which part of the structure the isolators should be placed in.