Brochures, papers, and engineering articles.
Everything we publish, brochures and flyers for sales conversations, technical papers for spec writing, and in-depth engineering articles from our team.
The main reference library.
Seismic Isolation for Buildings and Bridges
Our flagship brochure: the science, the engineering, and the projects.
Non-Structural Isolation
Floor systems, low-mass platforms, and equipment isolation.
Viscous Wall Damper Modeling Guide
Modeling guidelines and design parameters for the DIS VWD.
Product-specific quick references.
DIS Bridge Isolation
3D Isolation Systems
Proyectos Colombianos
Isolated Floors
Isolated Platforms
Modular Isolation Systems
Viscous Wall Dampers
Supplemental
Selected technical writing.
In-depth writing on isolation, by the engineers who do it.
Viscous Wall Dampers: 20 Years of Japanese Data, Now in the U.S.
Base isolation works beautifully on mid-rise buildings. On tall, flexible buildings, you need a different tool. Viscous wall dampers have done that job in Japan for two decades, and they are now qualified for U.S. critical facilities. Here is the physics and the first North American installation.
Retrofitting History: Seismic Isolation for Old Buildings
Conventional seismic strengthening tears up the very fabric of a historic building. Isolation does the opposite: it leaves the building above mostly untouched and addresses the earthquake problem underneath. From the 1894 Salt Lake City and County Building to the New Zealand Parliament, here is how it works on buildings you cannot replace.
The Economics of Seismic Isolation: Often Cheaper Than Not
Seismic isolation has a reputation as a premium upgrade. In practice, when it is part of the design from day one, it routinely reduces total project cost. Here is how the foundations, structure, and contents all get smaller, with numbers from real bridges and buildings.
Hospitals That Don't Stop: Seismic Isolation in Critical Care
A hospital that survives an earthquake but cannot operate is, for the people who needed care that morning, the same as a hospital that collapsed. That is why hospital seismic design has shifted from survivability to operability, and why isolation has become the default for new critical care construction in seismic regions.
Inside a Lead Rubber Bearing: The Engineering, Explained
A lead rubber bearing looks like a hockey puck and weighs as much as a small car. Inside is a precise sandwich of natural rubber, laser-cut steel shims, and a lead plug. Here is what each piece does and how DIS builds and tests them.
How Seismic Isolation Actually Works: The Physics, Plainly
Most earthquake-resistant buildings try to be stronger than the shaking. Isolated buildings do the opposite: they let the ground move while the structure stays roughly still. Here is the physics of why that works, with a real case from the 1994 Northridge earthquake.
What we're working on.
DIS Develops 3-Dimensional Low Mass Isolation
X, Y and Z isolation for equipment atop a hydro-electric dam, engineered to IEEE 693 spectra, with spectral accelerations reduced by a factor of 18.
DIS Conducts Full-Scale Tests for the NRC
Full-size structure tested on the world's largest shake table in Kobe, accelerations cut by more than a factor of 3 for nuclear-grade isolation.
First North American Viscous Wall Damper Installed
Geary Van Ness Medical Center, San Francisco, the first U.S. installation of the DIS VWD, fabricated and tested in Reno, Nevada.
Got a project where downtime isn't an option?
Our engineers work alongside you from concept through installation. When we're brought in during the design phase, total project cost often drops by up to 30%.