Performance of fiber‐reinforced elastomeric base isolators under cyclic excitation

Summary This paper presents three-dimensional finite element models for the analysis of square fiber-reinforced elastomeric isolators (FREI) subjected to cyclic horizontal displacement and constant vertical load. Direction of applied displacement has been varied to evaluate their influence on the isolator performance. Both bonded and un-bonded boundary conditions at the top and bottom contact surfaces of isolator have been simulated in the analysis. It is observed that the un-bonded FREI are more effective in seismic isolation as compared with bonded FREI, and stresses developed under lateral displacement are also significantly lower in un-bonded FREI. Experimental validation has been carried out for un-bonded isolators and very good agreement is observed in terms of mechanical properties and deformed configuration. In the absence of any close form solution of un-bonded FREI due to its complex deformation pattern, finite element solution is observed to be sufficiently accurate for arriving at the design parameters of an isolator. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

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