• KSCE Journal of Civil and Environmental Engineering Research
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• v.33 no.3
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• pp.855-864
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• 2013

The dynamic characteristics of natural rubber bearings, which are used as isolator, are dependent on the main rubber's dynamic behaviors and nonlinear properties. Rubber materials tend to undergo an aging process under the influence of mechanical or environmental factors, so they inevitably end up facing damage. A main cause of aging like this is known to be oxidization, which occurs through the heat of reaction at high temperatures. Accordingly, in this study an accelerated thermal aging test was carried out in order to compare the characteristic values of the bearings before and after thermal aging occurs. As a result of this experiment, it was found that a thermal aging phenomenon could have some effects on shear stiffness, energy absorption, and equivalent damping coefficients of the bearings. Furthermore, a deterioration in the dynamic properties of the natural rubber bearings caused by the thermal aging was applied to an actual bridge and then the effects of such thermal aging on the seismic performance of the bridge were also compared and analyzed based on numerical analysis. As a result of this analysis, it was found that the changes in the basic properties of the natural rubber bearings caused by the thermal aging bring only a minor effect on the seismic performance of bridges.

• Journal of the Earthquake Engineering Society of Korea
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• v.13 no.1
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• pp.53-60
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• 2009

Isolated structures use devices such as high damping rubber bearings (HDRB) in order to dramatically reduce the seismic forces transmitted from the substructure to the superstructure. The laminated rubber bearing is the most important structural member of a seismic isolation system. The basic characteristics of rubber bearings have been confirmed through compression tests, compressive shearing tests and creep tests. This paper presents the results and analysis of a 1000hr, ongoing creep test conducted at 7.5MPa, 8.37MPa in our laboratory. The long-term behavior of bridge bearings, such as high-damping rubber bearings, will be discovered through a compression creep test subjected to actual environmental conditions. These tests indicated that the maximum creep deformation is about $0.3{\sim}1.92%$ of total rubber thickness.

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• v.5 no.4
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• pp.451-469
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• 1997

Experimental work undertaken to investigate the behaviour of laminated elastomeric bridge bearings under compression and a combination of compression and shear or rotation has been reported on elsewhere. However, it is difficult to determine the state of stress within the bearings in terms of the applied forces or the interaction between the steel shims and the rubber layers in the bearings. In order to supply some of the missing information about the stress-strain state within the bearings, an analytical study using the finite element method was carried out. The available experimental results were used to validate the model after which the analyses were used to provide further information about the state of stress within the bearing.

• Proceedings of the Computational Structural Engineering Institute Conference
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• 1998.10a
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• pp.423-430
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• 1998

Elastomeric bearings are frequently used as a means to isolate structural systems from earthquake loadings. The combination of rubber layers and reinforcing steel shims makes the bearings stiff axially but soft laterally The shear flexibility of these short columns can lead to relatively low buckling loads which may be further reduced when high shear strains are simultaneously imposed. The area reduction formula has been proposed to account for the reduction in buckling load due to shear. The result obtained from the formula is presumed to be conservative but the degree of conservatism is unknown. This paper describes a numerical study which aims at determining the effect of high shear strain on the critical load of rubber bearings. The results from the finite element analysis which accounts for both the material and geometric non-linearities are compared against the theoretical results in order to examine the validity of the theoretical formulas.

• Earthquakes and Structures
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• v.6 no.2
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• pp.127-140
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• 2014

Laminated rubber bearing is very popular base isolation of earthquake engineering pertaining to the passive structural vibration control technologies. Rubber used in fabricating NRB and LRB can be easily attacked by various environmental factors such as oxygen, heat, light, dynamic strain, and organic liquids. Among these factors, this study carried out thermal aging test to investigate the effect of thermal aging on the mechanical properties of laminated rubber bearings in accelerated exposure condition of $70^{\circ}C$ temperature for 168 hours. The compressive-shear test was carried out to identify the variation of compressive and shear properties of the rubber bearings before and after thermal aging. In contrast to tensile strength and elongation tests, the hardness of rubber materials showed the increasing tendency dependent on exposure temperature and period. Based on the test results, the property changes of rubber bearing mainly aged by heat are quantitatively presented.

• Earthquakes and Structures
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• v.13 no.3
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• pp.299-307
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• 2017

High Damping Rubber bearings (HDR bearings) have been used in the seismic design of bridge structures widely in China. In earthquakes, structural natural periods will be extended, seismic energy will be dissipated by this kind of bearing. Previously, cyclic loading method was used mainly for test studies on mechanical properties of HDR bearings, which cannot simulate real seismic responses. In this paper, Real-Time Substructure (RTS) test study on mechanical properties of HDR bearings was conducted and it was found that the loading rate effect was not negligible. Then the influence of peak acceleration of ground motion was studied. At last test results were compared with a numerical simulation in the OpenSees software framework with the Kikuchi model. It is found that the Kikuchi model can simulate real mechanical properties of HDR bearings in earthquakes accurately.

• KSCE Journal of Civil and Environmental Engineering Research
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• v.32 no.2A
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• pp.109-116
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• 2012

The dynamic properties of lead rubber bearings, which are used as isolator, are dependent on the main rubber's dynamic behaviors and nonlinear qualities. Rubber materials tend to undergo an aging process under the influence of mechanical or environmental factors, so they can end up inevitably facing damage. A main cause of such aging is known to be oxidization, which occurs through the heat of reaction at high temperatures. Accordingly, in this study an accelerated thermal aging test was carried out in order to compare the characteristic values of the bearings with each other before and after thermal aging occurs. As a result of this experiment, it was found that a thermal aging phenomenon could have an effect on shear stiffness, energy absorption, and equivalent damping coefficients. Furthermore, a decline in the dynamic properties of the lead rubber bearings by means of the thermal aging process was applied to an actual bridge and the effects of such thermal aging on the seismic performance of the bridge were also compared and analyzed based on numerical analysis. As a result of this analysis, it was found that the changes in the basic properties of the lead rubber bearings have a minor effect on the seismic performance of bridges.

• Earthquakes and Structures
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• v.4 no.6
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• pp.587-606
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• 2013

The given paper presents a new approach in design of seismic isolation systems of base isolated buildings. The idea is to install not one big size rubber bearing under the columns and/or shear walls, or one by one with certain spacing under the load-bearing walls, but to install a group/cluster of small size bearings, in order to increase the overall effectiveness of the isolation system. The advantages of this approach are listed and illustrated by the examples. Also the results of analyses of some buildings where the approach on installation of clusters of rubber bearings was used in their isolation systems are given for two cases: i) when the analyses are carried out based on the provisions of the Armenian Seismic Code, and ii) when the time history analyses are carried out. Obtained results are compared and discussed. Paper also presents, as an example, detailed analysis and design of the 18-story unique building in one of the residential complexes in Yerevan. Earthquake response analyses of this building were carried out in two versions, i.e. when the building is base isolated and when it is fixed base. Several time histories were used in the analyses. Comparison of the obtained results indicates the high effectiveness of the proposed structural concepts of isolation systems and the need for further improvement of the Seismic Code provisions regarding the values of the reduction factors. A separate section in the paper dedicated to the design of high damping laminated rubber-steel bearings and to results of their tests.

• Proceedings of the Computational Structural Engineering Institute Conference
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• 2003.04a
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• pp.427-439
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• 2003

A previous study evaluated the seismic response of typical multi-span simply supported (MSSS) and multi-span continuous (MSC) steel-girder bridges in the central and southeastern United States. The results showed that the bridges were vulnerable to damage resulting from impact between decks, and large ductility demands on nonductile columns. Furthermore, fixed and expansion bearings were likely to fail during strong ground motion. In this paper, several retrofit measures to improve the seismic performance of typical multi-span simply supported and multi-span continuous steel girder bridges are evaluated, including the use of elastomeric bearings, lead-rubber bearings, and restrainer cables. It is determined that lead-rubber bearings are the most effective retrofit measure for reducing the seismic vulnerability of typical bridges. While isolation provided by elastomeric bearings limits the forces into the columns, the added flexibility results in pounding between decks in the MSSS steel-girder bridge. Restrainer cables, which are becoming a common retrofit measure, are only moderately effective in reducing the seismic vulnerability of MSSS and MSC steel girder bridges.

• Proceedings of the KSME Conference
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• 2001.06b
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• pp.448-453
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• 2001

This paper presents an analytical evaluation of the effect of motion on seismic responses of base isolated low-level building and experimental studies to evaluate isolation performances of a rubber bearing. Dynamic responses induced by earthquake were evaluated by response analyses, taking the rubber bearing of the base isolation devices into account. In the experiment, vibration tests were carried out using a model for rubber bearings as isolation devices against earthquake in order to investigate the isolation performances of the rubber bearings. Several kinds of rubber bearing for base isolated low-level building against earthquake are examined. As a result, it is shown that the effect of the motion on the response of the building and the base response is well controlled from a seismic design standpoint.