Stability Analysis of Rubber Bearings for Seismic Isolation

면진용 고무 베어링의 안정성 해석

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.