THE EFFECT OF OZONE DETERIORATION CRACK ON THE ULTIMATE PROPERTIES OF SEISMIC ISOLATION RUBBER BEARINGS FOR BRIDGES

Abstract

 From the viewpoint of maintenance of seismic isolation bridges, seismic isolation rubber bearings for bridges are required to have long-term durability. On the other hand, there are some reports of cracks on the rubber bearings which are caused by ozone deterioration of rubber from the results of investigation of rubber bearings. Understanding the performance and ultimate properties of such damaged rubber bearings is important information for considering the need for maintenance of rubber bearings.

 In this study, we estimated growth of ozone deterioration crack based on the strain distribution and deformation obtained by finite element analysis for high damping rubber bearings (HDR-S).

 Moreover, we fabricated a rubber bearings simulating a ozone deterioration crack for test, and evaluated the basic performance and ultimate properties. From these results we considered the relationship between ultimate properties and the depth of the crack.