MECHANICAL BEHAVIOUR OF FIXING BOLTS OF RUBBER BEARINGS SUBJECTED TO SEISMIC LOADING

Abstract

 The mechanical behavior of the fixing bolts of the rubber bearings in continuous elevated girder bridges under seismic loading was investigated based on the advanced FE analysis. The detailed FE model of the rubber bearings with the hyperelastic material constitutive model applied to the rubber layers were given realistic boundary conditions considering the behavior of the superstructures and the piers under seismic loading. From this investigation, it was shown that the bending moments around the transverse bridge axis of the rubber bearings greatly affected by the shear deformations and vertical loads. Based on the results of FE analyses, the validity of the calculation method of the stress of the fix-ing bolts used in the conventional design was investigated. Furthermore, the effect of improving the safety of the bolts by introducing the initial tensile axial force into the fixing bolts was examined.