Experimental Study of Laminated Rubber Bearings for Earthquake Isolation of Buildings : 2nd Report, Static Tests for Rubber Bearings of 980 kN Rated Load

Abstract

Rubber bearings of 980 kN rated load were tested to investigate the characteristics of restoring forces of full scale bearings for earthquake isolation of buildings. These bearings comprising 27 natural rubber sheets of 6 mm thickness and 600 mm diameter bonded to steel plates were designed to provide a 100000 kg rated mass with a horizontal natural frequency of 0.51 Hz and a vertical one of 21 Hz and to accept a horizontal displacement larger than 300 mm. The static tests were carried out with satisfactory results. It was confirmed that the performance of the bearing met the specifications well. Furthermore, the vertical load distributions across the top plane of the bearing under various horizontal displacements were measured, and showed that they were always concentrated in the overlapping area of the top and bottom planes. This verified that the rubber bearing substantially supported the vertical load by the overlapping area.