Partially bonded fiber reinforced elastomeric bearings: Feasibility, effectiveness, aging effects, and low temperature response

There are two classical types of application for fiber reinforced elastomeric bearings (FREB), namely, “bonded (B)” and “unbonded (UB)” applications. Although the UB-application results in improved seismic isolation efficiency due to rollover deformations, UB-FREB are not capable of transferring tensile forces, and may experience slip under certain loading conditions. As such, a new application type called Partially Bonded (PB) has been introduced to overcome these two limitations. A PB-FREB is achieved by partially bonding the top and bottom surfaces of the bearing to its contact supports. This paper presents the results of a comparative experimental study between UB-FREB and PB-FREB. Heat accelerated deterioration tests based on Arrhenius law was also conducted on the PB-FREB. Additionally, the low-temperature horizontal response of the PB-FREB was investigated. Results show that the displacement characteristics and damping values, long-term performance, and low-temperature response of the PB-FREB investigated in this study comply with current standard requirements.