Low cost rubber seismic isolators for masonry housing in developing countries

Rubber isolators are used widely in constructions which require a vibration or seismic isolation. It consists of rubber layers and reinforcements that can be steel or fiber lamina. The fiber reinforced isolator results in a lower cost of production and application than that of steel. Using fiber reinforced isolator allows us to make an unbonded model of rubber bearing. This model leads to a smaller horizontal stiffness and larger displacement of isolators. Researchers consider the Unbonded Fiber Reinforced Elastomeric Isolator (U-FREI) as a low-cost form of rubber bearings. U-FREIs are suitable to isolate seismically a masonry building, which is a common type of housing in developing countries. In this work, we present a finite element model (FEM) to predict the behavior of the U-FREIs undergoing moderate deformations. We adopt a Yeoh hyperelasticity model which is available in the standard package of Abaqus FE software and estimate its coefficients through the available experimental data. Then, we apply that isolation system onto masonry housing with some simplified methods. We also observe the horizontal behaviors of U-FREIs under different vertical loads and consider a critical condition when the isolators start to be unstable. In parallel, we perform an analytical model to predict the shear behavior and the deformation limit of isolators. Finally, the results show that the analytical model is sufficiently accurate compared to the FE analyses.