Shaking up seismic safety: Low cost rubber base insulator strip (LCRBI-S) improves stiffness for earthquake-resistant housing

This study aims to develop a low-cost and high-performance base isolation system using natural rubber and fiberglass composite for residential buildings in Indonesia's high seismic areas. The LCRBI-S samples were designed as a square type with a simple housing service load, and the stiffness values were tested through vertical and horizontal stiffness tests. The LCRBI-S samples showed better stiffness values in samples 1 and 2 than in samples 3 and 4 due to the higher number of layers of fiberglass reinforcement. Therefore, increasing the number of reinforcement layers can improve the stiffness value of LCRBI-S. The implication of this study is that the LCRBI-S can be a cost-effective solution for earthquake-resistant housing in high seismic areas, and the findings can help architects and engineers design more resilient and safe buildings.