Abstract
As part of the efforts to improve the performances and reliability of the elastomeric bearings produced in Korea, this paper evaluates experimentally the validity of the ultimate loads of the design allowable values of KS F 4420 purposed for the design of elastomeric bearings in Korea. To that goal, a series of tests including ultimate compression test, ultimate shear test and shear fatigue test were conducted on elastomeric bearings designed in compliance with KS F 4420. The results showed that failure occurred at loads 16 to 26 times larger than the allowable compressive stress and made it possible to conclude that the so-designed elastomeric bearings secured sufficient reliability regard to the vertical performance. In the case of the shear performance, the elastomeric bearings failed in a load range larger than the allowable design values but the performances were also seen to fluctuate sensitively according to the fabrication conditions of the bearings. Especially, the tests revealed that the shear performance degraded significantly or that early failure occurred when the internal rubber layer of the bearings were not fabricated using a single rubber layer. Since the elastomeric bearing can be used in the seismic design complementarily to seismic devices, even if it is not a seismic isolator, the bearing should secure high shear performance. The routine by which some companies are fabricating the internal rubber layer by stacking several rubber pads to form one layer is not only degrading the performance of the elastomeric bearing but may also provoke unexpected failure. This stresses the need for the establishment of specifications forbidding such customary practice.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
AASHTO (2004). AASHTO LRFD bridge design specifications, 3rd edition.
Cho, C. B., Kwahk, I. J., and Kim, Y. J. (2008). “An experimental study for the shear property and the temperature dependency of seismic isolation bearings.” Journal of Earthquake Engineering Society of Korea, Vol. 12, No. 1, pp. 67–77.
Chung, G. Y., Ha, D. H., Park, K. N., and Kim, D. H. (2002). “Experimental study on characteristics of lrb with low hardness rubber.” Journal of the KSCE, Vol. 22, No. 6A, pp. 1295–1307 (in Korean).
Chung, G. Y., Ha, D. H., Park, K. N., and Kwon, H. O. (2002). “Experimental study on characteristics of low hardness rubber bearing.” Journal of Earthquake Engineering Society of Korea, Vol. 6, No. 4, pp. 39–49.
European Committee for Standardization (2005). Structural bearing-Part 3: Elastomeric bearings, EN 1337-3, CEN
Ha, D. H. and Koh, H. M. (2000). “Earthquake response characteristics of seismically isolated bridges with frictional bearings.” Journal of the KSCE, Vol. 20, No. 6A, pp. 937–944 (in Korean).
ISO (2005). Elastomeric seismic-protection isolators-Part 1: Test methods, ISO 22762-1 First edition.
Japan Road Association (2004). Bearing support design guide, Sciencebook, Seoul.
Jeon, G. S., Lee, B. J., Jeoung, M. H., and Jo, H. J. (1998). “The design criteria of elastomeric bearing for highway bridges.” Proceedings of Earthquake Engineering Society of Korea Annual Conference, Earthquake Engineering Society of Korea, pp. 136–143.
Kim, N. S. and Lee, D. G. (1993). “Static and dynamic tests on laminated rubber bearings.” KSCE Journal of Civil Engineering, Vol. 13, No. 2, pp. 85–93
Korean Standards Association (1998). Steel-Laminated elastomeric bearings for bridge, KS F 4420, Annual book of Korean Standards.
Kwahk, I. J., Cho, C. B, Kim, Y. J., and Kwark, J. W. (2007). “The pseudo-dynamic test for the seismic retrofit system utilizing existing bridge bearings.” Journal of Earthquake Engineering Society of Korea, Vol. 11, No.1, pp. 21–27
Ministry of Construction Transportation (2005). Korea highway bridge design code.
Muscarella, J. V. and Yura, J. A. (1995). An Experimental study of elastomeric bridge bearings with design recommendations, Research Report No. 1304-3, Center for Transportation Research, University of Texas, Austin.
Roeder, C., Stanton, J., and Taylor, A. (1987). Performance of elastomeric bearings, NCHRP Report 298, Transportation Research Board, Washington, D.C.
Stanton, J. and Roeder, C. (1982). Elastomeric bearings design, construction, and materials, NCHRP Report 248, Transportation Research Board, Washington, D.C.
Stanton, J. F., Roeder, C. W., Mackenzie-Helnwein, P., White, C., Kuester, C., and Craig, B. (2008). Rotation limits for elastomeric bearings, NCHRP Report 596, Transportation Research Board, Washington, D.C.
Yoon, H. J., Cho, C. B., Kim, Y. J., and Kwahk, I. J. (2008). “A experimental study on the stiffness characteristics of elastomeric bearings.” Journal of the KSCE, Vol. 28, No. 4A, pp. 475–485 (in Korean).
Yura, J., Kumar, A., Yakut, A., Topkaya, C., Becker, E., and Collingwood, J. (2001). Elastomeric bridge bearings: Recommended test methods, NCHRP Report 449, Transportation Research Board, Washington, D.C.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Yoon, H., Kwahk, I.J. & Kim, Y.J. A study on the ultimate performances of elastomeric bearings in Korea. KSCE J Civ Eng 17, 438–449 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12205-013-1398-2
Received:
Revised:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12205-013-1398-2