Abstract:
Traditional rubber seismic isolators are rarely employed for residential buildings as they
are big in size, heavy and expensive. Fiber reinforced elastomeric isolators (FREIs) has
been identifiedto provide cost effective base isolation. This thesis presents a study on the
development of a new low-cost base isolator using reclaimed rubber for seismic isolation
of masonry structures. The study focuses on investigating the effect of number of layers
of reclaimed rubber pads and type and number of layers of fiber reinforcements on the
seismic performance of the developed base isolator. The fibers considered in this study
are Carbon Fiber Reinforced Polymer (CFRP) and Glass Fiber Reinforced Polymer
(GFRP). The effect of vertical loading on effective horizontal stiffness and damping ratio
of the base isolator are also studied. The seismic performance of masonry building
isolated with the developed reclaimed rubber base isolator with and without fiber
reinforcement is investigated and compared to conventional base isolator. Overall, the
study suggests that reclaimed rubber base isolators reinforced with fiber, especially
CFRP, are effective and provide better seismic performance compared to conventional
base isolator.
