DEVELOPMENT OF RECLAIMED RUBBER BASE ISOLATOR WITH FIBER REINFORCEMENTS FOR SEISMIC ISOLATION OF MASONRY BUILDINGS

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.