Shake table study on an ordinary low‐rise building seismically isolated with SU‐FREIs (stable unbonded‐fiber reinforced elastomeric isolators)

This paper reports on the investigation of novel fiber reinforced elastomeric isolator (FREI) bearings, which do not have thick end plates, and are used in an unbonded application. Owing to the stable lateral load‐displacement response exhibited by the unbonded FREI bearings, the proposed bearings are referred to as stable unbonded (SU)‐FREIs. A shake table test program was conducted on a two‐story test‐structure having well‐defined elastic response characteristics. Compared with the results for the corresponding fixed base (FB) structure, the peak response values, distribution of lateral response throughout the height of the structure, and response time histories of the tested base isolated (BI) structure indicate that significantly improved response can be achieved. This study clearly indicates that SU‐FREI bearings can provide an effective seismic isolation system. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.