Performance of carbon fiber-reinforced elastomeric isolators manufactured in a simplified process: experimental investigations

Fiber-reinforced elastomeric isolators (FREIs) are relatively new elastomeric bearings in which fiber-reinforced polymer composite plates are used as reinforcements rather than steel shims. Here in this research, a number of carbon FREIs are produced in scaled size using a simple and fast manufacturing process, which has potentials to be applied in developing countries. The aim is to show how efficient the carbon FREIs in bonded applications can operate under different loading conditions. Experimental results show that under cyclic displacements, although a partial delamination occurs between rubber layer and steel supporting plate because of the rollover deformation at shear strains greater than 50%, the rubber bearings perform properly up to 100% shear strain. The vertical stiffness increases with increasing the fiber-reinforced layers' thickness and with decreasing the elastomers' thickness. The flexibility in the horizontal direction increases by increasing the total thickness of rubber layers, while the energy dissipation capacity enhances with increasing the thickness of both fiber-reinforced and elastomeric layers. Copyright (c) 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.