Heat-mechanics interaction behavior of lead rubber bearings for seismic base isolation under large and cyclic lateral deformation. Part 1. Dynamic loading test of LRB and development of analytical method

When base-isolated buildings are subjected to long-period strong earthquakes emanating from oceanic trenches, base-isolation devices such as Lead Rubber Bearings (LRB) can be subjected to larger and more cyclic deformations than anticipated in structural design. In an LRB, seismic input energy is absorbed as hysteresis energy of a lead plug, and finally transformed into thermal energy. The resulting large and multiple cyclic deformations of the LRB generate a large amount of heat, causing high temperatures of the lead plug. The resulting deterioration of damping characteristics which encompasses a complex thermal and mechanical phenomenon provides a serious concern for the base-isolated building responses. However, there is insufficient experimental data on this phenomenon, and no analytical method for evaluation of heat-mechanics interaction behavior has been derived. The paper describes experimental results and derivation of analytical methods for determining the heat-mechanics interaction of the LRB under a large and cyclic lateral deformation