Analytical expression for evaluating stress-deformation response of rubber layers under combined action of compression and shear

In this paper, the stress-deformation response of rubber bearings subjected to the combined action of compression and shear are studied. Methods available in literature to evaluate the stress-deformation responses of rubber layers are mainly devoted to calculating the stress function either for pure compression or simple shear. Hence, these methods fail to address the complex mode of deformations that occur in the structure during earthquake. This study outlines a formulation of general mathematical expression for evaluating the stress-deformation responses of rubber layers for different deformation modes. The results of stress-deformation response as obtained from the general stress expression arc found to be in good agreement to those obtained from finite element method (FEM) of analysis. It is concluded that the analytical expression of stress function can be suitably utilized in practice for the analysis of rubber layers instead of a rigorous finite element method. (c) 2006 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.