MODELING OF ELASTOMERIC DEVICES IN THE DYNAMIC LINEAR AND NONLINEAR RANGE

A hysteretic model able to simulate the behaviour of elastomeric devices for seismic base isolation is presented. The model is an extension of the Wen's model which has been modified in order to introduce a dependency of some coefficients on the achieved shear deformation, so that the shape of the hysteretic cycles of the high damping rubber devices is reproduced with suitable precision at all amplitude of deformation. A comparison with experimental data from shaking table tests and with other typical modelings (equivalent viscous model and BouWen's model) has been carried out to prove the adequacy and advantages of the proposed model. The comparison has shown a satisfactory agreement between the numerical simulation provided by the proposed model and the experimental response both for low and for high deformations, thus overcoming the drawbacks typical of the hysteretic models existing to date.(AU)