Numerical simulation of nonlinear characteristics of isolation bearing

Refined numerical simulation of isolation bearing is a basis to simulate the mechanical properties of isolation bearings. After determining the constitutive model parameters of natural rubbers, isolation bearings models of various form factors were established by finite element software, and vertical loads and horizontal load of cyclical displacement were applied for the analysis of dynamic characteristics. Analysis results show that, horizontal stiffness of the lead-plug rubber bearings slightly decreases along with the increase of axial compressed stress and the horizontal stiffness improves as the first and second shape factors increase. The research also shows that, mechanical property of the isolation bearings could be properly simulated through numerical method.