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ElastomericBearings

INTRODUCTION

Introducednearly60yearsago,LaminatedSteel/ElastomerBearingPadsarenowinservicein
tensofthousandsofbridgesandsimilarstructuresthroughouttheworld.

Thereisgoodreasonforthis.They
supportverticalloadswithminimal
compression,allowexpansionand
contractionofthestructurewith
minimalresistanceandprovidefor
normalendrotationofbridge
beams.Inaddition,theyareeasily
installedandmaintenancefree.All
thisisencompassedinaunit
havingthelowestcostperunitof
supportedloaduptoapprox.350
kips(1500kN).

Moresophisticateddesignscanbeincorporatedintoanintegratedstructuralsystemthat
channelshorizontalloadstostrongpointsandawayfromweakerones.Ultimatelysuch
systemsareusedtomitigatethesevereloadingconditionscausedbyearthquakes.The
Cosmec/DynamicRubberTeamispleasedtoofferLaminatedSteel/ElastomerBearingstosuit
anyownerorStatespecifications.Withourextensivedesignexperiencewecanreadilyprovide
designsforspecialtyapplicationstomeetuniquedesigncriteriaorspecificdesign
requirements.

STANDARDBEARINGS

Awiderangeofloadscanbeaccommodatedbyvaryingtheplanarea,thethicknessofinternal
elastomerlayersandtheelastomerhardness.Planareasshouldbechosenonthebasisof
bearingseatdimensionallimitationsaswellasloads.

Changingtheelastomerhardnessandincreasingtheeffectivethicknessbyaddinglayersare
methodsofvaryingtheresistancetohorizontalmovementandtheamountofsuchmovement.

Beamendrotationsuptoabout0.02radianscanreadilybeacceptedbyaddingtotheeffective
elastomerthickness.

Bearingscanbemoldedinrectangular,square,circularorothershapes.Notethatcustom
shapes,clippedcorners,slotted,skewedandtaperedbearingsmaycarrycostpremiumsdueto

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moldmodifications.

PlainElastomericPads,withoutinternalshimplates,canalsobesuppliedbyCosmec.These
PlainElastomericPadscanbemoldedthesameasLaminatedBearingPads.

DESIGNALTERNATIVES

Taperedbearingscanbeprovided.Thetapercanbeaccomplishedbyusingataperedsteel
plate(Fig.1),orforslighttapers,bytaperingtheelastomerlayers.Specialloadingscan
sometimesbemetbyinclinedmountingofbearings.

AparticularlycommonvariationisshowninFig.2.ThishybridElastomeric/SlidingBearing
providesastainlesssteelonPTFEslipplaneontopofaconventionalElastomericBearing.
Dailymovementsaretakenwithintheelastomergreatermovementscausegreatershear
forceintheelastomer,whichovercomesthefrictionatthePTFE/stainlesssteelinterface
therebyaccommodatingthesegreater,lessfrequentmovementsthroughsliding.

Customizedancillaryplates(orLoadplates)canbevulcanizebondedtobearingstoprovide
specializedmountingandanchoringsystems(SeeFigs.AthroughC).Theycanbeshaped
and/ordrilledtomostrequirements.Iftheyaretobeweldedinplace,theymustbedetailedto
mitigateexcessiveheattransfertotheelastomer.OurEngineeringStaffwillbepleasedto
adviseyouonanyspecialprojectapplicationorrequirements.
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DESIGN

WhileAASHTOSpecificationsallowtwodesignapproaches(MethodsAandB,Section14)many
Stateshavesuperimposedtheirownlimitationsonthedesignprocess.Localrequirements
shouldbecheckedbeforecommencingdesign.

Howeverthefollowingformulaeoffersimplepredictionsoftheperformanceofbearingswith
fullybondedlayers*:

Where:

L isbearinglength

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B isbearingwidth
D isdiameterofacircularbearing
K1 isthespringrateincompression
K2 isthespringrateinshear
A isplanareaofthebearing
t isthethicknessoftheindividualelastomer
layers
n isthenumberofindividualelastomerlayers
G istheshearmodulusoftheelastomer(see
Table1)
EC isthecompressionmodulusoftheelastomer

Alsonotethat:

Where:

Eo isYoungsModulusfortheelastomer(seeTable
1)
K isanumericalfactor(seeTable1)
S istheshapefactor,definedastheloadedarea
dividedbytheforcearea.

Intheinterestoflongevity,compressionstrainshouldbelimitedto15%andshearstrainto
50%.

Toinsurestability,totalbearingthicknessshouldnotexceedthesmallerofL/3,B/3orD/4for
LaminatedBearings.

*Ifeither,orbothfacesofanindividualelastomerlayerarenotbondedtoasteelplate,then
compressionwillbemodifiedbythebfactor.Thebfactoris1forafullybondedlayer,1.4for
alayerbondedononeface,and1.8foranunbondedlayer.(Notethatthebfactordoesnot
applytoshearcalculations).

TABLE1

Hardness(ShoreA) YoungsModulusEo ShearModulusG kFactor

50 312psi(2.2MPa) 100psi(0.68MPa) 0.73
60 635psi(4.4MPa) 150psi(1.04MPa) 0.57
70 1040psi(7.2MPa) 245psi(1.69MPa) 0.53

MATERIALS

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TheelastomersusedinourbearingsconformtoStateand/orAASHTOSpecificationsfor
bearings.TheirminimumphysicalcharacteristicsareasshowninTable2.Additionalphysical
characteristicsmayberequired.Useofpolychloroprene(neoprene)orpolyisoprene(natural
rubber)isinfluencedbyfactorssuchastemperature,costandslippage.Otherelastomersmay
berecommendedforspecialapplications.

TABLE2

Material ASTMStandards TestRequirements Polyisoprene Polychloroprene Units

Properties (NaturalRubber) (Neoprene)
Physical SeeAASHTO Min.Shear 79.8(0.55) 79.8(0.55) psi
Properties M251Section Modulus (MPa)
8.8.4
ASTMD412 Min.Tensile 2,248(15.5) 2,248(15.5) psi
Strength (MPa)
ASTMD412 Min.Ultimate 450 400 Percent
Elongation
Low ASTMD746 Grade0to2 NoTest NoTest
Temperature ProcedureB Required Required
Brittleness Grade3Test@ Passes Passes
40oF(40oC)

Grade4Test@ Passes Passes

54.4oF(48oC)

Grade5Test@ Passes Passes

70.6oF(57oC)

Reinforcingplates(orshims),typicallyaremadefromrolledmildsteelsuchasASTMA570or
A1011(orequivalent).Othermetalscanbesuppliedonspecialorder.

STRUCTURALDESIGN

Bearingsarenormallymountedwiththeirshortsideparalleltothegirderaxisformaximum
rotationcapacity.Howeverorientationatanyangleinthehorizontalplanewillnotaffectthe
shearresistance.

Frictionisusuallysufficienttokeepbearingsinplace,butifminimumloadsarelight,thena
slippagecheckmustbemadeuseafrictioncoefficientof0.2betweenelastomerandsteelor
precastconcrete.Acoefficientof0.3maybeusedforelastomeragainstbroomfinished
concreteorsimilarroughenedsurface.

Ifpositivelocationisrequired,vulcanizedbondingtosteelplatesissuggested(seeFigureC).
VariousinstallationarrangementsareshowninFiguresAthroughC.

INSTALLATION

Seatingonflat,broomfinishedconcrete,freeofvoids,oronmillfinishedsteelplateis
satisfactory.Ifagroutpadisspecifieditshouldbeahighstrengthnonshrinkmaterial.Epoxy
groutmayservetocorrectseatinginaccuracies.Byplacingthebearingandbeambeforethe
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epoxyhasset,excessepoxywillbeextrudedfromhighspotsandremaininvoids.Loading
subsequenttotheepoxysetting,willthenbedistributedevenly.

Ifformworkiserectedaroundabearingforpouredinplaceconstruction,allowancemustbe
madeforbearingcompressiontoavoidjammingtheformwork.

Notethatiftheweldingofattachmentplatesiscontemplated,cautionmustbe
exercisedtopreventtemperaturesexceeding250F/130Cattherubber/steel
interface.Temperaturesabovethismaydamagetheelastomer.

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