Experimental Study on Fire Resistance of Building Seismic Rubber Bearings

Abstract

Eight building seismic rubber bearings (four uninsulated lead rubber bearings, one insulated lead rubber bearing, two uninsulated natural rubber bearings, and one insulated natural rubber bearing) were experimentally investigated in fire tests following the ISO834 standard heating process. The effects of vertical load and the duration of fire on the failure mode and residual mechanical properties of the rubber bearings were analyzed. The experimental results show that (1) the fire resistance of rubber bearings without insulation fails to exceed 1.5 h; (2) the duration of fire exposure has significant influence on the mechanical-properties degradation of rubber bearings; (3) the effect of vertical load, to which rubber bearings were subjected during the fire, on the residual mechanical properties and fire resistance is inevident; and (4) the proposed insulation is successful in preventing rubber bearings from significant degradation in mechanical properties in fires.