Influence of the strain hardening of HDRBs in the evaluation of the seismic response of a RC base isolated structure

In this paper we have analyzed the influence of the strain hardening behavior of High Damping Rubber Bearings (HDRBs) adopted for a base isolation system of a Reinforced Concrete (RC) isolated structure. For the modeling of the rubber isolators we have adopted an evolution of the Bouc-Wen's hysteretic model taking into account the incremental hardening effect which appears when the shear strain of the HDRB exceeds the limit value around 100% usually adopted in design practice. The incremental hardening effect is sometimes neglected in the design but it is an important aspect because it ensures a seismic protection of the base isolated structure also in presence of exceptional seismic events for intensity or frequency content. In this paper we have highlighted the significant influence of this phenomenon in the seismic response of the isolated structure by reporting the cyclic behavior of a HDRB respectively neglecting and considering this aspect.