Shear deformation detection in smart rubber bearing (SRB) using active sensing method

Abstract Rubber bearings are one of the key components of base-isolated structures. Therefore, it is important to monitor the state in rubber bearing effectively. Based on the Smart Rubber Bearing (SRB) proposed in the previous study, this paper studied the feasibility of SRB in shear deformation detection. Theoretical analysis revealed that the SRB has considerable potential in shear deformation detection while dose not affect its original horizontal stiffness. Detection tests were carried out on a full-scale SRB with different shear deformations, and a swept signal and white noise signal were used as the detection signals. A wavelet-packet-based shear deformation index is proposed based on the tests. The test result shows that the proposed shear deformation index can accurately represent the shear deformation in SRB when the transducers are installed on the same vertical axis, and the shear deformation index decreases approximately linearly with the increase of the shear deformation in SRB.