Modelling of Elastomeric Bearings with Application of Yeoh Hyperelastic Material Model

The application of the hyperelasticity constitutive relationships for modelling of elastomeric bridge bearings is presented. Elastomers which are used for bridge bearings are nearly incompressible materials. Consequently, two models of hyperelasticity for rubber-like materials, i.e. neo-Hookean and Yeoh models are considered. The neo-Hookean model is the simplest possible model of hyperelasticity but unfortunately it has a number of disadvantages (i.e. at certain deformation modes it gives physically unreasonable predictions). The Yeoh model for nonlinear elastic materials is superior to neo-Hookean model and leads to rational description of the behavior of the elastomers for significant elongations and is implemented in many commercial programs using finite element method (FEM). In this work, ABAQUS program is utilized for modelling of chosen bridge bearings. The parameters of two constitutive models are determined based on experimental results and are used in numerical calculations for selected examples of bridge bearings. Concluding remarks are drawn and directions of future research are outlined.