The effect of the type and location of rubber material on the performance of the rigid steel frame exposed to cyclic load

Earthquakes are dangerous phenomena that threaten people’s lives and damage structures. The poor design and construction of buildings that meet the requirements of seismic design in addition to the maintenance that needs a long time and high cost, so it has become necessary to develop an alternative method that is simple to install and has a low cost compared to other methods, such as using composite steel-rubber bolts in steel structures. Two experimental specimens were analyzed theoretically, and the results showed a high degree of convergence between the experimental and theoretical programs. The case study is a numerical study containing four rigid specimens that were analyzed in the ABAQUS / CAE (2017) program with applied a horizontal quasi-static cyclic load. The difference between these specimens is the difference in the type and location of the rubber used. The first specimen is the reference specimen which is free from rubber. In the second specimen, a rubber washer is placed in the foundation, while in the third specimen, the bolts are covered by rubber material, and in the last specimen, the rubber washer is placed under the heads of the bolts at the beam-column connection of the rigid steel frame. The results showed that the specimen with a rubber washer with a thickness of 3 mm gave the best results in terms of load failure, displacement, residual displacement, cumulative energy, viscose equivalent damping, and ductility index compared to other specimens.