Dynamic behaviour in compression and shear of low shape factor rubber blocks

The attention of the authors is focused on the study of low shape factor rubber blocks, having a low vertical stiffness. Firstly, the behaviour of natural rubber blocks is analysed when they are subjected only to an axial load, and then subjected to axial and shear combined action: in the first case, a model which takes into account the geometric non-linearity is considered, that is a model that considers the shape factor as a function of the current compressive strain; in the second case, the main issue is the influence of the axial load on the horizontal stiffness and on damping. For both cases, the analytical results are compared to the experimental ones. © 2019, Patron Editore S.r.l