Laminated elastomeric bearings support simultaneous loads and deformation in any direction. Steel plates are bonded to the rubber through a vulcanization process and have the main scope to increase the resistance of the bearings to vertical loads. The steel plates are fully embedded in the elastomer so that they are protected against corrosion.

The connection of the elastomeric bearings to the structure may be through the rubber itself or steel elements of various shapes suitable for any kind of structure.

Horizontal movements up to approximately one half of the rubber thickness and rotations are allowed by the flexibility of the rubber.

Higher horizontal movements can be reached utilizing the rubber bearings with PTFE.

The mark utilized to describe rubber bearings is the following:

NB a(mm) x b(mm) x c(mm) where ‘a’ and ‘b’ are the dimensions of the bearing in plan and ‘c’ the thickness

In the catalogue the different types of fixings to the structures available are shown, with the marks NB1 to NB5

With the appropriate use of external steel plates and dowels, the resistance to the horizontal loads may be greatly increased.

In that case the mark used to identify the bearings are the following:

NBU a(mm) x b(mm) x c(mm) for the bearings restrained in one direction only. ‘a’ and ‘b’ are the dimensions of the bearing in plan and ‘c’ the thickness

NBF a(mm) x b(mm) x c(mm) for the bearings restrained in both directions. ‘a’ and ‘b’ are the dimensions of the bearing in plan and ‘c’ the thickness