1. SCOPE 1.1 This specification covers the ma- terial requirements for plain and lami nated elastomenc bridge bearings. Elas- Tomeric bearings furnished under this specification shall adequately provide for thermal expansion and contraction, rote tion, camber changes. and. creep and shrinkage. where applicable. of structural ‘members. Elastomeric bearings as herein Gefined shall include unreinforced pads (consisting of elastomer only) and rein- forced bearings with steel ot fabric laminates, 2. REFERENCED DOCUMENTS 21 AASHTO Standards: M 183 Specification for Structural Stee! Recommended Prac: Lice for Indicating Which Places of Fig ures are 10 be Cor sidered Significant in Specified Limiting Values Practices for Load Verification of Test- ing Machines 2.2 ANS! Standards: ANSI B46.1 Surfaces and Surfacing 23. ASTM Standards: A570 Hot-Rolled Carbon Steel Sheet and Strip. Structural Quali Rubber Property— ‘Compression Set D 412. Rubber Properties in Tension D 429 Rubber Property — Adhesion to Rigid Substrates Rn Te D 395 366 Standard Specification for AASHTO DESIGNATION: M 251-96 D 573. Rubber—Deteriora- tion in Air Oven D 1043 Stifiness Properties of Plastics as a Function of Temperature-Tor- sion Test D 1149 Ribber Deteriora- ‘don—Surface Ozone Cracking in 2 Cham- ber (Flat Specimens) D 2137 Rubber Property— Britteness Point of Flexible Polymers and Coated Fabris. Test for D 2240 Rubber Propenty— Durometer Hardness D 4014 Specification for Plain and Steel-Laminated Elastomeric Bearings for Bridges 24 Rubber Manufacturer's Associe- non, Ine RMA F 3 RMA T.063 RMA F2 25° Steel Structures Painting Council Specifications SSPC, Vis 1-89, Visual Stan- dard for Abrasive Biast Cleaned Steel 3. GENERAL REQUIREMENTS 3.1 All bearings shall be designed in accordance with specifications contained in the latest edition of the AASHTO Standard Specifications for Highway Bridges. 3.2. The dimensions of the furnished bearings shall be the dimensions required by the design docurents within the ances shown in Section 6 of this specifi- cation. The bearings shall be composed of the specified materials; shall be tested Plain and Laminated Elastomeric Bridge Bearings at the appropriate level: and shall satis any special requirements of the purchase. 33. The contractor shall provide the purchaser with writen notification 30 days prior tothe start of bearing produc- tion. This notification shall include the contract number, quant. and size bear ings being produced. manufacturer's ‘name, location, and the representative who will coordinate production, inspec- tion, sampling, and testing with the purchaser 34. Testing for the physical proper: ties of the elastomer may require the destruction of one or more bearings from 2 lot. In these instances. provisions should be made to provide additional bearings for testing purposes 35. In addition to material require- ‘ments forthe bearings individual compo nents this specification provides for two levels of acceptance enitena for finished bearings. Level | acceptance criteria is applied to all bearings without exception. Level Il acceptance ertera involves ad- itional testing and. unless. otherwise specified by the purchaser. shall be ap- plied to the following: 35.1 All bearings designed to ac- commodate compressive loads in excess of 6900 kPa and be subjected to shear eformation. 352 All other bearings designed 10 accommodate compressive loads in ex- cess of 7600 kPa. ‘353. In addition, the purchaser may require Level Il testing for bearings con sidered to be more critical or hearings for which Level 1 testing was inconclusive 3.6. For bearings that will be expec- ted 10 perform at lower temperatures an optional low temperature shea Test requirement is included in the Level 1 testing fi} M251 4. MATERIALS 4.1 Properties of the Elastomer— Fee elastomer compound used in the construction of these, bearings shall con- tain only virgin crystallization resistant polychloroprene (neoprene) or virgin natural polyisoprene (natural rubber) as the raw polymer. All materials shall be ‘new with no reclaimed material incorpo- rated in the finished bearing. 42. The cured elastomer shall meet the minimum requirements of Table 1. ‘The properties of the cured elastomeric ‘compound material listed in Table 1 shall be determined using samples taken from actual bearings. 43 All material tests shall be carried cout at 23 = 2°C unless otherwise noted. 44 For the purpose of determining conformance with this specification. an observed or calculated value shall be rounded off to the nearest 100 kPa for tensile strength, co the nearest 10 percent of elongation. and to the nearest I percent for change in aged tensile and aged elon- ‘gation. Hardness and aged hardness shall be rounded otf to nearest point in accor- dance with AASHTO R-II 45° Steel Laminates—Steel lami- nates used for reinforcement shall be SPECIFICATIONS FOR MATERIALS ‘made from rolled mild steel conforming to AASHTO M 183, ASTM A 570M, ‘or equivalent, unless otherwise specified by the purchaser. The laminates shall be of the thickness specified by the pur- chaset or, if left unspecified have a mini- ‘mum nominal thickness of 1.52 mm. Holes in plates for manufacturing pur- ‘poses shall not be permitted unless con- sidered in the design of the bearing. 4.6 Extemal load bearing plates shall conform to the requirements of AASHTO M 183, unless otherwise spec- ified in the contract documents. Except as noted. all bearings surfaces of external Toad plates shall be finished or machined flat within 0.25 man. The bottom surfaces ‘of external load plates (masonry plates) designed to rest on bearing pads shail not exceed an out-of-flatness value of 159 mm, The extemal load bearing plates shall be protected from rust until all exposed surfaces can be field painted. ‘Any ust inhibitor utilized must be re- moved from all surfaces 10 be welded prior to welding 4.7 Fabric Reinforcement—Fabric reinforcement shall be woven from 100 percent glass fibers of “E™ wpe yam ‘with continuous fibers. The minimum thread count in either direction shall be TABLE 1 Elastomer Properties 361 10 threads per cm. The fabric shall have either a crowfoot or an 8-Hamess Satin ‘weave. Each ply of fabric shall have a ‘minimum breaking strength of 140 kNém of width in each thread direction. FABRICATION S.1 Bearings with steel laminates shall be cast as a unit in a mold and bonded and vulcanized under heat and pressure. The molds shall have standard shop practice mold finish. The internat ‘steel laminates shall be blast cleaned to 1 condition matching that of SSPC-Vis 1-89, Pictorial Standird BSP6 or CSP6 and additionally cleaned of any oil or grease before bonding. Plates shall be free of sharp edgés and burrs, and shall have a minimum edge cover of 3 mm. External load plates ‘sole plates) shall be protected from rusting by the manu- facturer, and shall be hot bonded to the bearing during vulcanization. Bearings with steet laminates which are designed (o act as a single unit witha given shape factor must be manufactured as a sin- gle unit 52 Fabric-reinforced bearings may Polysoprene Payealoroprene ‘Natural Rubber) (Neoprene) Marenal as™ 0 0 0 7 Property Standart “Test Requirements Duro_Duro Duro _Duro_Ouro_Duro___Unis Physical 2240 Hardness Jo = 56) = 970 = 590 = 560 = 370 = Shore “A” poins properses D412 Min tenile strength Is5 155 153183 1551S pa Min timate elongation 450400 300400380 300___—Percent Heat D573 a Specified temperature of te est 7 770100 100100 “c eostance specified tmp. Aging time 188168] Hours Max change in durometer hardness = 10 +10 +10 +15 +15 +15 Shore “A” poims Max change ia tensile srength Tas 35 28-15-18 - 1S Percent Max change in ultimate elongation 235-35 35 9 49-0 Percent Compression D395 Specified temperature of test 770 +7 10 100 100 *c xt Method B at Max permissible change after 22 rs.) 3 25383338 Percent specified tmp. Low temperature D 746 Grades 0 & 2. No est equied bnmleness ‘Procedure B-Grade 3 Test @ ~40°C asses Passes Parser Passes Passes Grade 4 Test @ —48°C Passes Passes Passes. Passes Passes Grade 5 Test @ -S7C Passes Passes Passes Paes Passes Die ‘Concentration of ozone during es 3% 100 100100 mPa Duration of est 8 100 100100 Hours Tea at 20 pert vin STE EE No No No No No mounting procedure Cracks Cracks Cracké Cracks Cracks Cracks D 518, procedure A568, bbe molded and vulcanized in large sheets and cut to size, Cuting shall be per- formed so as to avoid heating the materi- als and produce a smooth finish with no separation of the fabric from the elasto- mer. Fabric shall be free of folds and nipples and shall be parallel to the top and bottom surfaces. If external steel plates are required. 2 cold bonding pro- cess which will yield the strengths re- Quired in Section 8.8.3 of this specifica- tuon may be used in Lieu of hot bonding 5.3 Plain pads may be molded or extruded, and vulcanized in large sheets ‘and cut to size. Cutting shall not heat ‘the materials. and shall produce a smooth finish to ANSI B46.1 6.3,:m. Plain pads shall be molded or extruded to the fin- ished thickness. Fabricators will not be allowed to maie pads of finished thick- ness by plying pads of lesser thickness together. External load plates, when used, shall be protected from rusting by the ‘manufacturer. and shall be hot bonded by vulcanization during the primary molding process. 5A Flash tolerance. finish, and ap- pearance of bearings shall meet the re- Quirements of the latest edition of the Rubber Handbook as published by the ‘Rubber Manufacturers Association, Inc RMA F3 and T.063 for molded bearings and RMA F2 ior extruded bearings. TABLE |. Overall verics dimensions Design thickness 32 mm or less Design thickness over 32 mm 2, Overall honiontal dimensions For measurements 914 mm and less For measutemenss Over $14 mm 3. Thicnss of individual layers of elastomer (laminated bearings only) st any point within the beanng 4. Varaoon from = plane parallel 10 the eoreticl suriae (as determined by measurements a the ‘2 of the bearings ‘Top Sides 5. Position of exposed connection members 6 Edge cover of embedded laminates of ‘comection members 1. Size of holes, sos. or inser 8. Position of hoes. sos, or insers ‘SPECIFICATIONS FOR MATERIALS 6. TOLERANCES 6.1 Plain pads and laminated bear- ings shall be manufactured to the design Gimensions tolerances listed in Table 2, unless other tolerances are shown on the design drawings. 7. MARKING 71 Each reinforced bearing shall be ‘marked in indelible ink or flexible paint ‘The marking shall consist of the order number, lot number, bearing identfica- ‘uon number. and elastomer type and grade, Unless otherwise specified in the contract documents the marking shall be ona face which is visible after erection of the bridge. 8, BEARING TESTING AND ACCEPTANCE CRITERIA 8.1 All test apparatus used to deter ‘mine conformance with these specifica- tions. shall be calibrated annually in ac- ‘cordance with AASHTO T 67. 82 Sampling, testing, and accep. tance consideration will be made on a Jot basis. A lot of bearings shall be con- sidered to be a group of 100 or less ‘Tolerances -o43 0. +6 -0. +6 0.412 = 20 percen of design valve but no ‘more than = 3 mm (=) ‘Slope reiave to the bottom of no ‘more than 0.008 radians 6 3 0 +3 M251 bearings which are manufactured in a reasonably continuous manner from the same batch of elastomer, cured under the same conditions, and are all the same size and type (plain, fabric reinforced. (or ste} reinforced). A lot may include 100 or less fabric reinforced bearings of different plan size if cut from a large sheet or sheets meeting these requirements, 8.3 The manufacturer shall designate the bearings in each lot and certify that each of the bearings in the lot were ‘manufactured in a reasonably continuous ‘manner from the same batch of elasto- ‘mez, and cured under the same condi- tons. In addition, the manufacturer shall ‘certify that each bearing in the lot satis fies the requirements of the design speci- fication and meets the dimensional toler- lances of Section 6 of this specification, 8.4 The dimensions of each beanng shall be checked. If any dimensions are outside the limits listed in Secuon 6 of this specification. the lo: shall be rejected ‘8.5 The purchaser shall select sam- pile bearings from the lot for testing in accordance with this specification. Sam- pling rate shall be as follows: Plain bearings - Three full size bear- ings per lot. Laminated Bearings - One full size bearing perevery five per lot. 2 minimum of three bearings, 8.6 Elastomer taken from the sam- pled bearings shall be tested for confor ‘mance with the requirements of Section 4.144 of this specification. Ifthe sam- pled elastomer fails to meet any of these requirements, the lot shall be rejected 8.7 Additional testing shall be con- ducted on the sampled bearings. The ac cceptance criteria shall be at two levels, Level I acceptance shall be applied to all bearings. Level II acceptance eriteri, unless otherwise specified by the pur- ‘chaser, shall be applied to the following. 87.1 All bearings designed to ac- commodate compressive loads in excess ‘of 6900 kPa and be subjected to shear deformation, 8.7.2 All other bearings designed to accommodate compressive loads in ex- ccoxs of 7600 kPa. 8.73 In addition, the purchaser may require Level Il testing for bearings con: sidered to be more critical or bearings for which Level I testing was inconclusive. { iM251 ‘SPECIFICATIONS FOR MATERIALS Level I and Level IL tests may be per- formed by the manufacturer, by the pur- ‘chasing agency of by an outside indepen- dent laboratory subject to the approval of the purchaser. If testing is performed by the manufacturer or an independent laboratory, certified test results shall-be provided. Regardless oF the agency des- fgnated to test the pads, the purchaser reserves the right to obtain test samples from the bearings for confirming test results. ‘88 Level I criteria shall include the following requirements: 8.8.1 Each sampled bearing shall be tested to determine compressive strain atthe maximum design compressive load. in accordance with Section 9.1 of this specification. If the resultant compres- sive strain exceeds 0.10, the lot shall be rejected. 8.8.2 Each sampled bearing shall be subjected to a compressive load equal to 1S times the maximum design load. The Toad shail be held for 5 minutes, re- ‘moved. and reapplied for a second period of 5 minutes, The bearing shall be visu- ally examined while under the second svcted with $0 durometer easomes, Stearate shall ot exceed 35 KPa or bearings constted wth olyhlor- sy ne teanng exhib hse op- ‘ETE DEBTS) O27 KPa oe sete Sure cst wich ae gear hy ge meses than 2 mm wide and 2 mm deep or rac cack deeper oF wider than 6 nm, Saves ie sPeiied valu. oS se ret perajected. Por ins "TOE aa inci tbo seca bung panems imply amir 98 ge eae aa cant which docs wt aiaty UC en meet all Level deg? omens and mamaacanng ler; Soha ances of if bulging suggests poor lami-“g.9.2 The shear modulus ofthe elas- sate bond, the lot shall be rejected tomer shall be determined 23°C 21°C 883 Forreinforced bearings.a:min- in accordance with Annex Al/ ASTM D imum of one sampled bearing per lot 4014, Shear modulus shall be determined Shall be tested for bond strength accor- by testing a specimen cut from the sam dance with Section 9.2 of this specifica- pled bearings. Altemaively, atthe pur- ~ tion. Fabric reinforced pads shall have chaser’s discretion, a comparable nonde- minimum bond stength of 52 KN/m Sryctve stiffness test may be conducted and steel reinforced pads a strength of on a pair of sampled bearings, If nonde- 69 kN/m. If the testing bearing fails t structive stiffness test is performed, the meet the requifed minimum bond shear modulus shall be computed from strength, the lot shall be rejected. the measured shea sfness of the beat 84 When required by the pur- ings, taking into account the influence on chaser, a minimum of two pads per lot shear stiffness of bearing geometry and Shall be tesed for low temperature sear compressive load. The shear modulus in accordance with the purchaser's ce- shall be within 15 percent ofthe valve ‘urements and Section 9.3 ofthis speci-- specified value, or within the ims listed fleaton, Maxiraum allowable shear in Table 3 fr the specified nominal hard- stresses will depend on the temperare ness. f shear modulus does not meet the which af conioned “specified minimunr valve, the lot shall Thardness of the elastomer. For be rejected. — bearings conditioned at 29°C andcon- 89.3. Forelastomer grades 2-5, addi- 569 Applied FIGURE1 Preparation of Bond Strength Specimens tional shear modulus testing shall be per- formed on elastomer ftom the sampled bearings in accordance with Section 9.4 ofthis specification, Ifthe measured stff- ‘ness atthe specified temperature exceeds ‘4 times thé stiffness measured at 23° C, the lot shall be rejected. ‘89.4 Elastomer from the sampled bearings shall be tested for instantaneous thermal stiffening in accordance with ASTM D 1083. The elastomer stiffness shall be measured at 23° C and at a lower ‘corresponding 10 the speci- fied grade of elastomer. The lower test temperatures for the various grades of elastomer shall be as follows: Grades 0 & 2 Test @ ~32° C Grade 3 Test @ -40° C Grade 5 Test @ If the stiffness ofthe elastomer measured atthe specified lower temperature is more than four times the stfiess ofthe elasto- mer measured at 23° C, the lot shall be jected. 89.5 A sampled bearing from cach lot of béarings shall be subjected to, Jong term compression et. This test shall be conducted in secordance with the re- quirements of Section 8.8.2 ofthis speci- fication except thatthe second load shall be maintained for 15 hour. If the load drops below 90 percent ofits target value during this time, the load shall be in-510. SPECIFICATIONS FOR MATERIALS reaching the 37.5 mm mark or reaching TABLE 3 Shear Modulus Requirements 270 N of load, retest in another area of the bearing. ominal hardnes 50 0 70 ~ Shear modal 062 090.MPs 090 = 140.MPs 140-205 MPs 9.3 Low Temperature Shear Test creased to the target value and the test duration shall be increased by the time fot which the load was below the required value, The bearing shall be visually ex- amined at the end of the test while itis siill under load. If the bearing exhibits three separate surface cracks Which are ‘greater than 2 mm wide and 2 mm deep fora single crack deeper or wider than 6 ‘mm, the lot shall be rejected. For lami- nated bearings. if bulging patterns imply laminate placement which does not s: isfy design cnteria and manufacturing tolerances or if bulging suggests poor laminate bond. the lot shall be rejected, 89.6 The purchaser may require ‘more severe testing of pads such as fa ligue oF test 10 failure under Level IL criteria 9. TESTS 9.1 Determination of Compression Strain ar Maximum Desir Load: 9.1.1 The bearing 10 be tested shall be placed in a test machine capable of applying a compressive load equal wo the bearings maximum design dead plus live service load. 9.12 A pair of deflectometers shall be placed on opposite sides of the bearing Jn the test machine. The deflectometers shall be located as near as possible to the center of the bearing 9.1.3 The bearing shall be loaded at rate of 520 kPa/min. to a compression stress equal to 5 percent of the bearing’s ‘maximum design dead plus live service load. The $ percent load shall be main- tained for two minutes. At the end of the ‘two munues, the deflectometer readings shall be recorded, 9.1.4 The compressive load shall be increased at a rate of $20 KPa/min, to 3 ‘compressive stress equal 10 the bearing’s ‘maximum design dead plus live service load. The load shall be maintained for 8 period of two minutes, a the end of ‘which the deflectometer readings shell be recorded. 9.415 The total compressive deflec- lon between the two loadings shall be calculated for each defleetometer, The bearing’s compressive sain shal be cal alate as the average ofthe compressive deflections indicated bythe wo defleto- meters divided by the design effective rubber thickness of the ested bearing 9.2 Determination of Bond Strength 92.1 Bond sueagih shall be deter mined in accordance with ASTM D429 Method B as modified herein, 9.22 The- bond test shall ‘be per formed on sampled bearings by cutung fhe required strip from an elastomer layer bonded to an internal laminae. The sinp size hall be 25 mm wide, 125 mm long and at lest 6.3 mm thick 9.23. Peeling of the elastomer strip from the internal laminate shall be ini ated by carefully cuting the elasiomer beck to create atab long enough to install An the grips of the testing machine. 9.24 Draw lines ross the sip 12.5 ‘mm and 37.5 mm from where the peeled Portion of the sinp meets the intemal Jamunate (see Figure 1), Install the spec men in the grips so that the angle be- tween the elastomer tab and the surface othe bearing willbe approximately 90° for the duration of the test. 9.25 Apply the tensile load at the required rate until the elastomer peels back beyond the 37.5 mm mark while recording the joad as required. Fhe load reaches 270 N without the elastomer Staning to pee! from the laminate surface, ‘end the test and record the bond strength a 105kN/m. If the elastomer peels back to the 37.5 mm mark without reach ing 270 N of load. record the bond strength as the average loadin kilonew- tons per meter of width required to peel the elastomer between the marks, Ifthe elastomer tab rips off the bearing before 93.1 Two bearings shall be condi- tioned at a specified temperature for 96 tT hours-Unless otherwiee specifies by the purchaser. the conditioning tem- perature shall be ~29° C = 05°C, After ‘conditioning. the bearings shall be placed in a compression machine such that one bearing is.on top of the other bearing with the top bearing upside down, 93.2 The bearings shall be loaded in compression to 2 stress of 3400 kPa based on the design net intemal rein- forcement area of the beanng 933. The bearings shall be sheared to a total strain equivalent to 25 percent of the design effective rubber thickness. ‘Shear stress. based on the design net plan area ofthe elastomer shall be recorded 15 ‘minutes after reaching 25 percent shear strain. The total time lapse between re- moval from the conditioning environ: ‘ment and completion of the test shall not exceed 30 minutes, 94 Additional Shear Modulus Test- ing for Elastomer Grades 2-5: 94.1 Shear modulus testing shall be performed as described in Annex Al of ASTM D 4014 except as modified below 9.4.2 The test specimens shall be taken from sampled bearings. After pre- paring the test specimen, it shall be eon- ditioned fora period of ime ata specified temperature. Conditioning times and temperatures for the various elastomer ‘grades shall be as follows: Grade 2 - 7 days @ —18° C Grade 3 - 14 days @ -26°C Grade 4 - 21 days @ -37° C Grade $-- 28. days-G-—37°C 9A3 Shear modulus testing shall be performed with the test specimen in an enclosed freezer unit capable of main- taining the specified conditioning tem- erature. A = 25 percent strain eycle shall be applied with @ period of 100 seconds. The first", eycle of strain shall be discarded and the stiffness shall be determined by the slope of the force deflection curve for the next '/; cycle of loading.