Fiber-reinforced elastomeric isolators (FREIs) are composite devices consisting of an
alternation of elastomer layers and fiber reinforcement layers. They have mechanical properties
comparable to those of conventional Steel-Reinforced Elastomeric Isolators (SREIs). The mechanical
and construction characteristics of FREIs, together with their lower cost, make them potentially
usable on a large scale. However, for their actual use, it is necessary to take into account the current
regulations regarding seismic isolation. The application of FREIs provides the absence of anchoring
to the structure, but the European Technical Standard UNI EN 15129 requires that the isolators are
attached to the structure by mechanical fastening only. In this research work, a constraint device that
fulfills this requirement but, at the same time, does not significantly alter the mechanical behavior of
FREIs is investigated. The properties of the selected device and its installation method are presented.
The results of both a simple compression test and a combined compression and shear test performed
on two isolators reinforced by quadri-directional carbon fiber fabrics and two isolators reinforced
by bi-directional fabrics are presented. The tests were performed in the absence and presence of the
constraint device in order to investigate the modifications produced by the device.
