The use of reinforced elastomeric bearings for simple and cheap earthquake isolation systems hasbeen discussed for some years. The advantages of the use of fiber reinforcement for these isolators(e.g. High damping, large range of horizontal deflection) are known and have often been described.However, the current design codes give no appropriate formulas to calculate the behavior of fiberreinforced elastomeric isolators.This study presents a first step to develop advanced design guidelines for elastomeric bearingstaking nonlinear effects into account. Based on a parametric study on numerical models and theformulas given in the current design codes and other publications a new formula to describe thehorizontal stiffness is developed. Hereby specific nonlinearities of fiber reinforced elastomericbearings are taken into account as well as the influence of vertical loads on the horizontal stability.
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