NY-08-009 -- The Impact of Seismic Testing on the HVAC Industry PDF

The newer building codes contain more stringent requirements for both the attachment and the continued operation of equipment used in critical seismic applications. This requirement states basically that if the facility is critical, the equipment required to keep if functional is also critical and it must be qualified to ensure that it will continue to perform after the event. For the limited applications in the past, Shake table testing was preferred, however Shake table testing on large pieces of equipment can be extremely expensive, time consuming and often provides results that cannot be extended to other applications for the same piece of equipment. In addition, the limited number of facilities that can do this kind of work often renders this approach impractical. This paper discusses the changes made in the building codes leading up to the current requirements and offers some guidance as to various options that can be pursued by equipment manufacturer’s or others seeking to qualify equipment for critical seismic applications.