TARRC adds ‘world-first’ seismic-bearing tester 

Brickendonbury, UK –  The Tun Abdul Razak Research Centre (TARRC) has added a “unique” earthquake-bearing testing machine to its rubber research facilities in Brickendonbury.

The unit is the centrepiece of a new ‘advanced rubber engineering test laboratory’, established with funding of £2.5 million (€3.0 million) from the Malaysian government.

TARRC and the Malaysian Rubber Board (MRB) have for decades pioneered the development of natural rubber-based protection systems for buildings and civil-engineering structures.

The seismic-bearing rig “is a first of its kind in the world [and] will ensure that we remain global leaders in this area,” MRB board chairman Sankara Narayanan Nair, said at a 9 April launch.

The facility, he added, will provide “the earthquake engineering community with a research and testing resource that will enhance and promote the use of Malaysia technology for seismic protection.”

Built and designed by TARRC engineers, the machine can test full-scale bearings under earthquake conditions, as well as other large structural rubber-based bearings.

Bearings of up to 1,000mm in diameter can be tested under combinations of axial, shear and tilting conditions, in-line with the requirements of international standards.

The unit  offers test facilities for manufacturers of seismic products who would like to sell their products within the EU under the CE marking scheme, said Hamid Ahmadi, deputy director of research at TARRC.

“On the other hand, as a research institute, we need to be ahead of the game in knowing where the industry is heading,” added Ahmadi.