Seismic qualification testing
Power stations, electricity substations, telecommunications networks and hospitals all rely on equipment that must keep working during and after an earthquake.
Cabinets, switchgear, control panels, valves and batteries can fail in ways that calculation alone struggles to predict: relays chatter, anchors pull out, components detach, doors spring open. Design codes and regulators therefore often require the equipment to be shaken under conditions that reflect the earthquake it may face in service.
From specification to table motion
A seismic test specification rarely gives an earthquake ground motion to reproduce: it usually defines the shaking as a Required Response Spectrum (RRS).
BEELAB synthesises acceleration time histories whose test response spectra envelop the RRS across the frequency range, with the strong-motion duration, statistical independence between axes and other properties that the governing standard requires — getting this right is what makes a test valid. The inputs are reproduced on the table using closed-loop digital control, and the achieved motion is checked against the specification for every test.
The test sequence
A campaign usually begins with low-level resonance searches to identify the equipment's natural frequencies. A series of earthquake tests follows at increasing intensity — often several at a lower level to simulate ageing, followed by one or more at the full design level and, where the specification requires it, a final test above the design level to demonstrate margin. After each run the equipment is inspected and any damage recorded; functional checks can be carried out between runs by, or on behalf of, the client.
On the table
Each item is mounted to represent its installed condition, using the client's fixings or a purpose-designed test fixture. Accelerometers, displacement transducers and strain gauges record the equipment's response, and video records each run.
What the client receives
The final report sets out the test inputs, demonstrates that they met the specified requirements, and records the equipment's measured response and any damage or degradation observed. Clients and their representatives are welcome to witness testing.
Two six-degree-of-freedom tables, matched to the job
Octopod - Equals Laboratory
Suits large items such as cabinets, switchboards and skid-mounted plant.
- Platform: 3 m × 3 m
- Payload: up to 15 t
- Frequency: 0–50 Hz
- Displacement: ±150 mm per axis
- Velocity: 1.2 m/s per axis
Hexapod — SoFSI Laboratory
A compact high-performance table for components that must withstand very high test levels.
- Platform: 1.2 m diameter
- Frequency: 0–100 Hz
- Acceleration: 8 g, all three axes simultaneously
- Payload: 1 t
How a commercial test works
Our equipment is available for hire, with access charges set per project based on the equipment and technical support required. Commercially sensitive work is handled in confidence, with non-disclosure agreements in place before technical discussions where needed.
- Enquiry - Tell us about your equipment, structure or question — a few lines are enough to start.
- Feasibility call - We discuss specimen size, loading, standards and timing with the facility team.
- Quotation - You receive a scoped quotation covering test programme, instrumentation and reporting.
- Testing - Your campaign runs with our technicians and engineers; you can witness the tests.
- Data and report - You receive the data and a quality-assured report — and inspection support if required.