TARRC took part in the recent Mission undertaken by the Ministry of Primary Industries to Pakistan, Iran and Turkey between 20th – 25th January 2019
The Mission involved meetings, factory visits and roundtable discussions with the palm oil, timber and rubber sectors and was led by the Honourable Deputy Minister of Primary Industries, Datuk Seri Shamsul Iskandar Mohd Akin.
TARRC provided speakers for the rubber industry meetings in Iran and Turkey, on the use of natural rubber in seismic isolation.
At the meeting in Tehran Muhammad Umar Zulkefli, from the Malaysian Rubber Board, presented a paper on seismic protection systems based on rubber, outlining the development and adoption of the seismic isolation technology in High Damping Natural Rubber bearings from the mid 1980s to the present day. He also drew attention to newer forms of anti-seismic technology such as the ultra-High Damping Rubber Compound for HDNR bearing, the Rolling-Ball Rubber-Layer seismic isolation system (RBRL bearing), elastomeric wall joints and a new generation of Viscoelastic Energy Dissipative Devices (VEDDs). TARRC and MRB are able to offer the transfer of technology to prospective users and to work with Malaysian companies to offer such technologies.
The TARRC and MRB delegates were invited to visit the new International Institute for Earthquake Engineering and Seismology (IIEES) laboratory facility, together with representatives from the IIEES and from a construction company currently building a hospital in Isfahan.
In Istanbul the meeting was a roundtable discussion with members of the Turkish Association for Seismic Isolation (TASI). The event was organized by TARRC, on behalf of the Malaysian Rubber Board. TARRC’s CEO, Dr Fauzi Mohd Som was in attendance. The President of TASI, Dr Cüneyt Tüzün, gave a presentation on the Past and Present of Seismic Isolation in Turkey which highlighted requirements of the new seismic code (2019) and the Ministry of Health Regulation (2013) requiring all hospitals larger than 100 beds to be fitted with seismic isolators. The isolation of school buildings and residential buildings is now under consideration. More than 115 structures in Turkey, including over 100 hospitals, have seismic isolation.
TARRC’s Head of Engineering Design, Dr Alan Muhr, presented a talk on seismic protection systems based on rubber, with an overview of TARRC’s role in seismic isolation, from the work with the University of Berkeley, California, in the mid 1980s, through experimental buildings in Malaysia and Indonesia to the Penang Second Crossing in Malaysia which officially opened in 2014.
Dr Muhr was pleased to hear that the technique of seismic isolation is being applied on a significant scale in Turkey, as well as in Iran. He also drew attention to newer forms of anti-seismic technology such as the ultra-High Damping Rubber Compound for HDNR bearing, the Rolling-Ball Rubber-Layer seismic isolation system (RBRL bearing), elastomeric wall joints and a new generation of Viscoelastic Energy Dissipative Devices (VEDDs). TARRC and MRB are able to offer the transfer of technology to prospective users and to work with Malaysian companies to offer such technologies.
A new facility for testing large structural bearings has been constructed at TARRC’s laboratories near London. This testing facility will soon be available for use via research collaboration and private consultancy.
For Malaysia’s Ministry of Primary Industries, this event was an opportunity to promote further dialogue and collaboration between suppliers of rubber-based engineering components in Malaysia and those who source these devices for the construction industry in Turkey.
For the two research centres in Malaysia and the UK, it is hoped that collaboration with organisations in Turkey will encourage the application of elastomeric antiseismic devices.
For more information please contact Kristina Lawson klawson@tarrc.co.uk
