Rack Isolation System Wins Earthquake Award

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the base isolator absorbs much of the seismic energy before it getsto the rack structure itself. This results in a huge reduction(85%) in the seismic forces the rack structure must resist, whichconcludes in little to no rack damage or product shedding duringeven the most severe earthquakes.
"From our testing we determined that our base isolation systemcan dissipate 85% of the seismic energy exerted on a storage racksystem during an earthquake," says James Courtwright,RIDG-U-RAK's chief project engineer.
Development of the RIDG-U-RAK Seismic Base Isolation Systemincluded more than 100 full scale triaxial shake table testspreformed at the Structural Engineering and Earthquake SimulationLaboratory located at the State University of New York at Buffalo.
RIDG-U-RAK developed this system in accordance with performancelevels outlined in FEMA 460 Seismic Considerations for Steel RacksLocated in Areas Accessible to the Public. These guidelines are forfacilities using steel rack systems in retail environments wherepublic safety is a very real concern during a seismic event.