forces in motion

Novi Sad. Highly sensitive measuring equipment located next to busy traffic routes and in a seismic area: To protect the laboratory, MAURER developed the new SIP-V®-bearing in collaboration with Getzner Werkstoffe GmbH. In one component, four SIP®-V isolate the highly sensitive building core of the BioSense Institute in Novi Sad against two load cases that could not be more different: high-frequency vibrations and earthquakes.

The BioSense Research and Development Institute was founded in Belgrade in 2015, and is part of the University of Novi Sad, where the new building has now been constructed. It is considered a pioneer in the field of digital and sustainable agriculture. Micro and nano electronics, sensor design, and cellular agriculture are some of its scientific fields; the laboratory area located in the institute’s new building is accordingly sensitive.

The requirements for the BioSense research building for sustainable agriculture were clear: Inside, the new building has a small building core with a floor plan of 8x7 metres and 4 floors with a height of approximately 17 metres. This core accommodates complex and expensive laboratory instruments and microscopes. They must be protected against ground vibrations caused by traffic and earthquakes. The other parts of the institute building have normal requirements.

MAURER Sliding Isolation Pendulum with integrated vibration isolation SIP®-V
The building core now stands on four Sliding Isolation Pendulums with integrated vibration isolation (SIP®-V).

This new development combines both seismic and vibration protection in one component. To that end, two specialists collaborated and pooled their competences: MAURER SE (Munich) and Getzner Werkstoffe GmbH (Austria). The lead planner was Dr. Marko Marinković of SDA-engineering. A bearing made of the dynamically highly effective material Sylodyn® (= vibration isolation) was embedded in the sliding lens (puck) of the classic Double Sliding Pendulum Bearing SIP®-D (= seismic protection.

Details on seismic protection
Basis for the SIP®-V is the Double Sliding Pendulum MAURER SIP®-D, which is used since 2004. It has two (“D” for double) concave main sliding surfaces and one sliding lens (puck) and is equipped with the sliding material MSM® (= MAURER Sliding Material).
SIP®-bearings have four functions in this project:

• They isolate the building from its foundations and allow horizontal movement of up to ±100 mm in all directions.
• They limit movements through internal friction by converting kinetic energy into heat. Specifically, a horizontal seismic acceleration of 0.2g is at least halved.
• They re-centre the building core in its initial position following an earthquake, as they have concave sliding surfaces.
• They transmit vertical loads of up to maximum 4,000 kN.

Details on vibration isolation
To protect the BioSense laboratory against daily micro vibrations of the ground, such as those caused by traffic and noise, a Sylodyn®-bearing of Getzner (www.getzner.com) was embedded in the sliding lenses (pucks) of the four SIP®-bearings.

Sylodyn® has been used to isolate structures worldwide for more than 25 years. The closed-cell elastomer prevents disturbing vibrations and secondary airborne sound. The Sylodyn® HRB HS types in particular provide high-performance vibration protection in the smallest space and were therefore optimally capable of being integrated in the Sliding Isolation Pendulum SIP®-V. The vibration isolation shields vibrations of at least 15 Hz.

The Double Sliding Isolation Pendulums SIP®-V measure 650x650x210mm and have a service life of more than 50 years.

Dynamic earthquake and vibration tests
To guarantee the function of the new bearings, they were tested according to EN 15129 at EUCENTRE in Pavia, Italy. All vibration damping parameters, that is, natural frequency, effective damping, and load capacity were proven.

Dampers protect against tilting
To prevent the slender structure of the building core from tilting, MAURER also installed four hydraulic dampers on the top floor in order to support the tilting moment.
The SIP®-V-bearings were installed in December 2021, the dampers in March 2022. The new BioSense Institute became operational in April 2023.