Code Compliance Archives

TRU Compliance Equipment Testing Project Equipment Testing and Certification to Assess Risk

News & Views, Volume 50 | TRU Compliance Equipment Testing Project

October 6, 2021/in Company News, Hydroelectric Power, News and Views, Seismic, TRU Compliance/by Structural Integrity

EQUIPMENT TESTING AND CERTIFICATION TO ASSESS RISK

By: Katie Braman

Using a risk-based approach derived from various seismic standards from the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, TRU and BC Hydro will develop a synthetic test motion in three axes, mount the equipment on a triaxial shake table at TRU’s testing partner’s facility, and test at increasing levels until various levels of damage are observed.

TRU Compliance, the accredited product certification body of Structural Integrity Associates, has been awarded a contract to assist BC Hydro in qualifying and better understanding the seismic vulnerability of critical equipment used to control its spillway gates. As part of the larger efforts to seismically upgrade the John Hart, Ladore, and Strathcona dams along the Campbell River system on Vancouver Island, British Columbia, BC Hydro is procuring equipment that allows precise flow control of the water going over the spillway. Reliable equipment is needed to prevent possible overtopping or having uncontrolled water flow through the spillway.

Porting SI's ANACAP Concrete Model into LS-DYNA Advanced Structural Analysis

News & Views, Volume 50 | Porting SI’s ANACAP Concrete Model into LS-DYNA

October 6, 2021/in Code Compliance, Company News, Complex Loadings, Livio Mello, News and Views, Shari Day/by Structural Integrity

ADVANCED STRUCTURAL ANALYSIS

By: Livia Mello and Shari Day

One of Structural Integrity Associates’ (SI) strengths is combining state-of-the-art software with material science expertise to solve difficult structural and mechanical problems. A notable example in recent years is the Aircraft Impact Analysis (AIA) performed by SI for NuScale Power, using the ANACAP concrete material model. With SI’s support, NuScale’s Small Modular Reactor (SMR) building design passed NRC’s comprehensive inspection, bringing NuScale’s SMR technology one step closer to market [N&V Vol. 47 p. 5].

SI’s success in AIA is due not only to our team’s capabilities but also due to the capabilities of our proprietary concrete constitutive model, ANACAP, developed by Joe Rashid, Robert Dunham, and Randy James of ANATECH, now part of SI. Modeling reinforced concrete, which is both nonhomogeneous and anisotropic, is often a challenge in advanced structural analysis. However, ANACAP has a long track record of accurately capturing nonlinear concrete response in structural systems subjected to static, impact, and seismic loads. Its application goes beyond AIA; it has also been utilized in several of SI’s commercial building, bridge infrastructure, nuclear plant, and hydroelectric facility projects.

ANACAP has the ability to account for cyclic degradation, multi-axial cracking, load-rate effects, aging, creep, shrinkage, crushing, confinement, concrete-reinforcement interaction, and high-temperature softening behavior. The combination of these features results in an exceptional representation of concrete intricate behavior. It also leads to more accurate results when compared to standard finite element “built-in” concrete material libraries, all the while being implemented within the same standard finite element formulation.

American Society of Civil Engineers, ASCE

Structural Design for Physical Security

August 13, 2021/in Andy Coughlin, Code Compliance, Company News, Critical Structures, News, News and Views/by Structural Integrity

Structural Integrity’s Own, Andy Coughlin published by American Society of Civil Engineers, ASCE

Andy Coughlin’s work has been published in the ASCE Structural Design for Physical Security: State of the Practice. The Task Committee on Structural Design prepared the publication for Physical Security of the Blast, Shock, and Impact Committee of the Dynamic Effects Technical Administration Committee of the Structural Engineering Institute of ASCE. Andy wrote Chapter 10 on Testing and Certification for Physical Security and assisted on several other chapters.

Structural Design for Physical Security, MOP 142, provides an overview of the typical design considerations encountered in new construction and renovation of facilities for physical security. The constant change in threat tactics and types has led to the need for physical security designs that account for these new considerations and anticipate the environment of the future, with flexibility and adaptability being priorities. This Manual of Practice serves as a replacement for the 1999 technical report Structural Design for Physical Security: State of the Practice and is intended to provide a roadmap for designers and engineers involved in physical security. It contains references to other books, standards, and research.

Topics include

Threat determination and available assessment and criteria documents,
Methods by which structural loadings are derived for the determined threats,
Function and selection of structural systems,
Design of structural components,
Function and selection of window and facade components,
Specific considerations for retrofitting structures,
Testing methodologies, and
Bridge security.

This book will be a valuable resource to structural engineers and design professionals involved with projects that have physical security concerns related to explosive, ballistic, forced entry, and hostile vehicle threats.

Of particular note is the publication of the process by which products can be tested and certified to achieve physical security performance in blast, ballistics, forced entry, and vehicle impact. Often unclear or overly specific requirements hamper the application of quality products which protect people and assets from attack. The certification process below shows how approved agencies, like SI’s TRU Compliance, play a role in testing, evaluating, and selecting products for use in critical physical security applications, rather than relying solely on the claims of the manufacturers. TRU’s certification program is the first of its kind to receive IAS Accreditation for the certification of physical security products.

News & Views, Volume 49 | Code Compliance and the Modular Construction Trend: What Manufacturers Need to Know to Comply with Building Codes

April 20, 2021/in Andy Coughlin, News and Views, Structural Assessments, TRU Compliance/by Structural Integrity

By: Andy Coughlin, PE, SE

The modular construction industry is projected to grow globally at an annual rate of 6.9%, outpacing the growth of traditional construction.¹ Modular construction has many advantages over traditional building methods, including improved quality control and shorter project durations. Factory-built systems are constructed in controlled environments with equipment and materials that are not feasible at congested job sites, and project schedules can be shortened when factory work and field work are performed in parallel.

However, modular projects may stumble without proper forethought: when fabrication takes place in a factory away from the jobsite, the building officials, inspectors, and engineers can have less oversight and less recourse to implement changes if issues are discovered in the field. Code compliance may also be an issue when systems are designed by factory engineers rather than the engineer of record. To mitigate these potential pitfalls, careful planning is required at the start of the project.

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News & View, Volume 48 | Post Seismic Certification - What Do Manufacturers Do to Keep Their Products TRU Listed?

News & Views, Volume 48 | Post Seismic Certification: What Do Manufacturers Do to Keep Their Products TRU Listed?

September 30, 2020/in Critical Structures, Galen Reid, Katie Braman, News and Views, TRU Compliance/by Structural Integrity

By: Galen Reid and Katie Braman How does TRU or the public know the manufacturer is continuing to produce a product that complies with the certified construction and configuration without retesting periodically? Certification of products to withstand extreme event loading can open many opportunities for manufacturers to sell high value products when others have a […]

News & View, Volume 47 | TRU Compliance Expands into Physical Security – Testing and Certification Services

March 3, 2020/in Critical Structures, Dan Zentner, News and Views, TRU Compliance/by Structural Integrity

By: Dan Zentner

This service coincides with the upcoming publication of the Structural Design for Physical Security Manual of Practice by the American Society of Civil Engineers, with TRU Compliance Director Andy Coughlin as coauthor.

TRU Compliance’s testing and certification services is expanding into the dynamic field of Physical Security. This service coincides with the upcoming publication of the Structural Design for Physical Security Manual of Practice by the American Society of Civil Engineers, with TRU Compliance Director Andy Coughlin as coauthor. TRU’s practice in this arena includes Blast, Ballistics, Vehicle Impact and Forced Entry services. This is possible through TRU’s partnerships with leading test laboratories such as Oregon Ballistics Labs, Stone-OBL, BakerRisk, Calspan, and others. Physical Security certification by TRU is accredited by the International Accreditation Service and compliments TRU’s accredited Seismic and Wind Certifications.

News & Views, Volume 46 | TRU Compliance Achieves Accreditation as a Product Certification Body

July 1, 2019/in Andy Coughlin, Critical Structures, News and Views, TRU Compliance/by Structural Integrity

By: Andy Coughlin

TRU Compliance, a division of Structural Integrity Associates, announced in March the achievement of accreditation from the International Accreditation Service (IAS) as a product certification body for seismic, wind, and blast/physical security performance of nonstructural components. According to the International Accreditation Service, TRU Compliance is the second company to be certified for Seismic performance of non-structural components and the first company to be certified for Wind and Blast/Physical Security performance.

“This is a significant milestone for Structural Integrity and our certification agency, TRU Compliance,” Chris Larsen, Vice President of Critical Structures at Structural Integrity comments. “The accreditation further validates our robust program as well as our comprehensive approach, which not only meets the stringent guidelines of the ISO standards but offers our customers a full scope solution for product certification”.

News & Views, Volume 45 | Proving Performance – What Distinguishes an ISO-Compliant Product Certification Agency?

January 1, 2019/in Andy Coughlin, Critical Structures, News and Views, TRU Compliance/by Structural Integrity

By: Andy Coughlin

Whether it’s fair-trade coffee, sustain-ably harvested lumber, energy efficient appliances, or other certified products, consumers and companies look for products that have high standards of origin, production, and performance. Structural Integrity Associates’ TRU Compliance mark is no different. Our mark shows buyers a product has undergone rigorous assessment for seismic, wind, and blast performance to nationally recognized standards.

However, not all agencies conform to the internationally recognized set of standards that govern a product certification agency, allowing it to be impartial, objective, and accountable to the public. The standard ISO/IEC 17065 Conformity assessment — Requirements for bodies certifying products, processes and services spells out requirements that make agencies like TRU Compliance accountable to its clients and to the public. The requirements in TRU Compliance’s Certification Manual are broad, but they generally fall into the three categories below.

News & Views, Volume 44 | The Impact of the ASCE 7-16 Standard on Seismic Design and Certification of Equipment

April 27, 2018/in News and Views, Seismic, Structural Assessments, TRU Compliance/by Structural Integrity

By: Matt Tobolski

Things change, that’s just a fact of life. But when it comes to engineering codes and standards, change can be confusing, frustrating and expensive. As it relates to seismic design and certification of equipment, it is beneficial to understand the impact of code changes early to begin incorporating requirements in new equipment design, product updates and in the certification process.

One of the main structural design codes used in the United States and abroad, American Society of Civil Engineering (ASCE) 7, undergoes revisions on a five-year cycle. These revisions are based on input from committee members, building officials, interested parties and academia with the goal of ensuring specific performance objectives are achieved as well as incorporating lessons learned from practice. With the increase in enforcement of seismic certification provisions over the past 10 years, there has been a noticeable increase in industry lessons learned. The updates to the seismic provisions in ASCE 7-16 relating to equipment design and certification can primarily be attributed to these lessons learned.

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