Equipment Seismic Restraint Design For Nonstructural Systems
VIE Engineers provides equipment anchorage design for MEP equipment, computer equipment, ceilings and walls, and process equipment. This service is provided for airport facilities, data centers, medical office buildings, office buildings, performing arts venues, universities, hospitals, industrial facilities, mixed-use high-rise buildings, government buildings, and more.
About Equipment Anchorage Design
Inadequately restrained MEP equipment can be knocked off of supporting structures during seismic events, threatening life safety and increasing damage to property. Equipment seismic restraint systems improve the security and resilience of nonstructural systems.
Equipment anchorage keeps nonstructural components from moving during a seismic event. Each seismic restraint includes a connection between the restraint and nonstructural component, the main element of the restraint, and a connection between the restraint and the structural element.
Equipment over a certain weight must have seismic anchorage designed and engineered. MEP lines over 2.5” in diameter in commercial construction projects must be seismically braced. VIE can provide calculations, drawings, and designs to provide the most efficient, economical results for each project.
VIE’s equipment anchorage design mitigates the risk of nonstructural components becoming unstable during an earthquake and allows them to remain secure and operational. This reduces costs associated with repairing earthquake damage and improves life safety of structures.
40+ Years Of Experience
VIE’s engineers have over 40 years of experience designing equipment anchorage systems. VIE has completed equipment anchorage design, seismic bracing design, and seismic equipment support designs for hundreds of projects. In the past 7 years alone, VIE’s design work has a total construction value approaching $10 billion.
VIE’s equipment anchorage designs are efficient, to code, and value-based rather than over-engineering and increasing overall project costs. Our engineers focus on critical areas related to equipment anchorage calculations and designs, such as:
- Distribution of non-structural forces to the height of the building.
- Response modification coefficients for nonstructural components and systems.
- Over-strength factors used in anchorage design.
- Non-structural component and system performance metrics.
Previous Equipment Anchorage Design Projects
Prior equipment anchorage design projects have included:
- The Salt Lake City Airport Terminal Replacement Project. VIE has been providing seismic bracing design and equipment anchorage design serves on the $4.5 Billion project continuously from 2017 to the present.
- The UVRMC Hospital. VIE provided design of seismic restraints for electrical systems.
- Block 136, Portland, Oregon. VIE provided design of seismic restraints for electrical systems.
- Utah Data Center. VIE provided seismic equipment restraint for one of the largest, most complex data centers in the United States: the NSA Utah Data Center.
- George And Dolores Dore Eccles Theatre. VIE provided seismic restraint design for nonstructural systems for the Eccles Theatre. This is a 2500 seat facility to host Broadway shows and philharmonic concerts.
- Huntsman Cancer Institute. VIE provided seismic restraint design for nonstructural systems for one of the largest cancer treatment centers in the United States.
- Rockwell International Headquarters Seismic Retrofit. VIE was responsible for seismic anchorage and bracing design of all interior components of this critical computer facility and corporate headquarters.
In total, VIE has developed equipment anchorage drawings for over one hundred projects. Many of these projects have included multiple buildings within the same overall project. If needed, VIE can provide further information for this work.