TICO Structural Bearings
Vibration travelling throughout a structure can cause great annoyance. If unchecked it can be transmitted to the most remote parts of a building and re-radiate as noise. This noise can be a particular nuisance in rooms and buildings where quiet is of paramount importance.
The sources of vibration are numerous and may involve ground-borne vibration transmitted from nearby transport networks through foundations, or noise from one room in a building, e.g. a plant room, travelling through floors and walls to another.
TICO Structural Bearings, in combination with TICO Resilient Seatings, provide a complete solution for the problem of structural borne vibration and can be used to isolate an entire building from its foundation, or one part of a structure from another.
Hover over the above image and click on the different area's to see some typical TICO structural bearing installations
TICO Structural Bearings can be engineered to provide the optimum performance requirements of a particular project. They are easy to install, are maintenance free and offer a long dependable service life.
Typical TICO structural bearing incorporating multiple elastomer bearings and failsafe components
One of the key factors in designing an isolation system is ensuring that the system’s natural frequency is significantly less then the main frequency of the vibration causing the disturbance- the ‘disturbing frequency’.
It is of paramount importance that the design of an isolation system is considered at an early stage as it has wide ranging implications for the rest of the building structure. Our Technical department will be pleased to assist at every stage in the design process.
When the natural frequency is approximately 30% of the disturbing frequency, the vibration transmitted into the structure will be attenuated by more than 80%. Flexibility of the structure and foundations will affect the final result and as such the dynamic behaviour of a resiliently mounted structure can sometimes be difficult to determine. In modern applications, the typical design natural frequencies normally required of an isolation system are of the order of 8-12 Hz, although this can vary. It is a fundamental requirement that the disturbing frequency is accurately identified as any vibration near to the natural frequency of the bearing may cause resonance and amplification of the disturbance within the structure.
Installation of TICO structural bearings on the Tsing Ma Bridge bridge in Hong Kong. In excess of 10,000 TICO structual bearing units where used in its construction. It is the world's seventh-longest span suspension bridge, and was the second longest at time of completion.
Elastomeric bearings form a critical component in many structures and thus it is important that they are specified correctly, and that their properties are suitable for the intended application. The use of elastomeric bearings in structures is covered by British Standard BS6177:1982 ‘Guide to selection and use of elastomeric bearings for vibration isolation of buildings’. This comprehensive standard covers aspects of design and also sets physical parameters for the performance of bearing materials. Tiflex test and manufacture all of our bearings in accordance with this standard.
The selection of bearings for a particular application is dependant on many factors. It is Tiflex’ custom to work closely with consultants and engineers who are specialists in the fields of acoustics and construction to provide the best solution. When considering isolation of buildings and structures we strongly recommend consulting a suitably qualified acoustic consultant.
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TICO CV/CA high stress structural bearings - Suitable for isolation of medium to large sized buildings and constructions. TICO CV/CA has a long history of use in isolating major structures and large high rise buildings from ground-borne vibration in cities, and can also be successfully employed in some bridge bearing applications.
For more information on pricing please contact us.