In Kyrgyzstan, testing of four types of facade systems for earthquake resistance up to magnitude 10 has concluded. Arstanbek Duisheev, Deputy Director of the State Institute of Earthquake-Resistant Construction and Engineering Design under the Ministry of Construction, announced the testing results at a meeting of construction ministers from the 'Central Asia — China' format.
Testing Process
A special vibration table was used to test the materials, consisting of a metal frame measuring 6x6 meters with a floor height of 3.3 meters. A vibration machine created the dynamic load, acting on the structure through the rotation of shafts with additional weights.
Test Results and Identified Defects
During the first series of tests, specialists examined the following types of systems:
- large-format porcelain stoneware tiles
- large-format ceramics
- fiber cement panels
- aluminum composite panels
The tests revealed weak points in some structures. According to Arstanbek Duisheev, during the second stage, the large-format ceramics sustained damage in the form of central joint separation. As the load was further increased during the third stage, some panels fell out due to the failure of connections with the load-bearing aluminum profiles.
After identifying these shortcomings, specialists refined the systems, after which two of them were retested in a second series of tests.
