Shake Table Study on the Seismic Response of Medical Equipment on Wheels/Casters

Abstract eng:
This paper presents an experimental investigation on the seismic response of medical equipment supported on wheels and casters. The test specimen was a large ultrasound machine, commonly found in hospitals. An extensive shake table testing program was carried out to understand and quantify the behavior of the equipment. The input signals for the shake table tests included floor motions of a four-story steel braced-frame hospital designed to satisfy seismic requirements of a site in the Los Angeles area. The results of the shake table tests reported in this paper include the seismic performance of the equipment under both unlocked and locked conditions, located on various floor levels of the building. It was observed that engaging the casters’ locking mechanism does not necessarily decrease the relative displacement. The displacement response was sensitive to the excitation intensity and the orientation of the equipment with respect to the input excitation.

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