Industrial Research Office Partners with Local Industry
By: Lisa R. Weidman
It began with a conversation between the Penn State Industrial Research Office (IRO) and the Penn State Berks Office of Continuing Education and Outreach about how the two could work together on collaborative research. The IRO assists companies in identifying and accessing Penn State faculty expertise and research centers, and works to foster University-industry research partnerships. Staff members have both an engineering background and industry experience.
Berks had an ongoing relationship with EnerSys, the world’s largest industrial battery company with world headquarters in Reading, PA. EnerSys had expressed an interest in working with the University, so representatives from the IRO visited the company to explore how EnerSys could benefit from a partnership with Penn State.
The IRO listened to the company’s needs and Dr. Ali Memari, Associate Professor of Architectural Engineering at Penn State, submitted a proposal based on those needs. That was the beginning of an ongoing research project in which Memari is working with EnerSys to ensure that their line of battery racks for buildings meet the seismic design criteria of the International Building Code (IBC).
Memari explains that many buildings and facilities such as communication centers, computer centers, hospitals, and police and other emergency units rely on batteries to provide emergency power supply in case power is lost due to various reasons including damage to power lines during storms.
In certain natural events such as earthquakes, not only the power in the region or in the building may be interrupted, but the racks that support the batteries may also be susceptible to damage, compromising the needed emergency power right after the earthquake. This could lead to devastating consequences.
One of the most important objectives for the design of battery racks is to ensure that the battery racks be able to provide the intended function of supporting the batteries and preventing their fall during and after an earthquake. Therefore, the racks should be designed for seismic loads such that they will not deflect excessively and will maintain their structural integrity without overstressing the supporting members.
Prior to year 2000, most of the seismic design criteria were based on Uniform Building Code (UBC) provisions. Since year 2000, the International Building Code (IBC) has been adopted in the United States, in effect replacing the UBC. Since most current designs of battery racks have been developed based on UBC, such designs need to be evaluated based on the most recent code: IBC 2006.
EnerSys had previously designed and certified a line of battery racks for buildings that required seismically qualified systems under the UBC code. Because of the need for seismic qualification of current rack systems based on IBC, EnerSys has recently started collaboration with Penn State toward the transitioning to IBC. Dr. Ali Memari is the principal investigator of the project that will convert the various UBC-based designs of battery racks to conform to IBC.
Steven J. Weik (Penn State Class of 1983), Vice President of Global Operations Engineering for EnerSys, commented, “Collaboration with Penn State is yet another aspect of our business operations that exemplifies our world-class position. Teaming up with Dr. Ali Memari and Penn State shows our commitment to providing the best solutions possible to our valued customers.”
For more information on how the IRO can assist your company in identifying and accessing Penn State faculty expertise and research centers, contact the Penn State Berks Office of Continuing Education and Outreach at 610-396-6225 or visit the IRO Web site at www.iro.psu.edu.