IQ Winter 2012 - (Page 22)

INDustrIAl/process/reseArch fAcIlItIes//stAte of the sector// a one-piece, all-aluminum, 18-foot vibration table that can hold 75,000 pounds of dead weight and test an article up to 75 feet tall. Because vibration tests occur in vertical (X) and lateral (Y and Z) axes, the team designed the system so the test article could be tested on any axis without repositioning. SAIC connected 16 vertical actuators, four horizontal actuators and 16 spherical couplings to the vibration table, powering the system components with an 800-gpm, 3,160-psi hydraulic power system. The project team also designed and fabricated a Construction Integration Fixture (CIF) to support integration, testing and verification of the MVF. The CIF was instrumental in tuning and validating performance of the MVF and maintaining the schedule. Another main feature of the VTC is a 1,024-channel digital data-acquisition system that reads the facility’s strain gauges, microphones, force, acceleration and displacement instruments at 256 KB per second. The VTC project was officially completed on Sept. 20, 2011. Since then, NASA engineers have developed scenarios to test various pieces of spaceexploration equipment and components; official testing was set to start at press time. With the VTC, NASA and private firms alike can test equipment to safely go where few have gone before. BILL “DaVID” aBShEr IS a rEGIStErED archItEct anD SErVED aS thE chIEf EnGInEEr anD DIrEctor for DESIGn for thE naSa Vtc proJEct. BaSED In SaIc’S oKLahoMa cItY offIcE, aBShEr haS aLMoSt 40 YEarS of EXpErIEncE In thE DESIGn anD conStructIon InDuStrY. project: Vibro-Acoustic Test Capability Facility location: Plumbrook Station, Sandusky, Ohio owner: NASA Glenn Research Center Design-Builder: SAIC Constructors, LLC Architect and engineer: SAIC Energy, Environment & Infrastructure, LLC specialty consultants: TEAM, Aiolos and Zin Technologies specialty contractors: Commercial Contracting Corp., Triangle Electric and John E. Green Rosendin Electric / 22 winter//2012 the quarterly publication of the design-build institute of america http://www.rosendin.com

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of IQ Winter 2012

IQ Winter 2012