High Impact Shock Testing

Life safety and critical mission equipment used in buildings most always have some dependency on electrical services and equipment (e.g., fire pump controllers, alarming, announcing and monitoring systems, etc.). In typical building construction for electrical equipment and devices, engineering assumptions are that such critical equipment reside in a safe, static environment, absent environmental or man-made conditions, such as blast and shock that could impact equipment reliability and operations. Therefore, and with little exception, (e.g., seismic, concerns) shock testing and shock performance requirements for such equipment and systems are not common considerations, and there is little in the way of shock guidance to guide engineers in the design-development of commercial systems as used in buildings. However, dealing with shock and blast issues are a normal part of business when addressing equipment and systems used in marine combatant vessels, and shock testing requirements of shipboard machinery, equipment, and systems may be exportable, with little modification, to building vital systems, while incurring little added expense. This paper describes the testing procedures and methods used to qualify U.S. Navy items as Class A and Class B shock hardened and discusses how such requirements can be made to apply to vital building systems. Many items of furniture, equipment, and critical systems relying on electrical services have been designed, tested and approved per such requirements. Commercial buildings using this technology will be better able to withstand and survive shock loads caused by blast and other environmental factors.