Earthquakes are a big deal in California. There’s even an earthquake tracker to let you check in on the thousands of earthquakes that happen each year in that region alone.
Granted, most of these earthquakes won’t be felt, but there are always a few that threaten to cause mass damage. That’s why the designers of the San Francisco International Airport came up with a creative way to use ball bearings to help the structure withstand earthquakes.
WHAT THE SAN FRANCISCO INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT DID
People don’t typically think of ball bearings as being too big, but they can come in all sizes, depending on what you need. For the designers of the San Francisco Airport, they needed steel ball bearings that are five feet in diameter to help support every one of their 267 columns.
HOW BEARINGS MAKE IT WORK
Each massive ball bearing rests in a concave base that is connected to the ground. The airport’s support column is then held up by the ball, which is designed to support a massive amount of weight.
When an earthquake hits, the ground can move up to 20 inches in any direction. The bearing allows the base of the columns to shift with shaking the rest of the building nearly as much, minimizing the earthquake’s impact. After the earthquake is over, gravity will cause the columns to become centered again. How Stuff Works has a visual demonstration so that you can see for yourself how the bearing is used.
GET BEARINGS THAT MATCH YOUR APPLICATIONS
A five-meter diameter bearing won’t be needed for most designs, but your applications may call for other specialized options. If you’re in need of a large selection of high-quality bearings, give us a call at 1-800-431-1980 or contact us online today.