[RASMB] How to run an AUC in an earthquake...

[John Philo]

Ren,
 
First, I'm sure Beckman will tell you that the centrifuge is designed (and
tested) to totally contain a complete rotor failure even at 60K rpm. I've
seen the 'block house' lab where they do this testing, and believe me the
guy who does this loves his work! Some of the prep rotors have significantly
higher total kinetic energy than the analytical, so really if one is going
to make a fuss about this they are the bigger worry.
 
Further, my XL-A was actually running when the LA area was hit by a
magnitude 6.7 earthquake (in '94 if my memory is working). No damage
whatsoever (just a lost run due to lack of electricity). I don't recall
clearly what the rotor speed was at the time but it was likely 60K and
almost surely 40K or higher. Amgen was 15-20 km from the epicenter of that
one, and there was significant damage to the labs and buildings in the area.
 
So, as your Aussie neighbors say, "no worries".
 
John

  _____  

From: rasmb-bounces at rasmb.bbri.org [mailto:rasmb-bounces at rasmb.bbri.org] On
Behalf Of Renwick Dobson
Sent: Tuesday, May 17, 2011 5:19 PM
To: rasmb at rasmb.bbri.org
Cc: HRoberts at beckman.com
Subject: [RASMB] How to run an AUC in an earthquake...


Hi All,

Some of you may know that there has been a lot of seismic activity around
Christchurch, New Zealand in the past year, and this is predicted to
continue for some time.  

I'm in the process of purchasing an AUC for my new lab at the University of
Canterbury, Christchurch, but this has now stalled because of safety
concerns, i.e. I've been asked whether it is safe to run an AUC in a 6.0
magnitude aftershock.  There are AUC instruments in other areas of the world
where earthquakes occur, for instance Japan or California, and I wondered
how others have overcome this problem.  Are there any particular safety
procedures that are implemented?  What are the real risks?  Could the rotor
come through the shielding at 45K if it did move?

The issue has evolved largely from running preparative ultracentrifuges,
which often run at higher speeds.  However, it seems that people are happy
to run bench top centrifuges at to say 20K without major safety concerns.
Perhaps the best argument is simply to state that we run the AUC at lower
speeds compared to preparative ultracentrifuges? Or perhaps only do runs
overnight? Or have the AUC on the ground floor, where ground movement is
lower compared to upper floors?

Any advice to overcome this issue would be welcomed!

Cheers
Ren

********************************************************************
Dr Renwick Dobson
Lecturer
School of Biological Sciences
University of Canterbury
Christchurch
New Zealand
E: renwick.dobson at canterbury.ac.nz
T: ++64 (03) 364-2987
F: ++64 (03) 364-2590
http://www.biol.canterbury.ac.nz/people/dobson.shtml
********************************************************************
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://list.rasmb.org/pipermail/rasmb-rasmb.org/attachments/20110517/68134c88/attachment.htm>