Teknikum’s vibration isolation solution enabled the construction of TYKS Lighthouse Hospital above a railway track and busy highway

Teknikum has decades of experience in rubber bearing solutions and material development for demanding buildings and industrial plants. For the TYKS Lighthouse Hospital, which was opened in February 2022, an exceptional location above a railway track and a busy highway created a special challenge. The Teknikum’s rubber plate bearings are always made to order in cooperation with the project’s leading engineering company.

Acoustically demanding spaces and a challenging location

In addition to the patient and examination rooms, the Lighthouse Hospital, which was opened in February 2022, will house a hearing examination center and sleep examination facilities with higher-than-usual acoustic requirements. In addition, the hospital’s laboratory facilities have particularly sensitive measuring equipment, and the research and imaging equipment itself also generates noise.

The Lighthouse Hospital is the only hospital in the Nordic countries built above a railway and highway. The exceptional and demanding location set the bar high for acoustic design.

Cost effective rubber plate bearings

The structural noise and vibration caused by traffic was eventually controlled and cancelled with rubber plate bearings placed under the buildings deck structure. In total, there’s more than 600 isolators of five different types installed. This solution enables long-lasting and reliable vibration insulation in concrete structures.

“Teknikum has been developing vibration insulation solutions for more than 40 years. The rubber grades manufactured at our Kerava factory in Finland have been developed in our own laboratory, and our chemist’s special expertise is environmentally friendly rubber grades for this kind of demanding projects, ”says Mr. Riku Sivula, Teknikum’s Director of Moulded products BU.

Rubber plate bearings manufactured at Teknikum’s Sastamala plant are always custom-made. The working pair is the engineering office responsible for the acoustic design of the site.

“The measurement of the vibration and structural noise control of the Lighthouse Hospital was based on vibration measurements made in the area. The damping was implemented as part of the deck bearing, which resulted in a cost-effective solution for isolating vibration and noise from rail traffic, ”says Mr. Timo Huhtala from AINS Group, Engineering Director in charge of the Lighthouse Hospital’s acoustics.

The characteristic frequency target for the solution was set to a maximum of 20 Hz and to a maximum of 30 Hz during harsh winter frosts.

Expertise in material development, mould design and rubber-metal connections

“Teknikum serves engineering offices in an agile way. We have the capacity to manufacture various rubber bearings, cylindrical and square reinforced with metal sheets, depending on the requirements of the site. The largest rubber bearings in the Lighthouse Hospital are 700 x 700 x 68 mm, but we have also made larger ones”, says Mr. Sivula.

“Teknikum has the best raw material knowledge in the industry, as well as mould design, manufacturing expertise and the ability to quick deliveries,” Mr. Sivula adds.

Over the decades, Teknikum has manufactured hundreds of custom-made rubber plate bearings for European industrial plants and bridge refurbishment projects.

FACT

• The new Lighthouse Hospital of Turku University Central Hospital, built in Kupittaa, Finland, will be opened on a rolling basis from 31 January to 11 February 2022.
• The new building is located on top of the railway and the Helsinki highway, connecting the T-hospital located across the ways and the Medisiina D building into one functional entity.
• The total area of ​​the building is about 55,000 brm2 (brm2 = Gross area in square meters)
• Hartela was the project management contractor, and Reino Koivula Oy and Schauman Arkkitehdit Oy were the architects. The acoustic design was the responsibility of AINS Group.
• Teknikum is a Finnish industrial group that specializes in e.g. demanding polymer molded products and vibration insulation solutions. Other company’s products and services include Industrial Hoses, Railway Rubber Level Crossing Elements, Rubber Lining of tanks and pipes, Technical Foam and material handling solutions for the Mining Industry.

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