Product certification for seismic bracing of buildings

Core Content of Certification

The product certification for seismic bracing in buildings revolves around the structural safety and seismic performance of the products, with core assessments focusing on the following dimensions:

General Requirements: The design, manufacture, and inspection of seismic bracing shall comply with the provisions of GB/T 37267-2018. The products shall meet their functional requirements within the building and ensure sufficient load-bearing capacity and deformation capacity under seismic action.

Material and Component Requirements: The materials and components used in seismic bracing, such as steel, fasteners, and connectors, shall comply with the provisions of relevant national standards. Anti-electrochemical corrosion measures shall be taken between dissimilar metal materials.

Appearance and Dimensional Requirements: The product surface shall be smooth and flat, free from defects such as cracks, bubbles, scars, rust, inclusions, and folds. The welding appearance shall be smooth and uniform, free from defects such as porosity, slag inclusion, cracks, lack of fusion, incomplete filling, and weld overlap. Product dimensional deviations shall meet the standard requirements.

Mechanical Performance Requirements: Seismic bracing shall have sufficient stiffness and strength, and shall not yield or fail under design loads. The standard specifies the load-bearing capacity requirements for seismic bracing under axial and lateral loads, as well as the deformation capacity requirements for connection nodes.

Seismic Performance Requirements: Products shall undergo type testing under simulated seismic action to verify their seismic performance at the fortification intensity. Seismic performance is a core technical indicator for the certification of seismic bracing in buildings.

Corrosion Resistance Requirements: Effective anti-corrosion measures shall be taken for carbon structural steel and low-alloy high-strength structural steel. When hot-dip galvanizing is used for anti-corrosion treatment, it shall comply with the provisions of GB/T 13912; when other anti-corrosion coatings are used, the coating thickness shall meet the standard requirements.

Certification Mode and Process

The product certification for seismic bracing in buildings adopts a certification mode that includes type testing, initial factory inspection, and post-certification supervision.

The basic procedures for certification include: certification application, product type testing, initial factory inspection, evaluation and approval of certification results, and post-certification supervision and re-evaluation.

Certification Application: The applicant submits an application to the certification body, providing documents such as business registration certificates, product descriptions, and relevant raw material inspection reports. The certification body reviews the materials and provides feedback within five days. Certification units are generally divided based on the same producer, same manufacturer, same category, same material, same structure, and same type.

Product Type Testing: Using a sample submission method, the typical product with the largest external dimensions within the certification unit is selected for testing. Type testing is carried out by laboratories commissioned by the certification body, in accordance with the GB/T 37267-2018 standard. If a certificate is not issued within 12 months from the date of issuance of the product type test report, the type test shall be repeated.

Initial Factory Inspection: This includes document review and on-site factory inspection. The document review focuses on factory information, quality management system, organizational structure, product characteristics, and production process flow. The on-site factory inspection is conducted based on the quality control requirements of the manufacturer, assessing the factory's quality assurance capability and product consistency. The initial factory inspection man-days are determined based on the production scale of the factory, typically ranging from 2 to 5 man-days.

Certification Decision and Certificate Issuance: Upon passing both the type test and factory inspection, the certification body conducts a comprehensive evaluation, approves the certification decision, and issues the certificate.

Post-Certification Supervision: Regular supervision audits are conducted after certification to ensure that products continuously meet certification requirements. Supervision includes factory quality assurance capability inspection, product consistency inspection, and product supervision testing.

Value of Certification

Ensuring Building Seismic Safety: Seismic bracing in buildings is an important seismic measure for building electromechanical systems, and its quality directly affects the functional integrity of the building during an earthquake. Certification effectively verifies the load-bearing capacity of products under simulated seismic action, ensuring the normal operation of the building's "lifeline" systems during an earthquake.

Meeting Project Bidding Requirements: In the procurement of equipment and construction bidding for building engineering projects, the certification certificate for seismic bracing products is a core qualification for admission. Currently, domestic certification bodies have begun conducting performance certification for seismic bracing products based on national standards, and certification certificates are widely recognized in engineering projects. In May 2023, Jianlang Hardware obtained the first CABR certification certificate for seismic bracing products in the country, marking the official launch of domestic seismic bracing product certification work.

Promoting Healthy Industry Development: Before the release of the GB/T 37267-2018 standard, there was a lack of corresponding domestic certification standards in China, and many projects used foreign certifications as bid evaluation criteria. Foreign certifications often only focused on the fire performance testing of single metal components. The release of the standard and the establishment of the certification system have effectively promoted the standardized development of the domestic bracing market.

Enhancing Product Quality: The certification process forces companies to establish standardized production process systems and quality control systems, covering aspects such as material selection, welding processes, galvanizing thickness control, and dimensional accuracy inspection, thereby improving overall technical management levels.