Location: Tekirdağ, Çorlu, Türkiye
Client: Unilever
Scale: 3,400 m2


The post-earthquake sustainability of the Margarine Production Unit at the Unilever Çorlu Facility in Tekirdağ, Türkiye, was assessed. The unit comprises three reinforced concrete buildings interconnected by steel trusses. These buildings were found to fall short of the seismic performance requirements outlined in the Turkish Earthquake Code. Given their critical role in production, a retrofit design was implemented to address these deficiencies with minimal disruption to business operations.

The retrofit design incorporated viscous dampers to enhance the performance of the buildings in their weaker direction. Of the 10 dampers installed, eight were arranged in a diagonal bracing configuration, while the remaining two were placed horizontally in a chevron bracing configuration to avoid clashes with mechanical equipment. The dampers were designed with damping force capacities of 500 kN for the horizontal configuration and 750 kN for the diagonal configuration. This solution proved highly efficient in mitigating seismic forces.