Seismic microzoning certificate to Arkadag city as sincere appreciation of Armenian-Turkmen friendship

ArmInfo. Certificate of seismic  microzoning to the city of Arkadag as a sincere appreciation of the  Armenian-Turkmen friendship.

As is known, on June 29, a solemn ceremony of opening the newly built  city of Arkadag was held 30 kilometers southwest of Ashgabat in Akhal  velayat. The opening ceremony was led by President of Turkmenistan  Serdar Berdimuhamedow. The national flag was raised to the anthem of  Turkmenistan, after which a festive parade was held and song and  musical compositions were demonstrated, the city was awarded  certificates of quality, including those from the Armenian Scientific  Institution.  Delegations from many countries were invited to the  opening ceremony, including the delegation of the Republic of Armenia  consisting of Chairman of the Urban Development Committee Armen  Ghularyan and Director, Head of the Laboratory of Engineering  Seismology, Seismic Impact Analysis and Seismic Hazard Assessment of  the Institute of Geophysics and Engineering Seismology of the  National Academy of Sciences of the Republic of Armenia named after  A. Nazarov Jon Karapetyan.

In a conversation with ArmInfo correspondent Jon Karapetyan, Director  of A.Nazarov Institute of Geophysics and Engineering Seismology of  the NAS RA, when asked to tell about the certificate issued by their  Institute to the city, noted that, as a rule, during the design of  cities and buildings, work is carried out on seismic microzoning.   According to him, their goal is to study the engineering and  geological conditions of the site where the buildings will be  erected. Mr. Karapetyan added that another important task before  construction is to assess the impact of the construction of these  buildings on the seismic component of these territories. < Correct  assessment is very important in terms of earthquake risk reduction.   During the construction of the city, we actively interacted. They  prepared a certificate of accomplishment, which was drawn up in  direct cooperation and consultation with us. Thanks to our close  interaction, a city has been built equipped with strategic facilities  - schools, hospitals, kindergartens, etc., where, in addition to the  work already done, it is necessary to carry out monitoring through  seismic stations>, the expert emphasized.

In this context, he noted that, as a rule, such devices are installed  not in the city itself, but in the surrounding area in order to avoid  noise generated by vehicles and people.

earthquake, seismic hazards of territories, and determining the  degree of vulnerability of buildings. As part of this visit, we met  with the director of the Institute of Seismology of Turkmenistan, as  well as with the head of the National Academy of Sciences of  Turkmenistan, and an agreement was reached on cooperation and  prospects. Issues of seismic safety of the city and monitoring by  means of seismic instruments were also discussed. We have reached an  agreement to install in the city of Arkadag two sets of devices  produced by our Institute for monitoring>, Mr.  Karapetyan noted. 

At the same time, he emphasized that it is planned to install devices  in Arkadag. According to him, the Armenian and Turkmen sides agreed  to jointly analyze and publish the data received. "It is important  for us to monitor earthquakes in order to have an idea about the  seismic stability of predicted earthquakes," the scientist  emphasized.

At the same time, referring to the characteristics of Armenian  sensors, Karapetyan noted that their Institute produces seismometers  and velocimeters that measure the speed of ground vibrations and are  used both for organizing regional seismic stations and remote ones.  He drew attention to the fact that imported analogues of such devices  are very expensive.

< And various (in terms of the frequency of instruments) seismic  sensors are being developed at the A.Nazarov Institute of Geophysics  and Engineering Seismology of the NAS RA, in the department of  geophysical instrumentation and in the production workshop, there are  short-period and long-period sensors. According to him, short-term  ones are used for regional studies, and long-term ones for remote  studies.  , Mr.  Karapetyan explained, pointing out the importance of having our own  earthquake monitoring devices and not being dependent on other states  in this area.

He noted that the technical characteristics produced at the Institute  are in no way inferior to modern international seismic sensors and  are much cheaper at cost.

Arkadag, named after the second president of Turkmenistan Gurbanguly  Berdimuhamedov, is the first city in Central Asia,which fully  complies with modern international standards presented to "smart"  cities. On March 24, 2023, a new Law of Turkmenistan came into force,  according to which a special legal status is assigned to the city of  Arkadag - a city of state significance.

The city of Arkadag is a mega project, which was launched in 2019.  Built within three years, this beautiful city is equipped with modern  residential complexes of buildings and facilities for social purposes  - schools, kindergartens of the hospital, as well as a medical and  recreational children's center. 8 schools (for 720 places), 19  kindergartens (320 places), a stadium with a capacity of up to 10  thousand spectators, a Health House, a multidisciplinary hospital,  cultural and leisure institutions, departments of state institutions,  etc.

For comfortable living of the population, as well as ensuring minimal  damage and safety in new residential buildings in the city of  Arkadag, a general control system is installed in each apartment,  with the help of which each resident can control the condition of his  apartment. This system includes the installation of five key  components: meters with support for the Automated System for  Commercial Metering of Energy and Powr (ASCAPC); methane leak sensor;  water leakage sensor; valves blocking gas and water; controllers.

The "Smart Home" software will allow you to monitor energy  consumption and receive notification of an accident. This is possible  because electricity, water (cold and hot), gas meters are connected  to the Central Controller. Through the software  application, a resident of an apartment can track and make payments  on time. Readings from all meters will be available to the relevant  services. And the methane leakage sensors installed in all apartments  are aimed at preventing an explosive situation in the apartment and  poisoning residents with gas. In turn, the water leakage sensor makes  it possible to exclude the possibility of flooding the apartment and  additional costs for its repair. All signals from the sensors are  sent to the Central Controller that controls the SMART HOUSE system,  from where the problem is notified, including to the owner of the  apartment via SMS.

The city of Arkadag is designed to accommodate 40,000 people. The  implementation of this megaproject was preceded by a wide range of  scientific and survey work on microzoning and assessment of  engineering-geological and seismic conditions of its various  sections. In Arkadag, the work was carried out by the Institute of  Seismology and Atmospheric Physics of the Academy of Sciences of  Turkmenistan, with which, as Mr. Karapetyan noted above, they have a  memorandum of understanding for research in this area, as well as in  the field of seismology, geophysics, seismic safety. On this basis,  the Institute of Geophysics and Engineering Seismology named after A.  Nazarov of the National Academy of Sciences of the Republic of  Armenia issued a Quality Certificate for the performed scientific and  survey work on seismic microzoning and ensuring seismic safety of the  territory of the city of Arkadag. This is one of 21 certificates the  city received on its opening day.