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Types Of Vibration Control For Industrial Buildings

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As an illustration of the damaging effects of vibration, consider this: When removing concrete from the base of a metal post, all you have to do is pound on the post with a hammer. The waves of vibration traveling up the post will shatter the concrete. In an industrial setting, machinery can vibrate against the frame of a building or the pad on which the machinery rests to damaging effect. You also have to consider the effects of ground vibrations due to seismic activity. Thus, vibration control is a key consideration when designing an industrial installation. 

Isolating Machinery

A piece of machinery attached to the frame of a building can send waves of vibration through the frame of the building. These vibrations can unsettle masonry and cause collapse if left unchecked. Many engineers will use rubber washers and/or metal springs to absorb the vibrations from machinery. This is sometimes called decoupling. It is also important to isolate a motor from the floor it rests on. Again rubber washers and/or springs are commonly used to separate the engine mounts from the floor. 

Seismic Vibration Control

It should be obvious that earthquakes can topple buildings, but this is more of a problem in buildings that are not designed to handle the dangerous vibrations unleashed by a tremor. Buildings will need much larger dampening mechanisms to decouple them from the ground they rest on. Some buildings will only require passive dampening devices like springs or rubber pads. Other buildings can benefit from active dampening devices that use electronic instruments to measure the vibration coming from the ground and adjust the way they operate to counteract the exact waves of vibration they receive. 

Retrofitting

Newer buildings which are built in an earthquake zone should have already been engineered with vibration control in mind. On the other hand, older buildings may need to be retrofitted. Before you buy an industrial building, you should ask what sort of vibration control it has received. In some cases, you may not want to buy if the building has not been retrofitted. However, you might also decide to negotiate the cost of retrofitting a building into the cost of buying the building. 

In order to get the most from your industrial equipment, you need to work with an engineer who understands the effects of vibration and can design dampening systems that will negate it. Otherwise you could quite literally cause your building to come crashing down around you. 

For more information, contact a company such as Bancroft Western Sales Ltd aikawa fiber. 


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