In modern gymnasiums, floor vibrations caused by various activities can be a significant issue, particularly when the gym is situated on higher floors of a multi-story office building. DEICON recently addressed this challenge by supplying two tuned mass dampers (TMDs) to mitigate vibrations in the floor system of one such gym on the 2nd floor of an office building. These vibrations stem from rhythmic activities like cycling, as well as abrupt, impulsive, and random events such as dropped weights and the movement of exercise machines.
To tackle this issue, DEICON first modeled the most vibration-prone portion of the floor system to predict its natural frequencies and mode shapes. This modeling was followed by physical measurements of floor vibrations to verify the model. The verified first natural frequency was then used in design and tuning of two 2000 lb TMDs, targeting the floor’s first mode of vibration. The corresponding mode shape helped determine the optimal installation locations for the TMDs.
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