Earthquake Technology:
Shock Absorbers
Shock AbsorbersA shock absorber is a device that controls unwanted spring motion in your car. Shock absorbers slow down and reduce the magnitude of vibrations by turning the kinetic energy of your bouncing suspension into heat energy that can be dissipated through hydraulic fluid. In physics, this is known as damping, which is why some people refer to shock absorbers as dampers.
Turns out, dampers can also be useful when designing earthquake-resistant buildings. Engineers generally place dampers at each level of a building, with one end attached to a column and the other end attached to a beam. Each damper consists of a piston head that moves inside a cylinder filled with silicone oil. When an earthquake strikes, the horizontal motion of the building causes the piston in each damper to push against the oil, transforming the quake's mechanical energy into heat. This lessens the effect of an earthquake on a building by allowing the building to move with the earthquake, reducing the likelihood of a building coming to a complete collapse when the shaking begins. |