A patent to protect machinery and artworks from earthquakes and vibrations
Protecting artworks during an earthquake and isolating machinery, preventing the vibrations produced during normal operation from propagating through the building: these are the functions – seismic and anti-vibration – of the isolator for non-structural elements developed by the Politecnico di Milano in collaboration with Soleco Engineering. These two needs, which previously required different solutions, are now brought together in a single device.
This is the innovation at the heart of the patent developed by the Politecnico di Milano, within the research group led by Professor Claudio Bernuzzi and researcher Marco Simoncelli of the Department of Architecture, Built Environment and Construction Engineering-DABC, through Executive PhD candidate Ahmed Awad, in synergy with the company Soleco Engineering.
The new isolation system is designed to protect the non-structural elements of buildings: all the equipment that is not part of the load-bearing structure but which is essential for the operation of hospitals, industries, infrastructures and museums.
Let us imagine a large air-conditioning system, an uninterruptible power supply (UPS) unit or even a museum display case containing precious works. Firstly, they must be protected from the effects of earthquakes and external vibrations, such as those generated by trains or underground railways; while at the same time, if they are machines, the vibrations produced during normal operation must not propagate through the building that houses them, disturbing those who work or live there.
Claudio Bernuzzi and Marco Simoncelli
Its operation is simple: the machine or element to be protected is placed on specially designed elastic supports, specifically developed to allow the object to oscillate slightly and rotate in the direction in which the risk of damage would otherwise be greater. This controlled movement modifies the dynamic response of the system to seismic actions, reducing its vulnerability.
The advantages are various: the system is designed and calibrated to measure for each individual application, by analysing the dynamic behaviour of the object to be protected in order to define the characteristics of the supports correctly.