Vibration control for piping system using dynamic vibration absorbers

In order to bring about the degree of freedom in thermal expansion and contraction, piping systems are made so as to be flexible and easy to deflect, consequently, those are apt to be affected by vibration sources and cause troubles. The vibration is generally complex, and is to cause such problems as the fatigue damage due to resonance and vibration noise. In order to prevent them, the method of supporting piping systems has been taken, but it constrains largely the arrangement of piping systems. Recently, the move to control the vibration of piping systems as they are flexible by supporting them with high damping visco-elastic matters or positively giving damping to them by introducing dynamic vibration absorbers has begun. In this report, the basic knowledge on dynamic vibration absorbers is described, and the method of controlling vibration in a multiple degrees of freedom system is explained. Next, a simple three-dimensional piping system is taken up as an example, and its vibration modes from first order to third order are investigated. Thereafter, the optimum places for installing dynamic vibration absorbers in respective modes and the procedure of designing dynamic vibration absorbers are shown. (K.I.)