Piping system support damping as influenced by support GAPs and support modal velocity

The damping which a piping system possesses is a parameter which influences the response of piping systems to seismic excitation. Numerous authors have experimentally and analytically shown that damping is not a single number applicable to all piping systems. Damping is a parameter which is highly dependent on the hardware parameters of the piping system and its supports, and on environmental parameters such as seismic excitation magnitude, frequency, and duration. This paper discusses the damping that piping system snubber supports put into piping systems. In this paper, the effect on damping of the gaps in support mechanisms of piping systems is discussed. Additionally, the influence on damping of the velocity of the piping system at nodal support points is addressed. It was observed that snubbered support damping decreased logarithmically with increasing snubber GAP (sum of mechanical clearances, tolerances, and deadbands in the support mechanism) size, and also with snubber activation velocity and bleed rate