At Saitama Institute of Technology, while promoting industry-academia-government collaboration, Associate Professor Keisuke Minagawa (Mechanical Dynamics Laboratory) of the Department of Mechanical Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, jointly developed a "vibration damping device for water purification plant equipment" through industry-academia collaboration. Announced at the Japan Society of Mechanical Engineers "Dynamics and Design Conference 2022" held from September 9 to 5, 8.
Associate Professor Minagawa specializes in vibration control technology, and his main research theme is seismic isolation and damping technology that prevents structures from being damaged by earthquakes.Taking advantage of his research results, he jointly developed a "vibration damping device for water purification plant equipment" with Ace Water Co., Ltd. in an industry-academia collaboration.We have acquired patent No. 7075071 for suppressing the vibration of the inclined plate sedimentation device installed at the water purification plant during an earthquake.
A water purification plant is an important public facility that is indispensable for providing safe tap water to the region.Sludge and other impurities are removed from the water taken from the river in the gentle flow of the sedimentation basin in the water purification plant.At that time, the inclined plate sedimentation device installed in the sedimentation tank plays an important role in efficiently removing sludge and the like.However, when the dominant period of long-period seismic motion during a major earthquake coincides with the natural period of the water tank, the liquid surface shakes violently and collides with the wall of the water tank, potentially damaging the device.
The jointly developed damping device uses the deformation of a specially processed metal rod to suppress the vibration of water in the sedimentation basin and the tilting plate sedimentation device during an earthquake.At present, we are proceeding with specific examinations for application to actual facilities, and we have decided to introduce it to a water purification plant in the Tohoku region.Since there is a growing demand for improved seismic performance in water purification plants, it is expected that the number of installation cases will increase in the future.
