Background
As urbanisation increases, buildings are becoming ever slender and taller, making them increasingly vulnerable to dynamic loads such as wind or earthquakes. Climate change is also expected to result in ever-higher wind loads in the future. Existing solutions (e.g. dampers, pendulum masses) often require significant installation space or complex structures and have limitations in terms of efficiency and integration. Increased material usage, additional weight and lost floor space lead to economic disadvantages. At the same time, active systems can result in additional energy consumption.
Technical Description
The invention is based on the arrangement of a movable cladding element, preferably a facade element, relative to a wall element with a damping device integrated between the two elements. The movement takes place parallel to the wall surface. A spring system couples the two elements and is tuned to the natural frequency of the structure.
The damping device (passive, semi-active or active) dissipates the relative movement and may also be designed as an electrical damper. With an integrated generator, the kinetic energy can be converted into electrical energy.
The distributed arrangement of several such facade elements across the height of the building results in a system that functionally corresponds to a distributed multi-mass damper, but without the need for additional masses
Possible Applications
The invention is particularly suitable for slender high-rise buildings, which are susceptible to wind-induced vibrations due to their low inherent stiffness.
Furthermore, it can be used in existing buildings (retrofit), as existing facade elements can be utilised as damping mass.
Further applications arise in structures subject to dynamic loads caused by earthquakes, as well as in sustainable building concepts with a focus on resource efficiency.
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