Dynamic vibration absorbers (ADV) are basically oscillating systems with one degree of freedom, characterized by a mass, an elastic constant and a viscous constant

If properly structured they can lessen vibrations of a building for a single “own way”. Within this research we dealt, first of all, with the optimization of design parameters of a generic ADV. Secondly, we designed and tested innovative dynamic vibration absorbers, in which the viscous damping component is obtained by means of leakage currents induced by a magnet, connected to the ADV mass in a conduction plate connected to the vibrating structure and moving relatively to the magnet. This kind of devices allow for a precise calibration of the viscous damping coefficient. Moreover, electric damping do not requires contact with friction between surfaces, ensuring more stability and durability of this kind of devices compared to traditional ones.

Prototypes and experimentations on large-scale structures were implemented at IFSTTAR laboratories in Paris; IFSTTAR is a french public research body, a partner in terms of scientific cooperation since 2009.