Research and development of vibration control device for sedimentation device with inclined plates

Abstract

Water filtration plants are important facilities that support social infrastructure, and a sedimentation device with inclined plates installed in a sedimentation pool is one of the most important facilities to remove dust in the water efficiently in a slow water flow. Therefore, it is desirable that the sedimentation device is not damaged by the earthquake to ensure a continuous and stable supply of purified water even after a large earthquake. However, the sedimentation pool is a large structure, and seismic damage may be caused by sloshing of water in addition to the response of the sedimentation device itself. Thus, authors conduct research and development of a vibration control device for a sedimentation device. This paper proposes the installation of steel dampers in the upper frame of the sedimentation device to prevent seismic damage. A seismic response analysis method using a mass point system model was proposed to evaluate the performance of the vibration control device. Next the validity of the analysis method was confirmed by experiments. Then the vibration control performance was evaluated by seismic response analysis. As a result, the proposed vibration control device could suppress the response displacement of the sedimentation device and prevent collision with the side wall of the pool. Thus, the proposed vibration control device is effective as a seismic countermeasure for sedimentation devices.