A newly patented device could protect essential infrastructure from the worst effects of earthquakes, wind storms, and even man-made forces by dissipating energy through an easy-to-use, low-cost system.
In December, the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office approved the device, which is described as a power-independent solution for safeguarding buildings during disasters. The device was invented by Professor Moussa Leblouba, a civil engineering professor at the University of Sharjah, and consists of a hollow cylinder filled with steel balls, with short rods extending from a central shaft like tree branches.
Earthquake Dangers Mitigated
“Earthquakes, strong winds, and even everyday vibrations from trains or machinery can cause serious damage to buildings, bridges, and sensitive equipment,” explained inventor Professor Moussa Leblouba, a professor of civil engineering at the University of Sharjah. “Traditional solutions to this problem, such as fluid-based dampers or deformable metal devices, tend to be expensive, prone to leakage or permanent deformation, and often require complete replacement after a single major event.”
Present technologies designed to mitigate seismic events face considerable shortcomings, according to Leblouba. A major weakness is that these pressure-mitigation devices are often connected to power grids, which typically fail during the very events they are meant to mitigate.
“Our device needs no power at all; it works through pure physics, through friction; it is passive,” he said.
“When the attached structure vibrates, the shaft moves back and forth inside the cylinder, and the rods push through the densely packed balls,” Prof Leblouba explained. “The friction generated between the balls and the rods absorbs and dissipates the vibration energy.”
Rethinking Earthquake Preparation
Leblouba says the device is designed with simplicity in mind, making it practical and user-friendly. The components are inexpensive and common—steel balls, rods, and a shaft—allowing the device to be easily assembled on site without advanced technical expertise.
“Because it requires zero electrical power, it cannot be rendered inoperative by a power outage during the very disaster it’s designed to withstand,” Leblouba said. “Every component is individually removable and replaceable, so if one part is damaged, you don’t need to discard the whole device.”
In addition to its simplicity, the device is highly versatile and can support a broad range of structures and loads. By adjusting the number, size, and arrangement of the device’s balls and rods, it can be fine-tuned for applications ranging from an entire building to a single piece of scientific equipment.
“What excites me most is the simplicity,” he said. “The components are ordinary: steel balls, a shaft, and a cylinder, but the way they work together is effective. In our tests, the device achieved an effective damping ratio of about 14%, which is very promising for a purely passive system.”
“One of its most compelling advantages is that it can be retrofitted into existing structures since it doesn’t need to be designed into the building from the start,” Prof. Leblouba added.
The simplicity and use of common materials could also make the device particularly useful in low-income countries.
An Unstable World
“I believe the simplicity and cost-effectiveness of the device make it particularly attractive for deployment in developing regions with high seismic risk,” Leblouba said.
Particularly in seismically active and climate-vulnerable areas, energy dissipation has become an essential element in engineering, yet existing solutions are often costly and difficult to maintain. The device also addresses maintenance challenges by automatically returning to its original shape once the energy event has passed.
“It returns to its original position once the shaking stops,” Leblouba maintained. “That’s a major advantage over many metallic dampers.”
While its most obvious application is on the ground—protecting buildings, bridges, and other infrastructure—Professor Leblouba also sees potential uses in reducing vibrations that affect sensitive electrical and communications systems.
“Beyond construction, the technology can be applied to vehicles, aircraft, aerospace vehicles, and ships to dampen unwanted vibrations. It is also well-suited for protecting sensitive scientific instruments and military equipment from shock and vibration,” Prof. Leblouba said.
So far, the device has been limited to laboratory testing, but Leblouba is now aiming to move into real-world trials. This will include realistic seismic loading through shake table tests on small-scale models. In addition, the team is continuing to optimize the device’s internal configuration for various applications. Further refinements will examine the material and size of the internal balls, as well as the size, number, and placement of the external rods.
Ryan Whalen covers science and technology for The Debrief. He holds an MA in History and a Master of Library and Information Science with a certificate in Data Science. He can be contacted at ryan@thedebrief.org, and follow him on Twitter @mdntwvlf.