We are probably all benefiting from a process called modal excitation without really being aware of what it is. In fact, almost every building or bridge we encounter has had the attention of a modal exciter at some stage. What this process does is to measure the movement in a building, or vibration on a bridge, well before it is finished. This is due to all the sky scrapers that are going up these days and the architects need to know what stresses there are on the structure before people occupy the buildings.

A great example of how this works is in a car engine. If we have had the car for a long time, we get used to the sound of it. The minute something does not sound right, we are alerted that there is a rattle or noise that was not there before. In fact, this is exactly what this kind of process does. The machine listens for the chatter of a building or engine to show if there is a vibration that should not be there.

Recently, the penchant for people to add ‘just another floor’ on buildings in third world countries has proven to be a little disastrous. The idea for the owner is that he will make more rent if he builds upwards. However, by not getting the proper information, or having this process done on the building, what results is the collapse of the building through sheer stress on the foundations. In fact, in this particular case, the building creaked for several hours to such an extent that residents within left the building before it collapsed. Their goods and assets were all left inside, unfortunately, but no human life was lost. Although, this is a prime example for the process described above, taking shortcuts on buildings that can rise to well over one hundred floors is just impossible.

There are companies which undertake this duty for companies who are interested in making sure that their buildings or bridges are being put up right. For example, the system will be used on the engine of a ship and the ‘screw’ which pushes the ship through the water. In this kind of instance, if there is any vibration at all, the ship will certainly have to be stopped and, considering how much cargo some of these giants carry, this could prove to be very expensive for the owners. When the ship is in dry dock, this system is applied to all the moving parts and they will then be able to work out what it is that is going wrong and get it corrected immediately.

One last example is a bridge that spans water. The bridge will actually move to some degree with the weight of the traffic and the winds which tend to be high over water. However, if anyone remembers how bridges were bucking around some decades ago, the need to figure out how to stop this from happening will be very evident. Lives will depend on this process so it is vital for sure.

Author Bio: Stewart Wrighter recently met with an engineer who could explain the use of a modal exciter and its benefits. He searched the term modal excitation on the internet to learn more about it.

Category: Business
Keywords: modal exciter,modal excitation