79. FLUID VISCOUS DAMPERS: AN EFFECTIVE WAY TO SUPPRESS PEDESTRIAN-INDUCED MOTIONS IN FOOTBRIDGES
Fluid viscous dampers have found commercial applications on buildings and bridges subject to seismic and/or wind storm inputs. They are now being used as well on footbridges to suppress undesirable pedestrian induced vibrations. This paper provides a brief overview of fluid damping technology with specific case studies for pedestrian bridges now equipped with fluid viscous dampers. These viscous dampers are used to suppress the feedback between the pedestrians and the bridge and/or wind induced vibrations. On-site tests show that fluid viscous dampers provide significant gains in performance at relatively low cost.