10025591Extended life and in-service performance testing of CALMFLOOR® active mass dampersClosedCollaborative R&DInnovate UKHuge amounts of process-related CO2 emissions are generated by construction activities, which is now driving increased use of timber and lightweight materials in floors of rapidly increasing slenderness. New sustainable floor design can at least halve embodied energy, but reduced weight can render such floors more susceptible to problematic footfall-induced vibrations. The current state-of-the-art for addressing this presently requires structural modifications, which are highly disruptive, costly and unsustainable, or tuned mass dampers weighing hundreds of kilograms and which are of limited effectiveness, often requiring significant structural strengthening to accommodate the additional mass. We have developed a completely new vibration control product called the CALMFLOOR(r) active mass damper (AMD) - a new and exciting technology that allows the development of ef?cient, low cost and environmentally sustainable buildings that have excellent vibration performance. Vibration performance is of crucial importance in buildings. Vibrations can disturb and annoy building occupants and can also affect the performance of sensitive equipment in healthcare facilities, precision manufacturing environments and laboratories. AMDs are autonomous devices that sense ?oor vibrations and generate mechanical forces to cancel them out. They can be conceptualised as 'active noise cancelling headphones for ?oors'. They are signi?cantly more effective than previously used methods of ?oor vibration control and have the potential to provide a solution to the conundrum of providing more ef?cient and sustainable buildings (i.e. with reduced material consumption) whilst still maintaining excellent vibration performance. AMD technology will provide the construction sector with a much-needed competitive advantage as it is an advanced technology that can provide a step-change in building performance and ef?ciency. It will increase the uptake of more sustainable structural forms, such as constrained layer timber and modular construction. Buildings and construction account for approximately 40% of global CO2 emissions so the environmental impact is potentially huge. Bringing the technology to market will generate signi?cant new economic activity, create engineering and manufacturing jobs and provide a new commercial advantage to UK engineering and construction ?rms who adopt it. By providing an enhanced programme of product testing and development of case studies of real world implementation, this project will help to bring this new and advanced technology to market. It will provide the construction industry in the UK with a new competitive advantage on the world stage and will develop further much needed high-value manufacturing in the UK, providing new employment opportunities both within the company and within our supply chain.