Die Erhöhung des Nutzerkomforts von Fußgängerbrücken mit Massendämpfern am Beispiel des August-Wilhelm-Stegs in Oranienburg

The increasing comfort of footbridges with mass dampers is exemplary shown with the August-Wilhelm-Steg in Oranienburg, Germany.

Many footbridges are susceptible to pedestrian induced vibrations due to their slender design. Hence, an equipment with additional damping devices on demand should be considered already in the preliminary design phase to avoid unnecessary delays of the erection and opening, if the damping devices are required.
In this article the procedure of identifying a potential vibration susceptibility, checking the necessity of damping devices, design and installation as well as checking the working efficiency of them are explained using the example of the August-Wilhelm-Steg in Oranienburg. Particular emphasis is laid on the practical aspects when designing tuned mass dampers.