An inexpensive DIY impact hammer for vibration analysis of buildings

Abstract

The characterisation of vibration in buildings often involves exciting the building structure with a force and measuring the vibration response. The two common non-destructive force excitation methods are the use of an instrumented impact hammer or an electromagnetic vibration shaker. This paper contains a discussion on how to build a low cost instrumented hammer, and compares the performance of the hammer with a commercially available impact hammer and a commercially available electromagnetic shaker for vibrating buildings. The merits and disadvantages of each of these three instruments are discussed and it is the opinion of the author that for the vibration analyses often conducted in semiconductor manufacturing facilities, laboratories, and offices, the use of an instrumented impact hammer can provide higher quality measurements at a lower cost than the use of an electromagnetic shaker.