The pulsed high power microwave (HPM) technology has been developed worldwide for over 20 years. The sources of HPM pulses are a weapon of mass destruction. They pose danger especially to computer and telecommunications equipment and systems, both the military and civilian ones. This paper presents a survey of literature on electromagnetic wave radiation absorbing and shielding materials to be used in construction. Relevant protective measures should include the shielding of buildings or their parts and the absorption of radiation by building envelopes and their elements. The main focus is on the possibilities of improving the shielding and absorptive properties of common construction materials, such as concrete, mortars and synthetic resins. The survey covers the following groups of materials: carbon-based admixtures, nickel powder, iron powders, ferrites, magnetite and polymers. The final part of the survey is devoted to hybrid foam microwave absorbers in which the shape of the material’s inner structure and that of its surface play a special role.

A modern weapon, high power microwave (HPM) pulses, can have a profound effect on the quality of functioning of society as the use of this weapon can result in damage to or destruction of electronic equipment and computer and telecommunications systems, both military and civilian. Protection against the energy of HPM pulses can be achieved in two basic ways: by using radiation-absorbent materials (RAM) or artificial electromagnetic (EM) structures. If the object to be protected is a building, protection based on RAM is used. Hence, this literature review focuses on the possibilities of using HPM energy absorbers in building products and structures. Attention is concentrated on four basic types of elements: claddings, concrete and mortar, small-sized elements (bricks, hollow masonry units), and paint coatings. In each of the categories, examples of HPM radiation absorbers having a high potential to be combined with basic construction materials are given on the basis of the literature on the subject.

In today’s world, protection against electromagnetic waves, including high-power microwave (HPM) pulses, is becoming increasingly important. Hence, the aim of this research was to select an absorbing admixture, which, when used in an appropriate quantity, improves the effectiveness of shielding against electromagnetic waves and, at the same time, satisfies the requirements that are important from a construction engineering point of view. Altogether, eighteen admixtures (including two types of fibers), added in different quantities, and three types of aggregate have been tested. The compressive and flexural strength test results show that the greatest improvement in the tested mechanical properties was achieved in the case of admixtures such as steel fibers, carbon black P803, ferrite, and fly ash. Regarding the effect of the admixtures on shielding effectiveness, the best results were obtained for graphite in the form of flakes, graphite in the form of powder, carbon black N990 and P803, polypropylene and steel fibers, and hybrid admixtures, i.e., ashporite aggregate with carbon black and ashporite aggregate with graphite flakes. Regarding both mechanical properties and HPM pulse shielding effectiveness, the best effects were achieved in the case of the specimens with a high steel fiber content.

The aim of the research was to investigate the effectiveness of a pendulum tuned mass damper with two degrees of freedom (PTMD2DOF) in reducing vibrations caused by the kinematic excitations of a tall building model. The PTMD2DOF concept proposed in the paper is consistent with the canons of passive tuned mass dampers (TMD). The PTMD2DOF design was developed based on a system of two pendulums that are connected by an elastic element (a flexurally deformable rod). Thanks to this element, static coupling between the dynamic degrees of freedom of both pendulums was obtained. In this way, a passive TMD was also obtained, the dynamic degrees of freedom of which are related to horizontal motion (consistent swings of both pendulums) and rotational motion (opposite swings of both pendulums). This in turn allowed for the tuning of the PTMD2DOF to two natural frequencies of the tall building model—the first that corresponded to lateral vibrations, and the second that corresponded to torsional vibrations. The TMD was tuned by selecting key geometric and material parameters. The effectiveness of the PTMD2DOF was verified experimentally on a shake table, and also numerically using an FEM model in the Mathematica 12 environment. The model of a tall building with or without PTMD2DOF was subjected to nine kinematic excitations – four harmonic excitations and five real seismograms. The effectiveness was assessed by comparing the dynamic responses of the protected and unprotected model. High vibration reduction efficiency was achieved: up to 94% for transverse vibrations and over 73% (experimentally) for torsional vibrations. In the case of the seismic excitations, the efficiency was lower and depended on the duration and characteristics of the signal. Short excitations resulted in a decrease in PTMD2DOF efficiency to below 60%, while longer excitations allowed results similar to harmonic excitations to be achieved. The agreement between the experimental and numerical results was high, and any differences were most likely caused by geometric imperfections of the physical model and/or the processing procedure of the measurement data.

In this work, the input-output method of dynamic parameters' identification is experimentally tested. A method based on the transformation of a dynamic problem into a static problem by means of integration of the input and output signal was presented. The problem discussed in this article is the identification of the coefficients of stiffness matrices and eigenfrequencies of a discrete dynamic system subjected to kinematic input. The experimental analysis was carried out on a three-storey slab-and-column structure, which constitutes a physical model of a building. The vibrations of the model were excited kinematically by an earthquake simulator. The device has a computer-controlled, movable table top, which can move independently in three directions, that is, horizontally, vertically, and rotationally around the vertical axis. The aim of the experimental studies presented in this work was to determine the dynamic parameters of the model (stiffness, natural frequencies) using the input-output method in the time domain. Moreover, the results obtained with this method were compared with the results of experimental modal analysis (EMA) in order to verify their correctness. It was assumed that the movement of the base is horizontal and occurs in one direction. Two short-term, irregular kinematic excitations of the construction were considered, and the selected results and conclusions from experimental analyses were presented in this work.