Vibration damping device, especially for protecting pipelines from earthquakes

Device for damping abrupt movements of equipment such as pipelines wherein vibrations caused by earthquakes or ship movements or the like are excited, while movements resulting from thermal expansion of parts of the equipment are not hindered, comprising a cylinder having a substantially vertical longitudinal axis, said cylinder comprising a lower cylindrical chamber and an upper chamber having an upwardly reducing cross section communicating with said lower cylindrical chamber, a piston displaceable in said lower cylindrical chamber, displaceable damping medium comprising a multiplicity of small, solid rollable bodies received in said cylinder above said piston, and means located below said lower cylindrical chamber for connecting said piston to the equipment, the abrupt movements of which are to be damped, said piston being displaceable upwardly in said lower cylindrical chamber against gravity force exerted by said rollable bodies, upon transmission of an abrupt movement from the equipment through said connecting means to said piston.