Floor Vibrations

SteelConstruction.
info
The free encyclopedia for UK steel construction information
Floor vibrations
In recent years, there has been an increase in demand for buildings that are fast to construct, have large
uninterrupted floor areas and are flexible in their intended final use. Modern design and construction techniques
enable steel construction to satisfy these demands and deliver structures which are competitive in terms of overall
cost.
For most multi-storey commercial buildings, straightforward steel construction will meet the required vibration
performance criteria without modification. For more vibration sensitive applications, such as hospital operating
theatre floors, steels advantages can be captured with additional stiffening applied to the steel frame if required.
Even with these additions, steel remains the most cost-effective and lightweight solution.
Long-span applications, for which steel is the only option, have been found to offer very good vibration damping,
despite common preconceptions that damping of composite floors is lower than that of concrete structures. The
greater mass of the long-span sections which participate in any motion, reduces the magnitude of the vibration
response. The steel sector has extensive experience in designing steel structures to ensure compliance with even
the strictest vibration performance criteria.
The subject of floor vibrations is complex. This article on floor vibrations describes the basic theory of floor
vibrations, human perception and acceptability levels and provides practical methods for assessing the likely
vibrational behaviour of floors in steel framed buildings.

Floor vibration

Introduction to floor vibrations
Vibrations
The term vibrations when applied to floors refers to the oscillatory motion experienced by the building and its
occupants during the course of normal day-to-day activities. This motion is normally vertical (up and down), but
horizontal vibrations are also possible. In either case, the consequences of vibrations range from being a nuisance
to the building users to causing damage to the fixtures and fittings or even to the building structure.
http://www.steelconstruction.info/Floor_vibrations - 22nd April 2014
1 / 29
SteelConstruction.info
Sensitive process/equipment such as nano-technologies, microscopes or lasers may be sensitive to a level of
vibration which is often below human perception. In such special cases, malfunctioning of the equipment is avoided
by limiting the level of vibration to the specific requirement of the equipment. The severity of the consequences will
depend on the source of the motion, its duration and the design and layout of the building.
Severe vibration events due to earthquakes and explosions are outside the scope of this article.
Once constructed, it is very difficult to modify an existing floor to reduce its susceptibility to vibration, as only major
changes to the mass, stiffness or damping of the floor system will produce any perceptible reduction in vibration
amplitudes. It is important therefore that the levels of acceptable vibration be established at the concept design
stage, paying particular attention to the anticipated usage of the floors. The client must be involved in this decision,
as the specified acceptance criteria may have a significant impact on the design of the floor and the cost of
construction.
Sources of vibration
Floor vibrations are generally caused by dynamic loads, i.e. loads which engage inertia forces, applied either
directly to the floor by people or machinery or indirectly by moving floor supports after transmission through the
building structure or through the ground. The principal sources of vibration in buildings are:

Plymouth Derriford hospital multi-storey, steel-framed construction

Human activity, e.g. walking, dancing, jumping, etc.
Vibrating machinery
External forces, e.g. traffic on or underground, or wind buffeting.
2 / 29
By far the most common source of vibration is human activity, usually walking. Although small in magnitude,
walking-induced vibrations can cause a nuisance to people working or living in the building, especially to sensitive
equipment or those engaged in motion-sensitive activities, e.g. surgery. Naturally, the problem is more acute for
more vigorous types of human activity such as dancing and jumping and therefore designers of buildings featuring
a gymnasium or dance studio should take extra care to limit the vibrations in the rest of the building.
Machinery-induced vibrations are best dealt with at source through the provision of isolating mounts or motion
arresting pads. Machines installed in factories tend to produce the most severe vibrations due to their size and the
nature of their operation. However, floor vibration is rarely a problem in most factories, since it is accepted by the
workforce as part of the industrial environment.
Wind induced vibrations are generally not an issue for normal building construction, such as low to medium rise
commercial or residential buildings. Where they need to be considered, building designers should consult the
appropriate wind loading code of practice, e.g. BS EN 1991-1-4
[1]
in the UK.
Ground-borne vibrations can be problematic, but are best dealt with at source, e.g. repairing the pot-hole in the
road. However, where problems are anticipated, such as when a building is adjacent to a busy road, steps should
be taken to minimise the transmission into and through the building structure. Careful detailing of the structure
plays a key role in this respect.
Consequences of vibrations
For the building designer, there are three principal effects of floor vibrations that may need to be considered,
depending on the frequency of occurrence and the magnitude of the vibration. These are:
Nuisance Human occupants of a building can perceive very low amplitudes of vibration and, depending
on the circumstances, even modest doses of floor vibration can cause discomfort or alarm. Certain items of
precision equipment are also extremely sensitive to vibration.
Strength The structure must be strong enough to resist the peak dynamic forces acting on it. Depending
on the relative frequencies of the applied force and the building structure, together with the duration of
dynamic event, the dynamic response can be significantly greater than the response due to equivalent
static load. In such cases, it will be necessary to design the structural members and their connections to
resist these higher loads.
Fatigue Fatigue cracks can initiate and propagate when a structural component, usually a connection, is
subjected to repeated cyclic loading, such as in bridges. For steel, there is a limiting stress below which
fatigue will not occur irrespective of the number of cycles. Fatigue may therefore be avoided by designing
connections such that this stress limit is not exceeded.
Of these three potential consequences, nuisance caused by the perception of vibrations is the most common issue
for most building applications. It is, therefore, the focus of this article. Strength and fatigue are sometimes
encountered in buildings used for rhythmic activities such as gymnasia, dance studios and nightclubs.
Theory of vibrations
Vibrations are characterised by a regular cyclic motion of a given frequency and amplitude. In practice, vibrating
floors are complex dynamic systems with infinite modes of vibration, each with its own frequency. Fortunately, even
the most complex vibrating system may be represented as a series of simple mass and spring models with a single
degree of freedom. Such models are easy to understand in terms of their theoretical behaviour and are a useful
means of introducing the fundamental principles that govern the motion of all vibrating systems.
3 / 29
Single degree of freedom systems
The simplest vibrating system is one with only a single degree of freedom (SDOF), such as the mass and spring
model shown below.

Model of a SDOF system

In this system, if the mass M were displaced from its equilibrium (rest) position and then released, its displacement
y plotted against time t would represent a sine wave. In the absence of damping, this motion would continue
indefinitely, with the peak displacement corresponding to the initial release position. The time taken to complete
each cycle would depend only on mass M and spring stiffness k of the system. In practice, all vibrating systems
encounter a degree of damping. This is represented in the SDOF model by the dashpot damper. As an alternative
to displacing and then releasing the mass, the vibrations could be initiated by subjecting the mass to a dynamic
(time varying) load. This is represented in the model by the external force p(t). The motion of the SDOF system can
be defined in terms of three parameters:
Frequency
Amplitude
Damping.
The frequency of a system, or of an applied force, is a measure of the rate at which the system vibrates. The
frequency is normally quoted in Hertz (cycles per second) or alternatively in radians per second and is proportional
to the square root of the stiffness k divided by the mass M. The inverse of the frequency f is the period T, defined
as the time taken for the system to complete one whole cycle.
4 / 29

Frequency and period

The amplitude of a system is a measure of the peak response relative to the mean. Since the motion is sinusoidal
in nature, the term amplitude applies equally to the displacement, velocity or acceleration. In the case of floor
vibrations, the amplitude usually refers to the peak acceleration, since acceleration is generally used to determine
the acceptability of the floor.

Amplitude

Damping refers to the loss of mechanical energy in a system. There are many sources of damping in a building,
including friction at the connections, furniture and fit-out and energy dissipations through non-structural
components such as partitions. As energy is taken out of the system through the damping, the amplitude of the
response reduces until the motion eventually ceases. The amount of damping will determine the duration of the
response and can be critical in situations involving resonance.
5 / 29

Damping

For the SDOF system shown above, subjected to a load p(t), the motion of the system is governed by dynamic
equilibrium, which may be expressed as:

Continuous systems
A beam may be thought of as a series of mass/spring models joined together to form a continuous system. Unlike
the SDOF system, which has a single natural frequency and corresponding mode of vibration, a continuous system
theoretically has an infinite number of natural frequencies and associated modes. When the beam vibrates, these
modes are superimposed on one another to give the overall response of the system. Fortunately it is generally
sufficient to consider only the first 3 or 4 modes, since the higher modes are quickly extinguished by damping.
The different responses of a system may be represented by mode shapes, which show the deflections of the
deformed shapes of the system. The fundamental (or first mode) frequency always corresponds to the mode shape
with the lowest frequency. The first three mode shapes of a uniform simply supported beam are shown in the
figure.
6 / 29

Mode shapes of a simply supported beam

For design purposes, the fundamental frequency of a simply supported beam may be estimated using the following
expression:

where is the deflection due to the self weight and any other loads that may be considered to be permanent. To
complicate matters further, real structures comprise a framework of beams, connected together directly or via
columns. This results in vibration modes involving several beams moving simultaneously, together with an area of
floor slab. In this case, the fundamental frequency of the system will depend on the motion of the primary and
secondary beams and concrete slab. The fundamental frequency of the whole system will be lower than those of
the individual components and may be obtained using:

where
max
is the total deflection of the primary beam, secondary beam and slab. Alternatively, the fundamental
frequency of the floor system may be obtained using Dunkerlys approximation as follows:
7 / 29

where f
s
, f
b
and f
p
are the fundamental frequencies of the slab, secondary beam and primary beam respectively.
Types of response
The response of a floor may be classed as either:
Resonant or
Impulsive.
Resonant response

Resonant response

8 / 29
When a continuous (sinusoidal or cosinusoidal) force is applied to a system with the same frequency as that of the
system, each successive load cycle will add to the response, causing the amplitude to increase. In the absence of
damping, the amplitude will increase to a magnitude well in excess of the level of acceleration resulting from a
single load cycle. This is known as resonance and, if allowed to develop in a structure, can result in unacceptably
high responses and damage to the structure. Fortunately, in building structures, the energy in the vibrating system
is dissipated by damping over a number of cycles and resonance does not occur. Instead, the response settles
down to a steady state having a constant amplitude. In this state, each new cycle of load merely replenishes the
energy lost to damping. The build-up to a typical steady state response is shown.
It should be noted that, despite damping, the steady state amplitude is several times the initial amplitude, and this
response may still be problematic to the building designer. Increasing the level of damping will reduce the steady
state resonant response. In addition to the level of damping, the amplitude of the response also depends on the
amount of mass that is mobilised, the magnitude of the applied force and the ratio of the forcing frequency to the
natural frequency of the system. On this last point, it is important to remember that floors possess many (in theory
infinite) natural frequencies, corresponding to the different modes of vibration. To avoid resonance, it is also
important to ensure that the frequency of the applied force does not match the frequency of the first few vibration
modes of the floor.
Response to periodic impulses
If the natural frequency of the structure is significantly higher than the frequency of impulses, during each cycle of
periodic impulsive loading there will be several cycles of response. Damping in the system will reduce the
amplitude of the response, until the arrival of the next cycle of load. The resulting impulsive response is shown in
the figure.

Impulsive response

9 / 29
In this case, the peak amplitude corresponds to the arrival of each successive load and, therefore, is independent
on the degree of damping. The magnitude of the response is dependent only on the magnitude of the impulsive
force and the amount of mass that is mobilised.
Human induced vibration

Typical force time plot for walking

The simple act of walking across a floor might not seem to be too onerous to the building designer, especially when
the structure has been designed for a much higher level of load. However, in environments such as hospitals or
quiet offices, a single person walking along a corridor can be a serious nuisance to other building occupants.
A person walking at a regular pace applies a periodically repeated forcing function to the floor at a frequency of
between 1.6 to 2.2Hz. This may cause a build-up of response, i.e. resonance. Although dominated by the pacing
frequency, the periodic loading caused by walking is made up of several frequencies superimposed on one
another. When considering the possibility of resonance, account must be taken of these higher excitation
frequencies. A typical force-time plot for walking is shown in the figure.
To establish the overall response, this forcing function can be broken down into a series of sine waves, each of
which has a frequency at an integer multiple (or harmonic) of the forcing frequency. Each harmonic will have an
associated amplitude and phase shift, and the set of harmonics are known as a Fourier series.
10 / 29
Although not immediately apparent from the figure above, the cyclic loading due to walking may be broken down
into a series of sine waves, each representing one of the constituent frequencies. Each component of the response
may be weighted by the appropriate factors (Fourier coefficient) and then summed to give a good approximation to
the actual loading. In the case shown, the pacing frequency is 2 Hz, with higher harmonic frequencies of 4 Hz, and
8 Hz. The lowest frequency will always be the most significant and resonance at this frequency should always be
avoided (by ensuring that the frequency of the floor is sufficiently high). A similar treatment can also be applied to
other human activities such as running, jumping and dancing.
Recommended design frequencies and Fourier coefficients for common activities may be found in the design
Standards and guidance.
Acceptability of vibrations
Generally, the vibration of floors is considered to be a serviceability issue, primarily related to the discomfort of
building occupants or damage to sensitive equipment. Where there is sensitive equipment, it is a relatively
straightforward matter to specify the maximum permissible acceleration. However, discomfort cannot be directly
quantified, since perception and tolerance vary between individuals and are highly dependent on the
circumstances.
The human perception of vibration
The following factors are known to influence the human perception of vibration:
Type of activity
Time of day when the activity is being undertaken
The type of environment where the activity is taking place
The direction of the vibration
The amplitude of the vibration
The frequency of the vibration
The source of the vibration
The level of damping
The duration of the exposure.
Design criteria for vibrations
The subjective nature of vibrations means that it is not possible to prescribe an exact limit that will guarantee an
acceptable floor response. Instead, the design guidance aims to ensure that the building will attract a low
probability of adverse comment from its occupants.
Historically, designers have used the natural frequency of the floor as the sole measure of acceptable performance.
By specifying a sufficiently high natural frequency, the intention was that the floor would be effectively tuned out of
the frequency range of the walking activity. However, while this might be true for the first harmonic, resonance
could still occur on the second, third and fourth harmonics of the walking activity.
11 / 29
Current Standards quantify the magnitude of floor vibrations in terms of the acceleration of the floor; defined in
terms of weighted, root-mean square (rms) acceleration. The acceptability of a floor is assessed by dividing the
predicted acceleration by a baseline value to obtain a response factor, and checking that the calculated response
factor is less than the appropriate multiplying factor given in the relevant Codes and other specialist guidance.
The baseline acceleration is dependent on the direction of the vibrations relative to the human body (the z-axis is
defined as head-to-toe, whether the person is standing or lying) and the frequency of the vibration.

Directions for Vibration defined in ISO 2631, BS 6472-1
[2]
and BS 6841
[3]

The baseline acceleration for the z-axis, as specified in BS 6472
[2]
, is shown below. The line represents a constant
level of human perception. The area above the line corresponds to an increasing level of human perception to
vibration; the area below the line represents vibration that is imperceptible to majority of humans.
12 / 29

z-axis base curve (BS 6472)

The response factor is compared against the specified maximum allowable response factor for the application. The
allowable response factor should take account of the human perception factors listed above and may be obtained
from Standards, published guidance or may be specified by the client. Specialist guidance is available for hospitals.

The response factor approach assumes continuous vibration over a 16 hour day or 8 hour night. If the vibrations
are only intermittent in nature, the building designer may take advantage of the reduced duration by using the
Vibration Dose Value (VDV) approach. This alternative method may prove especially beneficial in buildings where
the vibration is caused by discrete and infrequent events, rather than continuous activity, for example residents of
an apartment block leaving for work in the morning and returning several hours later.
Design for rhythmic activity
Where floors are likely to be subject to dancing and jumping activities characterised by synchronised crowd
movement, the floor must be designed for ultimate limit state considerations in accordance with the requirements
given in Annex A of BS 6399-1
[4]
or the National Annex to BS EN 1991-1-1
[5]
.
According to these Standards:
The floor may be designed to have a fundamental frequency of at least 8.4 Hz vertically and a frequency of
at least 4 Hz horizontally, in which case the resonant effects need not be evaluated.
or
13 / 29
The floor should be designed to resist the anticipated dynamic loads due to rhythmic activity which should
be considered as an additional imposed load case.
The vertical natural frequency of the floor should be evaluated for the appropriate mode of vibration for an empty
structure.
Designing for dynamic loads
As noted above, a dynamic load may result in considerably higher forces and moments in a structure compared to
the corresponding static load. The degree of magnification depends on the ratio of the frequency of the loading
function (fp) to the natural frequency of the structure (fn); the level of damping present in the structure is also
important.
The ratio of dynamic to static responses is known as the Dynamic Magnification Factor (DMF). The relationship
between DMF (fp / fn) and damping ratio is shown below.

Dynamic magnification factor for accelerations

It is apparent from the figure that, as the frequency of the applied load approaches the natural frequency of the
structure (fp/fn = 1), resonance occurs leading to very large DMF values. The magnitude of the DMF at resonance
is dependent on the degree of damping. Theoretically for undamped systems, i.e. = 0, the steady-state response
tends towards infinity. Since in many practical structural systems the critical damping ratio is of the order of 1%, the
dynamic magnification can be considerable, if precautions are not taken to avoid resonance.
Resonance on the fundamental frequency (the worst case) may be avoided by designing the floor to have a natural
frequency of over 3Hz. This ensures that the fundamental frequency of the floor will be higher than the lowest
harmonic of walking.
Vibration analysis
14 / 29
Basic principles
The vibration characteristics of a structure are defined by its modal properties comprising:
Natural frequency
Modal mass
Mode shape
Modal damping.
For any structure, there are an infinite number of modes, each with its own set of properties. However, in practice,
only those modes with the lowest frequencies will be relevant to the analysis.
For each individual mode, the natural frequency is the number of oscillations per second, the mode shape is the
deformed shape that the structure would naturally tend to exhibit at that frequency, and the modal damping defines
the energy dissipation within the mode. The first three modal properties are dependent on the dimensions, mass
and stiffness of the structure and may be calculated using one of the methods described below. Damping depends
on the finishes on the structure and an appropriate value will generally have to be assumed (based on past
experience or testing).
As real structures are built up from a number of components, the determination of the modal properties is a
complex process, requiring consideration not only of all of the members within the structure, but also the interaction
between these members. The most effective way of assessing the modal parameters of a structure is by finite
element analysis, but simplified methods may also be used on some simpler structures. Simplified methods are
usually only applicable to regular structures with rectilinear grids.
Finite element modelling
Finite element modelling may be used to obtain the natural frequencies, modal masses and mode shapes of any
shape of floor, but the method is particularly useful for buildings with irregular grids or onerous design requirements
with regard to vibration e.g. hospitals. The method is more accurate and generally less conservative than hand
calculation methods.
Finite element modelling is an approximation, in which a continuous structure is divided into a number of parts or
elements. The accuracy of the solution is dependent on the number of elements into which the system is divided,
but this has to be balanced against the longer computation time. Selecting the optimum number of elements is
crucial to the success of the analysis. There are no firm rules for determining the mesh size (and hence number of
the elements) but in general, if the number of elements can be doubled without significantly changing the result,
then the number of elements is sufficient.
15 / 29

Finite element analysis

A typical output from a modal finite element analysis of a building is shown. The figure shows the plot of one of the
floors many mode shapes superimposed on an outline of the floor. The red and blue areas indicate positive and
negative modeshape amplitudes respectively (to an exaggerated vertical scale). For a given floor, the software will
generate as many of these plots or modeshapes as required, together with the corresponding natural frequency
and modal mass. In practice, it is generally sufficient to consider only the first 30 modes, i.e. the mode shapes
corresponding to the lowest 30 natural frequencies.
Having obtained the mode shapes, frequencies and modal masses, the vibration response of the floor to a given
excitation, e.g. a person walking at a known pace along a corridor may be obtained by modal superposition. As the
name suggests, this is a process whereby the responses (accelerations) from each of the individual modes are
superimposed on one another and summed to obtain the total response. This is best achieved with the aid of
software, e.g. a spreadsheet.
For the majority of buildings, the walking paths are not known at the time of analysis, so the response is calculated
on the basis that the response and excitation points are coincident, i.e. the acceleration is calculated at various
points around the building assuming that the person causing the acceleration and the person feeling it are standing
at the same location. This is likely to produce worst case response at each location. A range of realistic walking
frequencies is considered to obtain the highest response.
The end product of the analysis will be a matrix of accelerations, corresponding to the nodes of the finite element
mesh. It is normal practice to divide these accelerations by the baseline acceptable value to obtain a series of
response factors. These may be superimposed on the floor plan in order to visually identify any potential problem
areas.
Simplified assessment of floors with steel beams
To avoid the need for a potentially costly finite element analysis, a simplified assessment method has been
developed for simple building layouts comprising regular grids of steel beams supporting a concrete floor slab. It is
also suitable for composite floors. This design procedure is based on a parametric study of a wide variety of floor
grids modelled using finite element analysis. The method is described in detail in SCI P354 and is summarised in
the flowchart below.
16 / 29

Assessment of floor vibrations from SCI P354
Note: Section numbers refer to those in SCI P354

The design procedure comprises the following steps:
17 / 29

Typical mode shapes for steel-concrete floor systems

Calculation of natural frequency
Determination of modal mass
Evaluation of the critical acceleration and hence response factor
Checking the response factor against the acceptance criteria (for continuous vibration).
In conventional steel-concrete floor systems, the fundamental frequency may be estimated by using engineering
judgement on the likely deflected shape of the floor (the mode shape), and considering how the supports and
boundary conditions will affect the behaviour of the individual structural components. For example, on a simple
composite floor comprising a slab continuous over a number of secondary beams that are, in turn, supported by
stiff primary beams, two possible mode shapes may be sensibly considered, as shown below:
Secondary beam mode
Primary beam mode.
In the secondary beam mode, the primary beams form nodal lines, i.e. they have zero deflection, about which the
secondary beams vibrate as simply-supported members. The slab is assumed to be continuous over the secondary
beams. In the primary beam mode, the primary beams vibrate about the columns as simply-supported members
and the secondary beams and slab are taken to be fixed-ended.
The natural frequency should be calculated for each mode, allowing for the deflection of both sets of beams and
the slab, and the fundamental frequency of the floor should be taken as the lower value of the two modes
considered. The modal mass for the critical mode may be obtained from the simplified equations in SCI P354. The
acceleration may then be obtained by treating the floor as an equivalent single degree of freedom system.
Dynamic testing of floors
Testing and vibration performance assessment based on experimental data are powerful tools which can be used
to ascertain the as-built vibration behaviour of building floors. This is particularly true for complex floor layouts or in
situations where the floor vibration performance is critical for day to day operation of a building, such as in
hospitals. Due to the uncertainties associated with the two analytical methods described above (frequency method
and response factor method), clients often ask for in-situ testing of floors after they are constructed to check the
actual performance and verify the accuracy of the design calculations.
18 / 29
There are two principal categories of dynamic floor test, relating to the purpose and desired output of the test:
Measurement of the modal properties of the floor
Measurement of the response of the floor to dynamic loading.
Modal testing
The purpose of modal testing is to establish experimentally the modal properties of the structure. There are two
types of modal test. Those where:
The excitation force creating the response is not measured
The excitation force creating the response is measured.
Modal testing without measuring the excitation force
There are three types of test in common use:
1. Ambient vibration survey (AVS),
2. Heel-drop excitation
3. Rotating mass shaker excitation.
In the ambient vibration survey the floor dynamic excitation is provided by the environment in which it resides.
Vibration responses to this kind of excitation are acquired over a grid of test points covering the floor area of
interest. This grid needs to be dense enough to describe all of the likely floor mode shapes in sufficient detail. It is
also necessary to ensure that the modes of interest are excited by the ambient environment and that the reference
transducers are away from the nodal points of the mode being measured.
Excitation in a heel-drop test is provided by a single person raising himself on the balls of the feet, and dropping
onto the heels, thus providing an impact. The multi-modal decaying response to this impulsive broadband excitation
can be measured at one or more locations simultaneously. This method may be used to obtain the modal
frequencies of the floor.
In the rotating mass exciter, two masses rotate in a vertical plane at the same speed but in opposite directions, so
that the horizontal components of their inertial forces cancel, leaving only a sinusoidally varying vertical force.
Harmonic forces at particular frequencies generated by the rotating mass shaker excite floor harmonic responses
at the same frequencies. These are then measured simultaneously at one or more grid points on the floor and their
amplitudes recorded. The excitation frequency is then changed and the corresponding harmonic response
amplitudes are again recorded. By repeating this process for a number of frequencies and plotting the recorded
amplitudes against the frequencies for each test point, it is possible to estimate likely natural frequencies of the
floor.
A common feature in all these modal testing methods, where the excitation force is not measured, is that modal
properties tend to be less reliable than those obtained from tests where the excitation force is measured. This is
because the lack of force measurement requires a number of assumptions to be made to enable extraction of
modal properties; incorrect assumptions can lead to significant errors.
Modal testing with measured excitation force
19 / 29

Typical instrumented hammer test

Two types of tests are commonly performed:
1. Impact testing
2. Shaker testing.
Impact testing may be undertaken using an instrumented hammer or a heel-drop on an instrumented force plate. In
the case of an instrumented hammer, the force is measured by a load cell installed at the tip of the hammer. The
excitation usually moves from point to point while the responses are measured at a number of stationary reference
points. At each point, the excitation is applied several times to average out the effects of extraneous noise. To
minimise the detrimental effects of unmeasured extraneous excitation of the floor, the testing should be performed
on an unoccupied floor structure, preferably in an unoccupied building. Therefore, for floors in operation or under
construction, night and weekend work is often the only option. An instrumented hammer test is shown below.
Shaker testing may be undertaken using a single shaker or an array of shakers distributed over the floor area. The
excitation is generated by a moving shaker armature of known mass. This mass is driven by a signal generated by
a spectrum analyser that is also used to acquire all of the force and response data. The use of a shaker overcomes
the problems with extraneous noise encountered with impact testing. A considerable enhancement of the shaker
excitation at a single point of the floor is achieved by multiple uncorrelated random shaker excitation applied
simultaneously over a number of test points distributed over the floor area. A typical shaker test is shown below.
20 / 29

Typical shaker test

Response measurement
There are many situations in which the client, building owner or occupant might want to measure the response of a
floor in service. In this case, the aim of the test will be to measure directly the acceleration caused by a realistic
excitation event. The measured acceleration may then be compared against the specified limit for the floor, in order
to verify its acceptability. Typically, for office floors, the appropriate excitation event is a single person walking.
After the in-situ determination of the natural frequencies and mode shapes of the floor, as described above, the
floor can be classified as low or high frequency. The type of walking test which needs to be carried out will depend
on this classification. As low frequency floors can be excited in near-resonance by frequencies of one or more
harmonics of walking, it is important to maintain the pacing rate of the test subject to generate the higher
harmonics. For example, if resonance of a floor needs to be excited at 6Hz, the pacing could be set to two steps
per second (2 Hz), so that its third harmonic excites the 6 Hz mode. The use of a metronome might be useful in
maintaining a steady pace. In the case of high frequency floors, there is no need to adjust the pacing rate to excite
the resonant frequencies (since resonant build up does not occur in this type of floor). Usually, a range of pacing
frequencies is specified, e.g. from 1.4 Hz to 2.2 Hz in increments of 0.2 Hz.
After determining the required pacing rate(s), a walking path must be selected. This will depend on the utilisation of
the floor. For example, there may be cases when walking paths only along planned corridors are considered
relevant. Finally, a test subject is asked to walk several times along the walking path, during which responses are
measured at a number of pre-selected points on the floor. These may be at positions of maximum amplitude for the
mode shape under consideration or at sensitive locations (e.g. in hospital operating theatres).
21 / 29
In addition to these short tests, requiring an unoccupied building, technology now exists whereby long-term
monitoring of floor vibrations can be performed. One or more vibration transducers can be installed on the floor and
left to acquire vibration response data, due to everyday normal floor usage by its occupants, over a prolonged
period of time.
Regulations and design rules
BS EN 1990
[6]
, Annex A1.4.4 states that vibration should be limited to avoid discomfort to users, and to ensure the
functionality of the structure or structural members. It states that the acceptability criteria may be given in terms of a
frequency limit, or can be determined using a more refined analysis of the dynamic response of the structure,
including the consideration of damping. It lists a number of possible sources of vibration, including walking,
synchronised movement of people and machinery that should be considered and refers the reader to ISO 10137
[7]
for further guidance.
BS EN 1993-1-1
[8]
states that the vibrations of structures on which the public can walk should be limited to avoid
significant discomfort to users, and limits should be specified for each project and agreed with the client. The UK
National Annex refers to specialist literature for more detailed advice.
The two main codes used in the UK which cover floor vibrations are:
ISO 10137:2007
[7]
Bases for design of structures - Serviceability of buildings and walkways against
vibrations
BS 6472-1:2008
[2]
Guide to evaluation of human exposure to vibration in buildings.
ISO 10137
[7]
gives recommendations on the evaluation of serviceability against vibrations of buildings and
walkways for human occupancy, the contents of the building and the structure of the building.
BS 6472-1
[2]
provides guidance on predicting human response to vibration in buildings over the frequency range
0.5 Hz to 80 Hz. Frequency weighting curves for human beings exposed to whole-body vibration are included,
together with advice on measurement methods to be employed. Methods of assessing continuous, intermittent and
impulsive vibration are presented. The code also describes how to determine the vibration dose value, VDV, from
frequency-weighted vibration measurements.
These codes specify multiplying factors to limit the value of calculated response factors to achieve low probability
of adverse comment for different building types. In 1989, SCI proposed a series of multiplying factors which are
larger than those proposed in the codes. These are provided in SCI P354. Similar values are also recommended by
the AISC/CISC DG 11
[9]
(American code for vibration) which leads to a more economical design.
For the case of health buildings, HTM 08-01
[10]
sets out the vibration design criteria for healthcare premises. HTM
08-01 has been superceded by Acoustics: Technical design manual
[11]
however the vibration limits are the same as
were given in HTM 08-01
[10]
. These are shown in the table.
22 / 29
Space Response factor for continuous vibration
Operating theatre, precision laboratory, audiometric testing
booth
1
Wards 2
General laboratories, treatment areas 4
Offices, consulting rooms 8
SCI P354 Design of floors for vibration: A new approach presents the details of the response factor method to
assess the performance of the floors subject to different sources of vibration. This publication, which includes
worked examples, is becoming increasingly popular in the industry and widely recognised as a good practice for
design.
Structural design considerations
Damping
The damping ratio (), in typical steel framed buildings depends on type of the connections, degree of fit-out,
furnishings, etc. These values should be used in design unless more accurate information is available.
Damping ratio () Floor finishes
0.5% For fully welded steel structures, e.g. staircases
1.1% For completely bare floors or floors where only a small
amount of furnishings are present
3.0% For fully fitted out and furnished floors in normal use
4.5% For a floor where the designer is confident that partitions
will be appropriately located to interrupt the relevant
mode(s) of vibration, i.e. the partition lines are
perpendicular to the main vibrating elements of the critical
mode shape
Floor loading
It is important that the distributed mass used in vibration analysis is representative of the mass that will be present
in service, as a higher mass will reduce the response of a floor at a given frequency. In design, the mass per unit
area should be taken as the unfactored self-weight of the structure including superimposed dead loads such as the
weight of ceilings and services. In addition, where the designer can be confident that such loading will exist in the
finished structure, an allowance may be included for semi-permanent loads (this loading should not be included for
dance or aerobic floors).
According to the UK National Annex to BS EN 1990, 30% of the imposed load should be included when
considering deformation at serviceability limit state. However, this is likely to be inappropriate for floor vibrations
because, in reality, the actual imposed load will be considerably less than the prescribed design loads on the floor.
Hicks et al.
[12]
recommend that the allowance should not exceed 10% of the nominal imposed load.
Modelling issues
Due to the small strains encountered during a vibration response, the normal assumption that beams and slabs are
simply supported is not necessarily valid. When the strains are insufficient to overcome friction, the beams and
slabs will act as if they were structurally continuous, even where nominally pinned connections are used. In this
case, a more accurate result will be obtained by modelling the joints as rigid connections.
Also non-structural elements, e.g. partitions, can significantly affect the vibration performance of floors. Their
influence is complex however and partitions may be reconfigured over time. Therefore the influence of partitions is
generally not included in the structural models.
The methods presented for evaluating natural frequencies of beams are broadly applicable to cantilevers. However,
due to the ineffective mobilisation of mass near to the free end of the cantilever, the simplified method of
calculating response can be unsafe and should not be used. Designers should only use the general procedure
(finite element analysis) for cantilevers.
Continuity and isolation of critical areas
The structural response is dependent on the floor mass participating in the dynamic movement. Designers may
influence the floor response by taking measures to control the extent of floor participation. Where a greater mass is
required, designers should seek to maximise the area of floor participating in the response by way of floor plate
continuity. Conversely, where specific areas are especially sensitive to vibration, it may be desirable to isolate
these areas from the rest of the floor.
A floor which has not been designed to be continuous when loaded statically, may act as such under dynamic
conditions. If a floor plate is continuous over a beam, or if the beam provides continuity, the floor plate can
generally be considered continuous for dynamic performance. For composite beam applications, care must be
taken to ensure that transverse reinforcement is provided, as its absence can lead to a worsening of vibration
performance over time, as cracks form and continuity is lost.
To isolate an area of floor, it must be structurally separated from the rest of the floor. This may be achieved by the
provision of construction joints all around the edges. Alternatively, the stiffness of the floor may be increased
locally; this has the effect of isolating the area.
Precast concrete units in composite design
Precast units with an in situ concrete topping and supplementary continuity reinforcement will behave in a similar
manner to a metal decking composite floor system, if connected to the supporting beams through shear
connectors, or if trapped between the flanges of the beams (e.g. slim floor construction). However, if shear
connectors are not provided to the supporting beams, the area considered to participate in the motion should
correspond to half the beam span multiplied by half the beam spacing.
If a structural topping is not provided to the precast units, the designer should be aware that there is a danger that
the units could vibrate independently from one another. This will result in a high response, owing to the relatively
low effective mass participating in the motion.
Architectural design considerations
Walking paths
Some areas of a floor will have a higher response than others due to the mode shapes of the vibration. Generally,
areas close to beams and columns will be less responsive than areas in the middle of a slab as these form nodal
lines, i.e. limited or no motion. By locating walking paths closer to these less responsive areas, many vibration
issues may be eliminated.
In addition to location, the length of the corridor should be considered. The longer the corridor, the greater the time
associated with the walking activity. Reducing corridor lengths or breaking-up the corridor into smaller lengths
reduces the duration of any given walking activity and may prevent the build up of a resonant response.
Location of aerobic areas
25 / 29
Aerobic areas are, by their very nature, likely to experience a high dynamic response. Due to continuity of the floor,
this response may be transmitted into other areas of the building. It is, therefore, advisable to take care when
positioning aerobic areas to ensure that the affected floor locations do not exhibit a response that would be
considered unacceptable. Ideally, office, residential and other communal locations should not be placed close to
areas where rhythmic activities are likely to take place.
Case studies
The Noel-Baker School, Alvaston, Derby

The Royal Orthopaedic Hospital, Birmingham

References
1. ^ BS EN 1991-1-4:2005+A1:2010, Eurocode 1. Actions on structures. General actions. Wind actions, BSI.
2. ^
2.02.12.22.3
BS 6472-1:2008, Guide to evaluation of human exposure to vibration in buildings. Vibration
sources other than blasting, BSI.
3. ^ BS 6841:1987 Guide to measurement and evaluation of human exposure to whole-body mechanical
vibration and repeated shock, BSI
4. ^ BS 6399-1:1996, Loading for buildings. Code of practice for dead and imposed loads, BSI.
5. ^ NA to BS EN 1991-1-1:2002, UK National Annex to Eurocode 1. Actions on structures. General actions.
Densities, self-weight, imposed loads for buildings, BSI.
6. ^ BS EN 1990: 2002. Eurocode: Basis of structural design. BSI
7. ^
7.07.17.2
ISO 10137: Bases for design of structures Serviceability of buildings against vibration,
International Organisation for Standardization, 2007.
8. ^ BS EN 1993-1-1:2005 Eurocode 3. Design of steel structures. General rules and rules for buildings, BSI
9. ^ Design Guide 11: Floor Vibrations Due To Human Activity, AISC/CISC Steel Design Guide Series 11,
American Institute of Steel Construction, 1997.
10. ^
10.010.110.2
Health Technical Memorandum 08-01: Acoustics, The Stationery Office 2008.
11. ^ Acoustics: Technical design manual, Version:0.6:England. Department of Health, 2012.
12. ^ Hicks, S.J., Brozzetti, J., Remy, B. and Lawson, R.M. Dimensionnement Des Planchers Mixtes Acier
Beton vis--vis des Vibrations Construction Metallique No.1, pp 3-31, 2003 (in French).
Further reading
Steel Designers Manual (7th Edition) SCI, Chapter 13, Structural vibration
Ellis, B.R. On the response of long-span floors to walking loads generated by individuals and crowds, The
Structural Engineer, 78(10), May 2000, pp 17-25.
Resources
SCI P354: Design of floors for vibration: A new approach (Revised Edition), 2009
See also
Cost of structural steelwork
Healthcare buildings
Composite construction
Long-span beams
Multi-storey office buildings
28 / 29
Residential and mixed-use buildings
CPD
Floor vibrations
Powered by TCPDF (www.tcpdf.org)
29 / 29

Floor Vibrations

Enviado por

Dados do documento

Descrição original:

Direitos autorais

Formatos disponíveis

Compartilhar este documento

Compartilhar ou incorporar documento

Opções de compartilhamento

Você considera este documento útil?

Este conteúdo é inapropriado?

Direitos autorais:

Formatos disponíveis

Floor Vibrations

Enviado por

Direitos autorais:

Formatos disponíveis

SteelConstruction.

Você também pode gostar