Vibration serviceability of floors subjected to footfall loading of single and multiple occupants

Abstract

There is an increasing number of modern floors designed according to current vibration serviceability design guidelines failing to provide satisfactory vibration serviceability performance. This is because the design guidelines are based on assumptions and knowledge that were available in the late 1990s and at the beginning of the 21st century. Since then, there has been developments in the construction trends towards lightweight and modular structures. Numerous number of studies were conducted in the last few years to improve design tools related to vibration serviceability of floors. However, there are still gaps where the realism of these models and design tools can be improved. This thesis aims to improve the realism of design tools related to footfall-induced vibration of floors based on the usage of floors. An improved method to take into account the influence of dynamic interaction between walking individuals and lightweight floors on the vibration response calculations is proposed. For floors in sensitive facilities, an improved model to predict vibration levels for any probability of exceedance is derived. This model is suitable for single person walking scenario which is relevant for such floors. A model for multiple pedestrian walking scenario is also developed to be utilised for other types of floors where this walking scenario is more likely to occur. To derive such a model, an advanced Ultra-WideBand location tracking system was utilised to collect data regarding people’s occupancy and movements on floors. This model was utilised to develop two approaches to predict vibration levels using a simplified method and a more comprehensive framework which includes full simulation of people’s movements and their corresponding vibration responses.