Reliability of Assessment Criteria for Building Floor Vibrations Under Human Excitation

Abstract

Vibration serviceability of floor structures under internal human excitations is a key criterion that determines the acceptability or otherwise of both new-build structures and those that have been altered or subjected to a change of use. To assist structural engineers in the design of such floors and the assessment of the vibration environment, there are a number of guidelines and standards that propose limits for various occupancies. This paper focuses on vibration serviceability of office floors under human excitation and examines actual responses acquired from whole day monitoring of four typical office floor structures. The reliability of the limits proposed in the various guidance documents is assessed, with the key conclusions that limits based on R factors are not particularly reliable and assessments on the basis of vibration dose values are more reliable but the currently specified limit in BS6472 may be too high.