Evaluation of Steel Stairwell Dynamic Characteristics, Under Few Mass Configurations Using Ambient Vibration Method

Application of external mass on existing emergency steel stairwell in this study has altered the natural frequency when the resonance threshold has been reached and allows disruption to the human comfort feeling. Ambient vibration testing and modal analysis were carried out on 6 meter height of emergency steel stairway portal frame by using 1 Hz of tri-axial seismometer sensor and open source software of GEOPSY as the processing tool. The stairwell platforms were subjected by cumulative ascending static mass configurations of 300 kg, 600 kg and 900 kg. Identification of the predominant first mode frequency, f1, and mode shapes were made with specified empirical filtering protocols were applied.  Fourier Amplitude Spectra (FAS) was used to transform the ambient vibration time series, when the first predominant frequency under bare frame (BF) condition shows at 8.32 Hz. f1 decreased linearly to 7.35 Hz (BF+300kg), 6.77 Hz (BF+600kg) and 6.23 Hz (BF+900 kg), when the masses were increased. In addition, at these frequencies’ ranges, bad human subjective experiences could be triggered as recommended by previous researchers between 8 to 5 Hz. Besides, the deflection shapes from the first mode frequency was also illustrated at higher deflection amplitude to one of the portal frame’s column which resisting two stairwell platforms. These amplitudes are higher when f1 is decreasing. It can be concluded that, ambient vibration approach has efficiently evaluated the dynamic characteristics and its influence against the structure-person interaction on existing steel stairwell portal frame in this study. Further strengthening work on the steel frame could decrease the reductions percentages of the predominant frequencies, deflection amplitudes and even increase the human comfort level when using the stairwell, especially during building evacuation procedure

Vibration serviceability of footbridges under human-induced excitation : a literature review

Increasing strength of new structural materials and longer spans of new footbridges, accompanied with aesthetic requirements for greater slenderness, are resulting in more lively footbridge structures. In the past few years this issue attracted great public attention. The excessive lateral sway motion caused by crowd walking across the infamous Millennium Bridge in London is the prime example of the vibration serviceability problem of footbridges. In principle, consideration of footbridge vibration serviceability requires a characterisation of the vibration source, path and receiver. This paper is the most comprehensive review published to date of about 200 references which deal with these three key issues. The literature survey identified humans as the most important source of vibration for footbridges. However, modelling of the crowd-induced dynamic force is not clearly defined yet, despite some serious attempts to tackle this issue in the last few years. The vibration path is the mass, damping and stiffness of the footbridge. Of these, damping is the most uncertain but extremely important parameter as the resonant behaviour tends to govern vibration serviceability of footbridges. A typical receiver of footbridge vibrations is a pedestrian who is quite often the source of vibrations as well. Many scales for rating the human perception of vibrations have been found in the published literature. However, few are applicable to footbridges because a receiver is not stationary but is actually moving across the vibrating structure. During footbridge vibration, especially under crowd load, it seems that some form of human–structure interaction occurs. The problem of influence of walking people on footbridge vibration properties, such as the natural frequency and damping is not well understood, let alone quantified. Finally, there is not a single national or international design guidance which covers all aspects of the problem comprehensively and some form of their combination with other published information is prudent when designing major footbridge structures. The overdue update of the current codes to reflect the recent research achievements is a great challenge for the next 5–10 years

Damping in Timber Structures

Key point to development of environmentally friendly timber structures, appropriate to urban ways of living, is the development of high-rise timber buildings. Comfort properties are nowadays one of the main limitations to tall timber buildings, and an enhanced knowledge on damping phenomena is therefore required, as well as improved prediction models for damping. The aim of this work has consequently been to estimate various damping quantities in timber structures. In particular, models have been derived for predicting material damping in timber members, beams or panels, or in more complex timber structures, such as floors. Material damping is defined as damping due to intrinsic material properties, and used to be referred to as internal friction. In addition, structural damping, defined as damping due to connections and friction in-between members, has been estimated for timber floors. The thesis consists of six main parts. The first part is entitled “Contexts”, and is composed of four chapters. A general overview of the wood material and its structural use in buildings is presented in Chapter 1. Chapter 2 gives a thorough literature review on comfort properties of (timber) floors. Chapter 1 and Chapter 2 serve as justifications for the motivation of this work, expressed in Chapter 3, and the aim of the work, expressed in Chapter 4. The next part “Backgrounds” briefly describes the basic theories used along the thesis, for the analytical studies (Chapter 5), the experimental studies (Chapter 6), and the numerical studies (Chapter 7). The part “State of the art” is a general literature review on damping (Chapter 8). A particular accent is set on the derivation of various damping prediction models. The “Research” part summarizes the original research work. Chapter 9 briefly presents the background and main findings for each study, and Chapter 10 concludes and proposes suggestions for further research. The studies are detailed in four journal papers, which are integrally reported in the “Publications” part. Paper I focuses on the evaluation of material damping in timber beam specimens with dimensions typical of common timber floor structures. Using the impact test method, 11 solid wood beams and 11 glulam beams made out of Norway Spruce (Picea Abies) were subjected to flexural vibrations. The tests involved different spans and orientations. A total of 420 material damping evaluations were performed, and the results are presented as mean values for each configuration along with important statistical indicators to quantify their reliability. The consistency of the experimental method was validated with respect to repeatability and reproducibility. General trends found an increasing damping ratio for higher modes, shorter spans, and edgewise orientations. It is concluded from the results that material damping is governed by shear deformation, which can be expressed more conveniently with respect to the specific mode shape and its derivatives. Paper II deals with the prediction of material damping in Timoshenko beams. Complex elastic moduli and complex stiffness are defined to derive an analytical model that predicts the hysteretic system damping for the whole member. The prediction model comprises two parts, the first related to bending, and the second related to shear. Selected experimental damping evaluations from Paper I are used to validate the model and obtain fitted values of loss factors for two types of wood. The good agreement of the derived model with experimental data reveals an efficient approach in the prediction of material damping. In Paper III, a semi-analytical prediction model of material damping in timber panels is described. The approach is derived from the strain energy method and input is based on loss factors, which are intrinsic properties of the considered materials, together with material properties and mode shape integrals, whose calculation can easily be implemented in most finite element codes. Experimental damping evaluations of three types of timber panels are performed. These are particleboards, oriented strand board panels and structural laminated veneer panels. Fair goodness-of-fit between the experimental results and the prediction models reveals an efficient approach for the prediction of material damping in timber panels with any boundary conditions, knowing only the loss factors and the mode shapes. In Paper IV, dynamic properties of two timber floors are experimentally evaluated by impact method. Each floor uses one specified type of connectors, either screws or nails. A numerical model is developed using constrained degrees-of-freedom for the modeling of connectors. Numerical analyses have been performed, and show good agreement with experimental results. A procedure is written using the commercial finite element software Abaqus to predict material damping from a strain energy approach. Estimation of structural damping is performed as the difference between the experimentally evaluated total damping and the predicted material damping. The contribution from floor members to material damping is extensively investigated, and the needs for better prediction of damping are discussed. Specific details of some aspects of the work are included in the “Appendix” part.PhD i konstruksjonsteknikkPhD in Structural Engineerin

Vibration of steel framed floors due to running

Master of ScienceDepartment of Architectural Engineering and Construction ScienceBill ZhangVibration has been a consideration in many types of structures, and as the advancement of technology has allowed steel and concrete sections to become lighter, vibration has become more of a consideration in the design of structures. This report focuses on occupant induced vibration of steel framed floors due to running as the vibration source. The history of vibration analysis and criteria in structures is discussed. However, lack of research and experimentation on running as the source of vibration exists; therefore, the history section focuses on walking as the source of vibration. The current design criteria for vibration of steel framed floors in the United States of America is the American Institute of Steel Construction (AISC) Design Guide 11: Vibrations of Steel Framed Structural Systems Due to Human Activity. This design guide discusses vibration due to walking, running, and rhythmic activities as well as gives design criteria for sensitive occupancies and sensitive equipment. In order to apply the Design Guide 11 analysis procedure for running as the source of vibration, the Kansas State University Chester E. Peters Recreation Complex is used as a case study. The recreation complex includes a 1/5-mile running track that is supported by a composite steel framed floor. Based on the Design Guide 11 criterion, the running track is deemed acceptable. Lastly, this report discusses remedial procedures in the case of annoying floor vibration specific to floors that have running as a source of vibration. In addition, areas of further research are suggested where running is a source of vibration on steel framed floors

Dynamic Behaviour of LVL-Concrete Composite Flooring Systems

An LVL-concrete composite floor (LCC) is a hybrid flooring system, which was adapted from a timber-concrete composite (TCC) floor system. By replacing the timber or glulam joists with LVL joists, the strength of the floor was increased. However, the demand nowadays is to build longer spans and this may reduce the stiffness and lead to the floor being more susceptible to vibration problems. While the vibration problem may not be as critical as other structural issues, people could feel sick and not comfortable if the floor vibrates at the resonant frequency of the human body. Hence, this research focuses on the dynamic behaviour of long span LCC flooring systems. Experimental testing and finite element modelling was used to determine the dynamic behaviour, with particular regard to the natural frequency, fn and mode shape of an LCC floor. Initially, a representative series of LVL-concrete composite specimen types were built starting from (1) full-scale T-joist specimens, (2) reduced-scale (one-third) multi-span T-joist specimens and (3) reduced-scale (one-third) 3m x 3 m floor. The specimens were tested using an electrodynamic shaker. The SAP 2000 finite element modelling package was used to model and evaluate the full- and reduced-scale LVLconcrete composite T-joist experimental results. Additionally, a 8m x 7.8 m LCC floor was modelled and analysed using SAP 2000. The behaviour of the 8m LCC floor was investigated through the changing of (1) concrete topping thickness, (2) depth of LVL joist, (3) different types of boundary conditions, and (4) the stiffness of the connectors. Both the experimental results and the finite element analyses agreed and showed that increased stiffness increased the natural frequency of the floor, and the boundary conditions influenced the dynamic behaviour of the LCC floor. Providing more restraint increased the stiffness of the floor system. The connectors' stiffness did not influence the dynamic performance of the floor. The study outcomes were based on a 8 Hz natural frequency limitation where the fundamental natural frequency of the LCC floor must exceed 8 Hz in order to prevent vibration problems. The research showed that a 8 m LCC long span floor can be constructed using LVL joists of between 300 mm to 400 mm depth with a concrete thickness of 65 mm for the longer spans, and joists of between 150 mm to 240 mm depth in conjunction with a concrete topping thickness of 100 mm for the shorter spans

Vibration serviceability of footbridges under human-induced excitation: a literature review

issue: 1-2articleIncreasing strength of new structural materials and longer spans of new footbridges, accompanied with aesthetic requirements for greater slenderness, are resulting in more lively footbridge structures. In the past few years this issue attracted great public attention. The excessive lateral sway motion caused by crowd walking across the infamous Millennium Bridge in London is the prime example of the vibration serviceability problem of footbridges. In principle, consideration of footbridge vibration serviceability requires a characterisation of the vibration source, path and receiver. This paper is the most comprehensive review published to date of about 200 references which deal with these three key issues. The literature survey identified humans as the most important source of vibration for footbridges. However, modelling of the crowd-induced dynamic force is not clearly defined yet, despite some serious attempts to tackle this issue in the last few years. The vibration path is the mass, damping and stiffness of the footbridge. Of these, damping is the most uncertain but extremely important parameter as the resonant behaviour tends to govern vibration serviceability of footbridges. A typical receiver of footbridge vibrations is a pedestrian who is quite often the source of vibrations as well. Many scales for rating the human perception of vibrations have been found in the published literature. However, few are applicable to footbridges because a receiver is not stationary but is actually moving across the vibrating structure. During footbridge vibration, especially under crowd load, it seems that some form of human–structure interaction occurs. The problem of influence of walking people on footbridge vibration properties, such as the natural frequency and damping is not well understood, let alone quantified. Finally, there is not a single national or international design guidance which covers all aspects of the problem comprehensively and some form of their combination with other published information is prudent when designing major footbridge structures. The overdue update of the current codes to reflect the recent research achievements is a great challenge for the next 5–10 years

Numerical Study of New Tuned Mass Friction Damper for Seismic Protection of Civil Structures

Tuned Mass Friction Dampers (TMFDs) are passive control systems designed to mitigate vibrations in civil structures subjected to extreme lateral forces such as windstorms and earthquakes. The objective of this thesis is to propose a new TMFDs with enhanced energy dissipation capability for seismic protection of multi-story frame buildings. This new TMFD is termed as “Tuned Mass Multi-Sliding Friction Damper” (TMMSFD) consisting of multiple masses connected to the primary structure through linear springs and while sliding relative to each other at multiple sliding surfaces. TMMSFD offers an improved damping mechanism with reduced stick-slip motion effects compared to standard TMFDs which suffer from these effects at low velocities when their dynamic states abruptly shift from sliding to sticking phases. In particular, during the sticking phase, standard TMFDs cannot store or dissipate the seismic input energy. It will be shown that the proposed TMMSFD can outperform standard TMFDs in energy dissipation