Evaluation of Floor Vibration in a Biotechnology Laboratory Caused by Human Walking

Abstract

A floor supported on long-span beams, which was designed to accommodate bio research instruments, is evaluated for vibration induced by people walking. First, a brief review in vibration criteria is given. The variation of force time histories imposed by people’s feet on supporting objects is also discussed. Both beam and floor finite-element models are then used to simulate the local walking response of the floor mathematically. Footfall forces are applied to the finite-element models via triangular distribution function. A comparison of the time history analysis results with the vibration criteria shows that the floor performs well under people walking. Field measurements were also conducted after the completion of the construction. The measured results show a good correlation with the finite-element analysis results. During the analyses, it was also found that as long as the local floor model covers a structural bay, the boundary conditions of the floor model do not affect the response much. Using an equivalent constant footfall force function can produce similar results compared with those obtained using a more sophisticated force function.