DYNAMICS AND VIBRATION

What is Building Vibration?

There are many sources of vibration capable of producing motion sufficient to be perceptible by the occupants of a modern building. Transportation-related sources such as trains, subways, buses and trucks are common external sources of irritation. Often, internal activities such as aerobic exercises, use of indoor tracks or corporate weight rooms can introduce vibration into one part of a building, which is felt elsewhere, producing bewildering periodic problems. Problems also arise from vibration introduced by rotating mechanical equipment in basements or mechanical penthouses. These dynamic situations are difficult to predict with static design methods.

Sophisticated Finite Element Analysis (FEA) Techniques can be used to solve floor vibration problems which can affect people in a high-rise office boardroom or disturb sensitive medical and industrial equipment, and to design isolation systems for both small equipment and entire buildings.

HGC Engineering is a consulting engineering firm based near Toronto, Canada, providing services in the fields of vibration, noise and acoustics.

Common Vibration Sources

EXTERNAL SOURCES

• Seismic activity
• Subway, road and rail systems
• Industrial metalworking facilities
• Construction equipment
• Wind

INTERNAL SOURCES

• HVAC equipment
• Elevator and conveyance systems
• Fluid pumping equipment
• Aerobics and exercise rooms

Common Vibration Impacts

• Human annoyance
• Structural fatigue
• Disturbance of sensitive equipment

(Scanning Electron Microscopes, Nuclear Magnetic Resonance equipment, Coordinate centering equipment)