Vibration Testing and Analysis of a Monumental Stair

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Proceedings of the IMAC XXXII A Conference and Exposition on Structural Dynamics Rosen Plaza Hotel, Orlando, Florida February 3-6, 2014

Vibration Testing and Analysis of A Monumental Stair Mehdi Setareh, Ph.D., P.E., and Xiaoyao Wang Virginia Tech Blacksburg, Virginia 24061 ABSTRACT Excessive and annoying vibrations in buildings, stadiums, and footbridges have become more common in the past two decades due to several reasons including the tendency to optimize the use of building materials, use of higher strength and lighter structural properties, etc. Stair vibrations have also become an important design issue mainly due to the architects’ desire to create more innovative, slender, light, and flexible monumental structures. Large vibrations and movements of stairs can become serious safety and serviceability problems, as they have the potential to disrupt the evacuation during an emergency and also people may feel unsafe during the normal use. Even though over the past two decades a large number of research studies on the floor vibrations have been conducted, very little information is available for stairs. This paper presents experimental and analytical studies of a large monumental stair. Using an electrodynamic shaker and a series of seismic accelerometers, a set of modal tests was performed on the structure. This was done to estimate the dynamic properties of the stair. A computer model of the structure was created using the common practices used in structural engineering design offices. Comparison of the measured stair responses and the results of computer analysis showed reasonable agreement. A Cumulative Modal Assurance Criterion (CMAC) was introduced, and was used to identify the degrees of freedom with low quality measured responses. It was found that CMAC performs better than Enhanced Coordinate Modal Assurance Criterion (ECOMAC) and Coordinate Modal Assurance Criterion (COMAC) when the response is due to the excitation of a single mode. Several walking and running tests were conducted on the structure, which showed the structure may not be susceptible to large levels of vibrations for everyday use. Keywords: Staircase; Vibration Serviceability; Human Vibrations; Cumulative Modal Assurance Criterion (CMAC); Coordinate Modal Assurance Criterion (COMAC); Enhanced Coordinate Modal Assurance Criterion (ECOMAC).

Introduction In recent years, a trend in the architecture community to design long-span monumental stairs has started. These structures are generally slender, light, and flexible, which result in low natural frequencies. They are often susceptible to excessive vibrations that can become annoying to people. Serviceability problems as related to excessive vibrations of stairs have been studied by researchers since the 1970s. Nilsson [1] measured the magnitude of the footfall force of fifteen people descending a stair at 2 steps/sec (Hz) and found that it was up to four times the individuals’ body weights. Alcock and Lander [2] measured the average forcing function for a single footfall on a stair and concluded that descending at a normal rate generates forces up to two times the body weight. Bishop, et al. [3;4] measured the forcing functions on stairs, and studied the effects of group loading, in addition to the acceptable vibration levels for stairs. They found that the presence of people could increase the damping ratio with negligible effects on the natural frequency. Kerr and Bishop [5;6] studied the difference between the floor and stair loadings due to people movements. With the help of twenty-five human subjects, an instrumented platform, and a staircase, they conducted various tests. They concluded that the most comfortable paces for ascent were near 2 Hz, and below 2.3 Hz for descents. When running, step frequencies of about 3.3 Hz for ascents and above 3.3 Hz for descents were the most comfortable speeds. Bishop, et al. [3;4] studied stair vibration levels that can be acceptable to humans by introducing a non-dimensional factor, R, to be applied to the acceptable r.m.s. of acceleration based on the limits recommended by BS6472 [7]. They recommended R=32 for the light-use stairs (for example in office buildings), R=24 for heavy-use stairs (for example in public buildings), and R=64 for very lightly-used stairs and for cases where group effects are expected. These recommended limits are based on the vibrations


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