NCCI: Vibrations

SN036a-EN-EU
NCCI: Vibrations
This NCCI gives rules for the consideration of vibrations by simple (and thus conservative)
approaches for verification.

Contents
1. Introduction 2
2. Eigenfrequencies 3
3. Modal Mass 5
4. Damping 7
5. Acceleration from human activities 8
6. Acceptable accelerations 10
7. References 16

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NCCI: Vibrations
SN036a-EN-EU
1. Introduction
The verification of serviceability limit states should include taking account of criteria
concerning vibrations (EN 1990 3.4(3)). Additional provisions are given in the relevant
material ENs. Requirements for modelling to determine dynamic actions are given in
EN 1990 5.1.3 and reference is made to EN 1990 A.1.4.4 for guidance on assessing the
limits. That clause in turn refers to ISO 10137 for further guidance. The clause is also
referred to by EN 1993-1-1 7.2.3 and EN 1994-1-1 7.3.2 but it is noted that the National
Annex may specify limits.
The procedure presented below is based on the recommendations and requirements given by
ISO 10137 and ISO 2631. For cases where the guidance in these Standards is unavailable, or
incomplete, recommendations that have been developed in the ECSC project entitled
Vibration of Floors (Project reference: 7210-PR/314) are presented.
An overview of the design procedure is given in Figure 1.1.

Determine Eigenfrequencies
By computer calculation
By hand (see Section 2)
Determine Modal Mass M
m

By computer calculation
By hand (see Section 3)
Determine Modal Damping
For calculations (see Section 4)
Determine Acceleration
By computer calculation
By hand (see Section 5)
Compare with Acceptable
Accelerations
(See Section 6)


Figure 1.1 Design procedure
The most realistic assessment will be obtained by applying the procedure with measured
values of the Eigenfrequencies, modal mass and damping.
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NCCI: Vibrations
SN036a-EN-EU
For design purposes, the procedure may be applied to computer or simple hand calculations.
An approach for calculating the Eigenfrequencies of the floor, which is amenable to hand
calculations, is given in Section 2. Values of the modal mass and the damping are given in
Section 3 and Section 4 respectively. An approach for predicting the acceleration from
walking activities is presented in Section 5, which can be compared with recommended levels
of acceptable accelerations in Section 6.
The limits given in Section 6 may be used where the National Annex does not give specific
limits or where it gives limits different from those derived from ISO 10137.
2. Eigenfrequencies
In conventional composite floor systems, the first Eigenfrequency of a floor may be estimated
by using engineering judgement on the likely mode shape and the support, or boundary
conditions, this will impose on the individual structural components. For example, on a
simple composite floor comprising a slab continuous over a number of secondary beams,
which in turn, are supported by stiff primary beams, there are two possible mode shapes that
may be sensibly considered:
Secondary (floor) beam mode
The primary beams form nodal lines (i.e. they have zero deflection) about which, the
secondary beams vibrate as simply-supported members (see Figure 2.1(a)). In this case, the
slab flexibility is affected by the approximately equal deflections of the supports. As a result
of this, the slab frequency is assessed on the basis that fixed-ended boundary conditions exist.
Primary (main) beam mode
The primary beams vibrate about the columns as simply-supported members (see
Figure 2.1(b)). Using a similar reasoning as above, due to the approximately equal
deflections at their supports, the secondary beams (as well as the slab) are assessed on the
basis that fixed-ended boundary conditions exist.


(a) (b)

Figure 2.1 Typical fundamental mode shapes for composite floor systems (a) governed by
secondary beam flexibility (b) governed by primary beam flexibility
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NCCI: Vibrations
SN036a-EN-EU
As steel construction is essentially an overlay of one-way spanning elements, the frequency of
the whole floor system can be calculated for each mode shape, by summing the deflection
calculated from each of the above components, and placing this value within the equation
below. The lowest frequency value determined by consideration of these two cases defines
the fundamental frequency of the floor f
0
.

18
0
= f
where:
is the total deflection (in millimetres) based on the gross second moment of area of
the composite beam or slab, with a load corresponding to the self weight, and other
permanent loads, plus the variable load multiplied by the frequent variable action
factor (it is recommended that, for vibrations, ). 1 , 0
1

1

For cases when the floor grid is regular, the value of may be determined from Table 2.1.
Table 2.1 Total deflection of a floor panel for a variety of framing arrangements
Framing
arrangement
Secondary beam mode of
vibration
Condition when
mode shape is
governed by the
motion of the
primary beams
Primary beam mode of vibration
b L

+ =
slab
3
b
4
5
384 I
b
I
L
E
b
- -
L
b

As above b 3
3
p
16
I
L
b
I

+ + =
slab
3
b
4
p
3
64
384 I
b
I
L
I
L b
E
b

L
b

As above
b
3
3
p
92
I
L
b
I

+ + =
slab
3
b
4
p
3
368
384 I
b
I
L
I
L b
E
b

Notes: is the load per unit area, E is the Youngs modulus for steel, b is the spacing of the secondary beams, L is the span of
the secondary beams, I
b
and I
p
is the dynamic second gross second moment of area of the composite secondary beam and
primary beam respectively (which may conservatively taken as that used in the static design and increased by 10%) and I
slab
is
the second moment of area of the composite slab in steel units (which may be determined from Table 2.2).
Table 2.2 Dynamic second moment of area for composite slabs with different deck types
Profile type Deck height, h
p
Dynamic second moment of area per
metre width, I
slab

NWC LWC
0.37 h
3.7
0.65 h
3.5
Re-entrant deck h
p
=51 mm
0.23 h
3.7
0.40 h
3.5
h
p
=60 mm Trapezoidal deck
0.19 h
3.7
0.37 h
3.5
h
p
=80 mm Trapezoidal deck
0.05 h
3.7
0.12 h
3.5
h
p
=225 mm Trapezoidal deck
Notes: NWC normal weight concrete, LWC lightweight concrete and h is the overall slab depth.
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NCCI: Vibrations
SN036a-EN-EU
3. Modal Mass
The effective vibrating mass M may be taken as equal to mSL
eff
/ 4, where m is mass per unit
area (kg/m) of the floor plus any loading that is considered to be permanent. The values of S
and L
eff
should be taken from Table 3.1, where:
RF
p
is the relative flexibility of the primary beam
*
S
is the effective width of the floor participating in the vibration, calculated from the
effective slab stiffness, given by:
4 / 1
2
0
slab *
5 , 4

=
mf
EI
S (m)
where is the dynamic flexural rigidity of the slab in Nm per metre width
(e.g. from
slab
EI
Table 2.2, for a 140 mm NWC slab with a 60 mm trapezoidal deck
= 210 0,23 140
3.7
10
-3
= 4 213 000 Nm)
b
EI
sla
*
L is the effective span of the secondary beam participating in the vibration, calculated
from effective composite beam stiffness, given by:
4 / 1
2
0
*
8 , 3

=
mbf
EI
L
b
(m)
where is the dynamic flexural rigidity of the composite secondary beam (Nm)
and b is the secondary beam spacing (m)
b
EI
W is the width of the floor plate under consideration (m)
is the span of the primary beam (m)
m
L
is the total length of the secondary beam when considered to act continuously (m)
max
L
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NCCI: Vibrations
SN036a-EN-EU
Table 3.1 Values for dimensions L
eff
and S used in determining the effective mass of the floor
Indicative floor layout Qualifying
conditions
L
eff
(m) S (m)
RF
p
<0,2 L S
*
but W
Case 1
L
m
S*
w
L

RF
p
>0,2 L
Greater of S
*
or
L
m
but W
L =L 2 L
0,8 L <l <L 1,7 L
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w
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S*
As for Case (1)
above
l <0,8 L L

RF
p
<0,6 2L
Case 3
w
L
L

RF
p
>0,6 L
*
but L
max

W
W
2
=W
1
2 W
1

W
2
>0,8 W
1
1,7 W
1

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Case 4
L
L
w
w
w
1
2
As for
Case (3) above
W
2
<0,8 W
1
W
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NCCI: Vibrations
SN036a-EN-EU
4. Damping
For calculations, assumptions on the magnitude of the damping values have to be made. As
damping depends on different boundary conditions, which cannot be defined in general for all
buildings, Table 4.1 gives components for damping values for different types of structures,
furniture and finishes.
The resulting damping value is the sum of these three components.
Table 4.1 Components of damping
Type Damping
(% of critical damping)
Structural damping of bare floors
Wood joist floors 2%
Reinforced concrete, monolithic 1,5%
Prestressed concrete, precast 1,3%
Steel 1,3%
Steel-concrete composite beams with shear connectors 1,8%
Damping due to furniture
Traditional office for 1 to 3 persons with separation walls 2%
Paperless office 0%
Open plan office. 0,5%
Library 1%
Houses 1%
Schools 0%
Gymnastic 0%
Damping due to finishes
Ceiling under the floor 0,5%
Free floating floor 0%
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NCCI: Vibrations
SN036a-EN-EU
5. Acceleration from human activities
In comparing the predictions calculated in Section 5.2 and Section 5.3 with the acceptable
accelerations in Section 6, the predicted accelerations should be converted from peak values
to root-mean-square (rms) values. The rms acceleration is defined as:
2 / 1
0
2
rms
) (
1

=

T
dt t a
T
a
where
a(t) is the acceleration time-history
T is the integration time in seconds (taken as 1-second in accordance with
ISO 2631-1: 1997)
For continuous steady-state sinusoidal motion, the magnitude of the rms acceleration may
simply be taken as the peak acceleration amplitude, a
peak
/ 2 0,707 a
peak
.
Once the predicted rms acceleration has been calculated, the acceptability of a floor may
assessed by:
1. comparing the calculated rms acceleration with the appropriate frequency-weighted base
curve given in Figure 6.3, Figure 6.4 and Figure 6.5; or
2. filtering, or frequency-weighting, the calculated rms acceleration and comparing this with
the base values in Table 6.1.
The appropriate frequency-weighting factors for different vibration directions are as follows
(N.B. the base curves given in Figure 6.3 and Figure 6.4 have been derived from dividing the
base values in Table 6.1 by the frequency-weighting factors given below):
z-axis vibrations
o
f a a 5 . 0
rms rms
= for 3 Hz < f
0
< 4 Hz Weighted
or
Weighted for 4 Hz f
0
8 Hz
rms rms
a a =
or
0
rms rms
8
f
a a = for f
0
> 8 Hz Weighted
x- and y-axis vibrations
2
0
rms rms
f
a a = for f
0
> 3 Hz Weighted
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NCCI: Vibrations
SN036a-EN-EU
5.2 Resonant response (low frequency floors)
For floor structures where the first Eigenfrequency is between approximately 3 to 10 Hz, the
floor is described as low frequency. In this case, harmonic components of the walking force
can coincide with the floor frequency causing resonant excitation. By assuming that the
response is sinusoidal, the peak acceleration is given by:

2
1
0
peak
M
P
a
n
=
where

n
is the Fourier coefficient of the n
th
harmonic. Owing to the fact that the largest
accelerations are generated when the first Eigenfrequency of a floor is an integer
multiple (harmonic) of the pacing frequency, the appropriate Fourier coefficient may
be taken from in Table 5.1 by equating the first Eigenfrequency of the floor to the
common range of the forcing frequency (for walking activities, it may be assumed
that the floor is effectively tuned out of the range of the first harmonic component
provided that the first Eigenfrequency of the floor, f
0
> 3,55 Hz).
P
0
is the static force exerted by an average person (normally taken as 76 kg 9,81 =
746N)
M is the modal mass (kg) taken from Section 3.
is the damping ratio, which may be taken from Table 4.1.
The forces produced by a person walking or running depend mainly on the physique of the
person and on the rate of walking or running, and to a lesser degree on the type of shoes and
floor construction. Examples of the Fourier coefficients,
n
for a continuous series of steps
for various ranges of walking or running rates are given in Table 5.1.
Table 5.1 Examples of design parameters for moving forces due to one person
Acti vity Harmonic
number,
n
Common range of
forcing frequency,
nf
p
(Hz)
Fourier coefficient for
vertical direction

n

Walking 1 1,5 to 2,5 0,37 (f 1,0)
2 3,0 to 5,0 0,1
3 4,5 to 7,5 0,06
4 6,0 to 10,0 0,06
Running 1 2,0 to 4,0 1,4
2 4,0 to 8,0 0,4
3 6,0 to 12,0 0,1
5.3 Impulsive response (high frequency floors)
For floor structures where the first Eigenfrequency is greater than approximately 10 Hz, the
floor is described as high frequency. In this case, the response is dominated by a train of
impulses, which correspond to the heel impacts made by the walker. The peak acceleration
on floors of this type may be calculated from:
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M
I
f a
0 peak
2 =
where:
I is the impulsive force from the person in Newton-seconds (Ns).
From Young[8], it is recommended that the following equation may be used to establish the
effective impulsive force from walking activities:
3 . 1
m
43 . 1
p
0
06 . 0
f
f
P I =
where:
f
p
is the pace frequency (taken as 1,5 to 2,5 Hz)
f
m
is the Eigenfrequency of the first mode of vibration
P
0
is the static force exerted by an average person (normally taken as 76 kg
9,81 m/s = 746 N).
6. Acceptable accelerations
NOTE: The limits given below may be used where the National Annex does not give specific
limits or where it gives limits different from those derived from ISO 10137.
When vibration serviceability is assessed the usual variable to measure is acceleration.
However, acceptable vibration levels vary with the frequency of the motion; therefore, it is
necessary to filter the acceleration. The appropriate filters or frequency weighting parameters
are given in ISO 2631-1 for situations where the critical vibration direction is specified or
ISO 2631-2: 2003 if the critical direction is unknown. ISO 2631-1 also describes how
suitable values of rms. acceleration can be determined from the filtered acceleration. If the
ratio of the peak value to the rms value of the filtered acceleration (taken for the full period of
vibration exposure which it is desired to assess) is greater than 6, the rms values may not be
appropriate; in this case, Vibration Dose Values (VDVs), which are based upon a root-mean-
quad (rmq) evaluation, can be used. The appropriate VDV values should then be compared
with the acceptance criteria. See ISO 2631-1:1997 for definitions of rms and VDV,
ISO 2631-2:1989 (Annex B) for definition of rm. q
The recommended acceptable filtered accelerations in buildings are determined from a
multiple of the base rms acceleration levels. The base levels for rms acceleration are given in
Table 6.1.
Table 6.1 Base rms acceleration for various directions
Direction (Figure 6.2) Base rms acceleration (m/s)
5 10
-3
z-axis (foot-to-head direction)
x-axis (side-to-side direction)
3,6 10
-3

y-axis (back-to-chest direction)
Notes:
These accelerations correspond to the lowest values in Figure 6.3, Figure 6.4 and Figure 6.5.
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y
z
x


y
x


x
z
y
z
1
1
1

Key: 1. Supporting surface

Figure 6.2 Directions of basicentric coordinate systems for vibrations influencing humans
6.2 Continuous vibrations
The multiplication factors for rms acceleration are given in Table 6.2. For VDVs the
multiplication factors for continuous vibration in Table 6.2 are also appropriate.
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Table 6.2 Multiplying factors used in several countries to specify satisfactory magnitudes of
building vibration with respect to human response
Place Time Multiplying factors to base curve (Figure 6.3,
Figure 6.4 and Figure 6.5)
1)

Continuous vibration
and intermittent
vibration
2)

Impulsive vibration
excitation with several
occurrences per day
Critical working areas (eg hospital
operating theatres, precision laboratories,
etc.)
Day 1 1
1
3)
Night 1
2 to 4
4)
30 to 90
4)
Residential (eg flats, homes, ward areas
in hospitals)
Day
Night 1.4 1,4 to 20
Quiet office, open plan Day 2 60 to 128
Night 2 60 to 128
General offices (eg offices, schools,
laboratories)
Day 4 60 to 128
Night 4 60 to 128
Busy offices and workshops Day 8 90 to 128
Night 8 90 to 128
Notes:
1) These factors lead to magnitudes of vibration below which the probability of adverse comment is low (any acoustic noise
caused by structural vibration is not considered).
2) Doubling of the suggested vibration magnitudes may result in adverse comment and this may increase significantly if the
magnitudes are quadrupled (where available, dose/response curves may be consulted). "Continuous vibrations" are those with
duration of more than 30 min per 24 h; "intermittent vibrations" are those of more than 10 events per 24 h.
3) Magnitudes of impulsive shock in hospital operating-theatres and critical working places pertain to periods of time when
operations are in progress or critical work is being performed. At other times, magnitudes as high as those for residences are
satisfactory provided there is due agreement and warning.
4) Within residential areas, people exhibit wide variations of vibration tolerance. Specific values are dependent upon social and
cultural factors, psychological attitudes and expected degree of intrusion.

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0.001
0.010
0.100
1.000
1.0 10.0 100.0
Frequency (Hz)
r
m
s

a
c
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l
e
r
a
t
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n

(
m
/
s

)


Figure 6.3 Building vibration z-axis base curve for acceleration (foot-to-head vibration
direction) [Taken from ISO 10137]


0.001
0.010
0.100
1.000
1 10 100
Frequency (Hz)
r
m
s

a
c
c
e
l
e
r
a
t
i
o
n

(
m
/
s

)


Figure 6.4 Building vibration x- and y-axis base curve for acceleration (side-to-side and back-to-
chest vibration direction) [Taken from ISO 10137]

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0.001
0.010
0.100
1.000
1 10 100
Frequency (Hz)
r
m
s

a
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e
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a
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(
m
/
s

)


Figure 6.5 Building vibration combined direction (x-, y-, z- axis) acceleration base curve
[Taken from ISO 10137]
6.3 Vibration Dose Values
The multiplying factors presented in Table 6.2 are based on continuous vibrations, and are
therefore appropriate for floors that are very heavily trafficked with walkers continually
present. For less heavily trafficked floors, walking activities will produce intermittent
vibrations, and a cumulative measure of the floor response may be made through the use of
vibration dose values (VDVs). In these circumstances it can sometimes be shown that the
floor would be acceptable, even when the calculated multiplying factor is greater than the
values given in Table 6.2. (N.B. it is not considered appropriate to use a dose value
assessment on sensitive floors, such as within an operating theatre).
From a recent study of steel-framed floors, Ellis showed that VDVs can be estimated from the
following equation:
25 . 0
rms
68 , 0 t a VDV =
where:
a
rms
is the weighted root-mean-square (rms) acceleration
t is the total duration of the vibration exposure (in seconds).
Should the designer wish to undertake a VDV assessment, the calculated dose values should
be less than or equal to the values presented in Table 6.3, which correspond to a low
probability of adverse comment.
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Table 6.3 Vibration dose values below which there is a low probability of adverse comment
Vibration dose value (m/s
1.75
) Place Time
z-axis x- & y-axis
Residential Day 0,2 to 0.4 0,14 to 0,28
Night 0,13 0,09
Quiet office, open plan 0,2 0,14
General offices 0,4 0,28
Busy offices and workshops 0,8 0,56
For cases when the designer wishes to take advantage of the fact that floor vibrations
occasioned by walking activities are intermittent, the graphs shown in Figure 6.6 may be
used. In Figure 6.6 the time taken for a walker to walk from one end of a corridor to another
is maximized by considering the slowest pace frequency that may be practically achieved
(1,5 Hz). Based on multiplying factors that exceed the requirements for continuous vibrations
in Table 6.2, the number of crossings per hour have been calculated which, according to
Table 6.3, would provide VDVs consistent with a low probability of adverse comment.
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
1 100 10000 1000000
Crossings per hour
M
u
l
t
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p
l
y
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n
g

f
a
c
t
o
r
Corridor length
= 5 m
Corridor length
= 10 m
Corridor length
= 20 m
Corridor length
= 40 m
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
10 100 1000 10000
Crossings per hour
M
u
l
t
i
p
l
y
i
n
g

f
a
c
t
o
r
Corridor length
= 5 m
Corridor length
= 10 m
Corridor length
= 20 m
Corridor length
= 40 m


(a) (b)

Figure 6.6 Maximum number of walking crossings per hour for various multiplying factors and
corridor lengths for: (a) z-axis vibrations in office, residential and general laboratory
environments during a 16-hour day (VDV = 0,4 m/s
1.75
); and (b) x- and y-axis
vibrations in residential and hospital ward environments during an 8-hour night
(VDV = 0,09 m/s
1.75
)
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7. References
1 Ellis, B.R. Serviceability evaluation of floor vibration induced by walking loads. The
Structural Engineer, 79(21), 2001, pp 30-36
2 EN 1990, Basis of structural design, 5.1.3, Structural analysis and design assisted by
testing, Dynamic actions
3 EN 1990, Basis of structural design, Annex 1.4.4, Application for Buildings, Vibrations
4 EN 1993-1-1, Design of steel structures General rules and rules for buildings, 7.2.3,
Serviceability limit states for buildings, Dynamic effects
5 ISO 2631-1: Mechanical vibration and shock Evaluation of human exposure to whole-
body vibration: Part 1: General requirements, 1997 International Organisation for
Standardization, Geneva.
6 ISO 2631-2: Mechanical vibration and shock Evaluation of human exposure to whole-
body vibration: Part 2: Vibration in buildings (1 Hz to 80 Hz), 2003 International
Organisation for Standardization, Geneva.
7 ISO/CD 10137, Bases for design of structures - Serviceability of buildings and pedestrian
walkways against vibration
8 Young, P.: Improved floor vibration prediction methodologies Engineering for
Structural Vibration Current developments in research and practice, Arup Vibration
Seminar, Institution of Mechanical Engineers, 2001
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Quality Record
RESOURCE TITLE NCCI: Vibrations
Reference(s)
ORIGINAL DOCUMENT
Name Company Date
Created by Stephen Hicks SCI 28/04/2006
Technical content checked by P Devine SCI
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following STEEL Partners:

1. UK G W Owens SCI 10/7/06
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