DYNAMIC COMFORT CRITERIA FOR STRUCTURES · DYNAMIC COMFORT CRITERIA FOR STRUCTURES A review of UK...

DYNAMIC COMFORT CRITERIA FOR STRUCTURES A review of UK codes standards and advisory documentsThe effects of vibration are becoming an increasingly important issue in the design of buildings and building elements Modern construction methods mean that buildings are becoming lighter and have less structural damping The response of such buildings to imposed vibration is therefore increased so people using the buildings are more likely to experience vibration Over a number of years different serviceability criteria have been developed to ensure that buildings and building elements are suitable for their intended activity

This BRE Trust Report draws together the themes and disparate (sometimes conflicting) acceleration comfort criteria associated with the vibration of buildings in the UK It reviews Eurocodes (including the UK National Annexes) British Standards International (ISO) Standards and other sources of information The UK Building Regulations and advice provided by UK trade associations and other industry bodies are also considered

This report is technical in nature and is aimed primarily at building designers consultants architects and structural engineers It is hoped that the complex and interlinking nature of this subject can be understood by presenting all the relevant acceleration criteria in one document in a logical and concise way

IHS BRE Press Willoughby RoadBracknell Berkshire RG12 8FB

wwwbrebookshopcomFB 33

RELATED TITLES FROM IHS BRE PRESSBUILDING-MOUNTED MICRO-WIND TURBINES ON HIGH-RISE AND COMMERCIAL BUILDINGSFB 22 2010

THE RESPONSE OF STRUCTURES TO DYNAMIC CROWD LOADS 2004 EDITIONDG 426 2004

WIND LOADS ON UNCLAD STRUCTURESSD 5 2004

DYNAMIC COMFORT CRITERIA FOR STRUCTURES A review of UK codes standards and advisory documents

Gordon Breeze

y x

z


Gordon Breeze

ii

This work has been funded by BRE Trust Any views expressed are not necessarily those of BRE Trust While every effort is made to ensure the accuracy and quality of information and guidance when it is first published BRE Trust can take no responsibility for the subsequent use of this information nor for any errors or omissions it may contain

The mission of BRE Trust is lsquoThrough education and research to promote and support excellence and innovation in the built environment for the benefit of allrsquo Through its research programmes the Trust aims to achieve bull a higher quality built environment bull built facilities that offer improved functionality and value for money

bull a more efficient and sustainable construction sector with

bull a higher level of innovative practice

A further aim of BRE Trust is to stimulate debate on challenges and opportunities in the built environment

BRE Trust is a company limited by guarantee registered in England and Wales (no 3282856) and registered as a charity in England (no 1092193) and in Scotland (no SC039320)

Registered Office Bucknalls Lane Garston Watford Herts WD25 9XX

BRE Trust Garston Watford WD25 9XX Tel 01923 664743 Email secretarybretrustcouk wwwbretrustorguk

BRE Trust and BRE publications are available from wwwbrebookshopcom or IHS BRE Press Willoughby Road Bracknell RG12 8FB Tel 01344 328038 Fax 01344 328005 Email brepressihscom

Requests to copy any part of this publication should be made to the publisher IHS BRE Press Garston Watford WD25 9XX Tel 01923 664761 Email brepressihscom

Printed on paper sourced from responsibly managed forests

FB 33 copy Copyright BRE 2011 First published 2011

ISBN 978-1-84806-173-6

The information and data presented in this report are up to date at the time of publication Over time values given in standards and codes of practice change Nevertheless the themes underpinning the methodologies described are likely to remain the same for the foreseeable future

For the purpose of drawing comparisons and presenting different approaches information from many referenced sources is quoted in this document BRE does not accept liability for any information presented for this purpose nor does BRE endorse such information In all circumstances it is recommended that the latest up-to-date primary sources of information are consulted to ensure compliance with required standards or codes of practice

Cover images Main BRE laser system used to measure pinnacle vibration Top right Grandstands at Everton Football Club (courtesy of Everton Football Club) Middle right Geocentric coordinate axis system Bottom right A lsquograndstandrsquo rotary shaker used by BRE

CONTENTS iii

CONTENTSExecutive summary iv

1 INTRODUCTION 1

2 BACKGROUND INFORMATION 321 Preamble 322 Units of acceleration 323 Coordinate axis systems 324 Acceleration vectors 425 Weighting factors 426 Measures of acceleration 5

3 GENERAL ACCELERATION CRITERIA 7

4 HORIZONTAL ACCELERATION CRITERIA 941 Preamble 942 Wind criteria 943 Criteria not related directly to wind 10

5 VERTICAL ACCELERATION CRITERIA 1851 Preamble 1852 Eurocodes 1853 International (ISO) Standards 2154 British Standards 22

6 SPECIALISED BUILDINGS 2461 Grandstands and sports stadia 2462 Hospitals 2563 Car parks 27

7 GUIDANCE GIVEN BY UK BUILDING REGULATIONS TRADE ASSOCIATIONS 28AND OTHER INDUSTRY BODIES

71 UK Building Regulations 2872 Trade associations and other industry bodies 28

8 DYNAMIC TESTING OF BUILDINGS AND BUILDING ELEMENTS 3281 Preamble 3282 Introduction 3283 Commonly used test methods 3384 Practical use of dynamic testing 38

9 CONCLUSIONS 40

10 REFERENCES 41

Appendix A Vectors and vector addition 44Appendix B Buildings with complex vibration motions 46Appendix C Acceleration weighting factors 49

iv EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

EXECUTIVE SUMMARYThe effects of vibration are becoming an increasingly important issue in the design of buildings and building elements Modern construction methods mean that buildings are becoming lighter and have less structural damping The response of such buildings to imposed vibration is therefore increased so people using the buildings are more likely to experience vibration Over a number of years different serviceability criteria have been developed to ensure that buildings and building elements are suitable for their intended activity The purpose of this BRE Trust Report is to distil and

draw together the themes and disparate (sometimes conflicting) acceleration comfort criteria associated with the vibration of buildings in the UK This report considers the Eurocodes (including the UK National Annexes) British Standards International (ISO) Standards and other sources of information The UK Building Regulations and advice provided by UK trade associations and other industry bodies are also considered

The present status of dynamic testing (both laboratory and offsite) is also discussed as well as the underlying principles of commonly used test methods Information is provided about what can be measured and what can be inferred from those measurements This part of the report gives practical advice and full-scale measurements are presented that illustrate the issues raised This review is technical in nature and is aimed

primarily at building designers consultants architects and structural engineers It is hoped that the complex and interlinking nature of this subject can be understood by presenting all the relevant acceleration criteria in one document in a logical and concise way

page header right ndash page header sub tle

11 1 iNtrOdUC ttiiON

1 iNtrOdUCtiONThe effects of vibration are becoming an increasingly important issue in the design of buildings and building elements Modern construction methods mean that buildings are becoming lighter and have less structural damping The response of such buildings to imposed vibration is therefore increased so people using the buildings are more likely to experience vibration If the vibration is large enough it can cause annoyance motion sickness and ultimately panic Over a number of years different serviceability criteria have been developed to ensure that buildings and building elements are suitable for their intended activity

Issues concerned with structural integrity (and hence safety) are not considered in this report When a properly designed structure is subjected to vibration people tend to become uncomfortable well before the limiting state of the design is reached Hence the serviceability requirements tend to be the critical factor in structures with human occupants Although there are serviceability criteria associated with the appearance of building finish and public health this report is limited to a consideration of the intrusive effect of vibration upon people

The aim of serviceability criteria is to ensure that a structure is suitable for its intended use Within the population there is a wide range of sensitivity to vibration Generally children are the most sensitive to vibration and adult males the least sensitive Both the activity and posture of a person affect their perception of vibration A personrsquos expectation and exterior cues (such as sound) are also important factors This wide number of complicating factors means that serviceability criteria can never be precise what one person judges to be a tolerable level of vibration may be perceived by another to be annoying Therefore judgements often need to be made about the percentage of the population that would perceive the vibration conditions to be unacceptable these judgements can have significant financial implications For this reason many codes of practice recommend that agreement is reached between the designer and the client beforehand about limiting vibration threshold levels

As noted above vibration serviceability criteria have been developed over many years Some of these criteria have been developed for specific applications whereas others have more general application Although there are many similarities there are also differences in the approaches used Some of the methods relate to specified return time periods (eg one-year five-year or 10-year periods) other methods relate to specific periods of vibration (eg a 16-hour day or eight-hour night) There is uncertainty about how criteria developed on the basis of simple vibration modes can be extended or interpreted for cases where a structure vibrates in a more complex way Some methods give ranges of limiting accelerations whereas other methods give a specific value Also some approaches conflict with other methods and no two methods give consistent agreement with each other There is not even consistent agreement about the units of acceleration although the units are easily converted

Many countries (eg the UK the USA Canada Australia New Zealand The Netherlands Japan France Germany and Denmark) have their own national

51page header right ndash page header subtitle 51page header right ndash page header subtitle

Other reports from BRE Trust Subsidence damage to domestic buildings lessons learned and questions remaining September 2000 FB 1

Potential implications of climate change in the built environment December 2000 FB 2

Behaviour of concrete repair patches under propped and unpropped conditions critical review of current knowledge and practices March 2000 FB 3

Construction site security and safety the forgotten costs December 2002 FB 4

New fire design method for steel frames with composite floor slabs January 2003 FB 5

Lessons from UK PFI and real estate partnerships drivers barriers and critical success factors November 2003 FB 6

An audit of UK social housing innovation February 2004 FB 7

Effective use of fibre reinforced polymer materials in construction March 2004 FB 8

Summertime solar performance of windows with shading devices February 2005 FB 9

Putting a price on sustainability BRE Centre for Sustainable Construction and Cyril Sweett May 2005 FB 10

Modern methods of house construction a surveyorrsquos guide June 2005 FB 11

Crime opportunity profiling of streets (COPS) a quick crime analysis ndash rapid implementation approach November 2005 FB 12

Subsidence damage to domestic buildings a guide to good technical practice June 2007 FB 13

Sustainable refurbishment of Victorian housing guidance assessment method and case studies September 2006 FB 14

Putting a price on sustainable schools May 2008 FB 15

Knock it down or do it up June 2008 FB 16

Micro-wind turbines in urban environments an assessment December 2007 FB 17

Siting micro-wind turbines on house roofs May 2008 FB 18

Automatic fire sprinkler systems a guide to good practice June 2009 FB 19

Complying with the Code for Sustainable Homes lessons learnt on the BRE Innovation Park November 2009 FB 20

The move to low-carbon design are designers taking the needs of building users into account December 2009 FB 21

Building-mounted micro-wind turbines on high-rise and commercial buildings March 2010 FB 22

The real cost of poor housing February 2010 FB 23

A guide to the Simplified Building Energy Model (SBEM) what it does and how it works April 2010 FB 24

Vacant dwellings in England the challenges and costs of bringing them back into use April 2010 FB 25

Energy efficiency in new and existing buildings comparative costs and CO2 savings September 2010 FB 26

Health and productivity benefits of sustainable schools a review September 2010 FB 27

Integrating BREEAM throughout the design process a guide to achieving higher BREEAM and Code for Sustainable Homes ratings through incorporation with the RIBA Outline Plan of Work and other procurement routes November 2010 FB 28

Design fires for use in fire safety engineering December 2010 FB 29

Ventilation for healthy buildings reducing the impact of urban pollution January 2011 FB 30

Financing UK carbon reduction projects February 2011 FB 31

The cost of poor housing in Wales April 2011 FB 32

BRE Connect OnlineBuild on your foundation of knowledge and expertise

WHAT IS BRE CONNECT ONLINE BRE Connect Online gives you access to the unrivalled expertise and insight of BRE ndash the UKrsquos leading centre of excellence on the built environment BRE Connect Online is an annual subscription service from IHS BRE Press giving online access to over 1600 BRE titles

WHAT DO I GET WHATrsquoS NEW IN 2011 More than 50 new titles including ALL NEW AND PUBLISHED BRE TITLES

bull Airtightness in commercial and public 650 books reports and guides ndash research buildingsinnovation best practice and case studies

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150 Good Building and Repair Guides ndash illustrated practical guides to good building and repair work

and much more

All this for an annual subscription of only pound349 + VAT Call now on +44 (0) 1344 328038 to find out more

Gordon Breeze

DYNAMIC COMFORT CRITERIA FOR STRUCTURESA review of UK codes standards and advisory documents

y x

z

- - -

DYNAMIC COMFORT CRITERIA FOR STRUCTURES A review of UK codes standards and advisory documents The effects of vibration are becoming an increasingly important issue in the design of buildings and building elements Modern construction methods mean that buildings are becoming lighter and have less structural damping The response of such buildings to imposed vibration is therefore increased so people using the buildings are more likely to experience vibration Over a number of years different serviceability criteria have been developed to ensure that buildings and building elements are suitable for their intended activity



RELATED TITLES FROM IHS BRE PRESS BUILDING MOUNTED MICRO WIND TURBINES ON HIGH RISE AND COMMERCIAL BUILDINGS FB 22 2010

THE RESPONSE OF STRUCTURES TO DYNAMIC CROWD LOADS 2004 EDITION DG 426 2004

WIND LOADS ON UNCLAD STRUCTURES SD 5 2004

IHS BRE Press Willoughby Road Bracknell Berkshire RG12 8FB

wwwbrebookshopcom FB 33


Gordon Breeze

ii













ISBN 978-1-84806-173-6




CONTENTS iii


1 INTRODUCTION 1









9 CONCLUSIONS 40

10 REFERENCES 41
























































and much more


Gordon Breeze


y x

z

- - -









ii













ISBN 978-1-84806-173-6




CONTENTS iii


1 INTRODUCTION 1









9 CONCLUSIONS 40

10 REFERENCES 41
























































and much more


Gordon Breeze


y x

z

- - -









CONTENTS iii


1 INTRODUCTION 1









9 CONCLUSIONS 40

10 REFERENCES 41
























































and much more


Gordon Breeze


y x

z

- - -































































and much more


Gordon Breeze


y x

z

- - -









Gordon Breeze


y x

z

- - -









DYNAMIC COMFORT CRITERIA FOR STRUCTURES · DYNAMIC COMFORT CRITERIA FOR STRUCTURES A review of UK...

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