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Buildings and human induced vibration – The risks & the solutions
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Whether it’s a building or bridge, human footfall needs to be considered by engineers working on the project to ensure that the end result for users is safe and comfortable (remember the Millennium Bridge ‘wobble’!). Oasys Software explains why human induced vibration is an important consideration…

Fluttering and resonance

Vibrations can affect structures in a wide range of ways. Two of the main ways are resonance and aeroelastic fluttering.

When Object A vibrates at the same natural frequency as Object B, this is known as resonance. As a result, object B resonates with this and will begin to vibrate too. Think singing to break a wine glass! Although the person singing isn’t touching the glass, the vibrations of their voice are resonating with the glass’s natural frequency, causing this vibration to get stronger and stronger and eventually, break the glass.

Aeroelastic flutter differs slightly; for example, a force is applied to Object B, causing it to shake. It’s not necessarily at the same frequency as Object B’s natural vibration, but it makes Object B move all the same.

When an object resonates, it is technically fluttering too. But not everything that flutters is necessarily resonating. This is how confusion over disasters such as the Tacoma Bridge collapse occur — for a long time, and to this day, the event is used as a textbook example of resonance. However, it’s been argued that the bridge’s collapse wasn’t caused by resonance, but by fluttering.

Fluttering also occurs with human induced vibrations, and an example of this is when human movement is applying force, causing the structure to vibrate. Some instances would also see resonation happening too, but it wouldn’t be a certainty.

Engineers have to ensure that their designs reduce the damage or discomfort caused by either fluttering or resonating.

The downsides

The structure and users within a building can be compromised when fluttering or resonation occurs, and it can have a range of impacts:

  • Human health suffering. Research has found that vibrations in buildings and structures can cause depression and even motion sickness in inhabitants. Buildings naturally respond to external factors such as the wind or human footfall within. This low-frequency vibration can be felt, even subconsciously, by people. It has been argued that modern designs featuring thinner floor slabs and wider spacing in column design mean that these new builds are not as effective at dampening vibrations as older buildings are.
  • Jeopardising structural integrity. Eventually, the build-up of constant vibrations on a structure can lead to structural integrity being compromised. A worse-case scenario would be the complete collapse of said structure.
  • Swaying bridges. The Millennium Bridge is one of the best examples of resonance caused by human induced vibrations and fluttering. As people walked across the bridge, the vibrations and swaying caused oscillations in the bridge. Everyone crossing the bridge would then sway at the same time to avoid falling over, resulting in a cycle of increasing and amplifying the swaying effect.
  • Jeopardise integrity of sensitive equipment. Depending on what the building is used for, what is within and what can be affected by the vibrations of those inside the building. Universities, for example, may have sensitive equipment whose accuracy and performance could be damaged by vibrations.

How software can help

Modern designs that favour thinner slabs and wider column design and spacing tend to be susceptible to all forms of vibration, whether it is human-induced or otherwise.

At the design stage, it is important for engineers to use appropriate structural analysis software to test footfall on a design and see the resulting vibrations.

Vibrations are inevitable, but engineers must account for a wide range of catalysts that trigger vibrations in a structure, such as human footfall, adapting their overall design accordingly.

Sources:

https://www.oasys-software.com/news/analysing-vibration-with-gsa/

https://www.oasys-software.com/case-studies/footfall-analysis-singapores-helix-bridge/

https://www.oasys-software.com/case-studies/princeton-university-frick-laboratory/

http://homepage.tudelft.nl/p3r3s/MSc_projects/reportRoos.pdf

https://www.forbes.com/sites/startswithabang/2017/05/24/science-busts-the-biggest-myth-ever-about-why-bridges-collapse/#1b9e3b001f4c

https://phys.org/news/2017-03-impact-bridges-skyscrapers-human-health.html

https://www.quora.com/Whats-the-difference-between-resonance-and-aeroelastic-flutter

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/science/2017/03/19/wobbly-skyscrapers-may-trigger-motion-sickness-depression-warn/

AI in Construction

GUEST BLOG: How Artificial Intelligence will revolutionise the construction sector
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Artificial intelligence is making its way into the construction industry, helping to revolutionise the way we build and design.

By harnessing robotics, construction managers can utilise intelligent machines that can perform routine tasks that were once completed by humans, such as bricklaying.

Alternatively, AI systems can collate and organise information for engineers to use within project planning and design implementation.

AI utilisation

The way we use artificial intelligence is spread into four areas. Together with Oasys, specialists in building design software, we assess the way the construction industry is starting to use AI in order to complete projects that contain fewer errors, less omissions, safer working practices, improved workflows, and more on-time worksite completions.

The planning processes

At the beginning of any construction, it must be planned thoroughly, and artificial intelligence is helping achieve this. Autonomous equipment is considered AI, as it is aware of its surroundings and is capable of navigation without human input. In the planning stages, AI machinery can survey a proposed construction site and gather enough information to create 3D maps, blueprints and construction plans.

This was previously a process that took weeks, but through the use of AI it can now be completed within one day. This helps to save firms both time and money in the form of labour.

AI taking on a management role

Managing and controlling projects from an AI perspective is now being put into place when construction begins. For example, workers can input sick days, vacancies and sudden departures into a data system and it will adapt the project accordingly. The AI will understand that the task must be moved to another employee and will do so of its own accord.

AI advice

With this technology being more advanced, it’s beginning to advise engineers on how to complete specific tasks that they might face within the construction phase. For example, if engineers were working on a proposed new bridge, AI systems would be able to advise and present a case for how the bridge should be constructed. This is based on past projects over the last 50 years, as well as verifying pre-existing blueprints for the design and implementation stages of the project. By having this information to hand, engineers can make crucial decisions based on evidence that they may not have previously had at their disposal.

Autonomous equipment is becoming more popular and the construction industry is taking full advantage of this — allowing vehicles to operate independently when at certain heights. Using sensors and GPS, the vehicle can calculate the safest route.

AI inside

Don’t just think that AI is only used to make the building, it can actually be implemented inside, too. In the US alone, $1.5 billion was invested in 2016 by companies looking to capitalise on this growing market.

Wynn, a hotel chain, said that it wanted to introduce the Amazon Echo into every room of its Las Vegas hotel to improve customer experience by the end of 2017. These devices can be used for aspects of the room such as lighting, temperature and any audio-visual equipment contained in the room. These systems can also be used within domestic settings, allowing homeowners to control aspects of their home through voice commands and systems that control all electronic components from one device.

BIM — Building Information Modelling

Building Information Modelling is a feature that holds information about the entire building, from the construction to if it ever got demolished. From this, you will be able to see decisions about the building that were said by management that will be a good reference for any future work.

Virtual assistants (VAs) are good for creating conversation but also for gathering the information that you need. By combining VAs alongside NFC (near-field communication), VAs can receive additional information about the building in real-time from various sensors in the building. For example, if there were structural problems with a building, then VAs could inform engineers specifically where the problem is and how it can be fixed.

Making savings is essential for any business, and artificial intelligence and virtual assistants are helping to achieve this. As the future of AI becomes more of a reality within construction, only time will tell how reliant on intelligent machines we will have to be in order to construct innovative building designs.