P 331

P331: Design Guide on the Vibration of Floors in Hospitals
Discuss me ...
SCI PUBLICATION P331
Design Guide on the Vibration of

Floors in Hospitals
This material is copyright - all rights reserved. Use of this document is subject to the terms and conditions of the Steelbiz Licence Agreement
S J Hicks BEng PhD (Cantab)

P J Devine BEng PgDip CEng MICE
Published by:
The Steel Construction Institute
Silwood Park
Ascot
Created on 16 March 2007
Berkshire SL5 7QN
Tel: 01344 623345

Fax: 01344 622944
Discuss me ...
 2004 The Steel Construction Institute
Apart from any fair dealing for the purposes of research or private study or criticism or review, as permitted
under the Copyright Designs and Patents Act, 1988, this publication may not be reproduced, stored or
transmitted, in any form or by any means, without the prior permission in writing of the publishers, or in the
case of reprographic reproduction only in accordance with the terms of the licences issued by the UK
Copyright Licensing Agency, or in accordance with the terms of licences issued by the appropriate
Reproduction Rights Organisation outside the UK.
Enquiries concerning reproduction outside the terms stated here should be sent to the publishers, The Steel
Construction Institute, at the address given on the title page.
Although care has been taken to ensure, to the best of our knowledge, that all data and information
contained herein are accurate to the extent that they relate to either matters of fact or accepted practice or
matters of opinion at the time of publication, The Steel Construction Institute, the authors and the reviewers
assume no responsibility for any errors in or misinterpretations of such data and/or information or any loss or
damage arising from or related to their use.
Publications supplied to the Members of the Institute at a discount are not for resale by them.
Publication Number: SCI P331
ISBN 1 85942 149 0
British Library Cataloguing-in-Publication Data.
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.
P:\Pub\Pub800\Sign_off\P331\P331V01D07.doc ii
Discuss me ...
FOREWORD
Design guidance on the vibration of floors was published by The Steel Construction
Institute in 1989, and related only to normal office building environments; it was rather
conservative in its advice. Since then, a common misconception has arisen that
composite floors within hospital buildings cannot be designed to meet the more strict
limits required for those buildings.
Subsequent research and measurements in hospital buildings have shown that composite
floors can be designed to give the required vibration performance. This publication
presents guidance based on that research and measurement.
This publication has been written to enable designers to calculate the vibration response
of sensitive floors more accurately, and to enable the response to be compared with the
NHS performance standard for hospitals, Health Technical Memorandum 2045. It has
been developed using the general philosophy contained within SCI Advisory Note
AD 256, and is based on revised guidance due to be published in the second edition of
SCI publication Design guide on the vibration of floors (P076), which will provide
revised general guidance for all floor and building types.
This publication has been prepared by Dr Stephen Hicks and Paul Devine, both of The
Steel Construction Institute. The guidance has been reviewed by Charles King, also of
SCI, and comments were received from Roger Steeper and Mike Webb, both of Corus
Construction and Industrial.
The preparation of this design guide was sponsored by Corus Construction and Industrial.
P:\Pub\Pub800\Sign_off\P331\P331V01D07.doc iii
This material is copyright - all rights reserved. Use of this document is subject to the terms and conditions of the Steelbiz Licence Agreement Discuss me ...
Discuss me ...
Contents
Page No.
FOREWORD iii
SUMMARY vi
1 INTRODUCTION 1
2 HUMAN PERCEPTION OF VIBRATION 2

2.1 Acceptance criteria 4
3 GENERAL ASSUMPTIONS 6
3.1 Fundamental frequency 6
3.2 Floor response 7
4 DESIGN PROCEDURE 10
4.1 Fundamental frequency of the floor 10
4.2 Floor Response 10
4.3 Floor acceptability 13
5 REFERENCES 15
6 WORKED EXAMPLE 16
I:\LIBRARY\P331\P331V01D07.doc v
Discuss me ...
SUMMARY
This publication provides design guidance on the vibration response of floors in hospitals
and health buildings.
It covers the human perception of vibration and the criteria by which it is measured. The
concepts of floor response, including the primary and secondary beam mode shapes, and
the different types of excitation produced by occupant-induced vibration on low frequency
and high frequency floors, are explained. A simple design procedure is set out which
shows how to calculate the floor acceleration, weight it to reflect human perception, and
compare it with the acceptance levels in the NHS performance standard for hospitals,
Health Technical Memorandum 2045.
The design procedure is valid for uniform composite floors using hot rolled steel
sections, and is particularly suited to the grid sizes and framing arrangements common to
hospital buildings.
A fully worked example, illustrating the procedure, is given.

P:\Pub\Pub800\Sign_off\P331\P331V01D07.doc vi
Discuss me ...
1 INTRODUCTION
In modern building design, the assessment of human-induced vibrations due to

regular activities such as walking, etc. needs to be considered by the designer to
ensure that the vibration is not perceptible to the occupants. This is particularly
important for hospital floors where sensitive or delicate tasks are carried out and
for ward areas where people are sleeping. In offices, the occupants would
tolerate a greater magnitude of vibration.
The SCI publication Design guide on the vibration of floors (P076)[1] has
particular relevance to the design of steel-framed floors for occupant-induced
vibrations. That guide was written in 1989 in response to possible concerns
regarding the perception of vibrations on open-plan office and banking floors.
BS 5950[2] refers designers to that publication for guidance. A supplement to
the guidance was published as Advisory Desk Note AD 256[3], based on
measurements from a wider range of composite floor types than was considered
in the development of the original guidance. A second edition of P076[4] will
provide general design guidance for vibrations on a wider variety of floor and
building types.
There is a common misconception that steel-framed floors within hospitals and

health buildings may not be able to achieve the strict requirements given by
Health Technical Memorandum 2045 (HTM 2045)[5]. However, recent
measurements from in situ tests on a variety of hospital floors with operating

theatre areas[6] have demonstrated that composite solutions are easily capable of
meeting the HTM 2045 limits.
Until now, engineers have found it difficult to demonstrate that the HTM
vibration criteria can be met, unless numerical modelling techniques have been
adopted. This publication will enable designers to calculate accurately the
vibration response of sensitive floors in hospital and health buildings without the
need for numerical modelling. The design guidance presented here is based on
the use of uniform floor grids and is particularly suited to the grid sizes and
framing arrangements common to hospital buildings. The guidance is valid for
composite floors using hot rolled steel sections, including new forms of
construction such as Slimdek®. The guidance has been developed using the
general philosophy contained within AD 256 and the guidance in the second
edition of publication P076.
P:\Pub\Pub800\Sign_off\P331\P331V01D07.doc 1
Discuss me ...
2 HUMAN PERCEPTION OF VIBRATION
There are many possible ways in which the magnitude of the vibration response
can be measured. For large-amplitude, low frequency motion, it may be
possible to observe the displacement between the maximum (i.e. peak)
movement in one direction, and the peak movement in the opposite direction
(i.e. the peak-to-peak displacement). In practice, this distance can be difficult
to measure. For high frequency motion, the vibration can be severe, even when
the displacement is too small to be detected by the eye. As a consequence of
this, many modern standards describe the severity of human exposure to
vibration in terms of acceleration rather than displacement.
To ensure that the measure of the vibration is not influenced by one

unrepresentative peak in the response, the severity of the vibrations is often
expressed in terms of an average measure. The measure in greatest use in
current practice is the root-mean-square (rms) value (i.e. the square root of the
average of the squared values), which may be expressed mathematically as
follows:
1/ 2
1 T 
rms acceleration, arms = ∫ a( t )2 dt  (1)
T 
 0 
where a(t) is the acceleration time-history and T is the selected time period.
For continuous steady-state sinusoidal motion, as shown in Figure 2.1, the

magnitude of the rms acceleration is 1 2 times the peak acceleration
amplitude, that is:
apeak
arms = ≈ 0.707 apeak
2
a peak
a rms
Acceleration
Time
Figure 2.1 Acceleration waveform for continuous steady-state

sinusoidal motion
Discuss me ...
The perception of vibrations depends on the direction of incidence to the human

body. To account for this, current Standards[7,8] use the ‘basicentric’ coordinate
system shown in Figure 2.2 (i.e. where the z-axis corresponds to the direction
of the human spine).
x
Supporting
surface
Supporting
surface
Supporting
surface y
Figure 2.2 Directions of basicentric coordinate systems for vibrations
influencing humans
The perception of vibration also depends on the frequency and this can be taken
into account by frequency weighting the calculated response. The frequency
weighting effectively filters the acceleration and gives less emphasis to
vibrations greater than 8 Hz. Frequency weightings are given in BS 6841[7] and
the weightings for z-axis and x-axis vibrations are shown graphically in
Figure 2.3.
Discuss me ...
1.000 1.000
Weighting factor
Weighting factor
0.100 0.100
1 10 100 1 10 100
Frequency (Hz) Frequency (Hz)
(a) z-axis vibration (b) x-axis vibration
Figure 2.3 Frequency weighting factors, as given in BS 6841
2.1 Acceptance criteria

The evaluation of human exposure to vibrations in buildings is covered by
BS 6472[8]. The Standard covers many vibration environments in buildings and
to achieve this wide coverage, limits of satisfactory vibration magnitude are
expressed in relation to a ‘base curve’ and a series of multiplying factors that
range from 1 to 128.
The base curves for vibrations in the z-, x- and y-axis, together with typical
modified curves (i.e. where the base curve is magnified by the multiplying
factor) are shown in Figure 2.4. Each line (‘curve’) shown in Figure 2.4
represents a constant level of human response known as an isoperceptibility line:
the area above a line corresponds to an unacceptable response; the area below
the line represents an acceptable level of vibration.
1.000 1.000
e
rv
cu
e
rms acceleration (m/s²)
s
rms acceleration (m/s²)
12 x base curve ba
0.100 0.100 x e
12 rv
cu
4 x base curve s e
ba
x
4
e
rv
0.010 Base curve 0.010 cu
s e
Ba
0.001 0.001
1 10 100 1 10 100
Frequency (Hz) Frequency (Hz)
(a) z-axis vibration (b) x- and y-axis vibration
Figure 2.4 Building vibration curves, taken from BS 6472
I:\LIBRARY\P331\P331V01D07.doc 4
Discuss me ...
HTM 2045 states that continuous vibration should be assessed in terms of the
‘frequency weighted’ rms acceleration. Multiplying factors appropriate to
different types of accommodation in hospital buildings, for low probability of
adverse comment are given in the HTM and these are summarised in Table 2.1.
Table 2.1 Multiplying factors given in HTM 2045

Multiplying factor for
Place Time
continuous vibration
Operating theatre, precision laboratories 1
Wards, residential Day 2 to 4
Night 1.4
General laboratories, offices 4
Workshops 8
The values given in Table 2.1 are similar to those recommended by BS 6472[8],
with the exception that no relaxation is permitted on the use of a multiplying
factor of 1 when an operating theatre is not in use. Furthermore, no guidance
is given on the length of the exposure periods that should be considered for day-
and night-time use (BS 6472 gives factors for a 16-hour day / 8-hour night
period).
The multiplying factors in Table 2.1 are for 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. In these circumstances, a less onerous limit can

be derived by determining a ‘cumulative measure’ of the floor response known as
the vibration dose value (VDV); in effect, the limit is based on a summation of
the vibration over an entire exposure period, rather than on a continuous level.
The method of determining the VDV is described in Appendix B of BS 6472.

HTM 2045 gives acceptable VDVs (i.e. values which give a ‘low probability of
adverse comment’) for certain floor areas; these are shown in Table 2.2.
Table 2.2 Vibration dose values given used in HTM 2045

Vibration dose value (m/s1.75)
Place Time
z-axis x- & y-axis
Wards, residential Day 0.2 to 0.4 0.14 to 0.28
Night 0.13 0.09
General laboratories, offices 0.4 0.28
Workshops 0.8 0.56
The advantage of the VDV method is that it makes a formal link between
vibration intensity, its duration and acceptability that is found to be more
reliable[9]. The disadvantage of this method is that a small number of short
bursts of vibration would be deemed acceptable if the VDV were calculated
over a long period of time, and this may not be entirely appropriate for all
cases. Because of this, HTM 2045 states that the VDV method is not
appropriate for operating theatre areas. (For operating theatres, vibrations
should always be considered as continuous and a multiplying factor of 1 should
be used.)
The assessment of floors using vibration dose values is not considered further in
this publication but guidance may be found in references 8 and 10.
Discuss me ...
3 GENERAL ASSUMPTIONS
The general assumptions made in the development of the design guidance given
here are based on the advice given in the second edition of publication P076[4].
3.1 Fundamental frequency

In conventional composite floor systems, the fundamental frequency may be
estimated by using engineering judgement on the likely deflected shape of the
floor (mode shape), and considering how the supports and boundary conditions
will affect the behaviour of the individual structural components. For example,
on a simple composite floor comprising a slab continuous over a number of
secondary beams that are, in turn, supported by stiff primary beams, two
possible mode shapes may be sensibly considered:
1. Secondary 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 3.1(a)). In this case, the slab flexibility is affected by the approximately
equal deflections of the supports (secondary beams). As a result, the slab
frequency is assessed on the basis that fixed-ended boundary conditions exist.
2. Primary beam mode

The primary beams vibrate about the columns as simply-supported members

(see Figure 3.1(b)). Using a similar reasoning as above, due to the
approximately equal deflections at their supports, the secondary beams are
assessed on the basis that fixed-ended boundary conditions exist. The slab is
also taken as fixed-ended.
(a) governed by secondary beam flexibility (b) governed by primary beam flexibility
Figure 3.1 Typical fundamental mode shapes for composite floor

systems
For cases when the floor simply consists of secondary beams, spanning between
columns, only the secondary beam mode of vibration need be considered.
As composite 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 of the above components, and placing
this value within Equation (2). The lowest frequency value determined by
consideration of the two cases defines the fundamental frequency of the floor f0.
Discuss me ...
18
f0 = (2)
δ
where f0 is in Hz and δ is the total deflection (in millimetres) based on the gross
second moment of area of the components, using the short-term modulus for
concrete, with a load corresponding to the self weight, and other permanent
loads, plus 10% of the imposed load (considered as permanent).
Alternatively, it can sometimes be convenient to use component frequencies

directly to evaluate the fundamental frequency of the floor (for example, from
the output of design software). In this case, Dunkerly’s approximation shown
in Equation (3) may be used. Both methods give identical results.
1 1 1 1
2
= 2
+ 2
+ 2 (3)
f0 f c1 f c2 f c3
where fc1, fc2 and fc3 are the component frequencies (Hz) of the composite slab,
secondary beams and primary beams respectively, with their appropriate
boundary conditions, as defined above.
From measurements on 17 composite floors[11], it has been demonstrated that the

above methods produce reliable predictions of the fundamental frequency.
3.2 Floor response

A simple single-degree-of-freedom (SDOF) model that is used to idealise the
vibration behaviour of a floor is shown in Figure 3.2. The bending stiffness is
modelled as a spring of stiffness k, and the floor mass is modelled by a point of
mass m. All practical structures will have some damping, and this is
conveniently modelled as a viscous (or oil-pot) damper. Damping refers to the
loss in energy within a mechanical system. Bare floor structures possess a low
level of natural damping (normally a damping ratio in the order of 1%), which
does not affect the natural frequency of the system. Higher damping depends
on the energy dissipation through non-structural components such as partitions.
This is largely dependant on frictional forces between the partitions and the
surrounding structure.
Stiffness, k Viscous
damper, c
Mass, m
Displacement, v External
force, p(t)
Figure 3.2 Simple single-degree-of-freedom spring mass
Discuss me ...
Although floors will have many modes of vibration, in practice only a few
modes (usually at the lowest frequency) will significantly contribute to the
overall response. As a consequence of this, publication P076 assumes that the
largest acceleration levels are produced when the walking activity excites the
fundamental mode of vibration. Two types of excitation are normally assumed
to occur in floors that are subjected to walking activities: resonant excitation
(occurs in ‘low frequency’ floors); and impulsive excitation (occurs in ‘high
frequency’ floors). A fuller description of these two types of excitation is given
below.
3.2.2 Resonant excitation (low frequency floors)

A load that varies sinusoidally with time at a constant frequency is known as a
harmonic load. When the frequency of the load (or one of its components)
coincides with the natural frequency of the structure, resonance will occur. In
this case, the response builds up over successive cycles.
In general, a repeated force such as walking can be represented by a

combination of sinusoidal forces, whose frequencies are multiples (or
harmonics) of the pace frequency. The magnitude of the force for each of these
harmonic components can be taken as the static weight of the person P0
multiplied by a Fourier coefficient for the nth harmonic αn.
By idealising the floor as the simple SDOF system shown in Figure 3.2, subject
to a varying force αnP0(t), the positive peak acceleration is given by:
α n P0 1
apeak = (4)
M 2ζ
where M is the modal mass, ζ is the damping ratio and the value of P0 is the
static force exerted by an ‘average person’ (taken as 76 kg × 9.81 = 746N).
Values of Fourier coefficients for different activity types have been established
experimentally for different activity frequencies. For the assessment of walking
activities, it is recommended[3] that, for design purposes, the average Fourier
coefficient for the first four harmonics of walking should be taken as α1 = 0.4,
α2 = 0.1, α3 = 0.1 and α4 = 0.1.
As can be seen from the values of the four Fourier coefficients given above, the
largest response would clearly be from the first harmonic component of the
walking activity. To avoid continuous vibration from this harmonic component
it is usual in design to provide a floor that possesses a frequency greater than
the activity frequency. Noting the fact that the frequency range for walking
activities is 1.6 Hz to 2.4 Hz[12], it is usual to provide a floor with a frequency
of at least 3.0 Hz.
However, even though a floor may possess a fundamental frequency above

3.0 Hz, resonance will still occur from components of the walking activity. The
largest response will generally occur when the lowest whole number multiple
(harmonic) of the activity frequency is equal to the fundamental frequency of
the floor (i.e. resonance). For example, for a floor with a fundamental
frequency f0 = 4.6 Hz, the pace rate that would cause the highest floor response
would be from the second harmonic of the walking activity (i.e. 2 × 2.3 Hz =
4.6 Hz).
Discuss me ...
Most of the excitation energy is concentrated within the first four harmonic
components of the walking activity. Therefore, for floors that possess a
sufficiently ‘high’ frequency that the first four harmonic components of the
walking force do not cause resonance, the response will be dominated by a train
of impulses (see Section 3.2.3), rather than by resonance. Noting the fact that
the quickest pace frequency for walking activities may be assumed to be 2.4 Hz,
the transition point between a low frequency floor and a high frequency floor is
therefore 10 Hz (i.e. 4 × 2.4 Hz ≈ 10 Hz). This value is higher than that
assumed in the 1989 edition P076[1], because at that time only the first three
harmonic components of the walking activity were considered, and the quickest
pace frequency was taken to be 2.3 Hz (i.e. 3 × 2.3 Hz ≈ 7 Hz).
The modal mass M to be used in Equation (4) is given in Section 4.2.1. This
value is based on numerical analyses of regular floors, with common grid sizes
and framing arrangements used in hospital buildings. It differs significantly
from the value given by the 1989 edition of publication P076, which was based
on a parametric study in which the floors were idealised as simply-supported
orthotropic plates.
3.2.3 Impulsive excitation (high frequency floors)

For floors that possess a sufficiently ‘high’ frequency, such that the first four
harmonic components of the walking force do not cause resonance, the response
is dominated by a train of impulses corresponding to heel impacts. The basic
effect of these impulses is that they set the mass of the floor in motion; the floor
vibrates at its natural frequency and decays rapidly as energy is dispersed over
the floor as a whole. As a consequence, successive peaks and decays typify the
overall dynamic response of a floor of this type. By idealising the floor as the
simple SDOF system shown in Figure 3.2, the positive peak acceleration due to
an impulsive force is given by:
I
apeak = 2πf 0 (5)
M
where I is the impulsive force in Newton-seconds (Ns) and M is the modal

mass (kg).
Recent work by Willford and Young[13] has shown that the impulsive force from
walking activities varies with the fundamental frequency of the floor. Based on
this work, it is recommended that the following design equation be used to
estimate the impulsive force from walking activities:
190
I = (6)
f01.3
where f0 is the fundamental frequency of the floor (in Hz) and I is given in Ns.
The modal mass M to be used in Equation (5) is given in Section 4.2.2. The
value given by that Section is based on numerical analyses of regular floors,
with common grid sizes and framing arrangements used in hospital buildings,
and differs significantly from the conservative approach given in the 1989
edition of P076.
Discuss me ...
4 DESIGN PROCEDURE
In this section, the salient points given in the preceding pages are summarised
and presented in terms of design recommendations.
4.1 Fundamental frequency of the floor

Two mode shapes, as shown in Figure 3.1, should be considered and the
appropriate boundary conditions imposed on the each of the components (slab,
secondary beams, and when used, primary beams) that make up the floor.
The frequency of the whole floor system should be calculated for each mode
shape, by summing the deflection calculated from each of the components, and
placing this value within Equation (7). The lowest frequency value determined
by consideration of these two cases defines the fundamental frequency of the
floor f0 (and its corresponding mode shape).
18
f0 = (7)
δ
where δ is the total deflection (in millimetres) based on the gross second
moment of area of the components, with a load corresponding to the self
weight, and other permanent loads, plus 10% of the imposed load (considered
as permanent).
Calculation of the frequency should be based on the dynamic Young’s modulus,

typically 38 kN/mm² for normal weight concrete or 22 kN/mm² for lightweight
concrete (density around 1800 kg/m³). Composite floor slabs with steel decking
can normally be regarded as dynamically continuous over the supporting beams
irrespective of the provision of top reinforcement. Conventional beam-to-beam
and beam-to-column connections at points where the slab is continuous can be
regarded as giving continuity to the beam. An external façade will normally
provide a line of vertical support along its length. As a consequence of this,
edge beams may be considered to form nodal lines (i.e. they have zero
deflection).
To minimise the risk of continuous resonant excitation from the first harmonic
component of the walking activity, it is recommended that the floor should have
an absolute minimum fundamental frequency of 3.0 Hz. However, for a
fundamental frequency between 3.0 and 3.6 Hz it is still possible for the first
harmonic of the walking activity to excite the floor. To avoid excitation by the
first harmonic, which is likely to be more onerous than by the higher
harmonics, the fundamental frequency of the floor should be greater than
3.6 Hz (and then the first harmonic need not be considered).
4.2 Floor Response

4.2.1 Low frequency floors
If the fundamental frequency is less than 10 Hz, the rms acceleration should be
calculated from the following expression, which assumes that the floor exhibits
a resonant response:
Discuss me ...
α n P0 α n P0
arms = = (8)
2 2 Mζ 2 2 mLeff Sζ
where
αn is the Fourier coefficient of the nth harmonic component of the walking
activity. For the first harmonic component (only considered where
f0 < 3.6 Hz), α1 = 0.4. For the second, third and fourth harmonics,
αn = 0.1. Higher harmonics may be neglected.
ζ is the damping ratio, taken from the values given below.
P0 is the person’s weight, taken as 746 N (76 kg × 9.81 m/s2)
M is the effective modal mass, given by M = mLeffS. (N.B. the
equations given in this publication for determining this term have been
derived for simultaneous excitation of more than one mode of
vibration, and are not true SDOF equivalents).
m is the floor distributed mass (kg/m²) comprising the self-weight, the
superimposed dead load and 10% of the imposed load (considered as
permanent)
Leff is the effective floor length (m), calculated from Equation (9)
S is the effective floor width (m), calculated from Equation (10)
Damping
From recent tests on real floors[3,6], it is suggested that the following damping
ratios ζ should be used in design, for estimating the response of composite floor
systems used in hospitals:
ζ= 1.1% for completely bare floors or floors where only a small amount
of furnishings are present
ζ = 3.0% for floors in normal use
ζ = 4.5% for a floor where the designer is confident that partitions will be
appropriately located to interrupt the relevant mode(s) of
vibration (i.e. the partition lines are perpendicular to the main
vibrating elements of the critical mode shape).
Although the damping values for completely bare floors are not used regularly
(mainly because the floor would not be in this state when the building was
occupied), it may be useful for the engineer to consider this condition, as
adverse comments could be raised over the acceptability of a floor before the
building is completely fitted-out.
Modal Mass
In establishing the effective modal mass M, the dimensions S and Leff account
for the effective plan area of the floor participating in the motion. The variable
Leff should be calculated from the following equation:
Leff = ny Ly (9)
where ny is the number of bays in the direction of the secondary beam span (see
Figure 4.1) and Ly is the secondary beam span (m).
Discuss me ...
Secondary beam Primary beam Tie
n y Ly
Span of
Ly
slab
Lx
Secondary beam
W = nx Lx
Figure 4.1 Definition of variables used to establish effective modal

mass
The effective floor width S should be calculated from the following equation:
1/ 4
 EI 
S = C  12  >/ W (10)
 mf 
 0 
where
C is a factor that accounts for the structural framing arrangement (see
Table 4.2)
EI 1 is the dynamic flexural rigidity of the slab (Nm² per metre width)
W is the building width (see Figure 4.1).
Table 4.2 Framing factor C

Framing arrangement C
Square grid (Lx = Ly), secondary beams spanning only between columns (no
0.53
primary beams)
Secondary beams spanning between primary beams 0.66η
Long-span secondary beams spanning between building façades 1.0
NOTE: η = Lx / Ly . Lx and Ly are as shown in Figure 4.1
4.2.2 High frequency floors

If the fundamental frequency is greater than 10 Hz, the rms acceleration should
be calculated from the following expression, which assumes that the floor
exhibits a transient response:
190 844
arms = 2π f0 = (11)
2 f01.3 M f00.3mLeff S
where:
f0 is the fundamental frequency of the floor.
Discuss me ...
M is the effective modal mass M = mLeffS (N.B. the equations given in

this publication for determining this term have been derived for
simultaneous excitation of more than one mode of vibration, and are
not true SDOF equivalents).
m is the floor distributed mass (kg/m²) comprising the self-weight, the
superimposed dead load and 10% of the imposed load (considered as
permanent).
Leff is the effective floor length (m), calculated from Equation (9).
S is the effective floor width (m), calculated from Equation (10).
4.3 Floor acceptability

4.3.1 Frequency weighting
Once the rms acceleration has been calculated from Equation (8) or Equation
(11) it should be frequency weighted in accordance with the curves given in
BS 6841[7] (see Figure 2.3).
Since the weighting factors are all ≤ 1.0, a factor of 1.0 may conservatively be
applied for preliminary design.
z-axis vibrations
For z-axis vibrations (see Figure 2.2 for definition of direction), as an
alternative to the use of the curve in Figure 2.3(a), the weighting factor may be
calculated as follows:
weighted arms = arms × 0.5 f0 for 3 Hz < f0 < 4 Hz
or
weighted arms = arms for 4 Hz ≤ f0 ≤ 8 Hz

(12)
or
8
weighted arms = arms × for f0 > 8 Hz
f0
x-axis vibration
Although, in the majority of cases, z-axis vibrations are the critical criterion for
assessing the vibration sensitivity of hospital floors, x-axis vibrations may need
to be considered (e.g. people lying down in Ward areas; see Figure 2.2). In
these cases the frequency-weighting curve shown in Figure 2.3(b) should be
used.
As an alternative to the use of the curve in Figure 2.3(b), the weighting factor
may be calculated as follows:
2
weighted arms = arms × for f0 ≥ 3 Hz (13)
f0
Discuss me ...
4.3.2 Response factor evaluation

The ‘response factor’ of a floor is the ratio between the calculated weighted rms
acceleration and the ‘base value’ given in HTM 2045[5]. The limiting value of
the response factor is the ‘multiplying factor’ appropriate to the type of
accommodation. The limiting response factors are therefore as given in
Table 4.3,
Table 4.3 Limiting values of response factor, to comply with

HTM 2045
Limiting response factor
Place Time
(for continuous vibration)
Operating theatre, precision laboratories 1
Wards, residential Day 2 to 4
Night 1.4
General laboratories, offices 4
Workshops 8
z-axis vibration
For z-axis vibrations, the ‘base value’ of the frequency weighted acceleration
given in HTM 2045 is 0.005 m/s2. The response factor is therefore given by:
weighted arms
Response factor = (14)
0.005
x-axis vibration
For x-axis vibrations, the ‘base value’ of the frequency weighted acceleration
given in HTM 2045 is 0.00357 m/s2. The response factor is therefore given by:
weighted a rms
Response factor = (15)
0.00357
Discuss me ...
5 REFERENCES
1. WYATT, T.A.
Design guide on the vibration of floors (P076)
The Steel Construction Institute, 1989
2. BS 5950 Structural use of steelwork in buildings
BS 5950-1:2000 Code of practice for design. Rolled and welded sections
BS 5950-3:1990 Code of practice for composite construction
British Standards Institution
3. AD 256: Design considerations for the vibration of floors - Part 3
New Steel Construction, Vol 10, No. 2
The Steel Construction Institute and The British Constructional Steelwork
Association, 2002
(Available on http://new-steel-construction.com)
4. HICKS, S. J., KING, C. M. and DEVINE, P. J.
Design guide on the vibration of floors, Second Edition
The Steel Construction Institute (Due to be published in 2004).
5. Acoustics Design Considerations. Health Technical Memorandum 2045
The Stationery Office, 1996
6. Steel in Hospital Construction
Corus Construction and Industrial, 2004

7. BS 6841:1987 Guide to measurement and evaluation of human exposure to
whole-body mechanical vibration and repeated shock
8. BS 6472:1992 Guide to evaluation of human exposure to vibration in
buildings (1 Hz to 80 Hz)
9. GRIFFIN, M. J.
Handbook of human vibration
Academic Press Ltd., 1996
10. ELLIS, B. R.
Serviceability evaluation of floor vibration induced by walking loads
The Structural Engineer, 79(21), 2001
11. HICKS, S. J.
Vibration characteristics of steel-concrete composite floor systems
Progress in Structural Engineering and Materials, 6(1), 2004
12. BACHMANN, H. and AMMANN, W.
Vibrations in structures: Induced by man and machines
International Association for Bridge and Structural Engineering, 1987
13. YOUNG, P.
Improved floor vibration prediction methodologies
Arup Vibration Seminar, Institution of Mechanical Engineers, 2001
Discuss me ...
6 WORKED EXAMPLE
The worked example shows the check of vibration performance for a typical
large hospital building. The building is a steel-framed structure with a 7.5 m ×
7.5 m grid, using the Slimdek system.
d
P 3 3 1 : D e s i g n G u i d e o n t h e V i b r a t i
D e
v i s c u s s m e . . .
Job No. BCB 916 Sheet 1 of 6 Rev

r
Job Title Design guide on the vibration of floors in hospitals

e
Silwood Park, Ascot, Berks SL5 7QN Subject Worked Example

s
Telephone: (01344) 623345

Fax: (01344) 622944
e
Client Made by PJD Date Jan 2004

CALCULATION SHEET
r
Corus
Checked by SJH Date Jan 2004
s
HOSPITAL FLOOR WITH OPERATING THEATRE AREA

t
USING SLIMDEK CONSTRUCTION

h
Structural arrangement of floor

g
Overall size of floor 120 m × 120 m

i
Framing system 7.5 m × 7.5 m grid

r
Number of bays ny = nx = 16
W=n x L x
l
L x
l
a
-
L y
t
h
7
g
ny L y
0
i
0
r
2
y
p
h
o
c
c
r
a
Structural components
s
Beams 300 ASB(FE) 153

M
i
Decking Comdek SD225, 1.25 mm thick

Slab NWC concrete with overall slab depth = 316 mm
6
l
Loading
1
a
300 ASB(FE) 153 0.20 kN/m²

i
316 mm deep concrete slab 3.62 kN/m² Based on 0.157 m3/m

n
r
Decking 0.16 kN/m² Based on 1333 mm2/m

Ceiling and services 0.50 kN/m²
o
e
10% Imposed loading 0.60 kN/m²

t
5.08 kN/m²
d
a
Distributed mass, m = 5.08 × 103/9.81 = 518 kg/m2

e
m
t
a
s
e
i
h
r
P:\PUB\PUB800\SIGN_OFF\P331\P331ExampleV01D02.doc 17
C
T
Discuss me ...

Telephone: (01344) 623345
Fax: (01344) 622944
CALCULATION SHEET
Corus
Composite slab properties

Data from deck manufacturer - Corus Panels
and Profiles
Height to deck neutral axis position: 112.5 mm brochure
Second moment of area of decking 968 cm4/m
Effective slab thickness 157 mm
For dynamic behaviour, take gross uncracked inertia and, for normal weight concrete,
take dynamic Ec = 38 kN/mm²
∴ Modular ratio α = 205 /38 = 5.39

Determine position of elastic neutral axis
Section Area/unit width Depth to centroid y Area × y
cm²/m cm cm³/m
Concrete 15.7×100/α = 291.3 15.7/2 = 7.85 2287
Decking 13.3 31.6 − 11.25 = 20.4 272
304.6 2559
∴ Position of composite slab ENA = 2559 / 304.6 = 8.40 cm
Section properties of slab

Section Distance from ENA Area × Ilocal
cm Distance² cm4/m
cm4/m
Concrete 8.4 – 7.85 = 0.55 88 100×15.7³/12α = 5983*
Decking 20.4 – 8.4 = 12.0 1920 968
2008 6951
* This is a conservative estimate of the local second moment of area
∴ Second moment of area of composite slab (per metre width)

= 2008 + 6951 = 8959 cm4/m (89.59×10-6 m4/m)
Discuss me ...

Telephone: (01344) 623345
Fax: (01344) 622944
CALCULATION SHEET
Corus
Floor beams
Beam span: 7.5 m
Beam spacing 7.5 m
Serial size 300 ASB (FE) 153 Section
Second moment of area, Ibeam 28400 cm4 properties,
Area, A 195 cm² SCI-P202
Depth to elastic neutral axis 174 mm
Depth of beam 310 mm
Thickness of web 27 mm
Width of bottom flange 300 mm
Thickness of flanges 24 mm
Mass 153 kg/m
Concrete cover to beam 30 mm

Effective breadth for dynamic conditions
Be = 7500/4 = 1875 mm ≤ b = 7500 mm

∴ Be = 1875 mm
1875
Composite beam section:
91
y
225
24
Section properties
Width Depth y α A Ay Ay2 Ilocal
2
(mm) (mm) (mm) (cm ) (cm ) (cm4)
3
(cm4)
Slab 1875 91 45.5 5.39 316.6 1440 6552 2185
Filling to beam 273 225 203.5 5.39 114.0 2320 47212 4808
ASB 204 195.0 3978 81151 28400
625.6 7738 134915 35393
Position of elastic neutral axis = 7738 / 625.6 = 12.37 cm below top of slab
Total second moment of area = 134915 + 35393 − 12.372 × 625.6 = 74580 cm4
Discuss me ...

Telephone: (01344) 623345
Fax: (01344) 622944
CALCULATION SHEET
Corus
Mode shapes & beam boundary conditions

The fundamental mode is that which gives the lowest natural frequency (i.e. the
highest deflection)
Secondary beam mode.
=
=
=
=
The boundary condition for the Slimflor beams for this mode of vibration is simply- Section 3.1
supported, since the deflection of adjacent beams are in the opposite sense and of equal
magnitude.
Because of the equal deflections of the supports, treat the composite slab component as
fixed ended.
Discuss me ...

Telephone: (01344) 623345
Fax: (01344) 622944
CALCULATION SHEET
Corus
Natural frequency
Secondary beam mode
Deflection of components
i) Slab (fixed-ended)
Weight of slab per unit width (excludes wt of ASB)
= (5.08 − 0.20) × 7.5 = 36.6 kN/m
wL3 36.6 × 7500 3
δs = = = 2.2 mm
384 EI 384 × 205 × 8959 × 10 4
ii) Secondary beam (simply-supported)
Total weight of one bay over whole span = 5.08 × 7.5 × 7.5 = 285.8 kN
5WL3 5 × 285.8 × 7500 3
δ = = = 10.3 mm
384 EI 384 × 205 × 74580 × 10 4
Total deflection = 2.2 + 10.3 = 12.5 mm
18 18
∴ Natural frequency f = = = 5.1Hz

δ 12.5
Since there are no primary beams in this form of construction f0 = f = 5.1 Hz
Floor response
As f0 < 10 Hz, the floor is ‘low frequency’ Section 4.2.1
α n P0 Equation (8)
a rms =
2 2 m Leff Sζ
Since f0 > 3.55Hz the Fourier coefficient α n = 0.1

Leff = ny Ly = 16 × 7.5 = 120 m Equation (9),
1/ 4 Equation
 EI 
S = C  12  ≤W (10)
 mf 
 0 
W = nx Lx = 16 × 7.5 = 120 m
For a square grid without primary beams, C = 0.53 Table 4.1
1/ 4
 205 × 89.59 × 10 3 
Hence S = 0.53  = 3.2 m
 518 × 5 .12 
 
S < W therefore S = 3.2 m

Discuss me ...

Telephone: (01344) 623345
Fax: (01344) 622944
CALCULATION SHEET
Corus
For a normal floor, the damping ratio ζ = 3%

0.1 × 746
arms = = 4.42×10-3m/s²
2 × 2 × 518 × 120 × 3.2 × 0.03
Since 4 Hz ≤ f0 ≤ 8 Hz, weighting factor = 1.0 Equation
(12)
Therefore, for z-axis vibrations, the response factor is: Equation
a 4.42 × 10 −3 (14)
R = rms = = 0.88
0.005 0.005
Floor acceptability
Since R = 0.88 < 1.0, the floor is acceptable for operating theatre areas according to Table 4.3
HTM 2045

P 331

Hochgeladen von

Dokumentinformationen

Originaltitel

Copyright

Verfügbare Formate

Dieses Dokument teilen

Dokument teilen oder einbetten

Freigabeoptionen

Stufen Sie dieses Dokument als nützlich ein?

Sind diese Inhalte unangemessen?

Copyright:

Verfügbare Formate

P 331

Hochgeladen von

Copyright:

Verfügbare Formate

P331: Design Guide on the Vibration of Floors in Hospitals

SCI PUBLICATION P331

Design Guide on the Vibration of

S J Hicks BEng PhD (Cantab)

Berkshire SL5 7QN

Tel: 01344 623345

 2004 The Steel Construction Institute

Publication Number: SCI P331

ISBN 1 85942 149 0

British Library Cataloguing-in-Publication Data.

2 HUMAN PERCEPTION OF VIBRATION 2

A fully worked example, illustrating the procedure, is given.

In modern building design, the assessment of human-induced vibrations due to

There is a common misconception that steel-framed floors within hospitals and

measurements from in situ tests on a variety of hospital floors with operating

2 HUMAN PERCEPTION OF VIBRATION

To ensure that the measure of the vibration is not influenced by one

For continuous steady-state sinusoidal motion, as shown in Figure 2.1, the

Figure 2.1 Acceleration waveform for continuous steady-state

The perception of vibrations depends on the direction of incidence to the human

2.1 Acceptance criteria

Figure 2.4 Building vibration curves, taken from BS 6472

Table 2.1 Multiplying factors given in HTM 2045

produce intermittent vibrations. In these circumstances, a less onerous limit can

The method of determining the VDV is described in Appendix B of BS 6472.

Table 2.2 Vibration dose values given used in HTM 2045

3.1 Fundamental frequency

1. Secondary beam mode

2. Primary beam mode

The primary beams vibrate about the columns as simply-supported members

Figure 3.1 Typical fundamental mode shapes for composite floor

As composite construction is essentially an overlay of one-way spanning

Alternatively, it can sometimes be convenient to use component frequencies

From measurements on 17 composite floors[11], it has been demonstrated that the

3.2 Floor response

Figure 3.2 Simple single-degree-of-freedom spring mass

3.2.2 Resonant excitation (low frequency floors)

In general, a repeated force such as walking can be represented by a

However, even though a floor may possess a fundamental frequency above

3.2.3 Impulsive excitation (high frequency floors)

where I is the impulsive force in Newton-seconds (Ns) and M is the modal

4.1 Fundamental frequency of the floor

Calculation of the frequency should be based on the dynamic Young’s modulus,

4.2 Floor Response

Secondary beam Primary beam Tie

Figure 4.1 Definition of variables used to establish effective modal

Table 4.2 Framing factor C

4.2.2 High frequency floors

M is the effective modal mass M = mLeffS (N.B. the equations given in

4.3 Floor acceptability

weighted arms = arms × 0.5 f0 for 3 Hz < f0 < 4 Hz

weighted arms = arms for 4 Hz ≤ f0 ≤ 8 Hz

4.3.2 Response factor evaluation

Table 4.3 Limiting values of response factor, to comply with

Corus Construction and Industrial, 2004

Job No. BCB 916 Sheet 1 of 6 Rev

Job Title Design guide on the vibration of floors in hospitals

Silwood Park, Ascot, Berks SL5 7QN Subject Worked Example

Telephone: (01344) 623345

Client Made by PJD Date Jan 2004

HOSPITAL FLOOR WITH OPERATING THEATRE AREA

USING SLIMDEK CONSTRUCTION

Structural arrangement of floor