Vibration in buildings

ISVR Consulting is often asked to measure and assess vibration in houses and other buildings. The vibration may be caused by nearby construction, by railway traffic, by road traffic passing over speed bumps, or by blasting. Residents may be annoyed or distressed by the vibration, and some may be concerned that the vibration could cause cosmetic or even structural damage to their properties.

Residents will feel and comment on vibration in a building at far lower levels than those needed to cause structural damage. Consequently if the buildings are constructed in a way, or a location, which does not provoke adverse comment then there is no risk to the fabric of the building, and structural damage would not occur.

People's reaction to vibration in buildings

In the UK, the newly revised British Standard BS 6472:2008 describes how to determine the vibration dose value, VDV, from frequency-weighted vibration measurements over the frequency range 0.5 Hz to 80 Hz. The vibration dose value is used to estimate the probability of adverse comment which might be expected from people experiencing vibration in buildings. Their reaction will depend on the time of day and on the use made of the occupied space, whether residential, office or workshop.

Effect of vibration on the fabric of a building

The severity of vibration impact on the structure of a building may be assessed using BS 7385. The two parts of this standard give guidance on the measurement, evaluation and assessment of vibration in buildings in the frequency range from 4 Hz to 250 Hz. The risk of vibration-induced damage is dependent on the magnitude, the frequency characteristics and the overall duration of the vibration input, as well as the type of construction of the building.

Recent project work

Vibration from railways

Measuring ground vibration along three axes on the
site of a planned new building

One of our recent projects has shown that structural damage to a new build has been caused directly by the vibration from heavy goods trains. This has highlighted the need for vibration measurements to be made before planning permission is granted on other similar sites.

ISVR Consulting can offer vibration measurements to BS 6472-1:2008, enabling a prediction of the likelihood of adverse comments from future occupants of the buildings. Our measurements are made in complete compliance with the standard, calculating the true VDV of vibration events. The true VDV gives considerably better predictions of people's reactions than the eVDV which is so often used. If the buildings are constructed in a way, or in a location, which does not provoke adverse comment then there is no risk to the fabric of the building, and structural damage would not occur.

In other work, ground-borne noise predictions due to the construction and operation of metro-rail systems have been made in collaboration with the ISVR Dynamics Group.

Vibration from construction plant

Another project was initiated by the construction of a dual carriageway road close to a number of residential properties. There were concerns that the use of a vibrating roller for compacting the ground could cause structural damage to a nearby property.

Measuring vibration along three axes on the floor of
an existing building

ISVR Consulting measured the maximum values of all three orthogonal component particle velocities at the complainant’s house to assess whether they exceeded the guideline values in BS 7385. All three components were measured simultaneously on the concrete floor of the house as shown in the photograph.

Measurements were also carried out at the foundation of the building or at a point low on the main load-bearing external wall at ground floor.

The assessment, using BS 7385, showed that there was very little risk of damage, even if the roller were operating continuously at its maximum vibration setting.

References

BS 6472-1:2008. Guide to evaluation of human exposure to vibration in buildings - Part 1: Vibration sources other than blasting. BSI London.

BS 7385-1:1990 (ISO 4866:1990). Evaluation and measurement for vibration in buildings. Part 1 - Guide for measurement of vibrations and evaluation of their effects on buildings. BSI London.

BS 7385-2:1993. Evaluation and measurement for vibration in buildings. Part 2 - Guide to damage levels from groundborne vibration. BSI London.

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For further information contact

Malcolm Smith, Manager
ISVR Consulting
University of Southampton
Highfield
Southampton
SO17 1BJ
UK

Telephone 023 8059 2162 (+44 23 8059 2162 from outside the UK),
or e-mail: consultancy@isvr.co.uk