Walking-Induced Vibration of Steel-Framed Floors Supporting Sensitive Equipment

This paper explains the vibration evaluation methods for floors supporting sensitive equipment in the second edition of the AISC Design Guide 11, Vibrations of Steel-Framed Structural Systems Due to Human Activity. It presents new experimentally verified equations that are simplified for practical implementation. Sensitive equipment tolerance limits are stated in numerous forms, including peak acceleration and various spectral acceleration and velocity. For this reason, response predictions are given in terms of all tolerance limit forms that are commonly used. The most severe responses of lower frequency floors to walking are due to resonant build-ups whereas the most severe responses of higher frequency floors are due to a series of individual footsteps impulses, so equations are given for both. Because the sensitive equipment tolerance limit is objective, each equation includes a calibration factor that results in a high probability that the predicted response will exceed the actual response.