Study of A Monumental Stair Susceptible to Excessive Vibrations Due to Human Movements

Excessive vibrations of monumental stairs can become a major serviceability issue. It is, therefore, important for structural engineers to be able to predict the behavior of these systems as accurately as possible. Inaccuracies in the response prediction can result in a structure with excessive vibrations or great unnecessary costs in terms of material consumption, particularly steel, which is against one of the main goals of sustainability in construction. To evaluate the accuracy of response prediction using a Finite Element computer analysis, this paper presents a study of a monumental stair susceptible to excessive vibrations due to human movements. The stair responses due to the ascent and descent at its first sub-harmonic of fundamental frequency were computed and compared with those from the measurement. Conclusions were made in regards to the computer modeling of the structure and its effectiveness in walk response prediction.