Prediction of Traffic Vibration Effect on Heritage Building at Muar, Johor, Malaysia

The vibration produced by road traffic can contribute to the long-term adverse effects on heritage structures. The objectives of this study were to analyze the dynamic response of the heritage building under time-dependent loads caused by traffic vibration by carried out the transient analysis in ANSYS and to determine the level of Vibration Criterion of the heritage building due to traffic vibration by using VSATs in MATLAB software. This research was to predict the traffic vibration effect on the old building of Telecom Muar at Johor, Malaysia. A field testing was carried out using a mobile application, iDynamics, to obtain the vibration signal induced by road traffic. The data obtained were analyzed using ANSYS and MATLAB software. Two types of analysis were carried out using ANSYS, which are modal analysis and transient analysis. MATLAB was used to obtain the vibration criteria plot (VC) for the building. The natural frequency of the fundamental mode shape was 2.57Hz. The natural frequency of the building is acceptable as it is below the human sensitivity frequency range. On the other hand, the level of vibration criteria of the building falls on VC-E, which is the lowest level in the Generic Vibration Criteria Plot implemented by Gordon (1991). In conclusion, both natural frequency and the vibration criteria of the selected building is acceptable according to the results obtained from the analysis conducted.