VIBRATION ANALYSIS AND HUMAN COMFORT ASSESSMENT OF STEEL-CONCRETE COMPOSITE FLOORS SUBJECTED TO HUMAN RHYTHMIC ACTIVITIES

Steel-concrete composite floor vibrations induced by human rhythmic activities like walking, running, jumping or aerobics consist on a very complex problem. The dynamic action characteristics generated during these human activities are directly related to the individual body and to the specific way in which each person executes a certain rhythmic activity. The main objective of this research is to investigate the dynamic behaviour of a steel concrete composite floor subjected to rhythmic human activities (aerobics). The investigated structural model is based on a steel-concrete composite floor spanning 40m by 40m, with a total area of 1600m2 and represents a typical interior floor bay of a commercial building used for gym. In this research, an extensive parametric study was developed aiming to obtain the peak accelerations, RMS and VDV values, based on five different mathematical formulations used for modelling human rhythmic actions (aerobics). The dynamic response of the investigated structural model have indicated that the steel-concrete composite floor presented high vibration levels that compromise the human comfort, according to the limiting values proposed by several authors and design standards.