Floor vibration due to footfall is of great importance in the design of buildings for vibration-sensitive research and production. The bulk of the predictive modeling methods for footfall involve the use of the “fundamental” resonance frequency which would be excited by the walker. In a complex structure, the analyst may be presented with a choice from a large collection of orthogonal modes which might be considered the “fundamental.” Some may involve a large floor mass. Others may extend into adjacent structural bays. How does one realistically select the “best” one? The paper reviews the options typically available to the modeler and the approaches which might be used to select one for simple footfall analysis.
M. Gendreau, N. Tang, H. Amick, C. Wu, “Mode Selection for Footfall Analysis of Floors,” Proceedings of IMAC XXVII Conference and Exposition on Structural Dynamics, Orlando FL, USA (9 to 12 February 2009)
e25b9a67f4a6397bbd4c02d3af4edeef