Human comfort assessment of floors subjected to dynamic loading induced by people groups

Resumo

This research work aims to investigate the dynamic structural behaviour and evaluate the human comfort
of steel-concrete composite floors when subjected to loads induced by rhythmic human activities in places such as
fitness centres, event halls and offices. The investigated structural model is characterised by a steel-concrete
composite floor of a commercial building used for aerobics, which presents dimensions of 40m x 40m and a total
area of 1,600m2. The dynamic loads were obtained through the use of traditional mathematical models associated
to “only force” and also based on the use of biodynamic systems, aiming to incorporate the human-structure
interaction dynamic effect to assess the human comfort. The floor numerical model was developed based on usual
modelling techniques, adopting the mesh refinement present in the Finite Element Method (FEM), and
implemented in the computer program ANSYS. The dynamic structural response (displacements and
accelerations) was determined through the investigation of several dynamic loading models related to people
groups practising rhythmic activities on the floor concrete slab. Finally, based on the dynamic structural response
(peak acceleration), the results were compared with the floor project serviceability limits, indicating that the
maximum peak acceleration values surpass the design criteria, causing excessive vibration and human discomfort.