This paper on "Using FEM to Predict Floor Vibration Response" was presented at the 5th International Conference on Reliability of Finite Element Methods for Engineering Applications - 10-12 May 1995, Amsterdam, The Netherlands.

Abstract

Results are presented of field dynamic testing of post-tensioned (PT) concrete floors. Finite Element Method (FEM) is used to validate the experimental results and to develop a dynamic model to predict floor vibration response. It is established that a simple linear elastic model of shell elements accurately predicts the dynamic behaviour of these floors for small amplitudes of motion. It has been shown that a single panel model of such a floor can accurately predict the fundamental natural frequency of the floor. A parametric study of this model resulted in curves for fundamental natural frequency against span/depth ratios and deflections. Since some of the tested floors are found to have sufficiently low fundamental natural frequencies for vibration problems to be a realistic possibility, the proposed curves may, therefore, be used as a guideline at the design stage to limit span/depth ratios and deflections.