Mitigation of Train-Induced Floor Vibrations in Multi-Story Buildings Using a Blocking Floor

Abstract

A new method is developed for reducing train–induced floor vibrations in buildings. Vibration transmitted through building columns to the upper floors can be mitigated by considerably increasing the thickness of a lower floor, which is named the “blocking floor”. This can be a desirable and inexpensive solution for vibration mitigation. The work presented by this paper shows the ability of an impedance-based wave propagation model to capture the blocking floor behavior by comparing the analytical predictions of the velocity rations with the measured velocity ratios in the frequency domain. A 4-story scale model building was designed and constructed for measuring floor vibrations induced by excitations at the base. The effectiveness of using different blocking floors with different thicknesses in the scale model to mitigate vibrations was examined. Additionally, a sandwich floor with an integral damping layer was added to the scale model building to examine the effect of enhanced energy dissipation in the blocking floor slab.