Development of standards on vibration effects on buildings

One of the Working Groups of the American National Standards Institute S2 Committee on Mechanical Shock and Vibration is S2-78 on Measurement and Evaluation of Structural Vibration. This working Group is currently participating in the development of a standard for building vibration with the corresponding Working Group of the International Standards Organization TC 108/SC2/WG3. Consensus standards of this type provide technical guidelines to the Government agencies responsible for establishing regulations for environmental conditions as well as occupational health and safety. The proposed standards on building vibration specify the basic principles of performing vibration measurement and processing data, in regard to using the results of measurements for evaluating vibration effects on buildings. The evaluation is primarily directed toward structural response, but appropriate analytical methods are also included. The response as affected by vibration frequency, duration, and amplitudes as induced by any source is examined. The status of the proposed international standards and the available empirical data on damage from various sources are reviewed.