Frequency Dependence of Human Response to Wind-Induced Building Motion
Publication: Journal of Structural Engineering
Volume 132, Issue 2
Abstract
There has long been debate about the necessity of considering motion frequency in the assessment of occupant comfort during wind-induced tall building motion. This paper characterizes the biodynamic human body vibration response occurring during exposures to low-frequency, constant amplitude acceleration sinusoidal motion and demonstrates a physiological frequency dependence of this motion. The findings from a series of motion simulator experiments show that, as the frequency of oscillation increases from 0.15 to 1.00 Hz, acceleration measured at the head of a human test subject is increasingly magnified. This motion magnification demonstrates that biodynamic human body vibration is frequency dependent in this frequency range. Furthermore there may also be further implications for visual perception of motion through parallax shift. Clearly, these effects need to be accounted for in developing more refined occupant comfort acceptable criteria for tall building motion.
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Acknowledgments
The research described in this paper has been made possible by funding provided by the Research Grants Council of Hong Kong (Project No. UNSPECIFIEDHKUST6239/00E). The experiments were approved by the Human Subject Panel of the HKUST Committee on Research Practices. The writers would like to gratefully acknowledge the enthusiastic participation and contributions of HKUST and WWTF staff.
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Information & Authors
Information
Published In
Journal of Structural Engineering
Volume 132 • Issue 2 • February 2006
Pages: 296 - 303
Copyright
© 2006 ASCE.
History
Received: Apr 12, 2004
Accepted: Jun 27, 2005
Published online: Feb 1, 2006
Published in print: Feb 2006
Notes
Note. Associate Editor: Kurtis R. Gurley
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