Why Do Buildings Vibrate?

From the airwaves that carry our voices to the heaviest of machines, vibration is an active force in our everyday lives. How and why do buildings vibrate?

Through our day-to-day lives, we encounter and interact with a plethora of natural forces on a daily basis.

Oftentimes, we hardly even notice these physical forces at play. Take gravity for example; barely recognizable as we go about life, but a force we undeniably experience.

Vibration is another such force that we encounter daily. From the engine in your car to the music in your earbuds, vibration is everywhere.

Yet, vibration that goes unchecked often leads to damage or unsafe conditions. In building and construction, this

Why Would a Building Vibrate?

For buildings, vibration comes from several different sources.

Everything from the building’s environment to internal functions like elevators transmits vibration throughout the structure.

In our case, vibrations in buildings derive from three primary sources.

Environmental Vibrations

Of course, where a building is physically located influences how much vibration the building experiences.

An office building in a quiet, remote business park will not experience the same vibrational forces as a building in the center of a busy metropolitan area.

External sources, such as traffic, pedestrians, weather and more amplify the effect of vibration on buildings.

As cars drive by, traffic vibration transmits through key points in the structure to reverberate through the building.

A company with a manufacturing facility nearby would experience the vibrational forces from heavy machinery.

Environment is a constant source of vibration for buildings that can be felt throughout the structure depending on what’s happening around it.

Mechanical Vibrations

What happens on this inside of a building is just as important as what’s happening outside of it.

Mechanical systems and processes within the structure produce vibration that transmits throughout the structure.

There are a variety of mechanical sources for vibration in buildings. For instance, elevators generate vibration through their operation.

These integral components of mobility throughout a structure are constantly on the move, meaning they are constantly creating some output of vibration.

Additionally, mechanical rooms may also disturb an otherwise vibration-free environment for offices, hotels and more.

Vibrations from Human Activity

What? You thought we were guilt-free in all of this?

Simple human activities may not have an impact on an individual scale.

However, vibration can also come from large groups of people moving throughout the structure.

Although minimal, the effect of vibration on buildings from mechanical systems, human activity and the environment.

The Effect of Vibration on Buildings

With the sources of vibration identified, we can better explore the effect of vibration on buildings.

Vibrations transmitted to buildings lead to damage of varying magnitudes.

The vibration emitted from an industrial forging hammer will have a different effect on the building compared to that of a passing car.

However, while many buildings incur damage from the vibration itself, it can also be a catalyst for other structural issues that would have otherwise gone unnoticed.

[READ MORE]: REDUCE ENVIRONMENTAL VIBRATION TO BUILDINGS

Vibration Damage to Buildings

Let’s say you are in a building that is closely located close to a nearby construction site.

With this as our source of vibration, the magnitude of such forces damage nearby buildings in a couple different ways.

First, vibrations from the construction site transmit to the structure through support points in the foundation.

Secondly, powerful vibration displaces soils beneath the foundation and may result in less support in the foundation.

As the construction site continues its business, repeated vibration forces transmitted to local structures increases.

Significant damage from vibration appears via cracks in the foundation, walls, sloping of floors and much more.

However, there are practical solutions to mitigate the effect of vibration on buildings.

How To Reduce Vibration in Buildings

To prevent damage, and reduce the effect of vibration in buildings, one must first identify the source and recipient of the vibration.

Buildings are hardly ever generators of their own vibration. As we mentioned, internal machine operation and human activity contributes most to internal vibration.

Because of this variety of vibration sources, there are several solutions that can successfully reduce and isolate vibration in a building.

Fabreeka® Pad

In this case vibration isolation pads can be installed in elevator shafts or underneath floors as a reduction method.

Using bearing pads, engineers and architects can reduce vibration on building floors, minimize structure-borne noise and absorb movement and deflection throughout.

Our signature cotton duck pad is trusted by building and construction professionals for both its load-bearing and vibration-reducing properties.

Fabreeka Pad has an impressive amount of compressive strength and minimal creep to ensure the pad stays true to form.

FAB-EFP®

For internal machinery and operating rooms, isolating the foundation of that machine diminishes the effects of it on any surrounding structures.

Made from recycled rubber, FAB-EFP foundation vibration isolation material is both cost-effective and environmentally friendly.

What’s more, the material comes in a range of densities to support any application.

At two inches thick, FAB-EFP has a natural frequency of 11 Hz with a damping coefficient that remains constant across all densities.

FAB-EFP is supplied in sheets for easy installation and can be cut in the field to support your application

FAB-EPM HP®

Designed for foundation vibration isolation, FAB-EPM material provides low frequency isolation properties necessary for a complete solution.

Like FAB-EFP material, FAB-EPM comes in a range of thicknesses to support natural frequencies of 6 to 40 Hz depending on the load and material type.

FAB-EPM comes supplied in full rolls, strips or blocks to support your custom solution.

Fabsorb

To complete the foundation vibration isolation system, Fabreeka’s Fabsorb material isolates foundation side walls.

Fabsorb effectively absorb machine-induced energy while also isolation buildings from induced shock and vibration.

The natural frequency ranges from 11 to 50 Hz depending on load and material type and consistently performs over a variety of conditions.

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Trusted for decades by professionals in the building and construction industry, Fabreeka has a proven track record of excellent service and high-quality vibration isolation solutions.

Our expertise and dedicated engineers are the best resource to get your next construction project to where it needs to be.

Beyond vibration isolation, Fabreeka offers other solutions for building and construction engineers.

With an impressive portfolio of expansion bearings, thermal break material [link landing page] and more, we’re a top choice for engineers and construction firms for more than vibration isolation.

Get in touch with our team today to take the first step for your ideal application solution.

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