Model for predicting the vibrations of historical timber buildings due to traffic loads and its experimental validation

Abstract

This study established the transfer laws of vibration waves in a linear system under simple harmonic loading. Then, a method based on multipoint delivery in the frequency domain was proposed to predict the vibrations of historical timber buildings induced by traffic loads, in which the transfer function between two delivery points of different single frequencies is obtained. Finally, the vibration responses of the Feiyun pavilion induced by traffic loads were predicted and compared with experimental field test results. The results indicate that the predicted vibration responses and experimental field tests at the measurement point in the Feiyun pavilion correspond well in the concerned frequency bands and that the proposed prediction method can be used to predict the structural vibration responses under the influence of complex traffic loads.