Impact of traffic-induced vibrations on residential buildings and their occupants in metropolitan cities

Abstract

This paper evaluates and quantifies the adverse impact of traffic-induced vibrations on the structural systems of residential buildings and their occupants. To do this, İstanbul, one of the world’s most populous and traffic-congested cities, was selected as a case study. Firstly, a survey was conducted on 100 occupants of six neighbourhoods to understand human perception of vibrations and the physical condition of typical buildings. Then, train-induced ground vibrations were measured near a busy railway. Using the survey data and the measured train vibrations, time-history analyses were applied to five typical residential buildings. The results showed that there is a considerable contribution of higher modes to overall building response. Peak particle velocities calculated on the buildings are predominantly intolerable. Critically, 95% of the occupants would like authorities to reorganize traffic regulations to reduce the effects of this global problem. Therefore, human response to traffic-induced vibrations should be consideration of serviceability limit state and site-specific analysis should be incorporated into the codes of practice.