Measurement of floor vibrations using a heel drop test

Journal article

As floor vibration problems increase, there is a need for simple and reliable methods of determining a floor's dynamic properties. This paper presents a technique called the instrumented heel drop test, in which the floor is excited by a series of heel drops performed on top of a slim load cell placed on the floor. The test is shown to give excellent resolution of natural frequencies in the range 2 - 15 Hz, which corresponds well with the frequency range of interest in floor vibration problems. The method appears to offer some advantages over the well-established technique of instrumented hammer testing, in terms of the quality of frequency resolution and the speed of the test.

Authors: Blakeborough, A; Williams, M

• Publication status: Published
• Journal: PROCEEDINGS OF THE INSTITUTION OF CIVIL ENGINEERS-STRUCTURES AND BUILDINGS
• Volume: 156
• Issue: 4
• Pages: 367-371
• Publication date: 2003-11-01
• DOI: 10.1680/stbu.156.4.367.37848
• EISSN: 1751-7702
• ISSN: 0965-0911
• Language: English
• Keywords: buildings, structure and design; field testing and monitoring; dynamics