Quantification of Damping Effect of Humans on Lightly Damped StaircasesTopics in Dynamics of Civil Structures, Volume 4

There is experimental evidence that the people interacting with structures are not only an active load but also affect the structural properties. Particularly, considerable damping ratio value changes are often experienced. This fact assumes a relevant importance in assessing the structure serviceability against vibrations due to pedestrian induced loads. There is therefore ground to find methods capable of estimating the effect induced by people interacting with a structure, in terms of both changes of modal parameters and of loading effect. This work aims at presenting a model, partly based on modal approach, able to describe people effect on a structure. Each person is modelled as a two degrees of freedom spring-mass-damper system and is introduced locally on the structure. Several tests on a lightly damped staircase were then carried out to validate the model. © The Society for Experimental Mechanics, Inc. 2013.