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Assessment of Vibrations Generated by Structure Demolition Part II:

Influences on Structural Safety and Durability

Article  in  Advanced Materials Research · May 2011

DOI: 10.4028/www.scientific.net/AMR.243-249.5329

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Advanced Materials Research Vols. 243-249 (2011) pp 5329-5332
Online available since 2011/May/17 at www.scientific.net
© (2011) Trans Tech Publications, Switzerland
doi:10.4028/www.scientific.net/AMR.243-249.5329

Assessment of Vibrations Generated by Structure Demolition. Part II:

Influences on Structural Safety and Durability

Zhiyi Chen1,2, a, Haitao Yu2 and Yong Yuan1,2

1
Key Laboratory of Geotechnical and Underground Engineering of the Ministry of Education, Tongji
University, Shanghai 200092, China
2
Department of Geotechnical Engineering, Tongji University, Shanghai 200092, China
a
zhiyichen@tongji.edu.cn

Keywords: Construction vibrations, Ground vibrations, Demolition, Vibration criteria, Vibration

evaluation

Abstract. The main purpose of this paper is to evaluate the influences of construction vibration,
which is generated by structure demolition, on the structural safety and stability. As presented in the
companion paper, the influences of construction vibration on the surrounding environment were
assessed. In this paper, another issue is concerned. For this purpose, field measurements are
conducted on site. Then the obtained data, mainly the structural strain are analyzed by the presented
evaluation method and compared to the allowable strength values suggested by the existing code. It is
found that the ground vibrations generated by demolition construction will not cause harmful effects
on the structures.

Introduction
Different kinds of construction vibrations have become an environmental problem since technical
development in a modern, industrialized society has come to involve more and more structures being
built both above ground and below ground with bigger and heavier machines. Although there are a
great number of standards and specifications which provide different criteria or allowable levels for
evaluating environmental and ground vibrations, these provisions aims to construction vibrations
which are primarily caused by blasting and piling [1-4]. The ground vibrations caused by blasting and
piling are characterized by a short intensive pulse. Though their intensity is much lower relative to
earthquake shakings, they may cause developing cracks in the walls and floors of a building. They can
also induce permanent deformations (densification) and then foundation settlement in sandy soils,
which may induce more serious structural damage. Unlike blasting and piling, demolishing concrete
members generally produces continuous impulsive loading, which is generally of three to five
seconds’ duration. The vibration intensity is relative lower if compared to the vibration caused by
blasting and piling. However, the disturbance and damage to adjacent structures remain unknown due
to continuous action. So far, less research has been done on the construction vibrations generated by
demolition. The aforementioned standards, which specify measurement and assessment method of
environmental vibration, has not covered this issue either [5-7]. It is recognized that more field
measurements of such kind of environmental vibrations are needed. Further research is required to
investigate the intensity of environmental vibration caused by demolition, the wave propagation and
attenuation through the reinforced concrete bracing, diaphragm walls as described in the present
construction site.
The main objective of this research is to evaluate influences of construction vibration on: (1) the
surrounding environment by monitoring z-axis vertical vibration level (VLz) in order to guarantee the
comfortable inhabitancy; (2) structural safety and stability by monitoring the structural responses in
order to guarantee normal operation of the subways. A companion paper by Chen et al. [8] studied the
first issue. This paper aims to the second issue, namely, the influences of construction vibration on the
structural safety and durability.

All rights reserved. No part of contents of this paper may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means without the written permission of TTP,
www.ttp.net. (ID: 222.70.193.143-19/05/11,01:02:22)
5330 Advances in Civil Engineering and Architecture

Description of Preliminary Demolition Scheme

The same demolition scheme, as described in the companion paper, is adopted. The percussion borer
and the excavators as well as the hammer weight and the vibration frequency are similar to the
presented scheme. The structural responses generated by construction vibrations as reported in the
paper are obtained when the south end of the trestle bridge I is being demolished (see Fig. 1). The
obtained data are then analyzed to explore the direction of propagation and attenuation regularity.

Evaluation Method and Results

Evaluation Index of Structural Response. Physical quantities, which are used to describe vibration
intensity, are displacement or strain (amplitude), velocity and acceleration etc. All of them are the
function of a frequency. In measurement, only one quantity is required, the other two quantities can
then be derived by means of differential or integration.
Vibration displacement is useful in study of intensity and deformation of machine structures, or
unbalance vibration of rotary machine members. Perceptible displacement occurs in a relatively low
frequency. Vibration velocity is a quantity regarding the vibration intensity during operating the
machine. And vibration acceleration is commonly used in accessing environmental vibrations since
the influence of vibrations on human bodies is essentially the results of transformation of vibration
energy from the view of laboring protection and environmental protection. As the structural responses
are concerned, the structural strength stress is usually adopted.
There are several ways of evaluating vibration stress response, such as the peak value, the mean
value, and the effective value (i.e. the root-mean-square value). The peak value represents a
maximum value of transient vibration; the mean value represents an average magnitude of transient
vibration over a period; and the effective value is directly related to the vibration energy. Here, the
peak value of vibration strain responses is adopted in assessment of construction vibration on the
structural safety and durability.
Arrangement of Monitoring Points. Since a full scaffold is placed at one side of the trestle bridge
I, the monitoring points have to be set along the continuous diaphragm wall at the other side of the
trestle bridge I. As shown in Fig. 1, four monitoring points (O, P, Q, and R) are set at the diaphragm
wall, with a spacing of 1m to 2m.

Fig. 1 Arrangement of structural response monitoring points

Instrumentation and Equipment Used for Structural Response Measurements. A high-speed
static strain instrument and strain gauges of BHF120-3 Aaxx type are adopted to monitor the
structural responses during demolishing the bracing system. Sensitivity coefficient is 2.08; the
maximum frequency of sampling is 1000Hz. The measurements at each point were conducted by
using of vertical and horizontal strain gauges, which are pasted on the polished wall to measure
structural strain responses in the vertical and horizontal directions. The strain gauges are then
connected to a high-speed static strain instrument to take a note of all the data. The total sampling
time is taken as 1000s.
 Advanced Materials Research Vols. 243-249 5331

Results and Discussions. Due to difficulty of getting data in site, the strain responses are finally
obtained at Point P in the horizontal and vertical directions and at Points O, R, and Q in the horizontal
directions. Fig. 2 shows the response time histories in horizontal directions at Points O, Q, and R. The
strain response time histories in both horizontal and vertical directions are shown in Fig. 3(a) for Point
P. It is indicated that the stain responses decrease with the increasing distance from the vibration
resource. It should be noted that near the vibration source (Points O and Q), the strain response
histories trend to show large fluctuations in the wave form. It is because that the vibration wave
propagated through the reinforced concrete bracing and the soil, then the wave reflection and
refraction results in the waveform overlay. Table 1 also lists the peak values of obtained monitoring
data. As seen from Table 1, it is obvious that peak stresses decrease with the increasing distance from
the vibration resource. This is consistent with the attenuation rule obtained from acceleration
vibration.

200 Point O 120 120

150 Point Q Point R
80 80
100
Strain (µε)

Strain (µε)

Strain (µε)
40 40
50
0 0 0
-50
-40 -40
-100
-80 -80
-150
-200 -120 -120
0 20 40 60 80 100 0 20 40 60 80 100 0 20 40 60 80 100
Time (s) Time (s) Time (s)

Fig. 2 Response histories in horizontal directions at Points O, Q, and R

Table 1 Results of measured structural responses (Unit: µε)

Site Maximum value Minimum value Different
O, in horizontal direction 99.2 -144.4 243.6
P, in horizontal direction 79.4 -89.2 168.5
P, in vertical direction 88.1 -98.4 186.5
Q, in horizontal direction 66.7 -68.2 134.9
R, in horizontal direction 52.7 - 40.9 93.6
Note: the positive value represents tension, whereas the negative value represents compression.

View as a plane stress problem, the corresponding stresses can be deduced by the measured strain
through elastic theory, as:
E
σx = (ε x + νε y ) (1)
1 −ν 2
E
σy = (ε y + νε x ) (2)
1 −ν 2
where, E is Young’s modulus of the concrete elasticity, = 3.0×104MPa; ν is Poisson’s ratio, = 0.167.
The calculated stress curves at Point P are plotted in Fig. 3(b) together with the original strain
curves in Fig. 3(a). As seen from Fig. 3(b), the maximum values of the horizontal and vertical strain
are 2.5MPa and 3.0MPa, respectively; the minimum values are -2.5MPa and -2.9MPa. The data show
the maximum tension stress is less than 3MPa, namely, less than the tension strength of the concrete
material. It can be concluded then despite repeated stress in the structure induced by the construction
vibration, the fatigue problem will not occur in overall structure due to the short duration of the
vibration. Consequently, demolishing large-scale bracing system with a percussive borer and an
excavator will not cause destructive vibration or other harmful effects on the structure. Use of a
percussive borer and an excavator as a demolition scheme is feasible.
5332 Advances in Civil Engineering and Architecture

120 hor. strain 4 hor. stress

3
80 vert. strain vert. stress

Stress (MPa)
Strain (µε) 2
40
1
0 0
-1
-40
-2
-80
-3
-120 -4
0 20 40 60 80 100 0 20 40 60 80 100
Time (s) Time (s)

(a) Strain (b) Stress

Fig. 3 Response histories in horizontal and vertical directions at P point

Conclusions
Field measurements of environmental vibrations generated by demolition construction were taken in
an urban area. The particle accelerations of ground vibrations (in z-, x-, and y axes) are measured at
varying distances up to 16m from the vibration source. The obtained results were then analyzed and
compared to the allowable values as specified in the present standards. The following conclusions can
be drawn. The analysis of structural responses obtained from the field testing indicates that
demolishing large-scale bracing system with a percussive borer and an excavator is safe. It will not
cause destructive vibration or other harmful effects on the structure.

Acknowledgements
The research has been supported in part by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant
No. 50908169), Specialized Research Fund for the Doctoral Program of Higher Education (Grant No.
200802471095) and Shanghai Pujiang Program. All supports are gratefully acknowledged.

References
[1] G. A. Athanasopoulos and P. C. Pelekis: Soil Dynamics and Earthquake Engineering, Vol. 19
(2000), p. 371-387.
[2] V. S. Hope and D. M Hiller: Canadian Geotechnical Journal, Vol. 37 (2000), p.700-711.
[3] C. Kuzu and H. Ergin: Environmental Geology Vol.48 (2005), p.211-217.
[4] S. Yazdani Ardakani et al.: Journal of Materials Science (1987), p. 625-628.
[5] International Organization for Strandardization: Evaluation of human exposure to whole-body
vibration, Part1: General requirements. ISO, 1985, ISO 2631/1-1985.
[6] SEPAOC GB 10070-88: Standard of environmental vibration in urban area (State
Environmental Protection Administration of China, 1988, GB 10070-88). (in Chinese)
[7] SEPAOC GB 10071-88: Measurement method of environmental vibration of urban area (State
Environmental Protection Administration of China, 1988, GB 10071-88). (in Chinese)
[8] Z. Y. Chen, H. T. Yu, and Y. Yuan: submitted to Advanced Material Research (2011)
 Advances in Civil Engineering and Architecture
doi:10.4028/www.scientific.net/AMR.243-249

Assessment of Vibrations Generated by Structure Demolition Part II: Influences on

Structural Safety and Durability
doi:10.4028/www.scientific.net/AMR.243-249.5329

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