Vibrations are a known nuisance and there are two sources of vibration, ground‐borne and non‐ground‐borne. Ground-borne vibrations are the vibrations that are the result of in‐ground activities such as heavy construction, steel‐wheeled trains or traffic on rough roads. Non-ground‐borne are the result of other factors not related to ground vibration such as wind or mechanical systems.

 

 

Vibration Impact on Buildings

Vibration causes additional strains on building and can damage existing structures if they are not properly monitored and accounted for.

 

Human Response to Vibration

Human response to vibration is a subjective issue, and there has been little research in developing a threshold for vibration. This issue is particularly complex since so many factors other than the magnitude of vibration play a role in the human response. The level of vibration interpreted by humans can be intensified by secondary factors from vibration like audible or visual effects such as movement of hanging objects. These subjective observations were recorded with the use of complaints received from human subject to those events. In general, a PPV value of 0.02 in/sec is a conservative threshold for the ground‐borne vibration being distinctly perceptible (Transit Noise and Vibration Impact Assessment, FTA, May 2006).