Statistical analysis of structural vibrations due to crowd jumping loads Available to Purchase

This paper presents an analysis method for the response of an assembly structure such as a grandstand to simulated crowd jumping loads. The structure is initially modelled as a single-degree-of-freedom (SDOF) system and then modified by the addition of a two-degree-of-freedom (2DOF) model of a passive standing crowd. A statistical approach is used in order to represent realistically the natural variability in the jumping loads. The paper outlines how to simulate individual jumping loads based on a statistical model developed elsewhere. The response of the joint crowd–structure system to the jumping loads is then obtained and presented in graphical form. These results give a first estimate to the response of cantilever grandstands due to crowd jumping loads. An example is presented, the various factors affecting the structural response owing to crowd jumping loads are discussed and the limitations of the results considered.