A Study of the Reinforcement of Steel Plates into RC Cantilever Stairs to Reduce Vibration Effects from Human Walking Activities

Abstract

Static loadings resistance is always the first design criteria. However, further investigation should also be conducted for a structure like floors, bridges, and stairs which are subjected to dynamic loadings in the form of human activities such as walking, running, or jumping; these loadings often result in vibrational effects associated with the user’s comfort. While most researches were mostly about walking force on flat surfaces, this study will mainly focus on reinforced concrete cantilever staircase which has been reported to encounter a significant level of vibration due to periodic walking motion. Therefore, this paper presents the attempt to study the characteristics and response of RC cantilever stair design once being subjected to human-induced vibration and to propose the application of extra reinforcing steel used to lessen the dynamic effects. Numerical analysis is done on an RC cantilever stairs model having dimensions of 100 centimeters in length, and 25 centimeters in width. To keep the concept of “modern” structures, the thickness is maintained to be only 10 centimeters. Both ascending and descending motions are performed, and acceleration data is collected for evaluation. For the proposed reinforcement measures to be proven effective, several parameters must satisfy the recommended design criteria which are shear force, bending moment, deflection, and acceleration. The benefits of implementing this project are reducing user’s discomfort due to vibration within the staircase structure by introducing innovative reinforcement patterns while still maintaining slender dimensions as specified in the architectural plans.

Keywords: RC cantilever stair, human walking load, vibration on stair, human comfort vibration