Human-Structure Dynamic Interaction in Civil Engineering Dynamics: A Literature Review

In this paper we review more than 130 pieces of essential literature pertinent to the problem of human-structure dynamic interaction, applicable to the design of civil engineering structures. This interaction typically occurs in slender structures occupied and dynamically excited by humans through walking, running, jumping and similar activities. In this paper we first review the literature dealing with the effects of structural movement on human-induced dynamic forces. This is the first of two aspects of human-structure dynamic interaction. The literature dealing with this aspect is found to be quite limited, but conclusive in stating that structural movement can affect the human-induced dynamic forces, significantly in some cases. The second aspect considered is how human occupants influence the dynamic properties (mass, stiffness, and damping) of the structures they occupy. The body of literature dealing with this issue is found to be considerably larger. The published literature demonstrates beyond any doubt that humans present on structures should not be modeled just as additional mass, which is a common approach in contemporary civil engineering design. Instead, humans present on structures act as dynamic mass-spring-damper systems interacting with the structure they occupy. The level of this interaction is difficult to predict and depends on many factors, including the natural frequency of the empty structure, the posture and type of human activity, and, in the case of assembly structures, the relative size of the crowd compared with the size of the structure. One of the reasons for the existence of more papers in this area is the published biodynamical research into the mass-spring-damper properties of human bodies applicable to the mechanical and aerospace engineering disciplines. It should be stressed that results from this research are of limited value to civil engineering applications. This is because human bodies are, in principle, non-linear with amplitude-dependent dynamic properties. Levels of vibration utilized when experimentally determining mass-spring-damper properties of human bodies in biodynamical research are usually considerably higher than those experienced in civil engineering applications.