Developing advanced vibration performance assessment for new generation of lightweight pedestrian structures using motion platform and virtual reality environments: vPERFORM

Programme(s): H2020-EU.1.3.2. - Nurturing excellence by means of cross-border and cross-sector mobility

Topic(s): MSCA-IF-2019 - Individual Fellowships

Call for proposal: H2020-MSCA-IF-2019

Funding Scheme: MSCA-IF-EF-ST - Standard EF

Grant agreement ID: 898216

Project description:

Virtual reality and vibration testing for lightweight walkways

From wood, stone, brick and mortar, and iron and steel, construction materials have significantly evolved over the centuries. Today’s constructions use lightweight materials like aluminium, titanium and composites with polymer, metal and ceramic matrices. These materials are resulting in the development of aesthetically pleasing public structures like footbridges and walkways and corridors between buildings at airports and shopping malls. The EU-funded vPERFORM project will develop predictive models of vibration performance for lightweight pedestrian structures. It will use a multidisciplinary approach, combining analysis techniques from human motion science and mathematical modelling with structural engineering applications. Experimental data will be collected on a full-scale footbridge and in a purpose-built VSimulators motion platform facility that incorporates virtual reality headsets for simulating realistic structure environments.

Objective:

Newly embraced use of lightweight (and high-strength) materials in construction has led to development of exceptionally beautiful and slender structural forms, especially in case of landmark public structures such as footbridges as well as walkways and corridors between buildings, at airports and shopping malls. These pedestrian structures are more sensitive to human-generated dynamic loading than ever before and their design is governed by vibration serviceability limit state. Pedestrians start interacting with these structures under certain conditions resulting in vibration-dependent dynamic force and unacceptably large errors in predictions of the actual vibration response. This project, vPERFORM, will transform the current design practice by developing reliable predictive models of vibration performance of lightweight pedestrian structures. For the first time, vertical vibration conditions under which the interaction occurs will be identified and the interaction modelled to reflect experimental observations. In addition, influence of visual cue (of the environment in which structure resides) on the interaction will also be studied for the first time. I will employ a multidisciplinary approach by combining analysis techniques from human motion science and mathematical modelling with structural engineering application. I will collect unique experimental data in a purpose built VSimulators (VSim) motion platform facility that incorporates virtual reality (VR) headset for simulating realistic structure environments. I will develop and validate a model for the interaction paving the way for achieving more efficient and sustainable design solutions.