ABSTRACT
Dynamic loads are created due to natural as well as artificial phenomena. The former case includes wind, natural seismicity (earthquakes, even of a small intensity), vibrations caused by landslides etc., while the latter includes various human activities such as transportation (road and railroad, surface and underground), the effects of imperfectly balanced and maintained machines, mining and demolition explosions, mining vibrations, supersonic aircraft, ringing of large bells. Long-term dynamic loads represent a serious factor which endangers the safety and durability of historical buildings. Continued exposure to these types of loads contributes to the degradation of materials and joints, causing the initiation of cracks or an increase of existing small ones, such that they may endanger the structure. Loads, which an undamaged structure could safely resist, can become critical when such loading is repeated many times. This risk is present in various types of historical buildings, and is influenced by changes in the magnitude of vibrations, by the distance from their source, and by the quality of the building’s maintenance. Good maintenance, which includes regular inspections, affords early detection of any emerging damage and its subsequent repair. The goal of this paper is the analysis and evaluation of the effects of such human induced vibrations on historical buildings.
