Alicja Kowalska-Koczwara

Cracow University of Technology | PK · Faculty of Civil Engineering

The analysis of human perception of vibrations in buildings is a critical aspect of structural engineering, particularly as urbanization intensifies and the proximity of vibration sources to buildings increases. This paper addresses the frequent errors in the assessment and diagnosis of the impact of vibrations on building occupants. Despite string...

The construction sector is a significant contributor to energy consumption and emissions. With the steady increase in the cost of energy carriers and the costs of energy production, the cost for consumers is also increasing. Therefore, the search for solutions capable of reducing energy consumption by increasing the energy efficiency of building st...

The reduction of vibrations in concrete has been a topic of discussion among scientists. This article presents research on designing concrete mixes for constructing ground barriers with enhanced vibration isolation using waste materials. This study discusses the design of concrete mixes for the construction of concrete partitions with increased vib...

This research paper delves into the nuanced effects of traffic-induced vibrations on human comfort and perception within residential and commercial buildings. By prioritizing the influence of vehicle types—including metro trains, trams, and cars—over their speed or mass, the study presents a novel perspective on addressing vibrational comfort. Cond...

Environmental protection encompasses various aspects, ranging from well-known concerns like air and water pollution to landscape preservation. One often-overlooked facet of pollution is the mitigation of vibrations, a matter addressed not only by Polish legislation but also by EU directives. Human perception of vibrations constitutes a crucial subj...

The energy efficiency of the building should be understood as the degree of preparation of the building to ensure the comfort of its use in accordance with its intended use with the lowest possible energy consumption of the building. The article presents an in-depth analysis of the possibility of changing the utility function of a historic building...

Historic buildings constitute a specific group of buildings where the possibilities of improving energy efficiency and comfort are significantly limited because of the existing construction features and heritage values. Each building has a different history so the scope of renovation and/or retrofitting must be determined individually for each buil...

The noise problem in hotel rooms is strictly connected to noise generated by heating, ventilating, and air conditioning (HVAC) devices. Hospitality industry companies in many countries have specific requirements and monitor the noise level with technical equipment inside the hotel room. To ensure an adequately low level of noise from the HVAC syste...

Environmental protection has several aspects from the most popular like air or water pollution to landscape protection. One of the aspects of pollution which is neglected is protection against vibration. Meanwhile, vibrations are a pollution not only by Polish legislation but also in EU directives. One of the most subjective parameters to judge thi...

This paper is aimed at investigating the use of polyurethane mats, usually used as ballast mats, for residential building purposes. Ballast mats have features that may improve the vibroacoustic comfort in residential rooms. Their strength is certainly an advantage, along with vibration and acoustic insulation. However, the problem that an engineer...

Noise in large cities reaching the interior of buildings by air or in the form of material noise caused by vibrations propagating through the ground to the building not only cause discomfort but also pollution according to legal regulations in the field of environmental protection. The main legal acts in Poland relating to environmental protection...

From the dawn of history, humanity created communication routes in order to move efficiently. Trees were planted along the roads connecting towns and villages so that travellers could rest in their shade. The line of trees also played an informative, strategic and sometimes aesthetic role. Currently, a line of tall vegetation along the street provi...

Pavement performance is influenced by man factors such as climate and environmental conditions, traffic and operational conditions and type of pavement. These factors cause a pavement deterioration what leads to the restriction of the pavement serviceability or pavement efficiency. The pavement serviceability is the ability of the pavement to fulfi...

This paper is aimed at investigating the usage of flexible joints in masonry infilled walls surrounded by reinforced concrete (RC) frames. For this purpose, a real-size specimen was numerically created and exposed to the seismic loads. In order to evaluate both in-plane and out-of-plane performances of the infill walls, the system was chosen as a b...

Mining shocks are dynamic phenomenon induced by underground and surface mining activities. In Poland, human activity generates rockbursts. They are the most intense so-called paraseismic sources. They refer to exploration of copper ore, hard and brown coal, gold, diamonds, non-ferrous metals and also originating from pile driving, driving sealed wa...

This paper presents the issues of assessing the comfort of people staying indoors who are exposed to vibrations and material noise caused by vibrations of partitions like floors and walls (ground-borne noise). Current criteria in the evaluation of vibrational and acoustic comfort cannot be assessed in the context of the simultaneous occurrence of s...

Adapting historic buildings to new, modern forms generates not only financial benefits for developers but can also allow them to survive for future generations through proper remodelling. The variety of decision criteria related to the selection of a new function of a historic building makes this problem multidimensional. Many of these criteria are...

Transport vibrations are transmitted from the ground the foundations and building walls to the building and received by its construction and by people in the buildings. During the vibration of buildings, inertia forces generate an additional (apart from the static one) loading of the structure. In the diagnosis and design of buildings, these forces...

The duration of vibration taken to the analysis influence on the result of evaluation of human perception of vibration. In this paper the relationship between the duration of individual events and the result of RMS and VDV analysis was investigated. The analysis was carried out on two buildings located close to Warsaw Metro line 1. The chosen build...

Software ISEH (Integrated system of road projects economic evaluation) evaluates variants of road repair and maintenance technologies. The economic assessment is based on Cost Benefit Analysis indicators (net present value, internal rate of return, pay-back period and cost benefit ratio). According quantified indicators are determined order of repa...

Vibrations propagating through the soil into the building can not only be harmful to the building structure or cause its accelerated wear, but can also effect on the vibrational comfort in the rooms. They can also be annoying for residents and building users, and in extreme cases can lead to sleep disorders, headaches and neurotic conditions. Espec...

Human perception of vibration is very subjective parameter which depends among others on age, sex or even nationality. There are three main methods of assessment of human perception of vibration according to national standards which differ from each other. All three methods are clearly described in this paper and their advantages and disadvantages...

The article contains good practise recommendations related to the proper performance of measurements of comfort in passive buildings. Passive building is a high-quality building due to impeccable construction in terms of building physics. The passive building is so well insulated that it can only be heated by supplying fresh ventilation air. Such b...

The impact of vibrations on railway lines for people in buildings can cause discomfort. The problem has recently become particularly important due to the increase in the number of objects built within the range of vibrations from the railway line. The article presents selected results of measurements of vibrations from the railway line to a single-...

The article contains guidelines related to the proper performance and analysis of the measurements of human perception of the vibration in buildings. The recommendations apply to both hardware requirements and the selection of measurement points as well as the analysis of the recorded signal. The buildings located in the so-called dynamic impact zo...

The aim of this article is to check comfort in the passive buildings located in Libertow (close to Cracow). The two aspects of comfort are described: a thermal comfort with tightness and humidity and a vibrational comfort. The main results of measurements of the comfort aspects are described and shown. Passive buildings which were investigated are...

In the twenty-first century, the seismic design of buildings seems to have become a fully recognised topic. There are guidelines and standards which should be taken into account by designers in seismic areas. Designers using modern international guidelines have ascertained that the behaviour of structures is not as expected. This may be the result...

Masonry infills are largely used in RC structures for various purposes, and in seismic zones, they are also preferred for providing earthquake resistant systems. However, due to the rigid connection between infills and RC frames, these systems are vulnerable when large deformations are demanded. Cyclic loads that are occurring during seismic excita...

Energy efficiency is a very important factor in the Building sector. Building sector consumes about 40% of the world total energy. At present, new buildings in Poland and other European countries are designed according to very strict requirements. The problem arises when we take into consideration large number of the existing buildings. These build...

In this paper, a 6 storey existing RC building is investigated in terms of having different joint types between the masonry infills and RC frame. First, the building is modelled according to the pre-described project of its own. Then, dynamic characteristics of the structure are found for the bare frame, since it is the most common type of designin...

The aim of this article is to check vibrational comfort in near zero energy building (NZEB) which is often neglected for this type of building but could be annoying for residents. Building chosen for analysis is experimental building of Malopolska Laboratory of Energy Efficient Building which fulfils requirements for NZEB. The main advantage of thi...

The idea of Sustainable Development means caring for the environment and the natural resources. Building and transport are the sectors with the highest energy consumption. Building is responsible for about 40% of total energy consumption. Thermal protection regulations for buildings are becoming more and more severe. The 2010/31 / EU Directive on t...

In this article, the authors propose ways to evaluate the criteria for the considered variants of utility functions in the adaptation of historic regional architecture. The proposed set of assessment criteria (thermo-modernisation criteria, comfort of use, financial considerations, criteria of social benefits, and protection of cultural heritage) e...

In this article, the authors present a proposal for a hybrid decision model in order to select a utility function for a historic building, taking into consideration the criteria of the Małopolska Certificate of Energy Efficient Building as well as additional criteria for the comfort of the users. The description of the criteria and the proposed dec...

Nowadays, in the increasingly expanding of dynamical influences in the more and more urbanized cities and increased awareness of the owners of the buildings vibrations could be a problem. This paper considers the problem of an inventory of buildings damages as collateral for the investor as well as for owners of buildings located in the zone of dyn...

In this article many vibrational signals of different value of crest factor are investigated. Evaluation of human perception of vibration is made with use of two different method of evaluation: basic RMS method and vibration dose value method (VDV), which is one of additional method mostly used for peak signals. Analysis of influence of crest facto...

Placing emphasis exclusively on minimizing energy consumption in low-energy buildings can adversely impact thermal comfort and vibrational comfort. Vibrational comfort is extremely important in building design, especially within mining or seismically active territories, and due to car transportation in city centers. In this article, a new approach...

The work concerns the monitoring of the technical condition of metro trains. For this purpose, a vibration monitoring system installed in buildings in the vicinity of the underground is used. Based on measured vibrations buildings, the identification of technical condition in metro trains is conducted. The results of measurements from the system ar...

Human perception of vibration could be the basic parameter in designing a new buildings located close to public transport. It is also one of parameter that is considered in diagnosis of building vibration. People perceived vibrations through the floor. The problem of floor vibration appear especially in old historical buildings with wooden floor wh...

Physical factors of an environmental nature are taken into account during testing risks in the workplace of machine operators. The influence of these factors on the human body has both physiological and functional effects. Among the environmental factors vibration and noise are the most frequently observed. The power and scope of impact of noise an...

At the workplace of the machine operator, low frequency whole body and hand- arm vibrations are observed. They occur together with noise. Whole body vibration in the range of 3-25 Hz are detrimental to the human body due to the location of the resonant frequency of large organs of the human body in this range. It can be assumed that for this reason...

Transport vibrations are the subject of many research, mostly their influence on structural elements of the building is investigated. However, nowadays, especially in the centres of large cities were apartments, residential buildings are closer to the transport vibration sources, an increasing attention is given to providing vibrational comfort to...

Human perception of vibration could be the basic parameter in designing new buildings subjected to different type of transport vibrations. Humans are more sensitive for vibrations then building structure. In an increasingly urbanized city centres people are exposed to vibrations from different transport sources such as: tramways, railways, heavy tr...

In an increasingly urbanized areas transport vibration source are closer and closer to the receiver which is a building. At the same time residents requirements for comfort in rooms are higher. In this paper influence of transport vibrations from various types of trams on human perception was tested and analysed. Measurements were made in Cracow on...

The influence of vibration on human body is an issue that from several decades is a subject of many research and experiments. But most of these research concern on negative influences on human body. The paper presents methodology and results of research conducted on bus drivers of National Urban Transport in Tychy. The study involved fourteen drive...

Ground-born vibration produced by different sources can be annoying to nearby building occupants. Analysing the influence of vibration on humans residing in buildings a similar trend is noticeable. After 2003 there have been changes in standards in this area in many countries. There are some trends to connect the regulations for passive and active...

Historic buildings in Poland are largely neglected objects that small percentage is preserved in its original form. Unrelenting in the case of historic buildings is a time that brings with it the natural processes of aging of buildings, but also the history of the object which is often marked by military conflicts, fires or even incompetently carri...

Residents of buildings are increasingly calling on designers to take comfort conditions of using rooms into account in their analysis in addition to the safety of use or functionality. This is particularly important in the case of low-energy and passive buildings, buildings for which only we elaborate rules of good design. Ensuring comfort of using...

People living in buildings may be exposed to dynamic actions. In the diagnosis and design of buildings there is an increasing need of taking into account these activities and verification of compliance of the building requirements for vibration comfort of people residing in buildings. This study presents the results of analysis of such criteria in...

People living in buildings may be exposed to dynamic action. Increasingly in the diagnosis and design of buildings there is a need to take into account these activities and verification of compliance of the building requirements for vibration comfort of people residing in buildings. This study presents the results of analysis of such criteria in th...

The damping model described with formula (2) is more and more often used in dynamic calculations. The values of the two coefficients α and β describe this model. Values of these two cofficients in dependence on the kind of structure were analysed in this paper. The autors own measurement results, as well as those given in publications were used. Th...

The doctor thesis apply to non-structural element influence on natural frequency and damping ratio in buildings. Basing on measurement results it follows that non-structural elements influence dynamic characteristics. This influence depends on buildings construction. In tall reinforced concrete buildings non-structural elements do not influence sig...