Available online www.ejaet.com European Journal of Advances in Engineering and Technology, 2016, 3(7): 43-46 Research Article ISSN: 2394 - 658X 43 Transmission of Ground Vibration on Road Side Structures Daha S Aliyu 1 , Yusuf Abdulfatah Abdu 2 and Danjuma A Yusuf 3 1 Department of Civil Engineering, Kano University of Science and Technology, Wudil, Nigeria 2 Department of Mechanical & Automobile Engineering, Sharda University, Greater Noida, India 3 Department of Architecture, Kano University of Science and Technology, Wudil, Nigeria abdulfatahabduyusuf@gmail.com _____________________________________________________________________________________________ ABSTRACT This paper discussed the general, problem of ground vibrations generated by road construction, operation methods generated due to road traffic and rail on the soil surface caused by different operations. Vibrations are one of many environmental factors that act on a building and potentially reduce their lifetime. Traffic induced vibrations, which are transferred through the ground, may interfere with the proper operation of vibration sensitive equipments. Vibrations are most frequently blamed for deterioration of historical buildings, there number of common vibration sources like road and rail traffic, earthquake. Key words: Ground vibration, road traffic, soil surface, earthquake _____________________________________________________________________________________ INTRODUCTION Vibration is one of the main factors for fatigue in structure. Vibrations produced by different sources propagate from one medium to another [6]. Long term exposure to vibrations can cause damages in buildings leading to minor effect such as cracks. These minor damages in critical cases could result in collapse, especially in historic buildings [7]. The resulting vibrations are, therefore, known as forced vibrations. Impulsive shocks give rise to transient vibrations. On the other hand they excite the natural frequencies of the soil-structure combination and result into the vibrations which are known as free vibrations [9]. It is unusual for vibration from sources such as buses and trucks to be perceptible, even in locations close to major roads. Some common sources of ground-borne vibration are trains, buses on rough roads, and construction activities such as blasting, pile-driving and operating heavy earth-moving equipment [4]. The effects of ground-borne vibration include feel able movement of the building floors, rattling of windows, shaking of items on shelves or hanging on walls and rumbling sounds etc [3]. Ground-Borne Vibration by Traffic and Rail Most vibration problems, traffic vibrations can be characterized by a source-path Fig.1. Vehicle contact with irregularities in the road surface such as potholes, cracks and uneven manhole covers which induces the dynamic loads on the pavement waves, which propagate in the soil, eventually reaching the foundations of adjacent buildings and causing them to vibrate [12], [10]. Traffic vibrations are mainly caused by heavy vehicles such as buses and trucks. Passenger cars and light trucks rarely induce vibrations that are perceptible in buildings. Ground-borne vibration caused by the dynamic impact forces generated in the rail interphase due to irregularities of both wheels and tracks that can propagate in the soil and excite the foundation walls of nearby buildings, beneath ground [6]. Heavy freight trains emit ground vibration with predominant frequency components in the range 4–30 Hz. If the amplitude is sufficient, this may be felt by line side residents, giving rise to disturbance and concern over possible damage to their property [1]. A semi-empirical model for predicting low frequency vibration that may annoy building occupants in areas with soft ground conditions has been developed and used for the planning of a new high speed railway line in Norway [2]. Impact of Ground-Borne Vibration Vibration generated by road vehicles and by trains can have significant environmental impact on nearby buildings. The general complexity of the problem is inhabitants perceive vibration either directly as motion in floors and walls or indirectly as reradiated noise [11]. A third and very significant source of disturbance is due to movement of household objects, especially mirrors, or by the rattling of window panes and glassware. In all these cases the problem of ground-borne vibration is important at frequencies typically up to 200 to 250 Hz [7], [13]. Vibration at