Experimental characterisation of walking locomotion on rigid level surfaces using motion capture system

Abstract

a b s t r a c tLow-frequency structures, such as footbridges and long-span floors, are often sensitive to variations in dynamic loading induced by pedestrians. As a result, the design of these structures using traditional deterministic approaches is being replaced by stochastic load models that can accommodate different styles of walking. To inform development and facilitate wider implementation of the new stochastic approaches, a database of experimental data characterising both inter-and intra-subject variability of gait parameters is required. This study aims to contribute to the development of such a database by providing a set of data for walking over rigid level surfaces. The motion capture system Vicon was used for simultaneous monitoring of the kinematic and kinetic gait parameters. Ten test subjects walking at 13 different speeds participated in the experimental programme. Novel experimental data on pacing rate, step length, step width, angular positions of the legs and the trunk, and the force amplitude were collected and statistically characterised. The acquired data are suitable for calibration of the bipedal pedestrian models intended for civil engineering applications.

Modelling framework for dynamic interaction between multiple pedestrians and vertical vibrations of footbridges

“…Nearly twenty years ago Kerr [5] acknowledged a great inter-subject variability between amplitudes of individual footfall records. Further studies demonstrated inadequacy of the deterministic modelling approach to describe reliably the actual random nature of individual walking excitation among the human population [4,[6][7][8][9]. More recent research also showed that the Fourier modelling approach leads to significant loss of information and introduction of inaccuracies during the data reduction process [2,[10][11][12].…”

A Robust Methodology for the Reconstruction of the Vertical Pedestrian-Induced Load from the Registered Body Motion

“…In a similar way, Carroll et al [13] reproduced the lateral GRFs induced by walking from 31 active markers and used this to analyse the pedestrian's balance when walking on a laterally oscillating deck. In [20], Dang et al used up to 27 markers to experimentally characterize the walking locomotion on rigid surfaces. For jumping and bobbing, McDonald et al [11] show that the tracked marker motion of the C7th vertebrae (C7) at the base of the neck is a good approximation of the motion of the body center of mass (BCoM).…”

Review of Pedestrian Load Models for Vibration Serviceability Assessment of Floor Structures

“…Temporal parameters can be grouped as: step frequency (cadence), speed, stride time, stance time, swing time, single and double support and similar. Spatial parameters, whose values change with location, are: step length, step width, foot angle, attack angle, end-of-step angle and trunk orientation [54,55,58], as shown in Figure 2. The reader is referred to [57] for more information on gait cycle.…”

“…The temporal parameters are familiar to engineers, in particular step frequency and walking speed. The spatial gait parameters, however, are not fully investigated or incorporated in the context of vibration serviceability [58]. Lack of thorough studies for gait parameters may in fact result in inadequate walking force model.…”

“…Although correlations can be observed between walking parameters and pedestrian forcing functions, there is no single parameter that can individually provide a complete description of the walking process by itself [63]. The spatial parameters have just as much influence on walking as temporal parameters [58], in particular in floors where different walking patterns usually occur. Hence, a way forward might be to implement monitoring exercises, for example in real office environments, with advanced motion tracking technologies (presented in Section 6) in order to advance our knowledge of these phenomena.…”