Good and bad "vibes"

Up to 50.000 people are affected yearly due to vibrations from roads and railways in Norway. Inconvenience due to vibrations is an increasing problem. The good news is that geotechnical engineers can design foundations in any type of soil conditions to reduce and prevent the negative effects of vibrations.

During recent years, NGI has done research and designed foundations to reduce and eliminate annoying vibrations. Examples include urban areas along the railway through the old parts of the city of Oslo, the new city rail in Bergen and along the E18 highway at Sjølyst in Oslo. Many people living along heavy transport roads and railways are annoyed by noise. In reality, the real causes of their annoyance are the vibrations through the ground.

Ground vibration  is an increasing problem because the quantity and frequency of traffic, the vehicle speed and the axel loads are all increasing. The high cost of real estate in the cities and decreasing availability of construction sites have led to localisation of both office buildings and dwellings closer and  closer to the heavy and/or high speed transportation corridors.

Vibrations can  cause spectacular problems, such as when Bruce Springsteen and his E Street Band played 'Because the Night' and 'Twist and Shout' towards the end of their concert at Nya Ullevi Stadium in Gothenburg in July 1985. The whole stadium started vibrating, large plates on the roof started moving and almost fell down, chairs and tables tipped over in the offices and those who were washing dishes on the other side of the street were splashed in the face by the moving dishwashing water. The Nya Ullevi stadium experienced structural damage for millions of € and was closed for rock concerts for years afterwards.

The Springsteen concert at Nya Ullevi is a dramatic example of what could happen when the ground conditions and the different types of loading on the ground and  structure are not considered in a proper manner. The damages at Nya Ullevi were not caused by loud music as many had originally thought. The cause for the vibrations in the ground was that the soft clay beneath the stadium was set into cyclic motion when several thousands of spectators started dancing in rhythm with Springsteen's music. The effect was similar to an earthquake hitting clay foundation and the stadium.

The stadium Nya Ullevi in Gothenburg almost fell down when Bruce Springsteen intensified his performance towards the end of a concert in 1985. The reason for the near-collapse was that roaring fans jumping to the beat of the music caused severe vibrations in the ground.