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Design of lightweight wooden floors to avoid human discomfort
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1988
Year
EngineeringPerformance-based Building DesignHuman ToleranceArchitectural EngineeringStructural OptimizationBuilding TechnologyWood TechnologyBuilding DesignStructural EngineeringBuilt EnvironmentHealth SciencesLightweight Wooden FloorsDesignBuilding FloorsLightweight Wood-joist FloorsBuilding PerformanceCivil EngineeringBuilding ScienceWood StructureBody ComfortHuman MovementStructural MechanicsVibration ControlConstruction Engineering
This paper gives "designer usable" methods for predicting the dynamical behaviour of lightweight wood-joist floors covered with semirigidly attached wood-based sheathings of materials such as plywood or waferboard. Included are methods for predicting natural frequencies and root-mean-square (rms) acceleration under a defined forcing function. It is proposed that this rms acceleration be the criterion for estimating user perception based tolerance of a projected design solution in the domestic setting. Case studies suggest that the economic cost of producing more rational designs is small. Consideration is, at this stage, limited to floors that are rectangular in plan and contain no openings nor intermediate support partitions. Suggestions are made as to methods of building floors with acceptable vibrational performances, together with recommendations for further research. Key words: floors, wood, vibrations, human tolerance, design method.