Experimental study on the vibration of poplar LVL orthogonal ribbed box floor

Abstract

In this paper, a new type of Popular Laminated Veneer Lumber (LVL) orthogonal ribbed box floor is proposed. Six full-scale specimens of box-shaped floors were tested using the natural excitation method and the human induced excitation method in order to examine the dynamic characteristics and vibration response. The results indicate that the box-type floor specimens with the thickness of the cladding plate, the height of the rib beam, and the distance between the short rib beams of 18.3, 285, and 600 mm exhibit the largest fundamental natural vibration frequency and damping ratio, as well as the best dynamic characteristics. With increasing cladding panels and higher rib beams, peak acceleration decreases, whereas it increases with increasing thickness and shorter rib spacing. The peak acceleration of the floor gradually increases as stride frequency and walking number increase. With the same stride frequency, the peak acceleration of the floor when a single person jumps is greater than when stepping or walking continuously. Combined with related specifications, the root mean square acceleration, peak acceleration, and acceleration vibration level were used to evaluate the vibration comfort of the floors. The methods are presented to predict the fundamental natural frequency and the peak acceleration of the Popular LVL orthogonal ribbed box floor under single walking or jumping conditions, and the predicted results agree well with the experimental results. The research results provide designers with theoretical support for solving the vibration comfort problem on wooden floors.