Technical & Applied Article

Vibration and impact sound properties of hybrid steel-timber floor structures

¹ Chair of Vibroacoustics of Vehicles and Machines, Department of Engineering Physics and Computation, TUM School of Engineering and Design, Technical University of Munich, Boltzmannstr. 15, 85748 Garching n. Munich, Germany
² Laboratory of Soft Matter and Biophysics, Katholieke Universiteit Leuven, Celestijnenlaan 200D, 3001 Leuven, Belgium

^* Corresponding author: bettina.chocholaty@tum.de

Received: 31 October 2023
Accepted: 19 January 2024

Abstract

Lightweight floor structures, such as timber or hybrid timber floors, face challenges associated with excessive vibrations and elevated levels of low-frequency impact sound. Especially here, accurate prediction of a floor’s vibration and acoustic behavior is essential. However, typical laboratory testing of building elements is costly and time-consuming. To reduce costs, in this study, adapted simulations are carried out on two types of hybrid steel-timber floor structures to evaluate vibrations and impact sound. The hybrid elements are made of laminated veneer lumber as the top and bottom layers and a trapezoidal steel component as the web. Vibration measurements are used in combination with Bayesian optimization to efficiently calibrate Finite Element models, which are subsequently utilized to quantify and validate the floor structures regarding vibrations and impact sound. The two types of cross-sections, i.e., closed and open, are investigated and compared. The impact sound pressure level computations reveal promising results in predicting the behavior of the hybrid structures. However, further countermeasures are required to fulfill vibration serviceability requirements.