Laboratory experiments and modal model of impact sound transmission through a lightweight wooden floor

Lightweight floor systems are frequently used in many countries nowadays, but its poor acoustical performance is annoying for residents. This paper is concerned with low frequency impact sound transmission through a lightweight wooden floor. The floor system studied in this research consists of a ribbed wooden plate that is simply supported at its boundaries. A series of experiments on the lightweight wooden floor have been carried out in laboratory conditions. Besides, a modal analysis model is utilized to investigate the low frequency behaviour of this floor. This model is intended to be extended to evaluate improvements of the floor construction. The results of the measured floor vibrations and radiated sound field, for different excitation source types, are presented and compared with results from the prediction model. This paper gives insight in the behaviour of the floor excited by impact forces and the applicability of the model for predicting actual wooden floors.