Energy distribution and sound radiation caused by the segmentation of a glulam timber floor

At the Empa Laboratory for Acoustics/Noise Control the impact and airborne sound insulation as well as the dynamic behaviour of a 220mm thick solid timber floor were investigated experimentally. Standard building acoustics as well as more sophisticated measurement methods using scanning laser Doppler velocimetry were applied. For timber buildings pre-fabricated, segmented elements are becoming more and more important. The main focus was to investigate the effect of the segmentation on the velocity distribution and on the sound radiation behaviour of the floor for airborne and structure-borne excitation. Finally the sound reduction index R for the investigated floor will be predicted and compared to the measured one and discussed in this paper.