Design and construction factors affecting floor impact sound in multi-residential buildings

The floor impact sound is a structure-borne noise caused by the impact of occupants' walking on the upper floor. The level of the impact sound is influenced by various design factors as well as construction quality. In this study, to evaluate the reduction of the floor impact sound on different design and construction factors, the floor impact sound and the structural vibration characteristic were investigated by the numerical analysis. To validate the accuracy of the prediction, field measurements were carried out in real-scale test-bed housings with a slab thickness of 150 mm. The results showed that heavy-weight floor impact sound is influenced by design and construction factors including slab thickness, wall thickness, room size, concrete quality, etc. This indicates the importance of appropriate building planning and quality control for the multi-residential buildings composed of concrete elements.