Vibrational characteristics and evaluation of human response to wooden floors

Vibration performance evaluation of wooden floors has been covered by the standard recommended by the Architectural Institute of Japan, but human sensory evaluation of wooden floors has been permissible. We focused on the reason and investigated the relation between vibration performance of wooden floors and sensory evaluation in order to obtain a ranking for wooden floors. The results are as follows: (1) Damping factors were larger than those in the standard. The values were about 6 to 12%. (2) Dynamic deflections exceeded the standard. (3) Sensory evaluation related to continuous vibration was similar to the standard. (4) With respect to static bending performance the deflection of floors is limited to 1/300 of the span in the standard. However, with respect to vibration evaluation the deflection should be limited to about 1/600 of the span. (5) Based on the above results, an evaluation curve corresponding to damping factors of 6 to 12% is needed in relation to wooden floors with deflections of less than 1/600 of the span.