Assessment of In-Place Wood Floor Systems
Publication: Journal of Architectural Engineering
Volume 13, Issue 1
Abstract
Structural assessment of in-place wood floors is currently limited to inspection of individual members. This is costly and laborious. Consequently, the continued use or adaptive reuse of old/historic buildings is often in jeopardy because of the lack of an efficient and economical assessment method. A systems approach of assessment is the subject of this research. Floors in four old buildings and several laboratory-built floors were tested. The floor’s bending stiffness was determined by static bending tests and its fundamental natural frequency was determined by transverse forced vibration. A model for one way beam action with simple support is the best predictor of floor responses. A technique for using this research to predict stiffness of existing floors is suggested.
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Acknowledgments
The writers gratefully acknowledge research funding provided by the National Center for Preservation Technology and Training of the National Park Service, the USDA Forest Products Laboratory, and Purdue University. Appreciation is also expressed to Everette Mills, former student assistant, for instrumentation assistance and general support and Alexander Lipka of the Purdue University Statistical Consulting Service for formulation of regressions and associated prediction interval curves.
References
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Information & Authors
Information
Published In
Journal of Architectural Engineering
Volume 13 • Issue 1 • March 2007
Pages: 30 - 35
Copyright
© 2007 ASCE.
History
Received: Apr 26, 2005
Accepted: Nov 29, 2005
Published online: Mar 1, 2007
Published in print: Mar 2007
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