A raised wood floor system is generally designed in residential low-rise construction to elevate the living space off the ground or downstairs with the benefit of a high degree of industrial prefabrication. The vertical vibration performance of wooden floors is essential to residential building quality. However, raised wood floors are sensitive to residents’ daily activity or other dynamic loads, and annoying vibrations arise from their low mass compared with steel or concrete floors. Research shows that if the natural vibration frequency of the floor is between 4 and 8 Hz, residents will feel discomfort and anxiety due to the similar resonances of the wood floor with organs of people, which affects the comfort and livability of wooden buildings [
1]. Currently, the serviceability design of wood-framed floors is usually based on limiting the relevant parameters such as deflection, acceleration, natural frequency, or their combinations [
2]. This approach is practical for vibration control of small and medium span floors; whether it suits large span floors remains unclear. Therefore, it is necessary to analyze the vertical vibration performances of large-span wooden floors through relevant experimental studies and summarize a general design method for the serviceability of wooden floors.
It is necessary to evaluate wood floor theoretical models with sufficient field test data to study the dynamic performance of wood floors. Previous research studies related to full-scale tests are as follows. Khokhar et al. [
3] conducted experimental tests on 4.2 m laminated veneer lumber (LVL) joist wood floors and compared different types of between-joists bracing on the effects of vibrational serviceability. Jarnerö et al. [
4] assessed the dynamic performances of 5.1 m wood floors experimentally in the laboratory with different boundary conditions and in field tests at different stages of construction. Weckendorf et al. [
5] presented an experimental study of low amplitude dynamic responses on 5.5 m cross-laminated-timber (CLT) floors. Ding et al. [
6] conducted vibration tests on 6 m spruce-pine-fir (SPF) timber joist floors. Wang [
7] investigated the structural behavior of 6.1 m two-way wood truss floors. Zhou et al. [
8,
9] analyzed the vibration performances of 4.7 m solid lumber joist floors and 8.26 m engineered wood truss joist floors. Xue [
10] presented an experimental study on 6 m wooden truss joist floors. Rajendra Rijal et al. [
11] compared the modal behaviors of 6 m and 8 m timber floors. Studying other factors related to the vibration performance of wood floors is also necessary. Onysko et al. [
12] conducted massive vibrational serviceability tests on floors with a span of less than 10 m. Foy Cdric et al. [
13] conducted modal tests on two 4 m wood floors in free boundary conditions and built a numerical model to carry out the parametric study. Fuentes et al. [
14] presented an experimental study of a 7.2 m wood floor. Xue et al. [
15] studied the effects of joist spacing and bracing elements on 6 m wood truss joist floors. Persson et al. [
16] analyzed the influence of uncertain parameters on the modal properties of 7.2 m plywood truss floors. Yujian Dong and Lilin Cao. [
17] proposed a model to determine the human-induced response of a 9 m steel-wood composite floor. Zhang and Yang [
18] compared loading methods on floor vibration due to individual walking styles. Sepideh Ashtari [
19] analyzed the difference between the rigid and flexible connections of a 10.8 m CLT floor.
The classical measurement approach using a modal hammer in the case of experimental modal analysis is time-consuming and laborious. Some modern and contactless methods have been developed. LukaszScislo [
20] applied a 3D scanning vibrometry system, a non-contact measurement method, to obtain natural frequencies and modal shapes of ultra-light structures. The results show that this system is helpful for modal analysis of high fragility and low weight structures without contact by using the excitation of the loudspeaker. Emilio Di Lorenzo et al. [
21] investigated the use of digital image correlation (DIC) for modal analysis. DIC is a non-contact full-field image analysis technique that uses high-speed and high-resolution cameras to measure structures’ strains and displacements to derive the structure’s modal characteristics.
Vibration serviceability research of wood floors is usually concerned with trusses ranging from 3 m to 12 m. However, the static and dynamic performances related to the vibration serviceability of wood truss joist floors longer than 9 m have not been clarified to date. This paper analyzes the vertical vibration performances of 12 m wood truss floors by field tests. Tests at this scale are rare in related research. It also discusses the effects of strong-backs and partition walls on vibration responses. Laboratory studies based on numerical simulations are used to improve our understanding of the complexities of the vibration response of large span raised wood floor systems. A 12 m finite element model of a wood floor is built to predict modal behaviors and unit point load deflection. The simulation results are compared with theoretically predicted results to evaluate the finite model of wood floors. This paper intends to contribute to understanding the vibration performances of large-span wood floors for future vibration serviceability research and the engineering application of large-span wood truss joist floors.