Vibration performance of CLT and CLT-concrete composite floors supported by glulam beams under human activity in mass timber office buildings

Timber floors are susceptible to vibration due to their low mass and bending stiffness. Utilizing mass timber products in long-span scenarios, such as in office buildings, makes vibration an important design driver for structural engineers. To gain insight on the vibration performance of mass timber and timber-composite floors in real mass timber buildings, a comprehensive testing campaign was conducted on two mass timber office buildings. The measured data were compared and discussed according to various standards and design guides at the end. Although some discrepancies between estimated parameters and measurements were noted, the floors reasonably meet their desired performance objectives for office buildings according to existing standards. The results presented in this paper not only demonstrate the effect of human weight and walking path on the floor’s response, but also provide important data on mass timber floor system performance in furnished buildings, which is not otherwise available in the literature. • Experiments on long-span CLT floors with and without concrete layers. • Several walking tests conducted at different pace rates in selected bays. • Satisfactory performance of CLT floors in two office buildings. • Detailed assessment of measured data according to codes and standards. • Higher damping ratios in mass timber office buildings compared to those in laboratory.