1997 Fiscal Year Final Research Report Summary
Study on the Comfort of Floors Indicated by Walking Comfort and Other Factors
| Project/Area Number |
07455235
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| Research Category |
Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (B)
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| Allocation Type | Single-year Grants |
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| Section | 一般 |
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| Research Field |
Architectural environment/equipment
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| Research Institution | TOYO UNIVERSITY |
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Principal Investigator |
FUJII Hiroyoshi Faculty of Enginnering, Departoment of Architecture, TOYO University, 工学部・建築学科, 講師 (10058141)
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| Co-Investigator(Kenkyū-buntansha) |
YASUOKA Masahito Faculty of Enginnering, Department of Architecture, Science University of Tokyo., 工学部・建築学科, 教授 (20058043)
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| Project Period (FY) |
1995 – 1997
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| Keywords | Walking / Static loading / Dynamic loading / Senses / Impedance of foot |
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| Research Abstract |
As well as being one of the most fundamental structural elements of building structures, floors play a distinctive role in providing the sense of touch for the human body. Among various performances such as the load carrying capacity floors are required to give, this study concentrates on the evaluation of the comfort of floors, with a particular emphasis on the sense of touch indicated by walking comfort.
The study consists of four main parts : measurement and analysis of the physical quantity characteristics of floors ; sensory evaluation of floors through sensory tests and analyzes ; measurement and analysis of the mechanical properties of the human body ; and correlation analyzes.
Regarding the physical quantity characteristics of floors, a series of static loading tests were carried out to obtain the quantitative values of the non-linear load-displacement hysteresis characteristics of various floor finishes. In addition, their complex impedance characteristics were measured in a ser
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ies of dynamic impact and oscillation tests. Then through correlation analyzes, the mechanical model of each floor finish was analyzed.
As a means of sensory evaluation of floors, a series of experiments were carried out on human subjects that had been selected in view of sex and age distribution. The semantic differential (SD) method was employed here, adopting a set of evaluating words that consisted of appropriate sensational quality factors such as "softness" and psychological factors such as "preference" Correlation analyzes were consequently performed, which demonstrated that there existed a maximum value of "preference" in terms of "softness"
To clarify the mechanical properties of the human body, the thresholds of vibration perceived by various parts of the human body such as the sole were measured, which showed that the heel was most sensitive among the other parts. This was followed by the measurement of the complex impedance characteristics of the heel subjected to dynamic oscillation. Consequently, a mechanical model of the human body viewed from the back of the heel was analyzed. Comprehensive correlation analyzes were then carried out to study the correlation between the physical quantities of floors and the sensory evaluation represented by such words as "softness" and "preference". As a result, various insights were obtained. The perception of "softness" had a good correlation with the spring constant in evaluating limited types of floors. However, it was found necessary to add other parameters that took into account non-linear characteristics to the spring constant, when evalusating a wide range of floor finishes such as carpets, Tatami-mats, wooden single flooring, wooden soundproof single flooring, soundproof double flooring, and plastic tiles. A particularly good correlation was obtained when adding the dynamic complex impedance that reflected viscosity and mass(250 Hz Oct.)to the spring constant. Certain correlations were also observed in terms of "preference" but it would be impossible to discuss them without taking into account personal factors such as age and hardness of foot. Less
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