The measurement of structure-borne sound transmission using impulsive sources

A simple method to measure structure-borne sound transmission is described. Measurement is made of the level difference in the acceleration between two structural elements using a plastic headed hammer as a noise source. The method is at least as accurate as conventional measurements made under steady-state conditions using continuous noise sources and can be carried out with less instrumentation on site and in about a tenth of the time.The portability of the source greatly simplifies the measurements as a hammer can be used to hit structures in a wide variety of positions whereas shakers can only be used in limited situations. In addition, attaching a shaker to a wall can damage the wall surface whereas, with care, a hammer hit will not.