Excitation of sanitary equipment by water jets

Structure-borne sound generated by sanitary equipment is a common cause of disturbance in residential buildings. One of the most important sources of sanitary noise are water jets hitting the surface of sanitary devices such as bath tubs, shower trays or wash basins. So far there are no calculation methods available to estimate the noise produced and transmitted by this kind of excitation. The first step to understand the underlying acoustic mechanisms and to develop an appropriate calculation model is the investigation of the force exerted on the excited structure by the water jet. By means of a special setup build up for this purpose the impact of water on a rigid surface was investigated. Apart from the frequency spectrum of the exerted force the measurements provide information on the acoustical effect of the most important technical parameters such as the source of the water jet (water taps, shower heads, etc.), the water pressure, the height of the water source and the angle of excitation.