Case Study: Norwegian Geotechnical Institute achieves accurate prediction and mitigation of low-frequency building vibrations with COMSOL Multiphysics

Norwegian Geotechnical Institute - Customer Case Study

The Norwegian Geotechnical Institute (NGI) needed to understand and mitigate low-frequency (infrasound) vibrations in buildings — the kind that make windows rattle and interiors buzz from aircraft, wind turbines, or helicopter pads. To analyze how external sound interacts with structural elements and to recommend design changes, NGI used Comsol’s COMSOL Multiphysics software to build a detailed simulation of a two-room wooden structure and its components.

Using Comsol, NGI created coupled acoustics–structural models that included frames, cavities, windows, studs, and joints and validated them against lab measurements; the simulations matched resonance locations and sound-pressure/wall-motion levels within a few decibels. The Comsol models let NGI predict low-frequency transmission, evaluate mitigation measures (for example, laminated windows or stiffened walls), and produce faster, cheaper design guidance than physical testing, supporting targeted countermeasures and planned full-scale field trials.

Norwegian Geotechnical Institute

Finn Løvholt

Norwegian Geotechnical Institute