Methods for improving the sound insulation of existing simple wood joist floors

The sound insulation provided by simple wood joist floors is known to be inadequate when such floors separate flats. The effectiveness of various methods for improving the sound insulation of this type of floor has been investigated. The problems associated with flanking sound transmission are discussed. It was found that the most effective modification tested was capable of achieving a level of sound insulation equivalent to that obtainable with modern concrete party floors, provided that the level of flanking transmission was not excessive.     

Effect of woodwool shuttering in party floors on the flanking transmission of sound between maisonettes

The sound insulation of party walls in a four storey block of maisonettes was found to be considerably lower at first floor level than at other floor levels in the frequency range of approximately 600 to 3000 Hz. The rooms at first floor level lie immediately below the party floor which is built of dense concrete cast on woodwool shuttering, plastered beneath; the other floors are timber joist floors and this seems to be the only major difference in construction at different floor levels. Vibration measurements indicated that appreciable flanking transmission of sound was occurring through the ceiling in the frequency range 600 to 3000 Hz and it seems probable that the use of woodwool shuttering has led to a resonance effect producing these high vibration levels.     

Calculation of airborne and impact sound insulation between dwellings

Some years ago a model was described for the calculation of the weighted airborne sound insulation between dwellings. Further work has been done since in order to increase the applicability of this model, including the extension to octave band calculations.Besides airborne sound, impact sound is also of importance. Therefore the calculation model has also been extended to impact sound insulation. These calculations are based largely on the same input data as for airborne sound. A new quantity however is the floor admittance. For homogeneous floors an existing model for the calculation of the admittance could be applied. For typical (Dutch) floor constructions consisting of concrete beams and plates a model for the admittance has been developed, based on admittance measurements in situ.Some examples are given of calculated and measured airborne and impact sound insulation.     

The sound insulation of wood joist floors in timber frame constructions

The results of an investigation of the sound insulation provided by wood joist floors between timber frame dwellings are described. The investigation was mainly concerned with impact transmission since available field data showed that the impact performance was, in general, worse than the airborne performance. The effects of changing various aspects of the floor design are discussed and limited guidance is given on the values of some floor parameters. Some tests have been carried out with the resilient layer bridged by nails and with the floor loaded. Suggestions are given for further research which is required to improve the understanding of sound transmission processes in wood joist floors.     

Regression curves for vibration transmission across junctions of heavyweight walls and floors based on finite element methods and wave theory

Sound insulation prediction models in European and International Standards use the vibration reduction index to calculate flanking transmission across junctions of walls and floors. These standards contain empirical relationships between the ratio of mass per unit areas for the walls/floors that form the junction and a frequency-independent vibration reduction index. However, calculations using wave theory show that there is a stronger relationship between the ratio of characteristic moment impedances and the transmission loss from which the vibration reduction index can subsequently be calculated. In addition, the assumption of frequency-independent vibration reduction indices has been shown to be incorrect due to in-plane wave generation at the junction. Therefore numerical experiments with FEM, SFEM and wave theory have been used to develop new regression curves between these variables for the low-, mid- and high-frequency ranges. The junctions considered were L-, T- and X-junctions formed from heavyweight walls and floors. These new relationships have been implemented in the prediction models and they tend to improve the agreement between the measured and predicted airborne and impact sound insulation.     

A new laboratory facility for the determination of airborne sound insulation of party walls

The laboratory test chamber described in this paper was designed to provide a test facility for the measurement of airborne sound insulation of party walls and their associated flanking construction. Initially developed as a research tool to overcome the need to carry out field measurements on new dwelling types, the results obtained in the chamber were found to be in close agreement with the results of field measurements in dwellings with similar constructional detailing. It is concluded that a chamber of this type provides a simple and economic means of assessing in the laboratory the airborne sound insulation of dwellings.     

Measurement of sound insulation with a sound level meter

The present technique for measuring the airborne sound insulation of walls and floors, involving measurements in 16 one-third octave bands, is tedious and expensive. The method provides more information than is needed for most purposes, and is more suited to research.Several investigators have proposed the measurement of the overall A-weighted sound level difference using a sound level meter, with a broad band source of white or pink noise. Consistent results have been obtained but their relation to accepted rating methods such as STC is rather empirical.The reference curves used for airborne sound insulation, i.e. STC and HPGW are very similar to the A weighting curve, and if the latter were adopted as the reference curve, there would be a firm theoretical basis for measurement with a sound level meter. Measurement of the difference between the linear sound level of a source of white noise, and the A weighted received level, would in practice be a test of the conformity to the A weighting curve of the transmission loss curve of the partition. Adverse deviations would show as a higher received level. Favourable deviations would have little effect.A study of practical walls and floors, taken from National Building Studies Research Paper 33, showed that there was good correlation between the sound level difference calculated as if it had been measured directly with a sound level meter, and a proposed rating method similar to ISO R717, but using the A weighting curve as the reference curve. Ninety-six per cent of results were within ±1 dB.The practical difficulties of achieving a reasonably flat transmitted spectrum, and of correcting for room absorption will reduce this precision, but bearing in mind the practical success of other short tests, the proposed test should provide a rapid test which is adequate for approval purposes.     

A review of the metal stud stiffness on the sound insulation of gypsum-board partitions

For the sound insulation of a double-panel partition,the stud between two leaves creates a vibration transmission path,which can often be more critical and more important in the mid-frequency range than the airborne path through the cavity.Owing to the fact that partitions with light-weight steel studs are commonly used in building construction,studies on the sound insulation effect of such studs have been conducted.Especially,a model,initiated by Gu and Wang(1983),has been widely studied during the past decades.In the model,the steel stud is considered as an elastic spring with its cross-section stiffness in the sound insulation index prediction of such a partition.Experimental results of different stud profiles have been reported from different testing laboratories and more information has been gained to understand the stiffness effect of the stud on the sound insulation of the double-leaf partitions.In this paper,the authors have given this subject a thorough review and have concluded that a critical problem needs further investigation on the determination of the stiffness of the connecting elements in the double-leaf partitions.     

The use of in-situ test method EN 1793-6 for measuring the airborne sound insulation of noise barriers

The in situ measurement of the airborne sound insulation, as outlined in EN 1793-6:2012, is becoming a common means of quantifying the performance of road traffic noise reducing devices. Newly installed products can be tested to reveal any construction defects and periodic testing can help to identify long term weaknesses in a design. The method permits measurements to be conducted in the presence of background noise from traffic, through the use of impulse response measurement techniques, and is sensitive to sound leakage. Factors influencing the measured airborne sound insulation are discussed, with reference to measurements conducted on a range of traffic noise barriers located around Auckland, New Zealand. These include the influence of sound leakage in the form of hidden defects and visible air gaps, signal-to-noise ratio, and noise barrier height. The measurement results are found to be influenced by the presence of hidden defects and small air gaps, with larger air gaps making the choice of measurement position critical. A signal-to-noise ratio calculation method is proposed, and is used to show how the calculated airborne sound insulation varies with signal-to-noise ratio. It is shown that the measurement results are influenced by barrier height, through the need for reduced length Adrienne temporal windows to remove the diffraction components, prohibiting the direct comparison of results from noise barriers with differing heights.     

Mechanism and calculation of the niche effect in airborne sound transmission

The goal is to interpret and calculate the "niche effect" for the airborne sound transmission through a specimen mounted inside an aperture in the wall between the source and receiving reverberation rooms. The low-frequency sound insulation is known to be worse for the specimen placed at the center than for the specimen mounted at either edge of the aperture. As shown, the aperture with a tested specimen can be simulated at low frequencies as a triple partition where the middle element is the specimen and the role of the edge leaves is played by the air masses entrained at the aperture edges. With a centrally located specimen, such a triple system is symmetric and has two main natural frequencies close together. In this case, the resonant transmission is higher than for the edge arrangement simulated as a double system with one natural frequency. Analogous resonant phenomena are known to reduce the low-frequency transmission loss for symmetric triple windows or solid walls with identical air gaps and lightweight boards on both sides. The theoretical results obtained for the mechanical and acoustical models are in a good agreement with the experimental data.     

Potential solutions to improved sound performance of volume based lightweight multi-storey timber buildings

Lightweight building systems in general suffer from poor sound insulation, especially in the low frequency region. Since no reliable mathematical models that can predict the impact sound pressure level exists, the lightweight building design is to a high extent based upon previous experience and upon measurements. A special difficulty is related to experimental measurements since the variation among identical units must not be neglected. A modern volume based lightweight wooden building concept has here been tested by numerous well controlled measurements, in laboratory as well as in more field like conditions. The volume construction technique offers new possibilities and challenges to improve sound insulation in light weight timber construction. The main purpose was to investigate how different constructional solutions in the floor, like plaster board, mineral wool, elastic glue, dividing board, floating floor etc., affect the sound insulation. Many of the tested modifications resulted in only marginally changed impact sound pressure level but parameters that substantially can improve the sound insulation were found in using elastic glue to mount the floor boards, to install extra board layers and to use floating floors.     

Measurement of airborne sound insulation of timber noise barriers: Comparison of in situ method CEN/TS 1793-5 with laboratory method EN 1793-2

Recent progress in the development of European standards has allowed the in situ testing of roadside noise barriers. CEN/TS 1793-5 describes a test method using maximum length sequences (MLS) for the characterisation of airborne sound insulation. However, many barriers are tested according to a laboratory standard, EN 1793-2, based on measurements carried out in reverberant chambers and in the case of timber barriers with a relatively low airborne sound insulation it is not clear to what extent the results of the two tests compare. The paper describes the results of tests carried out using both methods. Six samples of timber barrier were compared including single-leaf and double-leaf constructions and single-leaf constructions with an absorptive core. Very good agreement was found especially when account was taken of the valid frequency range in each test method. The results open up the possibility of routinely evaluating the performance of timber barriers at the roadside where build quality can be variable and there are concerns that the acoustic performance may not match that obtained under laboratory test conditions where typically the barrier is more carefully constructed.     

发展在XLPE电缆绝缘内外侧的电树枝

以XLPE高压电力电缆内外侧绝缘中的电树枝特性为研究对象，通过分析电树枝引发与生长的统计实验规律和采用扫描电子显微镜分析发现，由于不同结晶状态的影响，电缆绝缘内外侧的电树枝特性存在很大的差异.引发于绝缘内侧电树枝引发时间短、生长速度快、电树枝形状具有多样性；起始于绝缘外侧的电树枝不仅引发时间长、生长速度极慢，而且电树枝形状(结构)比较单一.并对这两个位置电树枝的引发和生长机理进行了探讨. 关键词： 电树枝 结晶状态 统计规律 内侧和外侧绝缘层     

Noise from neighbours and the sound insulation of party walls in houses

Nine-hundred-and-seventeen residents in a sample of attached houses constructed since 1970 were interviewed in the course of a national survey dealing with nuisance occasioned by noise from neighbours. The airborne sound insulation of the party walls, measured prior to occupation, ranged from zero to 120 dB AAD. Two-thirds of the respondents heard noise from their neighbours and even at performance levels meeting or exceeding the minimum requirements of the Building Regulations nearly 50% did so. Of the total sample, some 18% were seriously bothered by neighbours' noise. Highly significant relationships were found between physical performance rated in dB AAD (Aggregate Adverse Deviation) and a variety of subjective responses. These include reports of hearing neighbours' noise, of being bothered by it, hearing neighbours' conversation, and, in particular, the direct rating of sound insulation quality by respondents, which last appears to provide the most reliable and consistent indication of the likelihood of experiencing nuisance from neighbours' noise. These results provide, for the first time, empirical validation of the U.K. performance rating procedure. In addition, the survey findings emphasize the importance of impact noises, not included in the standardized performance measurements, but which contribute substantially to nuisance, particularly between houses where airborne sound insulation is comparatively good. Other findings indicate that occupants were very satisfied with their general environment and only slightly less so with their homes. Poor sound insulation was a prominent criticism of the dwellings, being ranked third among spontaneous adverse comments and first in a ranking of nine commonly encountered building defects. These results indicate the importance of sound insulation to occupants of recently built houses, placing this aspect of design and construction within a wider context. The overall results of the survey provide a practical guide to estimating the consequences, in terms of occupants' attitudes to noise from neighbours, of raising or lowering standards of sound insulation performance between houses.     

ITER轴向绝缘子性能测试研究

对ITER高性能氦气密复合材料轴向绝缘子的性能作了全面的试验测试研究分析,并简单的介绍了一下绝缘子的结构和工艺设计。试验测试结果表明:绝缘子能够承受室温到液氮温度50次冷热循环冲击,耐电压等级56kV、耐气压4MPa、耐拉压2000N、耐弯矩100Nm、耐扭矩100Nm的参数要求。绝缘子在电绝缘性能、机械性能、热冲击性能和气密性方面都能满足ITER磁体系统的技术要求。     

Application of a finite-element model to low-frequency sound insulation in dwellings

The sound transmission between adjacent rooms has been modeled using a finite-element method. Predicted sound-level difference gave good agreement with experimental data using a full-scale and a quarter-scale model. Results show that the sound insulation characteristics of a party wall at low frequencies strongly depend on the modal characteristics of the sound field of both rooms and of the partition. The effect of three edge conditions of the separating wall on the sound-level difference at low frequencies was examined: simply supported, clamped, and a combination of clamped and simply supported. It is demonstrated that a clamped partition provides greater sound-level difference at low frequencies than a simply supported. It also is confirmed that the sound-pressure level difference is lower in equal room than in unequal room configurations.     

Field measurement of airborne sound insulation between rooms with non-diffuse sound fields at low frequencies

Procedures for the field measurement of airborne sound insulation between rooms with diffuse fields are described in International Standard ISO 140-4. However, many dwellings contain rooms with volumes less than 50 m³, where low frequency measurements are less reliable; hence there is a need for a measurement procedure to improve the reliability of field measurements in rooms with non-diffuse fields. Procedures are proposed for sound pressure level and reverberation time measurements for the 50, 63 and 80 Hz third octave bands. The sound pressure level measurement combines corner microphone positions with positions in the central region of each room. This provides a good estimate of the room average sound pressure level with significantly improved repeatability.     

A short method for the determination of airborne sound insulation characteristics in buildings

This paper presents the results of experiments made on a sample of 40 different facades to evaluate the characteristics of airborne sound insulation in buildings. On the basis of these results, some relationships are proposed for correlating the airborne sound insulation index, R_w (ISO 717/3-1982), with the measurements in the field of the equivalent sound pressure level made in dB(A).     

Justification of standardized level differences in rating of airborne sound insulation between dwellings

It has long been recognized that single-number quantities R′_w, D_nT,w or D_n,w result in different conclusions in objective rating of airborne sound insulation between dwellings. The difference between the values of these single-number quantities (SNQ), however, does not prove which of them describes the sound transmission between rooms most correctly. The main object of this article was to study which SNQ correspond best with transmitted living sound levels in buildings when reverberation time, volume of receiving room and sound insulation are taken into account. Data of 100 field measurements of airborne sound insulation were collected as well as 207 reverberation times of furnished rooms. The transmitted sound levels of living sounds were evaluated on the basis of known living sound spectra and measured level differences D. The results show that the SNQs standardized to reference reverberation time of 0.5 s lead in all cases to best correlation between the SNQs and the sound levels of transmitted living sounds. It was also checked whether the rating by D_nT,w would lead to higher transmitted sound levels of living sounds in larger rooms, but this was not detected. The use of D_nT,w makes rooms of different volumes equal in regard to required sound insulation between them. It is thus justified to replace R′_w with D_nT,w as the SNQ for rating the airborne sound insulation. Widening the frequency range down to 50 Hz or up to 5000 Hz did not give noteworthy improvement in the correlation.