This report summarizes the acoustics research component regarding sound insulation of elements and systems for the research project on mid-rise and larger wood buildings. The summary outlines the background, main research considerations, research conducted and major outcomes. Further details of the design and the results can found in the appendix of Client Report A1-100035-02.1 [1].
The goal of the acoustics research components was to develop design solutions for mid-rise wood and wood-hybrid buildings that comply both with the current National Building Code of Canada (NBCC) 2010 [2] requirements for direct sound insulation and with the anticipated requirements for flanking sound transmission in the proposed, 2015 version of the NBCC. In addition, the design solutions were to provide better impact sound insulation while still achieving code compliance for all other disciplines (interdependencies) as identified in the final report of the scoping study conducted in FY 2010/2011 [3]
Project contact is Sylvain Ménard at Université du Québec à Chicoutimi
Summary
To ensure the acoustic performance of wood constructions, the research group at the Sustainable Building Institute at Napier University has established a series of proven solutions. The advantage of this approach is to provide designers with solutions that have been technically validated, thus allowing them to overcome the burden of proposing to the manufacturer an acoustic solution. The tools to develop this concept will involve an understanding of the propagation of impact and airborne noises in the main CLT building design typologies, validating the main solutions through laboratory testing and providing proven solutions. Many NRC (National Research Council of Canada) trials could have been avoided. Conducting tests is expensive, and it would be interesting to link the test results to the modeling results.
This paper deals with a certain type of C.L.T. (Cross Laminated Timber) construction, in a residential building in Fristad, Sweden. The objective is to study impact noise transmission, at the lower frequency range (10-200 Hz), where wooden dwellings perform inefficiently, in terms of acoustic quality. The vibrational behavior of lightweight structures and specifically a multilayered floor separating two vertically adjacent bedrooms are investigated. A numerical model of the multilayered test plate, which includes sound insulation and vibration isolation layers, is developed using the Finite Element Method (F.E.M.) in commercial software. The design process, the analysis and improvement of the calculated outcome concerning accuracy and complexity are of interest. In situ vibration measurements were also performed so as to evaluate the structures dynamic behavior in reality and consequently the validity of the modelled results. The whole process from design to evaluation is discussed thoroughly, where uncertainties of the complex F.E.M. model and the approximations of the real structure are analyzed. Numerical comparisons are presented including mechanical mobility and impact noise transmission results. The overall aim is to set up a template of calculations that can be used as a prediction tool in the future by the industry and researchers.
Fire resistance test was performed for a floor assembly, of which stiffness was reinforced by shortening the span of floor joists by adding glulam beam in the middle of the original span, and which an additional ceiling component was installed apart from floor part. These factors are expected to show good insulation performance of timber framed floor against heavy impact sound. From full scale fire test, it is conclude that the designed and manufactured floor achieved 1 hour of fire resistance rating.
In recent years, the science and engineering for controlling sound transmission in buildings have shifted from a focus on individual assemblies such as walls or floors, to a focus on performance of the complete system. Standardized procedures for calculating the overall transmission, combined with standardized measurements to characterize sub-assemblies, provide much better prediction of sound transmission between adjacent indoor spaces. The International Standards Organization (ISO) has published a calculation method, ISO 15712-1 that uses laboratory test data for sub-assemblies such as walls and floors as inputs for a detailed procedure to calculate the expected sound transmission between adjacent rooms in a building. This standard works very well for some types of construction, but to use it in a North American context one must overcome two obstacles – incompatibility with the ASTM standards used by our construction industry, and low accuracy of its predictions for lightweight wood or steel frame construction. To bypass limitations of ISO 15712-1, this Guide explains how to merge ASTM and ISO test data in the ISO calculation procedure, and provides recommendations for applying extended measurement and calculation procedures for specific common types of construction. This Guide was developed in a project established by the National Research Council of Canada to support the transition of construction industry practice to using apparent sound transmission class (ASTC) for sound control objectives in the National Building Code of Canada (NBCC). However, the potential range of application goes beyond the minimum requirements of the NBCC – the Guide also facilitates design to provide enhanced sound insulation, and should be generally applicable to construction in both Canada and the USA. This publication contains a limited set of examples for several types of construction, to provide an introduction and overview of the ASTC calculation procedure. Additional examples and measurement data can be found in the companion documents to this Guide, namely NRC Research Reports RR-333 to RR-337. Furthermore, the calculation procedure outlined and illustrated in this Guide is also used by the software web application soundPATHS, which is available for free on the website of the National Research Council of Canada (see the references in Section 7 of this Guide for access details).
Recent years have witnessed an increased use of glued timber products in construction, due to their highlights in versatility and sustainability. It is therefore a demanding necessity to develop non-destructive integrity assessment methods for structural health monitoring of timber constructions, both during production and utilization. Particularly, the integrity and load bearing capacity of the glue line need to be tested. Air coupled ultrasound (ACU) is a novel non-destructive method which is well suited for this purpose. The advantages with respect to traditional ultrasonic contact techniques are phenomenal reproducibility and unlimited scanning capabilities, together with full preservation of the properties of the inspected object. As part of an on-going project in the Swiss Federal Laboratories for Materials Testing and Research (Empa) together with the Laboratory for Wood Physics and Non-Destructive Testing Methods of ETH Zuerich, experiments were performed in samples consisting of two layers of glued laminated timber with artificially introduced delaminations. First, the main ultrasound propagation phenomena were modelled with dedicated analytical calculations and numerical simulations. Next the samples were scanned with a precise mechanical system and a Normal Transmission Mode setup and the ACU waveforms were digitized for each scanned position. A specific amplitude tracking algorithm together with a self-calibration procedure applied to the ultrasonic images were used to compensate for ultrasonic amplitude variations induced by wood heterogeneity. The mean amplitude variations in the orthotropic R-T plane and in the L axis were of 10 and 5 dB respectively. After an appropriate wood heterogeneity correction the uncertainty in the R-T plane was reduced down to 4 dB. Adhesion defects were reliably assessed for the investigated samples, as well in situations where adhesive was present in the glue line but no bonding existed between timber lamellas (dry glue), or where the adhesive spread during the pressing in an uncontrolled way to the desired non-glued regions. The ACU results were validated with an also novel Micro Focus Computed Tomography glue line assessment method. Specific wave propagation phenomena depending on the year ring orientation with respect to the insonification direction were also discussed.
