Experiences With a New Single Number Sound Insulation Rating Method

Authors

  • D. J. Whicker Barron and Associates Consulting Acoustical Engineers, 3284 Heather Street, Vancouver, B.C.
  • G. D. Hall Barron and Associates Consulting Acoustical Engineers, 3284 Heather Street, Vancouver, B.C.
  • M. T. Rivard Barron and Associates Consulting Acoustical Engineers, 3284 Heather Street, Vancouver, B.C.

Abstract

At the present time, the specification of party wall systems to provide air-borne sound isolation in multiparty dwellings is based on laboratory tests of the Sound Transmission Class of partitions. Designers and regulatory authorities use this rating in an attempt to provide a desired, or minimum, acoustic isolation. However, as sound is transmitted from room to room by several paths, installation of an adequately rated party wall is no guarantee of acceptable performance of the finished building. The American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM) has published a recommended practice (E 597-77T) which provides a method for "Determining a Single Number Rating of Air-borne Sound Isolation in Multi-Unit Building Specifications". This method states that "other sound paths are often of equal importance and must be included in any measurement of acoustic isolation" and "this isolation is readily measured in terms of the simple noise reduction between a pair of rooms". If for some non-evident reason the noise isolation of a room pair falls short of the anticipated value, then the path at fault may be identified by procedures of Recommended Practice E336, "Measurement of Air-borne Sound Insulation", or other valid method. In this paper, we discuss the development of a noise source meeting the requirements of ASTM E597-77T and discuss our experiences in its calibration and field use.

Additional Files

Published

1977-10-01

How to Cite

1.
Whicker DJ, Hall GD, Rivard MT. Experiences With a New Single Number Sound Insulation Rating Method. Canadian Acoustics [Internet]. 1977 Oct. 1 [cited 2025 Feb. 22];5(4):22-34. Available from: https://jcaa.caa-aca.ca/index.php/jcaa/article/view/409

Issue

Vol. 5 No. 4 (1977)

Section

Technical Articles

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