Determination and applicability of the required sound insulation values for facades

Abstract

Sound insulation design for specific buildings are one of the important task involved by the consultants dealing with architectural acoustics. This task requires analysis of noise sources and sound paths for all the functional spaces provided by architectural projects. Studies also comprise determination of the required sound transmission losses for building elements and proposition of the constructional details to satisfy the requirements. When the facade insulation is concerned, the outdoor noise conditions should be provided as input data for the computations. The strategic noise maps which are to be prepared according to EC Directive 49, can be utilized for this purpose after some modifications. This paper concentrates on transforming the map data for the purpose of sound insulation design and proposes an approach for obtaining the required insulation values on building facades. Application of facade insulation maps in such a way to facilitate the acousticians' task, is discussed. A case study is described for the sample buildings located in a busy city center. © 2012 Elsevier B.V., All rights reserved.