Building Acoustic Measurements

Measure the sound insulation between two rooms. Do this by generating a sound in a room, and by comparing this sound level with the level measured in a, normally adjacent, room.

Airborne and impact noise are distinguished as follows.

• Airborne noise is sound that is transmitted through the air, such as traffic noise or people talking in the room next door.
• Impact noise results e.g. from footsteps on a floor, which can be heard in the room below.

The process of calculating the the sound insulation may also require that the Reverberation Time and the background noise  are measured.

The measurement principle is simply to create a measured noise in the first room (the sending room) and compare that to a measurement in the second room (the receiving room).

• Generate a reference test signal (e.g. Pink Noise) in the sending room by using an omnidirectional loudspeaker.
• Measure the noise spectrum both in the sending and the receiving room.
• Correct the reading of the receiving room by deducting any disturbing background noise, and of the room effect (if the receiving room is reverberant, the sound level will be higher)

The airborne sound insulation of facades is measured in the same manner. In that case, the test signal source is positioned outside the building in the front of the facade partition under investigation.
 

Airborne sound insulation measurement

For impact sound insulation measurement, a calibrated Tapping Machine is used to generate the noise by knocking on the floor (a standardized rubber ball can also be used).

• Properly install and run the Tapping Machine in the sending room.
• Measure the noise spectrum in the receiving room.
• Correct the reading in the receiving room by deducting any disturbing background noise and the room effect (if the receiving room is reverberant, the sound level will be higher).
   

Impact sound insulation measurement

A façade is an exterior side of a building. The soundproofing principles are essentially the same as those for interior walls. When measuring façades, the sound source is positioned outside the building.

A pink noise is used as a test signal. You need a speaker that is powerful enough to produce the desired sound level in the frequency band from 50 Hz to 10 kHz as uniformly as possible.
 

Façade sound insulation measurement

You will need a Sound Level Meter that is capable of measuring the required acoustic parameters in accordance with the standards. You will also need a Dodecahedron Loudspeaker as a sound source for airborne sound insulation measurements, and a Tapping Machine to produce the impact sounds. Furthermore, using a professional software package for controlling the process and reporting the results may simplify the task.

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1) Sound Level Meter

The Sound Level Meter measures all required data. These are the sound levels in the sending and the receiving room, the background noise and the reverberation time, which quantifies the room effect.
 

 

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2) DS3 Dodecahedron Speaker Kit

The DS3 Dodecahedron Speaker, together with the PA3 Power Amplifier, meets all the requirements of the ISO 16283 standard. In addition, we offer impressive performance data; with a weight of only 7.5 kg and a typical sound power of 120.5 dB, the DS3 is convenient to carry around on site. By pressing a button on the supplied wireless remote control, the test signal can be comfortably switched on and off from outside the sending room.
  

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3) Tapping Machine

The TM3 Tapping Machine produces the impacts on the floor to determine the impact sound insulation. The hammers in this PTB-approved precision instrument hit the ground at a prescribed rate and with a constant, measured force. The remote-controlled TM3 is compliant with the standards that define building acoustics.
 

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4) Reporting Software

Last but not least, the measurement results obtained by the Sound Level Meter can be easily imported into the "Sound Insulation Reporter". This PC software then calculates the required results for the airborne and impact sound insulation in accordance with the selected standards.

Building Acoustics measurements are defined by international and national standards.

Here you can dig deeper into each of the actual measurements: