Apparent Impact Sound Insulation Performance of Continuous Floating Concrete Toppings on Mass Timber Slab Floors
Publication: Journal of Architectural Engineering
Volume 30, Issue 4
Abstract
Mass timber panels including cross-laminated timber (CLT), dowel-laminated timber (DLT), and nail-laminated timber (NLT) are used increasingly as floor slabs in mass timber buildings and hybrid timber buildings. The sound insulation performance of bare mass timber structural floors is insufficient due to their lightweight and relatively high bending stiffness. Floating concrete toppings are commonly applied for improved sound insulation performance with an elastic interlayer. The effect of different elastic interlayers and thickness of concrete toppings on improving the impact sound insulation performance was investigated experimentally according to ASTM standards in this study. The results showed that with the same elastic layer, thicker concrete toppings resulted in better impact sound insulation performance with a higher apparent impact insulation class (AIIC). However, by increasing the concrete thickness from 38 to 50 mm and to 70 mm, the improvement of AIIC between two thicknesses was only within 3, and a significant improvement up to 9 was observed with a 100-mm-thick concrete topping. In general, elastic interlayers with lower dynamic stiffness values performed better; however, the performance was product dependent though the apparent dynamic stiffness was measured using the same standard method. Moreover, with the same panel thickness and wood species, a bare DLT floor provided higher AIIC (35) than a bare CLT (21), but each mass timber floor with the same interlayer and floating concrete topping had the same impact sound attenuation performance. The ISO empirical prediction equation overestimated the impact sound attenuation of floating concrete toppings on mass timber floors.
Get full access to this article
View all available purchase options and get full access to this article.
Data Availability Statement
Some or all data, models, or code that support the findings of this study are available from the corresponding author upon reasonable request.
Acknowledgments
The financial support from BC Forest Innovation Invest – Wood First program, the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC), and the University of Northern British Columbia (UNBC) is greatly acknowledged. We acknowledge the in-kind contributions from StructureCraft, Structurlam, Pliteq, Rothoblaas, Getzner, Soprema, and KRAIBURG Relastec, as well as the technical supports from Wood Innovation Research Lab at UNBC.
References
Andargie, M. S., M. Touchie, and W. O’Brien. 2020. “A survey of factors that impact noise exposure and acoustics comfort in multiunit residential buildings.” Can. Acoust. 48 (3): 25–42.
ASTM. 2019. Standard test method for field measurement of tapping machine impact sound transmission through floor-ceiling assemblies and associated support structures. ASTM E1007-16. West Conshohocken, PA: ASTM.
Bard, D., J. Negreira, C. Guigou-Carter, G. Borello, J. L. Kouyoumji, A. Speranza, C. Coguenanff, and K. Hagberg. 2017. Modelling prerequisites—FEM/ SEA impact and airborne sound. RISE Rep. No. 2017:56. Gothenburg, Sweden: RISE Research Institutes of Sweden.
Bietz, H., M. Schmelzer, V. Wittstock, and S. Brezas. 2019. “Investigations regarding the influence of static load and airflow resistance on the measurement of dynamic stiffness.” In Proc., 23rd Int. Congr. on Acoustics. Aachen, Germany: German Society for Acoustics.
Bietz, H., and V. Wittstock. 2018. “Investigations to determine the dynamic stiffness of elastic insulating materials.” In Proc., Euronoise 2018. Crete, Greece: European Congress and Exposition on Noise Control Engineering.
Bos, I. E. 2018. Sound transmission in cross-laminated timber buildings: A numerical approximation of the sound transmission through CLT elements and junctions. Delft, The Netherlands: Delft University of Technology.
Bowyer, J., S. Bratkovich, J. Howe, K. Fernholz, M. Frank, S. Hanessian, H. Groot, and E. Pepke. 2017. Modern tall wood buildings: Opportunities for innovation. Minneapolis, MN: Dovetail Partners.
Caniato, M., F. Bettarello, P. Fausti, A. Ferluga, L. Marsich, and C. Schmid. 2017a. “Impact sound of timber floors in sustainable buildings.” Build. Environ. 120: 110–122. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.buildenv.2017.05.015.
Caniato, M., F. Bettarello, A. Ferluga, L. Marsich, C. Schmid, and P. Fausti. 2017b. “Acoustic of light-weight timber buildings: A review.” Renewable Sustainable Energy Rev. 80: 585–596. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.rser.2017.05.110.
Caniato, M., A. Marzi, S. Monteiro da Silva, and A. Gasparella. 2021. “A review of the thermal and acoustic properties of materials for timber building construction.” J. Build. Eng. 43: 103066. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jobe.2021.103066.
Caniato, M., C. Schmid, and A. Gasperella. 2020. “A comprehensive analysis of time influence on floating floors: Effects on acoustic performance and occupant’s comfort.” Appl. Acoust. 166: 107339. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.apacoust.2020.107339.
Cho, T. 2013. “Experimental and numerical analysis of floating floor resonance and its effect on impact sound transmission.” J. Sound Vib. 332: 6552–6561. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jsv.2013.08.011.
Connolly, T., C. Loss, A. Iqbal, and T. Tannert. 2018. “Feasibility study of mass-timber cores for the UBC tall wood building.” Buildings 8: 98. https://doi.org/10.3390/buildings8080098.
Crispin, C., C. Mertens, and B. Ingelaere. 2016. “Estimation of the precision of the apparent dynamic stiffness measurement described in the standard EN 29052-1.” In Proc., Internoise 2016. Hamburg, Germany: German Society for Acoustics.
Crispin, C., C. Mertens, and J. Medved. 2014. “Measurement of the dynamic stiffness of porous materials taking into account their airflow resistivity.” Build. Acoust. 21 (3): 221–233. https://doi.org/10.1260/1351-010X.21.3.221.
Cremer, L., M. Heckl, and B. A. T. Petersson. 2005. Structure-borne sound—Structural vibrations and sound radiation at audio frequencies. Berlin: Springer.
Frescura, A., P. J. Lee, F. Schopfer, and U. Schanda. 2021. “Correlations between standardised and real impact sound sources in lightweight wooden structures.” Appl. Acoust. 173: 107690. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.apacoust.2020.107690.
Hart, J., B. D’Amico, and F. Pomponi. 2021. “Whole-life embodied carbon in multistory buildings: Steel, concrete and timber structures.” J. Ind. Ecol. 25 (2): 403–418. https://doi.org/10.1111/jiec.13139.
Homb, A., C. Guigou-Carter, and A. Rabold. 2017. “Impact sound insulation of cross-laminated timber/massive wood floor constructions: Collection of laboratory measurements and result evaluation.” Build. Acoust. 24 (1): 35–52. https://doi.org/10.1177/1351010X16682966.
Hu, L. J. 2019. Solutions for noise control of mass timber floors and walls. Quebec City, Canada: FPInnovations.
ISO (International Organization for Standardization). 1989. Acoustics—Determination of dynamic stiffness—Part 1: Material used under floating floor in dwellings. ISO 9052-1. Geneva: ISO.
ISO (International Organization for Standardization). 1991. Acoustics—Materials for acoustical applications—Determination of airflow resistance. ISO 9053. Geneva: ISO.
ISO (International Organization for Standardization). 2020. Building acoustics—Estimation of acoustic performance of buildings from the performance of elements—Part 2. ISO 12354-2. Geneva: ISO.
Kim, K.-W., G.-C. Jeong, K.-S. Yang, and J.-y. Sohn. 2009. “Correlation between dynamic stiffness of resilient materials and heavyweight impact sound reduction level.” Build. Environ. 44: 1589–1600. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.buildenv.2008.10.005.
Latvanne, P., M. Kylliainen, V. Kovalainen, and J. Lietzen. 2018. “An engineering method for the calculation of impact sound insulation of wooden floor constructions.” In Proc., Baltic-Nordic Acoust. Meeting 2018. Reykjavík, Iceland: Nordic Acoustic Association.
Marini, M., R. Baccoli, D. A. Bella, C. C. Mastino, N. Trulli, and E. Solinas. 2015. “Comparison between calculated and measured performances of impact sound insulation for cross laminated timber building elements.” In Proc., EuroNoise 2015. Maastricht, The Netherlands: European Acoustics Association (EAA).
Martins, C., P. Santos, P. Almeida, L. Godinho, and A. Dias. 2015. “Acoustic performance of timber and timber-concrete floors.” Constr. Build. Mater. 101: 684–691. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.conbuildmat.2015.10.142.
NRC (National Research Council). 2020. National building code of Canada. Ottawa: NRC.
Oqvist, R., F. Ljunggren, and A. Agren. 2012. “On the uncertainty of building acoustic measurements—Case study of a cross-laminated timber construction.” Appl. Acoust. 73: 904–912. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.apacoust.2012.03.012.
Qian, C., S. Ménard, D. Bard, and J. Negreira. 2019. “Development of a vibroacoustic stochastic finite element prediction tool for a CLT floor.” Appl. Sci. 9: 1006. https://doi.org/10.3390/app9051006.
Sabourin, I. 2015. Measurement of airborne sound insulation of 8 wall assemblies & measurement of airborne and impact sound insulation of 29 floor assemblies. Rep. No. A1-006070.10. Ottawa: National Research Council Canada.
Schiavi, A. 2018. “Improvement of impact sound insulation: A constitutive model for floating floors.” Appl. Acoust. 129: 64–71. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.apacoust.2017.07.013.
Schmelzer, M., V. Wittstock, H. Bietz, and S. Brezas. 2021. “On the influence of the air flow resistivity on the measurement of the dynamic stiffness of underlays for floating floors.” Acta Acust. 5 (13).
Shin, H.-k., and K.-w. Kim. 2020. “Sound absorbing ceiling to reduce heavy weight floor impact sound.” Build. Environ. 180: 107058. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.buildenv.2020.107058.
Sotayo, A., et al. 2020. “Review of state of the art of dowel laminated timber members and densified wood materials as sustainable engineered wood products for construction and building applications.” Dev. Built Environ. 1: 100004. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.dibe.2019.100004.
Vardaxis, N.-G., D. Bard, and K. Persson Waye. 2018. “Review of acoustic comfort evaluation in dwellings—Part I: Associations of acoustic field data to subjective responses from building surveys.” Build. Acoust. 25 (2): 151–170. https://doi.org/10.1177/1351010X18762687.
Warnock, A. C. C. 1999. Controlling the transmission of impact sound through floors. Ottawa: National Research Council Canada.
Yeon, J. O., K. W. Kim, and K. S. Yang. 2017. “A correlation between a single number quantity and noise level of real impact sources for floor impact sound.” Appl. Acoust. 125: 20–33. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.apacoust.2017.03.019.
Zhang, X., X. Hu, H. Gong, J. Zhang, Z. Lv, and W. Hong. 2020. “Experimental study on the impact sound insulation of cross laminated timber and timber-concrete composite floors.” Appl. Acoust. 161: 107173. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.apacoust.2019.107173.
Zhao, Z., J. Zhou, and G. Li. 2021. “Efficiency of floating concrete toppings on mass timber floors for impact sound insulation.” In Proc., World Conf. on Timber Eng. Santiago, Chile: World Conference on Timber Engineering (WCTE).
Zhou, J., and Z. Zhao. 2021. “Apparent impact sound insulation performance of cross laminated timber floors with floating concrete toppings.” In Proc., Internoise 2021. Reston, VA: International Institute of Noise Control Engineering.
Information & Authors
Information
Published In
Journal of Architectural Engineering
Volume 30 • Issue 4 • December 2024
Copyright
© 2024 American Society of Civil Engineers.
History
Received: Feb 15, 2024
Accepted: Jul 1, 2024
Published online: Sep 18, 2024
Published in print: Dec 1, 2024
Discussion open until: Feb 18, 2025
Authors
Metrics & Citations
Metrics
Citations
Download citation
If you have the appropriate software installed, you can download article citation data to the citation manager of your choice. Simply select your manager software from the list below and click Download.