Acoustic comfort in office buildings with double skin glass façades

Abstract

In the Project TwinSkin at the IGS Institut für Gebäude-und Solartechnik (Institute for Building Services and Energy Design) Brunswick/Germany, nine office buildings with double skin glass faça-des (DSF) were i.a. acoustically evaluated. Double skin façades (DSF), in comparison with other kind of façades, are frequently promoted to provide higher sound insulation from external noise, especially road traffic noise. DSF offer the advantage of operable windows or doors to the cavity, which provide occupant comfort; however, than questions about the impairment of acoustic comfort arise. The objective was to thoroughly analyse the apparent sound insulation properties of DSF in the extended frequency range from 50 to 5000 Hz. Measurements were performed according to the standard EN ISO 140-5 for different operation conditions of the open ings and single number quantities were calculated. Additionally their respective spectrum adaptation terms (C and C tr ) were considered. A remarkable influence of DSF design on the sound in sulation properties was found. The results show high levels of weighted apparent sound reduction up to 60 dB, but also there were results from only 35 dB to 40 dB. Multi storey façades tend to better sound insulation performance in relation to the other types of DSF, an average of 13 dB higher values were found. Esthetical favourable arrangements of DSF can provide substantial negative influence on sound insulation. Akustischer Komfort in Bürogebäuden mit Doppelglasfassaden.In dem Projekt TwinSkin am IGS Institut für Gebäude-und Solartechnik Braunschweig wurden neun Bürogebäude mit Doppelglasfassaden (DGF) akustisch bewertet. Glasdoppelfassaden bieten gegenüber anderen Fassadenarten einen erhöhten Schutz der hinter der Fassade liegenden Räume vor von außen eindringendem Lärm, insbesondere Straßenverkehrslärm. Zudem kön-nen bei DSF Fenster oder Türen in den Fassadenzwischenraum geöffnet werden, was möglicherweise den Nutzerkomfort erhöht, aber Fragen über die Beeinträchtigung des akustischen Komforts entstehen lässt. Das Ziel der vorliegenden Arbeit war es, die vorhandene Schalldämmung von DSF im erweiterten Frequenzbereich von 50 bis 5000 Hz gründlich zu analysieren. Die Messungen wurden nach EN ISO 140-5 für die verschiedenen Betriebsbedingungen der Öffnungen durchgeführt und es wurden Einzahlangaben berechnet. Zusätzlich wurden die jeweiligen Spektrum-Anpassungswerte (C und C tr ) berücksichtigt. Es wurde ein bemerkenswerter Einfluss des DSF-Designs auf die Schalldämmungseigen-schaften gefunden. Die Ergebnisse zeigen ein hohes Schalldämm-Maß bis zu 60 dB, aber es wurden auch Ergebnisse von nur 35 dB und 40 dB gemessen. Mehrgeschossige Fassaden weisen im Vergleich zu den anderen Arten von DSF eine bessere Schalldäm-mung auf, wobei im Durchschnitt 13 dB höhere Werte gefunden wurden. Ästhetisch bevorzugte Gestaltungen der DSF können dagegen einen erheblichen negativen Einfluss auf die Schalldäm-mung haben.

Numerical Analysis of the Racking Behaviour of Multi-Storey Timber-Framed Buildings Considering Load-Bearing Function of Double-Skin Façade Elements

“…Within the scope of the Home+ development project, the developed timber DSF wall elements constitute an additional potential of transparent areas in multi-storey timber construction [18]. In addition to the foreseen structural advantages, they provide better sound insulation of the building envelope and better energy performance as compared to the regular triple-insulating glazing [27][28][29][30][31][32][33][34][35].…”

“…Therefore, DSF elements have been proposed as a promising passive building technology to enhance energy efficiency and improve indoor thermal comfort [33]. Such a constructed envelope DSF element demonstrates better acoustic resistance [29] in comparison with the widely used and previously described single-skin façade (SSF) elements and can, therefore, be suitable for high-noise areas where a high level of sound insulation is required [34,35]. In wide research in Pomponi and D'Amico [28], a structural approach with a timber DSF was studied, but only for the vertical load impact.…”

Assessment of sound insulation of naturally ventilated double skin facades

“…The influence on the acoustic performance of DFTs of the spacing of the vents and of absorptive materials applied in the cavity was studied in [56,57]. Also extensive comparative studies of the acoustic performance of different DSF types have been carried out [58][59][60].…”

Structural glass beams with embedded GFRP, CFRP or steel reinforcement rods: Comparative experimental, analytical and numerical investigations

“…In contemporary architecture, the use of glass as a structural material is ever increasing, especially in facades, where dedicated design methods are required to assess multiple performance aspects. Most of the research studies of literature on glass floors and curtains are focused on thermal and energy performance issues (see for example [1][2][3][4][5][6], etc. ).…”