Change in Canada’s national building code—Assessing flanking sound transmission in steel-framed constructions

Abstract

The proposed 2015 edition of the National Building Code of Canada sees a major change in sound insulation requirements. Instead of prescribing requirements for the separating assembly only (in terms of STC values), the Code now sets requirements for the sound insulation performance of the complete system (in terms of Apparent Sound Transmission Class (ASTC) values), including flanking sound transmission. The National Research Council Canada is actively supporting the change in the Code by conducting various projects with industry associations from different construction sectors, in order to provide tools, guidance, and the necessary data for compliance. This presentation focuses on an ongoing joint project between the National Research Council Canada and the Canadian Sheet Steel Building Institute. In the project, the direct and flanking sound transmission in steel-framed assemblies are being investigated. In the presentation, an overview of the project is given, and updates on the current status of the investigation are provided, including measured data concerning the flanking sound transmission in steel-framed constructions.

Numerical Prediction Method for Vibration Characteristics of Steel-Framed Autoclaved Lightweight Aerated Concrete Floor Structures

“…In such a frequency range, the vibration characteristics are more complex because the wavelength of the propagated bending wave is smaller. The detailed characteristics of steel-framed structures have been experimentally investigated [29][30][31][32][33], and the results described the effect of the steel-framed walls and floors on the vibroacoustic transmission characteristics. In steel-framed structures, not only slab plates but also steel-frame structures, including beams and columns, have a large impact on the total structure-borne sound transmission characteristics of the building, compared to the simple situation of reinforced-concrete structures where the structure consists of relatively few materials.…”