Single-number values versus subjective judgment of airborne sound insulation in dwellings

Abstract

There is a long history of adapting airborne sound insulation in buildings to the actual needs. A first pan-European work was published with COST Action TU0901: Integrating and Harmonizing Sound Insulation Aspects in Sustainable Urban Housing Constructions in which the differences between the sound insulation measure and the standard sound level difference were documented. Furthermore, ISO 16283-1: Field measurement of sound insulation in buildings and of building elements—Part 1: Airborne sound insulation states: Compared to DnT, R’ has a weaker connection to the subjective impression of airborne sound insulation. To investigate this relationship a simplified listening test and a computer-simulated variation studies of a synthesized airborne sound insulation were carried out. A test sound was generated from a speech, a music, and a noise signal, each of which was filtered by six frequency responses of solid structures. In a paired comparison task, 16 participants judged the loudness of the resulting 18 sounds. The results of the listening test show that perceived loudness is significantly correlated to the single number quantity DnT,w but less to the single number quantity R’w. This finding was confirmed across all signal types. Thus, the results confirm the statement in ISO 16283-1, that the single number quantity DnT,w has a stronger connection to the subjective impression of airborne sound insulation as the quantity R’w.

Evaluating Airborne Sound Insulation in Dwellings Constructed with Hollow Ceramic Blocks under Brazilian Housing Policies

“…Note, however, that once uncertainty is incorporated in building B3, the D nT,w decreases from 38 dB to 36.5 dB, with a confidence level of 95%. These deviations with respect to the standard may contribute to noise-related disturbances between dwellings, potentially impacting the health of occupants [11].…”

“…The researchers discovered a notable association between airborne noise annoyance and the apparent sound transmission class (ASTC), a single numerical value used to measure sound insulation based on the ASTM E336-20 standard [10]. Similarly, Rauscher et al (2023) [11] conducted a comparable perceptual study and found a significant correlation between perceived loudness and the D nT,w . The findings suggested that these single numerical values could effectively represent the perceived level of airborne sound insulation.…”

Assessment of adequacy of single number quantities for wall insulation performance based on the Zwicker’s loudness of transmitted indoor noise

“…The results showed in which cases stationary sounds with the same average Fourier spectrum are perceived louder compared to non-stationary sounds. Frescura and Lee 20 investigated noise annoyance by neighbours’ noise in wooden residential buildings.20 Neubauer 21 and Rauscher et al 22 performed a study that compared existing SNQs for in situ assessment: weighted standardized level difference ( D nT, w ) and weighted normalized apparent sound reduction index ( R ′ w ). The study, which was based on three sound stimuli and six wall types, has shown a better correspondence of D nT, w with the subjective impression of airborne sound insulation than the quantity R′ w .…”