ACOUSTIC TESTING FROM WARRINGTONFIRE AND AL-FUTTAIM ELEMENT At Warringtonfire and Al-Futtaim Element, we offer two UKAS-accredited state-of-the-art acoustic testing laboratories: High Wycombe, UK which specialises in laboratory-based acoustic testing for doors and windows; and Dubai, UAE which performs acoustic tests on various building elements. WHAT IS ACOUSTIC TESTING? The BS EN ISO 10140-2:2010 & ASTM E90-16 acoustic tests are conducted to determine the acoustic performance of various building elements and measures the ability of a building product and/or assembly to reduce the transmission of sound. Typically acoustic testing applies to products that form separating walls and floors, for example between flats, houses, hotel rooms, hospital rooms and classrooms. The acoustic test facility will comprise two separate, acoustically isolated chambers, including a source room and a receiving room. Both rooms will have been installed on separate, isolated acoustic floor systems to limit the sound and vibrational energy transference between the rooms and from the immediate surroundings. Our facilities have been designed to satisfy British, European, American and International standards for the measurement of sound transmission loss. Diffusion of the sound field in both rooms is achieved by exposing the structural timber framing to provide diffraction elements, eliminating the use of reflector plates and diffusing panels.
WHY TEST A PRODUCT’S ACOUSTIC PERFORMANCE? In the UK, Approved Document E of the Building Regulations requires party walls and floors to prove their sound insulation performance, either through on-site pre-completion testing or through the use of Robust Details (of known performance), but proving this performance is becoming increasingly important on a global scale. Acoustic performance in excess of the minimum standards is also being specified to satisfy wider sustainability initiatives, such as Code for Sustainable Homes or BREEAM.
Furthermore, there are a number of acoustic design standards such as Building Bulletin 93 (BB93) for schools and Health Technical Memorandum 08-01 (HTM-08-01) for healthcare premises. Although the acoustic performance of individual projects is not typically specified, acousticians will calculate sound insulation values of façades, walls and floors based on acoustic laboratory test data for products that comprise these elements. If your product does not have this data it is less likely to be included in specifications for these type of developments as well as for other projects where noise may be an issue, eg hotels, hospitals, care homes, schools, student accommodation and offices. Noise is also a key consideration in planning requirements for a number of locations, eg where the property is close to roads, railways and airports The findings of these environmental impact assessments may dictate that external windows and doors need to achieve a set level of acoustic performance. For instance, if a school is situated close to a constant noise source, such as a road, railway or airport, the specification may need to be increased to reduce the ingress of external noise. Products that claim to have acoustic properties will need to have evidence of such for CE and UKCA marking purposes. Finally, noise is likely to be a consideration in the buying decision for an individual or an organisation, for both residential and commercial properties. Products with proven acoustic performance are likely to be more attractive to purchasers than similar products which cannot demonstrate their sound insulation.
Building assurance in the minds of our customers and offering solutions for a complex world underpins everything that we do at Warringtonfire. To consistently deliver on our promise, we work to three guiding principles, technical excellence, operational excellence and customer excellence.
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ACOUSTIC TESTING FROM WARRINGTONFIRE AND AL-FUTTAIM ELEMENT THE ACOUSTIC TESTING PROCESS The testing sample will have been delivered to the acoustic testing laboratory. In some cases the client can choose whether the sample is installed into a filler wall by themselves or by the testing laboratory. The product in installed in a specific way, in accordance with the test standard. It may be necessary to condition the sample to temperatures required by the standard for a period of time, as temperature can affect the acoustic characteristics of the sample. For example, a cold glazed panel will be much ‘stiffer’ which would change the critical frequency of the glass, making the sample appear slightly better or slightly worse. Once the test sample is installed and sealed in the test aperture between the two acoustic test rooms. A loudspeaker is set up in the corner of the sound source room and sound levels are recorded in 1/3 octave bands between 100 Hz and 5,000 Hz, in dB, in both the source and receiving rooms with the loudspeaker on. The reverberation times of the receiving room are determined by the generation of a sound source in the form of an impulse sound energy. The level of this impulse sound must be sufficiently above the background sound level to permit evaluation of the decay curves. The background sound levels are measured in the receiving room and if required, the necessary corrections are applied to the measured receiving room sound levels.
TEST RESULT DESCRIPTION The sound reduction at each 1/3 octave band frequency is calculated and the required single figure rating for the sample is then obtained. Depending on the client or project requirements, this will provide the Sound Reduction Index (Rw), when classified following the recommendations detailed in BS EN ISO 717-1:2013 or the Sound Transmission Class (STC) when classified following the recommendations detailed in ASTM E413-16, of the sample.
ACOUSTIC TESTING BY AL FUTTAIM ELEMENT Our Al Futtaim Element UKAS accredited laboratory in Dubai is able to perform laboratory sound transmission testing, using a purpose built acoustic test facility, to demonstrate sound insulation properties, up to Rw / STC 79dB, on various building elements including: • •
Gypsum board / glass partition walls Masonry and cinema walls
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Roofing systems Steel and wooden doors Windows Curtain walls / façades Skylights
LABORATORY BASED ACOUSTIC TESTING Al Futtaim Element’s laboratory based acoustic test facility comprises of two separate, acoustically isolated test rooms (source room & receiving room) and has been designed to satisfy the British, European, American and International standard recommendations for the measurement of sound transmission loss. It is the only UKAS accredited acoustic test facility in the region. Diffusion of the sound field in both rooms is achieved by exposing the structural timber framing to provide diffraction elements, eliminating the use of reflector plates / diffusing panels.
ON-SITE LABORATORY BASED ACOUSTIC TESTING We are also able to offer some on-site acoustic testing including: • • •
Sound transmission testing Room reverberation time measurement Room noise level measurement
WARRINGTONFIRE LABORATORY BASED ACOUSTIC TESTING We are able to test the following products seeking to demonstrate sound insulation performance up to 58dB (Rw) or 73dB (Rw) against BS EN ISO 10140 series (which has replaced the BS EN ISO 140 series of standards): • • • • • • •
Doorsets (timber, composite, steel, aluminium and PVCu) Windows (timber, composite, steel, aluminium and PVCu) Glazing systems Penetration and linear joint seals Door and window seals Single and twin leaf partition systems Residential Park Homes to BS 8233 (8.4.2.2) & BS 3632 & to BS EN ISO 10140-2.
We can also test to BS EN 1793-2:2018 Road traffic noise reducing devices. This test method is used for determining the acoustic performance and intrinsic characteristics of airborne sound insulation under diffuse sound field conditions.
Contact us on info.fire.dubai@warringtonfire.com TRUST THE CERTAINTY OF With almost 200 years of experience and a global network of world-class laboratories, we make certain that the materials and products we test, inspect and certify for our customers are safe, quality, compliant and fit for purpose.
www.warringtonfire.com/testing-services WARRINGTONFIRE
INFO.FIRE.DUBAI@WARRINGTONFIRE.COM