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Describes some of the new techniques and materials developed over the last ten years in sound insulation. Discusses common problems in controlling external noise, intrusion, sound insulation between dwellings and in the office environment, and through particular construction weakness areas. Briefly outlines the problems and solutions discovered in insulating a multiplex cinema.

Summary The provision of adequate sound insulation against both internal and external noise is an important aspect of noise control in buildings. This paper describes the basic principles involved in designing buildings to achieve good sound insulation. Some of the practical ways of ensuring that walls and floors meet their full sound insulation potential are also considered.

With the development of the modern technology and aerospace industry, the noise pollution is remarkably affecting people’s daily life and has been become a serious issue. Therefore, it is the most important task to develop efficient sound attenuation barriers, especially for the low-frequency audible range. However, low-frequency sound attenuation is usually difficult to achieve for the constraints of the conventional mass-density law of sound transmission. The traditional acoustic materials are reasonably effective at high frequency range. This paper aims to discuss this issue.

Membrane-type local resonant acoustic metamaterial is an ideal low-frequency sound insulation material for its structure is simple and lightweight. In this paper, the finite element method is used to study the low-frequency sound insulation performances of the coupled-membrane type acoustic metamaterial (CMAM). It consists of two identical tensioned circular membranes with fixed boundary. The upper membrane is decorated by a rigid platelet attached to the center. The sublayer membrane is attached with two weights, a central rigid platelet and a concentric ring with inner radius e. The influences of the distribution and number of the attached mass, also asymmetric structure on the acoustic attenuation characteristics of the CMAM, are discussed.

In this paper, the acoustic performance of asymmetric coupled-membrane metamaterial structure is discussed. The influences of mass number, the symmetric and asymmetry structure on the sound insulation performance are analyzed. It is shown that increasing the number of mass attached on membrane, structure exhibits low-frequency and multi-frequency acoustic insulation phenomenon. Compared with the symmetrical structure, asymmetric structure shows the characteristics of lightweight and multi-frequency sound insulation, and the sound insulation performance can be tuned by adjusting the distribution mode and location of mass blocks.

Membrane-type local resonant acoustic metamaterial is an ideal low-frequency sound insulation material for its structure is simple and lightweight. How to effectively broaden the acoustic attenuation band at low frequency is still a problem. But most of researchers focus on symmetric structures. In this study, the asymmetric coupled-membrane acoustic metamaterial structure is examined. It is demonstrated that the asymmetric structure has better sound insulation performances than symmetric structure.

Reports on a project to test and develop methods for improving the sound insulation of party floors in larger, older dwellings converted into flats. Investigates the effects on performance of poor workmanship during installation and gives some assessment of likely comparative costs to be incurred.

Adequate protection from external noise and vibration, adequate control of noise emission to keep the neighbours happy, control of office services plant and equipment to avoid poor working conditions, optimum layout, finishes and fittings for good acoustics and appropriate sound insulation, special acoustic applications — this article, by Jeffrey Charles of Bickerdike Allen Partners, is concerned with the technical know‐how necessary for good acoustic conditions in and around the office, and the actions the facilities manager can and should take to achieve them.

The purpose of this paper is to highlight the sources of noise generation in a library and suggest the implementation of a sound masking system to provide acoustic comfort, maintain speech privacy and create an environment more engaging for the users.

Analyzing the existing literature and exploring the existing practices as observed in different libraries, the study gives an overview of the sound masking initiatives in libraries.

With practical examples of libraries, the study demonstrates how a sound masking system has been implemented to invoke better acoustic design in the library. The expansion of various activities in the library and a gradual shift from individual attention to a collaborative approach necessitates a strong focus on the acoustic design architecture of the library. The study showcases how the libraries adopt sound masking with the introduction of acoustic panels, dual panel partitions, sound-absorbent false ceilings, sound insulation, sound isolation and noise-dampening measures, installing furniture with sound containment features, adopting vibration control mechanism, mounting of white noise machines, etc., keeping the aesthetic quotient of the library alive.

The study attempts to show the current practices of the adoption of the sound masking system in libraries and promotes collaborative reading with the creation of an acoustic design-influenced library environment to control noise and reverberation and provide a comfortable reading environment.

A dense urban structure cuts down traffic emissions. It also promotes waste heat use and storage possibilities as a form of district heating. However, quality elements associated with detached houses, such as tranquillity and self-expression possibilities, may be lost. Better building quality and alternatives to private car use can enable these elements in smaller spaces, which is assessed here. The paper aims to discuss these issues.

A technology set for an imaginary high-quality (HQ) apartment house is discussed by assessing increased embedded energy of the building structure, due to the HQ measures. HQ solutions include visual barriers, increased sound insulation, roof terraces, large windows, apartment adaptability, bike sheds, electrical cargo bikes and advanced energy solutions.

The increased construction and heating energy use in HQ buildings can be offset if car use is reduced by 10-15 per cent. There is a greater possibility of achieving this reduction if HQ housing can make urban densification more readily acceptable by demonstrating, that good quality housing can exist both in smaller building lots as well as in smaller apartments.

The quality issue brings a novel perspective to estimating the environmental impacts of built environment solutions. The approach here is quite simple, but the issue can be discussed more. That is, how much total resource input can be decreased, if the target is not to produce square metres but rather the necessary elements to have a good quality of life.

This paper aims to propose a novel statistic energy analysis method with fuzzy parameters to study the dynamic and acoustic responses of coupled system with fuzzy parameters, which can expand the applied range of statistic energy analysis method in engineering to some extent.

On the basis of the property of membership level, the uncertain fuzzy parameters are expressed as the interval forms. Interval mathematics and interval expansion principle are adopted to solve the problem with interval parameters. At last, two numerical examples, which include a two-plate coupled system and a single-partition sound-insulation system, are carried out to demonstrate the feasibility and validity of the presented method.

Interval mathematics and interval expansion principle are adopted to solve the problem with interval parameters.

By integrating the interval analysis, optimization technique and Taylor expansion method, two non-probabilistic, set-theoretical statistical energy analyses are proposed for predicting the dynamical and acoustical response of the complex coupled system with uncertain parameters in high-frequency domain.

The purpose of this paper is to identify the perception of valuers towards the contribution of green features in residential property valuation. The concept of green housing was designed to reduce the negative impacts on the environment and humans. The cost of green housing is higher than the conventional building and is reflected in the selling price, which is further enhanced by the increasing demand for green buildings in the housing market. Such a scenario could be a challenge to the valuers when they carry out a valuation on housing with green features, as there is a lack of information to guide valuers.

This study used a quantitative research method. A comprehensive review of the international green rating tools was carried out to ascertain the relative green features in residential buildings. There are 14 green features identified and grouped into four main categories. A total of 147 valid responses were collected by an online platform and face-to-face distribution among licensed valuers in Malaysia.

The result confirmed that the 14 green features are contributing to the residential property valuation with a reasonable range of adjustment from 2.0% to 6.5%.

The understanding of the range of adjustment for each green feature may provide a guide to the valuer in determining the range of adjustment based on green features associated with residential property in Malaysia. The findings contribute ideas and options to the future development of residential projects by taking into consideration the specific green features that potentially lead to environmental sustainability and building value.

Based on the conceptual design of seismic resistance in buildings, this study aims to put forward a new construction structure energy-saving block structure with invisible multiribbed frame.

The structure is composed of energy-saving block wall panels with invisible multiribbed frames, lightweight partition wall plates and cast-in-place reinforced concrete floor slabs. The structure design is simple and the construction is convenient and fast. The comprehensive economic index of the structure is better than that of brick-and-concrete composite construction. The self-weight of the energy-saving blocks that make up the wall is only about 25% of that of solid clay bricks. The thermal insulation and energy-saving effects of the structure can meet the national energy-saving requirements of buildings.

This new structure meets the requirements of national technology and economy, wall deformation, thermal insulation and energy-saving, and can be used mainly for multistory and mid- to high-rise residential buildings. For the core components of the new structure energy-saving block and invisible multiribbed frame composite wall, as the axial compression ratio increases in the test parameters range, the peak bearing capacity and ductility of the wall increase and the initial stiffness of the wall decreases. The axial compression ratio has a significant effect on the energy dissipation capacity of the wall. The displacement ductility coefficients ν are all greater than 2, indicating the optimal seismic performance of the wall.

This structure is a new, economical, lightweight, energy-saving, seismic resistant, multistory and mid- to high-rise structure that fully conforms to national conditions.