Sound transmission through single, double and triple glazing. Experimentalevaluation

Experimental results on sound insulation of glazed openings are reported in this work. The laboratory experiments were performed placing the text spec imens between two relatively small rooms. The number of glass panels, their thickness, the air gap thickness between the panels and the type of fixing frame are the variables considered. The insulation conferred by the glazed opening is characterised, identifying the localisation of the dips of insu lation in the frequency domain with those related to its own natural dynami c vibration modes and those related to the natural modes of vibration of th e rooms. Since the full mathematical description of the acoustic insulation conferred by glazed panels is extremely complicated, simplified theoretica l models are frequently used. In this work, the experimental insulation cur ves obtained are compared with those predicted by the simplified analytical models. This analysis shows that the predictive models, particularly when applied to multiple glazing windows, exhibit marked differences when compar ed with the experimental data. (C) 2001 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights re served.