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Noise Destroyer: an Experimental Study to Determine |
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Noise Destroyer: an Experimental Study to Determine |
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Environmental issues have become very topical and important. Most often, when people talk about the environment, they refer to water, air and land pollution. We pollute in many ways, such as littering, burning polluting materials, or driving cars, but one kind of pollution that people sometimes forget about is noise pollution. Noise pollution can be not only annoying and distracting, but also harmful to our health. Although we usually think of insulation in houses as being necessary to prevent heat loss, there are other useful purposes. Insulation in the walls of our homes is capable of significantly reducing noise levels.
Purpose: This study was designed to determine which of five household insulators would be the best barrier to noise. Home insulation can help in reducing the spread of a fire. It helps in reducing humidity problems and moisture. Its value in reducing sound transmission and noise pollution was the subject of this project. A recently popular insulation material – rock fibre – has been promoted for its noise barrier effects. This study compared it with several other materials.
Methods: The sound generator was placed in box, constructed of cardboard lined with the different materials. A standard sound source (personal QUORUM PD-300 PAAL Sport alarm) was used to generate the sound. The sound was measured at a distance of 25 cm from the box, using a boomstick SPL 1000 sound meter. The decibel levels were compared to a control. The sound insulating materials studied were: wood; newspaper - previously used in old houses (cellulose fibre made from chemically treated shredded newsprint is still used); Styrofoam; fibreglass insulation; and rock fibre insulation. The goal was to find the most effective sound proofing material of those tested.
Results: At 25cm, the sound level with rock fibre insulation was measured at 64 decibels. The levels for the other tested materials were: wood (fir) 79dB; newspaper 74dB; Styrofoam 75dB; fibreglass insulation 74dB; air 84.5dB; control 96dB.
Conclusion: Of the materials tested, rock fibre (a combination of natural basalt rock and recycled material), was the most effective material at reducing sound transmission. We should encourage improvements in sound insulation materials. There is no doubt that excessive noise is harmful to the health of us all. More efforts should be made to study noise reduction and eliminate noise pollution.