A Comparative Study of Sound Transmission Loss Provided by Glass, Acrylic and Polycarbonate

Abstract

This article presents an assessment for the airborne sound insulation provided by single glazed panels. The glazed panels were glass, acrylic and polycarbonate with a thickness of 4 mm. The experiments were conducted in a transmission loss facility consisting of semi anechoic and reverberation chambers. The panels were subjected to airborne sound and the data collected. Glass, acrylic and polycarbonate panel absorb noise most effectively above 500 Hz with the absorption peaks at 1000 Hz. The single number sound reduction index (RW) for glass, polycarbonate and acrylic were 41 dB, 38 dB and 37 dB, respectively. This could be attributed mainly to the material density which is higher for the glass. Keywords: Sound transmission loss; glazing; insulation; weighted index