Insulating Buildings Against Noise from Aircraft (IBANA)

NRC-IRC has completed a three-year project that gives architects and builders a new and better design tool for insulating buildings against noise from aircraft.

Aircraft tend to be much louder when moving away from a building than when approaching it

The need for the Insulating Buildings Against Noise from Aircraft (IBANA) project stemmed from the fact that existing information had become virtually obsolete because of changes in Canadian construction practice - for example, thicker walls with more thermal insulation, which could improve sound insulation, and increased venting of attic spaces, which could reduce it. As well, aircraft changed - newer commercial jet aircraft are quieter than their predecessors but have different noise characteristics.

There were three major components to the project: The first consisted of laboratory tests of the sound insulating properties of building facade elements, including various wall and roof constructions. In performing these tests, the frequency range of measurements was extended to include the important lower frequencies - aircraft noise levels can be quite strong, but measurements at these lower frequencies had not previously been carried out. The results are included in a report [IR818e/f], which can be obtained from NRC-IRC.

The second component of the project involved field measurements of the sound insulation of various constructions exposed to real aircraft noise. Systematic variations, such as the number of layers of gypsum board or the number and types of windows, were made to a test house constructed at Ottawa airport. Measurements were also made on various existing buildings near Toronto and Vancouver airports.

The results from the Ottawa airport test house were used to gain a better understanding of the factors that are responsible for the difference in the sound insulation ratings obtained in the laboratory and those from actual buildings exposed to real aircraft noise.

In the laboratory, the sound insulation of walls or roofs is measured in ideal test conditions in which sound strikes the test specimen more or less equally from all directions. In real buildings, aircraft noise strikes the building facade from a small range of angles, which depend on the orientation of the facade relative to the flight path. The matter is further complicated by the fact that aircraft do not radiate sound equally in all directions and tend to be much louder when moving away from a building than when approaching it.

The third component of the project was the development of a Windows-based software tool to design the sound insulation of buildings against aircraft noise. The sound insulation calculations are based on the characteristics of the aircraft noise, sound insulation ratings and the areas of the various facade elements. To be accurate, and meaningful, the calculations are carried out over a broad range of frequencies.

The new software includes a database of sound insulation data for more than 100 different constructions, and allows the user to compare various design solutions to quickly and conveniently arrive at an optimum design. Users can add new sound insulation and aircraft noise data, making the program even more useful. In addition to calculations in decibels, the user can experience audible simulations of aircraft sounds experienced indoors for each design example. This means that the user is able to listen to the differences between design options as well as look at the numbers.

The project was undertaken with the support of the Department of National Defence, Transport Canada and the National Research Council, with additional support from Vancouver International Airport.

All project publications are available in electronic format below and the IBANA-Calc software and accompanying manual are available for download here.

Publications

IBANA- Calc Validation Studies
Bradley, J.S.
Research Report, NRC Institute for Research in Construction, 125
pp. 50. 2002-11-01
[ Full citation / Référence complète ]

Measurements of the Sound Insulation of a Wood Frame House Exposed to Aircraft Noise
Bradley, J.S. Lay, K. Norcross, S.G.
Internal Report, Institute for Research in Construction, National Research Council Canada, (831)
pp. 113. 2002-03-01
[ Full citation / Référence complète ]

On the sound insulation of wood stud exterior walls
Bradley, J.S. Birta, J.A.
Journal of the Acoustical Society of America, 110 (6)
pp. 3086-3096. 2001-12-01
[ Full citation / Référence complète ]

IBANA-Calc User's Manual
Birta, J.A. Bradley, J.S. Estabrooks, T.
pp. 61. 2001-12-01
Order / Commander : http://www.nrc- cnrc.gc.ca/virtualstore
[ Full citation / Référence complète ]

A Simple model of the sound insulation of gypsum board on resilient supports
Bradley, J. S. Birta, J. A.
Noise Control Engineering Journal, 49 (5)
pp. 216-223. 2001-09-01
[ Full citation / Référence complète ]

Laboratory Measurements of the Sound Insulation of Building Façade Elements
Bradley, J.S. Birta, J.A.
Internal Report, Institute for Research in Construction, National Research Council Canada, 818
pp. 183. 2000-10-20
[ Full citation / Référence complète ]

IBANA- Calc: new software to calculate the effect of sound insulation against aircraft noise
Bradley, J.S. Birta, J.A.
Canadian Acoustics, 28 (3)
Proceedings of Acoustics Week in Canada 2000 (Sherbrooke, Québec, 2000-09- 28)
pp. 54-55. 2000-09-01
[ Full citation / Référence complète ]

Insulating Buildings Against Aircraft Noise : A Review
Bradley, J.S.
Internal Report, Institute for Research in Construction, National Research Council Canada, 760
pp. 45. 1998-03-01
[ Full citation / Référence complète ]

Related Information

Insulating Buildings Against Noise from Aircraft (IBANA)

Institutes:

• NRC Institute for Research in Construction