Evaluating of Light Weight Concrete Blocks for Noise

Reduction and Sound Transmission Using Calculations

Revision 00

11th Jan 2020

Revision Status

Issued for Review /

00 11-01-2020 QA/QC Manager General Manager
Approval
Reviewed
Prepared
Rev. Issue Date Description /Approved
Assas for Concrete Products
 Noise Reduction Factors and Sound Transmission Class Calculations
for Light Weight Concrete Blocks

Dear Sir,

Please find attached our sound transmission class calculations report for the concrete masonry
blocks.

These calculations were carried out in accordance with “Standard Method for Determining
Sound Transmission Ratings for Masonry Walls TMS 0302-12” as well as “Noise Control with
Concrete Masonry NCMA TEK 13-02A.

Standard Method for Determining Sound Transmission Ratings for Masonry Walls (TMS 0302)
was developed by The Masonry Society’s Standards Development Committee. The Standard
provides minimum requirements for rating masonry walls for a sound transmission class, STC,
and outdoor-indoor transmission class, OITC, based on field or laboratory testing or based on a
calculation procedure.

Sound control is an important design consideration in most buildings. Sound control

involves two important properties: sound transmission and sound absorption.

In the event of requiring additional information or clarification, kindly contact us at your

convenience.

We would like to thank you for your confidence in Assas and look forward to be of service to
you in the near future.

Best Regards,

ASSAS FOR CONCRETE PRODUCTS

Eng. Hani Nemrawi

QA/QC Manager

2 ASSAS for Concrete Products Co. Ltd.

Tel: +962 6 4711609/+962 6 4711610 | Fax: +962 6 4711604 |Email: alassasbaton@alassas.com|
www.alassas.com
 Noise Reduction Factors and Sound Transmission Class Calculations
for Light Weight Concrete Blocks

1. Purpose
The purpose of this report is to evaluate the different light weight masonry products of concrete blocks
manufactured by Assas in terms of sound transmission according to TMS 0302-07 as well as sound reduction factors
according to NCMA TEK 13-02A.

2. Concrete Blocks
Assas for Concrete Products produces a wide range of concrete masonry block, these blocks may be hollow or
solid blocks and comes with different dimensions as follow;

Hollow Concrete Blocks:

- 40 cm x 20 cm x 10 cm
- 40 cm x 20 cm x 15 cm
- 40 cm x 20 cm x 20 cm

Solid Concrete Blocks:

- 40 cm x 20 cm x 7 cm
- 40 cm x 20 cm x 10 cm
- 40 cm x 20 cm x 15 cm
- 40 cm x 20 cm x 20 cm

3. Evaluating of Concrete Blocks for Sound Transmission

Sound absorption values depend primarily on the surface texture and porosity of the material under consideration.
More porous and open-textured surfaces are able to absorb more sound and, hence, have a higher value. This is
reflected in the concrete masonry NRC values listed in Table 1 in NCMA TEK 13-02A. Note that painting a concrete
masonry wall closes small surface openings, and hence decreases the wall’s sound absorption value.

3 ASSAS for Concrete Products Co. Ltd.

Tel: +962 6 4711609/+962 6 4711610 | Fax: +962 6 4711604 |Email: alassasbaton@alassas.com|
www.alassas.com
 Noise Reduction Factors and Sound Transmission Class Calculations
for Light Weight Concrete Blocks

Sound insulation is accomplished by designing walls to minimize sound transmission. For this purpose, effectiveness
primarily depends on wall weight, rather than on surface texture. In general, the heavier a concrete masonry wall is,
the more effectively it will block sound transmission.

According to TMS 0302-07,

STC = 14.1 W^0.234

Where;
W: Weight (kg/m2).

Coarse-textured masonry walls must be coated to seal at least on side of the wall because it may allow airborne
sound to enter the wall.

Because the best-fit equation is based solely on wall weight, the calculation tends to underestimate the STC of
masonry walls that incorporate dead air spaces, which contribute to sound attenuation.

According to Jordanian code for loads of the year 2006, page 15:

- Weight of 20mm layer of plaster is 44.87 kg/m2.

- Weight of two 20mm layers of plaster: 44.78 x 2 = 89.56 kg/m2.

Based on this;
- Weight of 30mm layer of plaster: 44.87 x 1.5 = 67.17 kg/m2.
- Weight of two 30mm layers of plaster: 67.17 x 2 = 134.34 kg/m2.

The International Residential Code requires a minimum STC rating of 45 dB when tested in accordance with ASTM
E90 for walls and floor/ceiling assemblies separating dwelling units.

All Assas’ masonry products meet this requirements and convenience for use in wall assemblies.

Figure 1 shows a typical masonry wall assembly at which, one square meter of wall facing consists of the following:
- 8 full size blocks marked with letter A
- 4 blocks with size of 17*20cm marked with letter B
- 2 blocks with size of 40*15cm marked with letter C
- 1 block with size of 17*15cm marked with letter D
- .095 square meter of joint mortar

For any block size, one square meter of wall facing shall include .095 square meter of joint mortar of a 2200 kg/m3
density. Weight of mortar is added to the blocks weight.

To calculate Mortar weight / square meter of wall assembly:

Weight of mortar = .095*2200*block thickness*reduction factor

Reduction factor of 0.85 is used because from practice point of view; the joint volume cannot be fully filled with
mortar.

4 ASSAS for Concrete Products Co. Ltd.

Tel: +962 6 4711609/+962 6 4711610 | Fax: +962 6 4711604 |Email: alassasbaton@alassas.com|
www.alassas.com
 Noise Reduction Factors and Sound Transmission Class Calculations
for Light Weight Concrete Blocks

Figure 1: Typical Masonry Wall Assembly

3.1 Calculations
Based on the above, the coated and uncoated weights of our products are calculated, hence the sound transmission
class STC for each product is determined, as shown in the below tables; kindly keep in mind that the general practice
is to apply 20mm thick of concrete plaster on both side of masonry wall and hence table 2 reflects the most common
practice rather than table 1.

Table 1: Calculated STC Ratings for Concrete Masonry Walls (Uncoated & Coated: one layer 20mm thick)
Masonry Block Unit Uncoated weight Coated weight
STC (uncoated) dB STC (coated) dB
Dimensions (KG/m2) (KG/m2)

Hollow Concrete Blocks

40 cm x 20 cm x 10 cm 112.39 42.57 157.26 46.05
40 cm x 20 cm x 15 cm 149.35 45.50 194.13 48.38
40 cm x 20 cm x 20 cm 197.86 48.59 242.73 50.97
Solid Concrete Blocks*
40 cm x 20 cm x 7 cm 112.08 42.54 156.95 46.03
40 cm x 20 cm x 10 cm 160.10 46.24 204.97 49.00
40 cm x 20 cm x 15 cm 240.16 50.85 285.03 52.93
40 cm x 20 cm x 20 cm 320.21 54.39 364.97 56.10
* Calculations are based on block density of 1550 kg/m3.

5 ASSAS for Concrete Products Co. Ltd.

Tel: +962 6 4711609/+962 6 4711610 | Fax: +962 6 4711604 |Email: alassasbaton@alassas.com|
www.alassas.com
 Noise Reduction Factors and Sound Transmission Class Calculations
for Light Weight Concrete Blocks

Table 2: Calculated STC Ratings for Concrete Masonry Walls (Uncoated & Coated: two layers 20mm each)
Masonry Block Unit Uncoated weight Coated weight
STC (uncoated) dB STC (coated) dB
Dimensions (KG/m2) (KG/m2)

Hollow Concrete Blocks

40 cm x 20 cm x 10 cm 112.39 42.57 201.95 48.83
40 cm x 20 cm x 15 cm 149.35 45.50 238.91 50.78
40 cm x 20 cm x 20 cm 197.86 48.59 287.42 53.03
Solid Concrete Blocks*
40 cm x 20 cm x 7 cm 112.08 42.54 201.64 48.81
40 cm x 20 cm x 10 cm 160.10 46.24 249.66 51.31
40 cm x 20 cm x 15 cm 240.16 50.85 329.72 54.76
40 cm x 20 cm x 20 cm 320.21 54.39 409.66 57.61
* Calculations are based on block density of 1550 kg/m3.

6 ASSAS for Concrete Products Co. Ltd.

Tel: +962 6 4711609/+962 6 4711610 | Fax: +962 6 4711604 |Email: alassasbaton@alassas.com|
www.alassas.com