Predicting the sound insulation of single leaf walls: Extension

of Cremer’s model
John L. Davya兲
School of Applied Sciences, RMIT University, GPO Box 2476V, Melbourne, Victoria 3001, Australia
共Received 2 February 2009; revised 8 July 2009; accepted 27 July 2009兲
In his 1942 paper on the sound insulation of single leaf walls, Cremer 关共1942兲. Akust. Z. 7, 81–104兴
made a number of approximations in order to show the general trend of sound insulation above the
critical frequency. Cremer realized that these approximations limited the application of his theory to
frequencies greater than twice the critical frequency. This paper removes most of Cremer’s
approximations so that the revised theory can be used down to the critical frequency. The revised
theory is used as a correction to the diffuse field limp panel mass law below the critical frequency
by setting the nonexistent coincidence angle to 90°. The diffuse field limp panel mass law for a finite
size wall is derived without recourse to a limiting angle by following the average diffuse field single
sided radiation efficiency approach. The shear wave correction derived by Heckl and Donner
关共1985兲. Rundfunktech Mitt. 29, 287–291兴 is applied to the revised theory in order to cover the case
of thicker walls. The revised theory predicts the general trend of the experimental data, although the
agreement is usually worse at low frequencies and depends on the value of damping loss factor used
in the region of and above the critical frequency.
© 2009 Acoustical Society of America. 关DOI: 10.1121/1.3206582兴
PACS number共s兲: 43.55.Rg, 43.55.Ti, 43.40.Rj, 43.20.Rz 关LMW兴 Pages: 1871–1877

I. INTRODUCTION sided radiation efficiency approach. Instead of using Sewell’s

Cremer’s 共1942兲 theory for the sound insulation of thin
walls above the critical frequency is still in widespread use
today. A number of other authors have also derived methods
for predicting the sound insulation of thin walls. Important
contributions include those of Crocker and Price 共1969兲,
Sewell 共1970兲, Leppington et al. 共1987兲, and Villot et al.
共2001兲.
A critical examination of Cremer’s 共1942兲 theory shows
that Cremer 共1942兲 made a number of approximations which
limit the application of his theory to frequencies which are
greater than twice the critical frequency. Cremer 共1942兲
stated this limitation in his paper. The last of Cremer’s
共1942兲 approximations was to assume that the single side
radiation efficiency of a panel above the critical frequency
was unity. This enables Cremer’s 共1942兲 theory to be used at
and just below the critical frequency, although most of the
approximations are obviously incorrect in this frequency re-
gion. It is necessary to use Cremer’s 共1942兲 approximate
theory at and just below the critical frequency because
Sewell’s 共1970兲 approximate correction factor for just below
the critical frequency predicts infinite transmission at the
critical frequency.
In this paper, most of Cremer’s 共1942兲 approximations
are removed and the single sided radiation efficiency of an
infinite panel is replaced with that for a finite panel. This
produces a theory which is more exact and which can be
共1970兲 approximate correction factor for just below the criti-
cal frequency, the more exact version of Cremer’s 共1942兲
theory for above the critical frequency, which is developed in
this paper, is added to the theory below the critical fre-
quency. This is made possible by setting the coincidence
angle, which does not exist below the critical frequency,
equal to 90°. A major advantage of this approach is that there
is only a very slight discontinuity at the critical frequency.
In order to account for the transition from bending
waves to shear waves which occurs in thick panels at high
frequencies, this paper follows Ljunggren’s 共1991兲 approach
and uses the shear wave correction factor developed by
Heckl and Donner 共1985兲.
II.
ABOVE THE CRITICAL FREQUENCY
The sound transmission coefficient ␶共␪兲 of a wall is the
ratio of the sound energy transmitted by the wall to the sound
energy incident upon the wall. For an infinite, isotropic, uni-
form thickness plane wall the sound transmission coefficient
of a plane wave depends on the angle ␪ between the direction
of propagation of the incident plane wave and the normal to
the plane of the wall. To evaluate the diffuse field sound
transmission coefficient ␶d it is necessary to average the
plane wave sound transmission coefficient ␶共␪兲 with appro-
priate weighting across all angles of incidence 关Cremer
共1942兲, Eq. 共4.9兲兴,

冕
used down to the critical frequency. ␲/2
Below the critical frequency, the need to use a limiting ␶d = 2 ␶共␪兲cos ␪ sin ␪d␪ . 共1兲
angle is avoided by following the average diffuse field single 0

The cos ␪ term is the cross-sectional area of the plane sound

a兲 wave that is incident on a unit area of the wall at an angle of
Author to whom correspondence should be addressed. Electronic mail:
john.davy@rmit.edu.au. Also at CSIRO Materials Science and Engineer- incidence of ␪ to the normal to the wall. The sin ␪ term is
ing, P.O. Box 56, Highett, Victoria 3190, Australia. due to the fact that the annulus of solid angle between ␪ and

J. Acoust. Soc. Am. 126 共4兲, October 2009 0001-4966/2009/126共4兲/1871/7/$25.00 © 2009 Acoustical Society of America 1871

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 ␪ + ⌬␪ is 2␲ sin ␪⌬␪. The 2 term is a normalization factor ing loss factor ␩edge due to the transmission of vibrational
which arises from the fact that ␶d must be 1 when ␶共␪兲 is 1 energy from the panel to its surrounding elements at its edges
for all values of ␪. Equation 共1兲 can be rewritten in a number and twice 共to take account of both sides of the panel兲 its
of forms. Use will be made of the following form 关Cremer single sided radiation loss factor ␩rad. Thus
共1942兲, Eq. 共4.9兲兴:
␩ = ␩int + ␩edge + 2␩rad . 共9兲
␶d = 冕 0
1
␶共␪兲d共cos2 ␪兲. 共2兲 The single sided radiation loss factor is related to the single
sided radiation efficiency by
For a thin plane wall with the properties described above ␴ 共 ␪ 兲 ␳ 0c
Cremer’s 共1942兲 Eq. 共4.8兲 is ␩rad = . 共10兲
m␻
1

冏 冏
␶共␪兲 = 共3兲 Annex C of ISO 15712-1:2005共E兲 共ISO, 2005兲 gives guid-
2,
Z共␪兲cos ␪ ance on the calculation of the total damping loss factor. For
1+
2 ␳ 0c the laboratory situation of a panel with a surface density m of
less than 800 kg/ m2, it says that
where Z共␪兲 is the bending wave impedance of the wall and
␳0c is the characteristic impedance of air, being the product m
␩ = ␩int + ␩edge = ␩int + , 共11兲
of the ambient density ␳0 and the speed of sound in air c. For 485冑 f
an infinite panel, the single sided radiation efficiency ␴共␪兲 is
where ␩int is the internal loss factor of the panel material and
1 can normally be taken as 0.01. Equation 共11兲 ignores the
␴共␪兲 = . 共4兲
cos ␪ radiation loss factor because it is usually insignificant.
Thus Eqs. 共1兲 and 共3兲 can be rewritten as Inserting Eq. 共7兲 into Eq. 共6兲 produces Cremer’s 共1942兲
Eq. 共9.3兲 for the sound transmission coefficient ␶共␪兲 of a
␶d = 2 冕 0
␲/2
␶共␪兲
␴共␪兲
sin ␪d␪ 共5兲
single leaf panel as a function of angle of incidence ␪.
1

冉 冊 冉 冊
␶共␪兲 = ,
and a␩r sin ␪ 2 4 2
a 2
1+ + 共1 − r sin ␪兲
2 4 2

1 ␴共␪兲 ␴共␪兲

冏 冏
␶共␪兲 = 2. 共6兲
共12兲
Z共␪兲
1+
2 ␳ 0c ␴ 共 ␪ 兲 where
Cremer’s 共1942兲 Eq. 共9.2兲 can be written as ␻m ␲ fm
a= = . 共13兲
Z共␪兲 = m␻关j共1 − r sin ␪兲 + ␩r sin ␪兴,
2 4 2 4
共7兲 2 ␳ 0c ␳ 0c
where For a given frequency which is greater than or equal to the
critical frequency, the maximum value of Eq. 共12兲 occurs at
␻ f
r= = . 共8兲 the coincidence angle ␪c where
␻c f c
1 ␻c f c
f c共␻c兲 is the 共angular兲 critical frequency of the panel, f共␻兲 is sin2 ␪c = = = . 共14兲
r ␻ f
the 共angular兲 frequency of the sound, and m is the mass per
unit area of the single leaf panel. ␩ is the total damping loss For values of ␪ which are close to ␪c, Eq. 共12兲 can be
factor of the single leaf panel which is equal to the sum of approximated by setting most of the values of ␪ which occur
the internal damping loss factor of the panel ␩int, the damp- in Eq. 共12兲 equal to ␪c. This gives

1 1

冉 冊 冉 冊 冉 冊 冉 冊冉 冊
␶共␪兲 ⬇ = 2. 共15兲
a␩r sin ␪c
2 4 2
a 2
a␩ 2
2ar 2
1
1+ + 共1 − r sin2 ␪兲2共1 + r sin2 ␪c兲2 1+ + − sin2 ␪
␴ 共 ␪ c兲 ␴ 共 ␪ c兲 ␴ 共 ␪ c兲 ␴ 共 ␪ c兲 r

Put sin2 ␪ = 1 − x, 共17兲

x = cos2 ␪ . 共16兲

Then and

1872 J. Acoust. Soc. Am., Vol. 126, No. 4, October 2009 John Laurence Davy: Sound insulation of single leaf walls

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 1 1 / r − 1 to 1 / r. Because of this Cremer 共1942兲 approximated

冉 冊 冉 冊冉 冊
␶共␪兲 = 2. 共18兲 the integral in Eq. 共22兲 by extending the limits of integration
a␩ 2
2ar 2
1
1+ + x+ −1 from −⬁ to +⬁.
␴ 共 ␪ c兲 ␴ 共 ␪ c兲 r
Putting Eq. 共18兲 into Eq. 共2兲 gives the diffuse field sound 冕 ⬁
dy

冉 冊 冉 冊
␶d ⬇ . 共26兲
transmission coefficient as −⬁ a␩ 2
2ar 2
1+ + y2

冕 1 ␴ 共 ␪ c兲 ␴ 共 ␪ c兲
dx

冉 冊 冉 冊冉 冊
␶d = 2. 共19兲
0 a␩ 2 2ar 2
1 With this approximation Eqs. 共24兲 and 共25兲 become
1+ + x+ −1
␴ 共 ␪ c兲 ␴ 共 ␪ c兲 r ␲␴2共␪c兲
␶d ⬇ , 共27兲
Put 2ar共␴共␪c兲 + a␩兲
1 and
y=x+ − 1, 共20兲

冉 冊
r
␴ 共 ␪ c兲 2
then ␲
a

冉 冊
␶d ⬇ . 共28兲
dy = dx, 共21兲 ␴ 共 ␪ c兲
2r +␩
a
and

冕 1/r Equation 共27兲 is the same as Cremer’s 共1942兲 Eq. 共9.6兲. Cre-
dy

冉 冊 冉 冊
␶d = . 共22兲 mer 共1942兲 also assumed the usual case of a␩ / ␴ Ⰷ 1, which
1/r−1 a␩ 2
2ar 2
gives
1+ + y2
␴ 共 ␪ c兲 ␴ 共 ␪ c兲
1 ␲ ␴ 2共 ␪ c兲
This paper departs from Cremer 共1942兲 by not approximat- ␶d ⬇ . 共29兲
a2 2␩ r
ing by extending the range of integration to cover from −⬁ to
⬁. Using integral number 2.124.1 on page 60 of Gradshteyn Because Cremer 共1942兲 assumed an infinite panel above
and Ryzhik 共1965兲, the critical frequency, he also used the radiation efficiency of

冉 冊冥
free bending waves above the critical frequency for an infi-

冤
1/r
1 2arx

冉 冊
␶d = arctan . 共23兲 nite panel. This is because the wavelength of the forced
2ar a␩ ␴ 共 ␪ c兲 + a ␩ waves at coincidence is equal to the free bending wave-
1+
␴ 共 ␪ c兲 ␴ 共 ␪ c兲 1/r−1 length.

Thus 1 1 1 1

再 冋 冑 冑 冑
␴ 共 ␪ c兲 =
册
= = = .
␴ 2共 ␪ c兲 2a 1 ␻c fc cos ␪c
␶d = arctan 1− 1− 1−
2ar共␴共␪c兲 + a␩兲 ␴ 共 ␪ c兲 + a ␩ r ␻ f

− arctan 冋 册冎 2a共1 − r兲
␴ 共 ␪ c兲 + a ␩
, 共24兲
Substituting Eq. 共30兲 into Eq. 共29兲 gives Cremer’s 共1942兲 Eq.
共30兲

共9.8兲.
or

冉 冊
␴ 共 ␪ c兲 2 ␶d ⬇
1 ␲ 1
a2 2␩ r − 1
. 共31兲

冉 冊冦 冤 冥
a 2
␶d = arctan
␴ 共 ␪ c兲 ␴ 共 ␪ c兲 When r ⬎ 2, Cremer 共1942兲 approximated Eq. 共31兲 as
2r +␩ +␩
a a
1 ␲ 1
␶d ⬇ 共32兲

冤 冥冧
.
− arctan
2共1 − r兲
. 共25兲 a2 2␩ r
␴ 共 ␪ c兲
+␩ This last approximation of Cremer 共1942兲 is equivalent to
a
assuming that the radiation efficiency of a panel above its
This paper will use Eq. 共24兲 or Eq. 共25兲. However, for critical frequency is equal to unity. Equation 共32兲 is a version
comparison Cremer’s 共1942兲 approximations will now be de- of Cremer’s 共1942兲 Eq. 共9.10兲.
rived. The integrand in Eq. 共22兲 is a maximum when y = 0. If At the critical frequency, r = 1 and the lower limit of
a␩ / ␴共␪兲 Ⰷ 1, which is usually the case, the integrand is half integration in Eq. 共22兲 is zero. Because of the symmetrical
its maximum value when 兩y兩 = ␩ / 2r. Since ␩ is usually very nature of the integrand about zero, Cremer’s 共1942兲 exten-
much less than 1 and r is greater than or equal to 1 if the sion of the limits of integration produces a value of the trans-
frequency is greater than or equal to the critical frequency, mission coefficient at the critical frequency which is more
the values of y where the integrand is significantly different than twice as large as the value before the extension of the
from zero usually lie well inside the integral limits from limits of integration. Thus in this paper, Eq. 共24兲 or Eq. 共25兲

J. Acoust. Soc. Am., Vol. 126, No. 4, October 2009 John Laurence Davy: Sound insulation of single leaf walls 1873

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 will be used instead of Cremer’s 共1942兲 further approxima- III. BELOW THE CRITICAL FREQUENCY
tions which are given by Eqs. 共27兲–共29兲, Eq. 共31兲, or Eq.
The sound transmission coefficient below the critical
共32兲.
frequency is calculated using the average diffuse field single
Because Eq. 共30兲 gives an infinite value for the radiation
sided radiation efficiency approach. Bending stiffness is ig-
efficiency at the critical frequency, this paper uses Davy’s
nored by setting r equal to zero in Eq. 共7兲. Bending stiffness
共2004兲 theory to calculate the radiation efficiency. The equa-
will be included later on by adding in Eq. 共24兲 or Eq. 共25兲.
tions given here are an updated version of those in Davy
Equation 共7兲 becomes
共2004兲. First the cosine of the coincidence angle is calcu-
lated. Since Eq. 共24兲 or Eq. 共25兲 is going to be used as a Z共␪兲 = jm␻ . 共40兲
correction term below the critical frequency, the cosine of the
Substituting Eq. 共40兲 into Eq. 共6兲, and assuming that the
coincidence angle is set to zero for frequencies below the
second term in the modulus brackets is much greater than 1,
critical frequency.
gives

冑 冑 冉 冊 冉 冊
冦 冧
␻c fc 2 ␳ 0c ␴ 共 ␪ 兲 2
␴共␪兲 2
cos ␪c = 1− = 1− if ␻ ⱖ ␻c ␶共␪兲 = = . 共41兲
g= ␻ f m␻ a
0 if ␻ ⬍ ␻c . Substituting Eq. 共41兲 into Eq. 共5兲 gives

冕
共33兲 ␲/2
2 2具␴典
␶d = ␴共␪兲sin ␪d␪ = , 共42兲
Then three empirical constants are defined. These empirical a2 0 a2
constants are chosen to make Eq. 共39兲 agree as closely as
possible with numerical calculations by Sato 共1973兲. Sato’s where
numerical results appear as Fig. 1.3.2, Table B.1, and Fig.
B.2 in Rindel 共1975兲. The three empirical constants are n 具␴典 = 冕 0
␲/2
␴共␪兲sin ␪d␪ . 共43兲
= 2, w = 1.3, and ␤ = 0.124.
The length of the side of an equivalent square panel is Substituting Eq. 共39兲 in Eq. 共43兲 gives

冉 1 + 冑1 + q2
冊 冉 冊
h + 冑h2 + q2
defined.
1
具␴典 = ln + ln . 共44兲
4S p + 冑p2 + q2 ␣ p + 冑p2 + q2
2a = , 共34兲
U
An earlier version of this equation is given in Davy 共2004兲.
where S is the area of the panel and U is the perimeter of the To include the effects of bending stiffness, the sound
panel. transmission coefficient below the critical frequency is cal-
Some intermediate values are calculated using the wave culated as the sum of Eq. 共42兲 and Eq. 共24兲 or Eq. 共25兲. The
number k = ␻ / c = 2␲ f / c. use of Eq. 共24兲 or Eq. 共25兲 as the correction for bending
stiffness below the critical frequency is a new approach in-

冑 冑
冦 冧
␲ ␲ troduced by this paper. Above the critical frequency, only Eq.
w if w ⱕ1 共24兲 or Eq. 共25兲 is used. Equation 共42兲 can be included im-
2ka 2ka

冑
p= 共35兲 mediately above the critical frequency, but it causes prob-
␲ lems if used a long way above the critical frequency.
1 if w ⬎ 1.
2ka Because of the rapid variation in the sound transmission
coefficient with frequency near the critical frequency, if the
1 measurement frequency band includes the critical frequency,

冑
h= . 共36兲 the sound transmission coefficient is averaged over the mea-
2 2ka surement frequency band. In this paper for comparison with
−␤
3 ␲ measurements in the third octave band which included the
critical frequency, the theoretical values were averaged over
h the three frequencies which were 2−1/9, 1, and 21/9 times the
␣= − 1. 共37兲 center frequency of the third octave band.
p

2␲ IV. SHEAR WAVE CORRECTION

q= . 共38兲
k 2S To account for the transition from bending waves to
shear waves, Heckl and Donner’s correction 共Ljunggren,
Finally the radiation efficiency is calculated.
1991兲 is applied to Eqs. 共24兲 and 共25兲. According to Ljung-

冦 冧
1 gren 共1991兲,
if 1 ⱖ g ⱖ p
冑n gn + qn “the Mindlin plate theory was applied to the case of
␴ 共 ␪ c兲 = 共39兲 an infinite wall by Heckl and Donner in the same
1 way as the simple bending wave theory was applied
if p ⬎ g ⱖ 0.
冑n 共h − ␣g兲n + qn in Cremer’s paper from 1942.

1874 J. Acoust. Soc. Am., Vol. 126, No. 4, October 2009 John Laurence Davy: Sound insulation of single leaf walls

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 In these equations, k M is the wave number at coin-
cidence, that is, the “corrected” wave number of the
free bending wave 关see for example, Cremer et al.
共1988兲, p. 109兴, kT is the wave number of a hypo-
thetical, corrected shear wave,
␻ 2␳
kT2 = , 共45兲
Gⴱ
where Gⴱ is the shear modulus, modified to account
for shear distribution, and
k2S = kT2 + kL2 . 共46兲
The wave number kB is … the wave number of the FIG. 1. The sound insulation of 200 mm thick concrete. The experimental
free bending wave according to the thin plate results are from Ljunggren 共1991兲. The theory1 curve is calculated using the
theory. ␳ is the density of the plate material.” in-situ measured total damping loss factor. The theory2 curve is calculated
kL is the wave number of the quasilongitudinal wave. Gⴱ is using the total damping loss factor given by Eq. 共11兲.
calculated from the following expressions 关Magrab 共1979兲,
p. 281兴: m, ␳, and ␦ are related by m = ␳␦. The angular critical
frequency is given by
G
Gⴱ =
␹
, 共47兲
␻c =
c2
␦
冑 12␳共1 − v2兲
. 共57兲

冉 冊
E
2
1+v
␹= , 共48兲 This equation can be inverted to calculate Young’s modulus
0.87 + 1.12v from the angular critical frequency. If Poisson’s ratio is not
where G is the shear modulus and v is Poisson’s ratio. known, assume that it is 0.3. Most materials have Poisson’s

冋 冉 冊册
ratios that are close to 0.3.
␦2 k2M kT2 2
A= 1+ − kT2 , 共49兲
12 kL2 V. COMPARISON WITH EXPERIMENT

共kT␦兲2 k2M k2S At and above the critical frequency, the theoretical val-
B=1− + 4 , 共50兲 ues were calculated using Eq. 共24兲 or Eq. 共25兲 multiplied by
12 kB
Eq. 共52兲. Below the critical frequency Eq. 共44兲 was also

冑
added to obtain the final theoretical result. Figure 1 compares
共kT␦兲2 k4S the experimental sound insulation of a 200 mm thick con-
C= 1− + 4, 共51兲
12 4kB crete wall 共Ljunggren, 1991兲 with the theory described in
this paper. There are two theoretical curves. The theory1
where ␦ is the thickness of the panel. Equations 共24兲 and 共25兲
curve is calculated using the in-situ measured total damping
are multiplied by the correction factor
loss factor, while the theory2 curve is calculated using the
A total damping loss factor given by Eq. 共11兲. The theoretical
. 共52兲
BC calculations assume that the density is 2300 kg/ m3, Young’s
modulus is 1.36⫻ 1010 Pa, and Poisson’s ratio is 0.3. The
k2M is the positive solution of the following quadratic equa- specimen size is 4.08⫻ 3.08 m2. Below 180 Hz, the experi-
tion 共Cremer et al., 1988兲: mental measurements are substantially lower than the theo-
E ␦2 4
共1 − v 兲␳ 12
2 k M − ␻2 1 + 冉
2␹ ␦2 2
k − ␻2 = 0,
1 − v 12 M
冊 共53兲
retical results. It should be noted that the experimental un-
certainties are larger in this frequency region and that
Ljunggren 共1991兲 did not attempt to compare theory and
where E is Young’s modulus. experiment below 315 Hz. Above 180 Hz, not surprisingly,
The uncorrected shear modulus is the theory1 results, which are calculated using the measured
E total damping loss factor, are in better agreement with the
G= . 共54兲 experimental results than the theory2 results which use pre-
2共1 + v兲
dicted total damping loss factors. Nevertheless, the theory2
kB4 is given by results still give a good estimate of the general trend of the
experimental results.
12␻2␳共1 − v2兲
kB4 = . 共55兲 Figure 2 compares the theory with the measured sound
E␦2 insulation of a single layer of 13 mm gypsum plaster board.
kL2 is given by The experimental results were measured by the National Re-
search Council of Canada 共NRCC兲 共Northwood, 1968; Du-
␻2␳共1 − v2兲 pree, 1981兲. One of the measurements is on a wall with no
kL2 = . 共56兲
E studs, while the other two measurements have wooden studs

J. Acoust. Soc. Am., Vol. 126, No. 4, October 2009 John Laurence Davy: Sound insulation of single leaf walls 1875

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 FIG. 2. The sound insulation of 13 mm gypsum plasterboard without studs
and with studs spaced at 400 and 600 mm centers. The experimental results
were measured by the NRCC 共Northwood, 1968; Dupree, 1981兲.
spaced at 400 and 600 mm, respectively. The no stud results
are the average of three separate measurements. The theoret-
ical calculations assume that the density is 770 kg/ m3,
Young’s modulus is 1.85⫻ 109 Pa, Poisson’s ratio is 0.3, and
the total damping loss factor is 0.04. This value of the total
damping loss factor is chosen to give the best agreement
between theory and experiment. It is slightly greater than the
usually accepted range for gypsum plaster board from 0.01
to 0.03. The specimen size used in the calculations is 3.05
⫻ 2.44 m2. The experimental results show that the wooden
studs do not make any significant difference, while the
theory slightly but significantly overestimates the experimen-
tal results in the lower frequency range.
Figure 3 compares theory with three measurements of
the sound insulation of 6 mm monolithic glass by Monsanto,
Pilkington, and the NRCC 共Quirt, 1981, 1982兲. The theoret-
ical calculations assume that the density is 2500 kg/ m3,
Young’s modulus is 6.5⫻ 1010 Pa, Poisson’s ratio is 0.22,
and the total damping loss factor is 0.05. Again, this value of
the total damping loss factor is chosen to give the best agree-
ment between theory and experiment. A specimen size mea-
suring 1.8⫻ 1.2 m2 is assumed for the calculations. Al-
though the total damping loss factor seems high for glass, it
should be noted that Cremer 共1942兲 assumed a damping loss
factor of 0.1. The author’s experience is that it is often nec-
45
Sound Reduction Index (dB)
Theory
40
Monsanto
Pilkington
35
NRCC
30
25
20
15
10 100 1000 10000
Frequency (Hz)
FIG. 3. The sound insulation of 6 mm monolithic glass. The experimental
results were measured by Monsanto, Pilkington, and the NRCC 共Quirt,
1981, 1982兲.
1876 J. Acoust. Soc. Am., Vol. 126, No. 4, October 2009
Redistribution subject to ASA license or copyright; see http://acousticalsociety.org/content/terms. Download to IP: 146.189.194.69 On: Sat, 20 Dec 2014 08:43:09
FIG. 4. The difference in decibels of the sound reduction index R of 6 mm
monolithic glass calculated using Eq. 共29兲, Eq. 共31兲, or Eq. 共32兲 compared to
that calculated using Eq. 共25兲.
essary to use higher damping loss factors than would be
measured directly in order to make theoretical predictions
and experimental measurements of diffuse field sound insu-
lation and the directivity of sound insulation agree. When the
scatter of the experimental results is taken into account the
agreement between theory and experiment is good.
Figure 4 shows the difference in decibels of the sound
reduction index R calculated using Eq. 共29兲, Eq. 共31兲, or Eq.
共32兲 compared to that calculated using Eq. 共25兲. These cal-
culations are for the specimen shown in Fig. 3 since the
results depend on the properties of the specimen. At the criti-
cal frequency, the result calculated using Eq. 共29兲 is 3 dB
less than the result calculated using Eq. 共25兲. The result cal-
culated using Eq. 共31兲 is −⬁ dB at the critical frequency.
VI. CONCLUSIONS
This paper develops a more exact version of Cremer’s
共1942兲 theory of sound insulation which allows Cremer’s
共1942兲 theory to be used down to the critical frequency and
as a correction below the critical frequency. The approach
adopted in this paper avoids large discontinuities in the re-
gion of the critical frequency. This more exact version of the
theory agrees reasonably well with the experimental data
presented, although there are some systematic differences.
The use of the single sided forced radiation efficiency for a
finite sized panel below the critical frequency avoids the
need to use a limiting angle of integration. Applying Heckl
and Donner’s correction 共Ljunggren, 1991兲 for the transition
from bending to shear waves works well for the case of a
thicker 200 mm concrete wall.
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John Laurence Davy: Sound insulation of single leaf walls 1877