Comparison between Sound Reduction Index of single and double massive walls realised in Italy and Great Britain

In this paper the results of a comparison of some of the common partition walls, used both in Italy and Great Britain, are reported. On the basis of a statistical survey conducted on partitions measured in situ on finished buildings, the average values of the apparent sound reduction index of these different construction systems were compared. All measurements were performed according to ISO 140-4 by the Universities of Ferrara and Florence for Italian buildings and by Robust Detail Ltd for British buildings. The types of walls analysed in this study were double-leaf cavity walls and single-layer concrete walls. The comparison was made on the frequencies performance in order to better understand the reasons for the different performances that can be observed at mid and high frequencies for some of these technological solutions. Description of the partitions tested