An Intercomparison of Laboratory Measurements of Airborne Sound Insulation of Lightweight Plasterboard Walls

Abstract

This paper describes the results of the European Inter-Laboratory Test (ILT) program, conducted for the determination of repeatability and reproducibility values for the laboratory measurements of airborne sound insulation of walls. A total of 24 laboratories took part in this ILT, 21 belonging to the European Community. Two test structures were constructed; a double lightweight wall and a single lightweight wall, both built of plasterboard. The sound reduction index values were measured. The main result of the ILT was the significant difference obtained for the reproducibility value, R, for the double lightweight wall with values up to 12 dB at middle-high-frequencies. On the contrary, the reproducibility value for the single wall was very similar to the tentative values indicated in Annex A of ISO 140–2. Good agreement between laboratories was found for both structures in the computed repeatability values, r.