Constrained layer damping concept used on isolated gym floors. Better than Concrete?

Abstract

As the global fitness trends continues in a post-pandemic world, intra-building disruptions from high-energy fitness create serious acoustical challenges. Solutions from simple roll-out mats and rubber tiles to concrete floating floors supported by spring jack-up isolators are used to achieve acoustical separation for gyms. Understanding the sources of sound and vibration produced in fitness environments and finding effective solutions was a journey that CDM Stravitec began in the 1970s and this area of the acoustics industry has been intensively researched as part of the development of our range of lightweight floating floors. As part of this research, we extensively investigated how the concept of constrained layer damping (CLD) could be employed to mitigate vibration radiation through structures. In the application of fitness flooring, the CLD functions to restrict the physical movement between the rigid board layers decreases the area of influence from the impact, reduces the energy radiation through the composite panel system to its support and subsequently reduces the energy transfer into the structure. Our research has also shown that elastomeric supports balance low-resonant frequency performance to prevent energy build-up at the driving frequencies and can achieve high levels of transmission loss which are comparable to concrete based solutions.