Abstract
Steel studs are an inevitable part of drywall construction as they are lightweight and offer the required structural stability. However, the studs act as sound bridges between the plasterboards, reducing the overall sound insulation of the wall. Overcoming this often calls for wider cavity walls and complex stud decoupling fixtures that increase the installation cost while reducing the floor area. As an alternative approach, this research reveals the potential of perforated studs to improve the acoustic insulation of drywall partitions. The acoustic and structural performance is characterized using a validated finite element model that acted as a prediction tool in reducing the number of physical tests required. The results established that an acoustic numerical model featuring fluid-structure-interaction can predict the weighted sound reduction index of a stud wall assembly at an accuracy of ±1 dB. The model was used to analyze six perforated stud designs and found them to outperform the sound insulation of non-perforated drywall partitions by reducing the sound bridging. Overall, the best performing perforated stud design was found to offer improvements in acoustic insulation of up to 4 dB, while being structurally compliant.
Highlights
Improving sound insulation is an important consideration for the development of sustainable buildings and other products [1,2,3,4,5]
The model is used to predict the sound insulation of the drywall composed of plain and perforated studs sandwiched between two gypsum plasterboards of finite thickness
An acoustic numerical model suitable to predict the sound insulation of perforated stud walls has been developed
Summary
Improving sound insulation is an important consideration for the development of sustainable buildings and other products [1,2,3,4,5]. Lightweight steel stud walls can often offer equal or better performance if sound insulation performance is considered as a criterion at their design stage [8,9,10]. Drywalls composed of lightweight steel studs and gypsum plasterboard walls are an inevitable component of efficient building design due to their low construction costs [11]. While the studs offer excellent structural stability for the wall, they act as sound bridges offering a direct path between the partitions, reducing the overall sound insulation rating. Improving the sound insulation of drywall partitions by improving conventional studs are critical in reducing sound bridging without the need for costly alternatives [12,13]
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