Sound transmission loss of vertical building partitions designed to meet shear structural requirements

Abstract

Vertical partitions often include structural building elements designed to meet shear requirements. Shear partitions are designed to resist lateral load due to wind or seismic activity and are required in many regions throughout North America. Nightingale et al. completed a 70-assembly series quantifying the effect of shear OSB on the sound transmission loss (STL) of both wood- and steel-framed single-stud assemblies in the National Research Council Canada (NRCC) research report NRCC-45018. This research study builds on the NRCC research with a test of over 200 wood and steel assembly partitions. This research study includes single-, staggered-, and double-stud framing as well as various forms of shear treatment such as OSB Plywood installed on one or both sides of the partition, attachment with various nail attachment patterns, and steel strapping. The effect of these partition elements on the STL will be presented and discussed. Additionally, the effect of sound isolation treatment, such as additional mass, resilient channels, resilient sound isolation clips, and constrained-layer damping will be presented and discussed.