Soundscape of washroom equipment and its application

Abstract

The soundscape of the three washrooms at NTUST with equipment such as toilets, urinals, wash basins, showers, hand dryers, and tissue dispensers have been studied. The acoustical attributes of each type of washroom equipment have been measured, recorded and analyzed with LZFmax values for the 12.5 Hz to 20K Hz frequency bands. Despite the intermittent occurrence of equipment sounds, the overall maximum sound pressure level for the full frequency spectrum has been identified as 92 dB/ 83 dBA. It is aligned with a NC 74 curve. Such high transient sounds could disrupt sleeping in adjacent dormitory rooms and possibly reduce the quality of lecturing in adjacent classrooms. Light weight gypsum board and metal stud partitions, concrete masonry unit and concrete are the typical partitions used in washrooms of the residential, healthcare, hospitality, and schools. The transmission loss values of the partitions were calculated with Insul in the initial study. It was found that the majority of partitions studied have sufficient transmission loss values in the 100 Hz and above frequency bands, but the transmission loss will not be sufficient to reduce washroom equipment noise levels in the frequency bands between 50 Hz and 100 Hz.