Comparative analysis of thermal and acoustic performance of building elements

The acoustic and thermal insulation performances play a key role in the characteristics of energy saving and comfortable living in modern buildings. However, high thermal and acoustic performances are difficult to obtain at the same time in building structures because of the different physics phenomena related to these two aspects of energy propagation in materials. In this work experimental measurements of sound reduction index, carried out according to ISO 10140 series standards in the Acoustics Laboratory of the Department of Industrial Engineering of the University of Padova (Italy), are analyzed for nearly 100 vertical building elements in basic configuration and with linings for improved thermal and acoustic performance. The sound reduction index and the sound reduction improvement index for different types and combinations of lined walls were measured and then thermal transmittance was calculated for each structure. Possible correlations between thermal and acoustic performance have been evaluated taking into account the different types of materials used.