co-op report nishant final

University of VictoriaEngineering & Computer Science Co-op

Work Term Report Fall 2016

Implementing Functionality for Impact Sound Insulation inData Entry Tool for soundPATHS

National Research Council CanadaNRC Construction

Ottawa, Ontario, Canada

Nishant KhannaV00819179

Work Term 1Computer [email protected] December 2016

In partial fulfillment of the academic requirements of this co-op term

Supervisor's Approval: To be completed by Co-op Employer

This report will be handled by UVic Co-op staff and will be read by one assigned report marker who may be a co-op staff member within the Engineering and Computer Science/Math Co-operative Education Program, or a UVic faculty member or teaching assistant. The report will be either returned to the student or, subject to the student’s right to appeal a grade, held for one year after which it will be destroyed.

I approve the release of this report to the University of Victoria for evaluation purposes only.

Signature: Position: Date: Name (print): E-Mail: ___________________________________________

For (Company Name)_______________________________________________________________________

Table of Contents

List of Figures......................................................................................................................3Glossary...............................................................................................................................4Summary..............................................................................................................................51. Introduction to Sound Transmission............................................................................6

1.1 Airborne Sound Transmission and Impact Sound Transmission..............................61.2 Direct Sound Transmission vs. Flanking Sound Transmission.................................71.3 Controlling Sound Transmission in Buildings..........................................................7

2. soundPATHS – A Web Application for Sound Transmission in Buildings................92.1 Overview....................................................................................................................92.2 Benefit to Users and Target Audience.....................................................................102.3 Redevelopment of soundPATHS.............................................................................10

3. Functionality for Apparent Impact Sound Transmission...........................................123.1 Apparent Impact Sound Insulation vs Apparent Airborne Sound Insulation..........123.2 Implementation of New Functionality for Impact Sound Insulation.......................12

3.2.1 Importing Impact Data and Saving to the Database......................................................13

3.2.2 Active Impact Path Manager.........................................................................................16

3.2.3 Creating Floor Deltas.....................................................................................................17

3.2.4 Applying Impact Floor Deltas.......................................................................................18

4. Safety Checks and Stored Procedures........................................................................214.1 Check Data before Reviewing.................................................................................214.2 Stored Procedures....................................................................................................23

4.2.1 Getting paths by elements..............................................................................................23

4.2.2 Getting active paths by elements...................................................................................24

4.2.3 Getting inactive paths by elements................................................................................24

4.2.4 Count paths by elements................................................................................................25

4.2.5 Get path by ID................................................................................................................25

4.2.6 Get recent version ID.....................................................................................................26

Conclusion.........................................................................................................................27References..........................................................................................................................28

List of Figures

Figure 1: Tapping Machine used for Impact Sound Transmission [2]................................6Figure 2: Sound Transmission Paths between Adjacent Rooms [1]....................................7Figure 3: Main Window of Data Entry Tool.....................................................................13Figure 4: Import Data Window..........................................................................................14Figure 5: Form to check Imported Impact Data from Excel File......................................15Figure 6: Data Review Form for Horizontal Room Pair...................................................15Figure 7: Image Showing Different Paths used for Sound Transmission [1]....................16Figure 8: Active Impact Manager Form............................................................................17Figure 9: Delta Selection Form for Creating Deltas..........................................................17Figure 10: Create Floor Deltas Form.................................................................................18Figure 11: Applying Impact Floor Deltas Form................................................................19Figure 12: Apply Deltas Form...........................................................................................19Figure 13: Flanking Element does not Match Junction.....................................................21Figure 14: Bottom Junction [4]..........................................................................................22Figure 15: Direct Element does not Match Junction.........................................................22Figure 16: getPathsByElements Procedure.......................................................................23Figure 17: getActivePathByElements Procedure..............................................................24Figure 18: getDeactivePathsByElements Procedure.........................................................24Figure 19: countPathsByElements Procedure...................................................................25Figure 20: getPathByID Procedure....................................................................................25Figure 21: getRecentVersionID Procedure........................................................................26

Glossary

TL – Transmission Loss is the difference in sound pressure level between a source room

and a receiving room, normalized to the area of the separating partition and to the

absorption in the receiving room.

NISPL – Normalized Impact Sound Pressure Level is the sound pressure level in a

receiving room due to excitation with the standard tapping machine and normalized to the

absorption in the receiving room.

STC – Sound Transmission Class is a single-number rating of how well a building

partition attenuates airborne sound travelling through the partition.

IIC – Impact Insulation Class is a single-number rating of how well a building floor

attenuates impact sound travelling through the floor.

ASTC – Apparent Sound Transmission Class is a single-number rating of how well a

building system attenuates airborne sound travelling through the separating assembly

between two rooms and through the flanking elements.

AIIC – Apparent Impact Insulation Class is a single number-rating of how well a building

floor attenuates impact sound through the separating assembly between two rooms and

through the flanking elements.

ASTM – ASTM is an international standards organization that develops and publishes

voluntary consensus technical standards for a wide range of materials, products, systems,

and services.

ISO – International Organization for Standardization is an international standard setting

body composed of representatives from various national standards organizations.

Summary

The following report follows a general format with the first two sections describing

concepts and giving an overview of the software for which a new functionality was

implemented. The last two sections describe what was implemented in the software.

The sections in the report are:

The first section describes concepts related to sound transmission.

The next section gives a brief overview of NRC’s soundPATHS web application

for the calculation of direct and flanking sound transmission.

The next section describes a basic functionality that was implemented for impact

sound insulation data based on the already existing version of airborne sound

insulation data in the Data Entry Tool.

The final section describes the safety checks and stored procedures that were

implemented in the Data Entry Tool.

1. Introduction to Sound Transmission

As a sound wave travels across a room and reaches a wall, a reflective wave is produced

that will reintroduce a portion of that wave back into the room. The part of the original

sound that remains in the room will attempt to pass through the wall to the adjoining

room. The energy that survives this transfer is called Sound Transmission.

1.1 Airborne Sound Transmission and Impact Sound Transmission

There are mainly two ways in which sound is transmitted in buildings:

Airborne transmission:

Airborne sound is transmitted from one room to another or one part of the

building to another by means of the air pressure waves that induce vibration in

one side of the wall in a room which results in setting a movement in a way that

the other side of the wall also vibrates.

Impact transmission:

Impact sound is transmitted from one room to another due to an impact of an

object on the floor surface which results in transmitting sound to an adjacent

room. One way of testing impact sound insulation is by placing a standardized

tapping machine on the floor and measuring the sound pressure levels in the room

beneath at several different frequencies. Figure 1 shows the setup that is used to

measure impact sound transmission through a floor.

Figure 1: Tapping Machine used for Impact Sound Transmission [2]

1.2 Direct Sound Transmission vs. Flanking Sound Transmission

Figure 2: Sound Transmission Paths between Adjacent Rooms [1]

Figure 2 shows airborne sound transmission paths for transmission through the separating

assembly i.e. through the wall and for transmission through the flanking surfaces i.e. the

floor and ceiling.

1.3 Controlling Sound Transmission in Buildings

For the purpose of controlling sound transmission different construction types are used

that help in improving the sound insulation in buildings.

Some common construction types used for buildings in Canada are:

Concrete Buildings

Concrete Block Buildings

Cross-Laminated Timber Buildings

Wood-Framed Buildings

Lightweight Steel-Framed Buildings

The regulations for calculating the ASTC for buildings in Canada are all mentioned in the

2015 edition of National Building Code of Canada.

There are many standards that are used for the measurement of airborne and impact sound transmission.

Some standards that deal with airborne sound transmission:

ASTM E90 [5] (Standard Test Method for Laboratory Measurement of Airborne

Sound Transmission Loss of Building Partitions and Elements).

ASTM E413 [6] (Standard Classification for Determination of Sound

Transmission Class).

ASTM E336 [7] (Standard Test Method for Measurement of Airborne Sound

Attenuation between Rooms in Buildings).

Some standards that deal with impact sound transmission:

ASTM E492 [8] (Standard Test Method for Laboratory Measurement of Impact

Sound Transmission Through Floor-Ceiling Assemblies Using the Tapping

Machine).

ASTM E989 [9] (Standard Classification for Determination of Impact Insulation

Class (IIC)).

ASTM E1007 [10] (Standard Test Method for Field Measurement of Tapping

Machine Impact Sound Transmission through Floor-Ceiling Assemblies and

Associated Support Structures).

In addition, there are some ISO standards associated with airborne and impact sound

transmission through flanking surfaces:

ISO 15712 [11] (Building acoustics – Estimation of Acoustic Performance of

Buildings from the Performance of Elements).

ISO 10848 [12] (Acoustics – Laboratory Measurement of the Flanking

Transmission of Airborne and Impact Sound between Adjoining Rooms).

2. soundPATHS – A Web Application for Sound Transmission in Buildings

2.1 Overview

NRC’s soundPATHS web application is a prediction tool for the calculation of direct and

flanking sound transmission between adjacent rooms. The software uses the calculation

procedure outlined in the 2015 edition of the National Building Code of Canada.

soundPATHS considers two types of sound transmission:

Direct sound transmission between two rooms through the separating assembly,

i.e., a wall between two horizontal rooms or a floor between two vertical rooms.

Direct sound transmission is usually classified in terms of Sound Transmission

Class (STC) for airborne sound and in terms of Impact Insulation Class (IIC) for

impact sound.

Flanking sound transmission is the transmission between two rooms through

paths other than directly through the separating assembly, as shown in Figure 1.

Combining the direct and flanking sound insulation gives the apparent airborne sound

insulation, which is classified as Apparent Sound Transmission Class (ASTC), and the

apparent impact sound insulation, which is classified as Apparent Impact Insulation Class

(AIIC). The calculation procedures used in soundPATHS can be found in the NRC

Research Report RR-331 (Guide to Calculating Airborne Sound Transmission in

Buildings).

The research report RR-331 contains various examples showing measurement data and

calculation steps for different construction types. Additional research reports provide

more data and detail for specific construction types:

RR-333: Apparent Sound Insulation in Concrete Buildings

RR-334: Apparent Sound Insulation in Concrete Block Buildings

RR-335: Apparent Sound Insulation in Cross-Laminated Timber Buildings

RR-336: Apparent Sound Insulation in Wood-Framed Buildings

RR-337: Apparent Sound Insulation in Lightweight Steel-Framed Buildings

2.2 Benefit to Users and Target Audience

soundPATHS presents the sound transmission between two rooms for each junction,

highlighting the weakest and the strongest paths by which the sound is being transmitted.

The weakest path shows the user which of the building elements needs to be improved in

order to increase the apparent sound insulation, and the strongest path shows the building

elements that are overdesigned and where building material can be saved without

affecting the apparent sound insulation.

The main target audience for soundPATHS is:

Builders/Contractors

Suppliers/Manufacturers

Designers/Architects/Engineers

Building Owners/Managers

Home Owners/General Public

Building/Fire/Plumbing Officials

2.3 Redevelopment of soundPATHS

soundPATHS is being redeveloped because of a few reasons:

The first version of soundPATHS was developed in Flash which is an obsolete

technology having less support in most mobile devices.

Another problem with using Flash is that it does not meet the accessibility

requirements of the Government of Canada.

Uploading data was done using a complicated form where the user had to select

from multiple drop down menus to upload one single path to the data base.

Changes made in the new version of soundPATHS:

The new version uses HTML 5 in the front end making it compatible with tablets

and other mobile devices.

The accessibility features like screen readers which are an audio interface in

HTML 5, helpful for sighted users meet the accessibility requirements of the

Government of Canada.

Another change is the ease with which data can be uploaded to the database, i.e.

just by using a single Excel template multiple paths can be uploaded to the

database.

3. Functionality for Apparent Impact Sound Transmission

In the new version of the Data Entry Tool which is used for uploading and saving data to

the data base, functionality for airborne sound has already been implemented. Based on

the functionality already present for airborne sound a basic functionality for uploading

and saving impact sound data needed to be implemented.

3.1 Apparent Impact Sound Insulation vs Apparent Airborne Sound Insulation

The following table provides an overview of the main differences between apparent

impact sound insulation and apparent airborne sound insulation:

Apparent Impact Sound Insulation Apparent Airborne Sound InsulationThis is classified in terms of IIC or AIIC. This is classified in terms of STC or ASTC.

This is measured using NISPL. This is measured using TL.

The higher the IIC/AIIC, the better the impact sound insulation.

The higher the STC/ASTC, the better the sound insulation.

The lower the NISPL, the better the impact sound insulation.

The higher the TL, the better the sound insulation.

The calculation of the IIC/AIIC only uses the frequency range of 100Hz to 3150Hz.

The calculation of the STC/ASTC only uses the frequency range of 125Hz to 4000Hz.

3.2 Implementation of New Functionality for Impact Sound Insulation

In soundPATHS, before saving the data to the data base the Data Entry Tool is used to

add elements and import elements from an Excel template. It is also used for importing

and reviewing the data before it is saved to the data base.

The following steps are performed when data is added to the data base:

1. Import data for impact sound insulation from an Excel template.

2. Review the data after importing.

3. Select the paths that need to be saved and made active from the active impact path

manager.

4. Save impact data to the data base.

After the impact path is saved to the data base, Deltas need to be created and applied for

the uploaded data using the Create and Apply Deltas options in the Data Entry Tool.

Deltas are elements like, covering, topping and ceiling lining that are applied to a bare

assembly i.e. a wall, floor or ceiling. The reason for applying Deltas is to improve the

sound insulation of the bare assembly thereby improving the ASTC or the AIIC rating.

In the new version of the Data Entry Tool all these steps have previously been

implemented for airborne data. Based on the already existing functionality, a basic

functionality for impact sound insulation data was implemented.

3.2.1 Importing Impact Data and Saving to the Database

Figure 3: Main Window of Data Entry Tool

Figure 3 shows the home page of the Data Entry Tool. All the options in the Data Entry

Tool perform specific tasks:

The Element List and Junction List buttons are used to retrieve a list of elements and junction types from the data base.

The Add Element button is used to add a single element to the data base. The Import Elements button is used to import elements or edit existing elements

and save it to the data base. The Import Data button opens the import data window as shown in Figure 4. The Create Menus button is used to create JSON files that can be used by the

front end. The Create Deltas button opens the Delta selection form for creating Deltas as

shown in Figure 9. The Apply Deltas button opens the Delta selection form for applying Deltas as

shown in Figure 11.

Figure 4: Import Data Window

Figure 4 shows the import data window where the user has an option of either loading

airborne data on clicking import data button or loading impact data on clicking import

impact data button.

It is important to note that the correct Excel template should be used to load airborne or

impact data.

Figure 5: Form to check Imported Impact Data from Excel File

Figure 5 shows the data after being imported from the Excel template in the import

impact data form. In this form multiple Excel sheets can be loaded using a single

template. A different sheet can be selected in the same form using the drop down list

marked with the red outline.

On clicking the start review button marked with a black outline the data review form

opens up as shown in Figure 6.

Figure 6: Data Review Form for Horizontal Room Pair

Figure 6 shows all the paths that were uploaded from the Excel sheet. This form is used

to review whether all the paths are displayed properly for the different directions which in

this case are either following the Ff Path or the Fd Path in the Lt_to_Rt (Left to Right)

direction or the Rt_to_Lt (Right to Left) direction for a horizontal room pair or a Df Path

for a vertical room pair. All these paths can be visualized better through Figure 7.

Figure 7: Image Showing Different Paths used for Sound Transmission [1]

3.2.2 Active Impact Path Manager

Now, after reviewing the data a decision needs to be made about which path needs to be

saved and which path needs to be active, because there might be a case where multiple

versions of the same path with different data for a particular bare assembly might be

present in the data base. If one of them is made active, then it is easy for soundPATHS to

understand which path is being used for a specific bare assembly type.

To carry out this procedure there is a form Active Impact Path Manager.

Figure 8: Active Impact Manager Form

In Figure 8, for each of the path uploaded from the Excel file there will be an option to

either save the new path or make it active or else not to save the new path.

After a selection is made for each of the paths the data is uploaded to the data base.

3.2.3 Creating Floor Deltas

Now after uploading the data to the data base, next step is creating Deltas for the paths

that have been uploaded to the data base.

Figure 9: Delta Selection Form for Creating Deltas

Figure 9 shows the form where the selection is made for the type of Delta that needs to be

created. In the case of impact sound, only Floor Deltas can be created. On clicking the

Floor Deltas button the Create Floor Deltas form opens as shown in Figure 10.

Figure 10: Create Floor Deltas Form

Figure 10 shows the form used to create the Deltas after filling out all the details

properly, like the name of the User, Case number, Construction Type being used for the

Delta, what kind of Delta it is i.e., a Covering or a Topping or both and finally after

entering the Third Octave Values for the Delta, the Delta can be saved to the database. If

any of these text boxes are left blank the Data Entry Tool will throw an error prompting

the user to complete the form before the Delta can be saved.

3.2.4 Applying Impact Floor Deltas

After the Deltas are created, those Deltas need to be applied to the specific path for which

the Delta was created.

Figure 11: Applying Impact Floor Deltas Form

Figure 11 shows the form for selecting the type of Deltas that need to be applied, which

in this case are the Impact Floor Deltas.

On clicking the impact floor deltas button a new window opens up used for applying the

Deltas.

Figure 12: Apply Deltas Form

Figure 12 shows the form for applying the Deltas. Based on the selection of the room

orientation and the bare assembly selection, all the Deltas for that bare assembly Floor

will be displayed in the Floor Deltas section based on the Deltas created. After selecting

all the Deltas on clicking the apply Deltas button the Deltas will be applied to the selected

Floor assembly.

4. Safety Checks and Stored Procedures

There are some safety checks that are applied to the Data Entry Tool, to check if the data

being uploaded to the data base is valid.

4.1 Check Data before Reviewing

On uploading the data from the Excel template and before going to the data review form,

it is important to check whether all the flanking elements match the junction type and to

check whether the direct element matches the junction type.

Figure 13: Flanking Element does not Match Junction

In Figure 13 as the flanking element ID’s of Floor_L and Floor_R do not match, so the

Data Entry Tool prompts an error to the user which needs to be fixed if the data needs to

be reviewed before saving it to the data base.

Figure 14: Bottom Junction [4]

A junction is the part of the room to which the elements are being added. Figure 14

shows the Bottom junction of two adjacent rooms. Other possible junction types are, Top

junction, Front junction and Back junction.

Figure 15: Direct Element does not Match Junction

In Figure 15 the direct element type i.e. the Wall ID does not match the junction, so the

Data Entry Tool throws an error before the data can be reviewed.

4.2 Stored Procedures

Using stored procedures to extract and upload data to the data base is a faster and an

efficient approach, because in stored procedures the SQL code is broken down into small

chunks to carry out specific tasks, rather than running an entire SQL code for the

application.

There is one component common to all the stored procedures i.e. a Table Adapter which

is a designer-generated component used to connect to a data base, run queries or stored

procedures and fill their Data Table with returned data.

All the stored procedures mentioned below are used to perform different tasks in the Data

Entry Tool like:

After getting the active or inactive paths using the procedures in Figure 17 and 18

it helps in managing the active and inactive paths in the active impact path

manager.

After getting the number of paths in the data base for an element it helps to review

the data.

After getting the paths using the element ID it helps the Data Entry Tool to

understand what the last path was added to the data base this is useful for

applying Deltas to that path.

4.2.1 Getting paths by elements

Figure 16: getPathsByElements Procedure

Figure 16 shows the procedure used to retrieve a path from the data base using the type of

elements used in that path.

4.2.2 Getting active paths by elements

Figure 17: getActivePathByElements Procedure

Figure 17 shows the procedure used to get the current active path from the data base

using the type of elements used in that path. If there is more than one current active path

in the data base this procedure will throw an error.

4.2.3 Getting inactive paths by elements

Figure 18: getDeactivePathsByElements Procedure

Figure 18 shows the procedure used to get the current inactive path based on the type of

elements used in that path.

4.2.4 Count paths by elements

Figure 19: countPathsByElements Procedure

Figure 19 shows the procedure used to count the total number of paths in the data base

for a specific element type based on the type of elements used in that path.

4.2.5 Get path by ID

Figure 20: getPathByID Procedure

Figure 20 shows the procedure used to retrieve a path using the primary key i.e. element

ID from the data base.

4.2.6 Get recent version ID

Figure 21: getRecentVersionID Procedure

Figure 21 shows the procedure used to retrieve the recent version ID of a path using the

types of elements used in that path and the latest version ID of that path.

Conclusion

The new version of soundPATHS is still in the development stage, but will be published

online in the next few months.

The new version of the Data Entry Tool is complete with the functionality for airborne

data. The functionality that was implemented for impact data is just the first version with

scope for additions that can be made in the future to add more features like:

Safety checks for applying and updating Deltas.

Safety checks to see whether the Deltas that are being applied are up to date or out

of date.

Many other features like this can be added to the Data Entry Tool to make uploading and

saving of data to the data base an easy and error free process for impact data.

References

1. Berndt Zeitler, David Quirt, Christoph Hoeller, Jeffrey Mahn, Stefan Schoenwald, and Ivan Sabourin. "Guide to calculating airborne sound transmission in buildings." National Research Council Canada. (2016).

2. National Research Council Canada.

3. Nrc-cnrc.gc.ca. (2016). soundPATHS – A web application to predict the sound transmission between rooms - National Research Council Canada. http://www.nrc-cnrc.gc.ca/eng/solutions/advisory/soundpaths/index.html.

4. soundPATHS. (2016). http://www.nrc-cnrc.gc.ca/soundpaths/flankingui_v2.html.

5. ASTM E90-09, Standard Test Method for Laboratory Measurement of Airborne Sound Transmission Loss of Building Partitions and Elements, ASTM International, West Conshohocken, PA, 2009.

6. ASTM E413-16, Classification for Rating Sound Insulation, ASTM International, West Conshohocken, PA, 2016.

7. ASTM E336-16, Standard Test Method for Measurement of Airborne Sound Attenuation between Rooms in Buildings, ASTM International, West Conshohocken, PA, 2016.

8. ASTM E492-16, Standard Test Method for Laboratory Measurement of Impact Sound Transmission Through Floor-Ceiling Assemblies Using the Tapping Machine, ASTM International, West Conshohocken, PA, 2016.

9. ASTM E989-12, Standard Classification for Determination of Impact Insulation Class (IIC), ASTM International, West Conshohocken, PA, 2012.

10. ASTM E1007-16, Standard Test Method for Field Measurement of Tapping Machine Impact Sound Transmission Through Floor-Ceiling Assemblies and Associated Support Structures, ASTM International, West Conshohocken, PA, 2016.

11. Building acoustics – Estimation of acoustic performance of buildings from the performance of elements – Part 1: Airborne sound insulation between rooms. ISO 15712-1:2005. Geneva, Switzerland: ISO.

12. Acoustic – Laboratory measurement of the flanking transmission of airborne and impact sound between adjoining rooms – Part 1: Frame document. ISO 10848-1:2006. Geneva, Switzerland: ISO.

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