Noise control is an important aspect of occupational health and safety. Undue exposure to noise can cause hearing loss, which is a major health concern suffered by building occupants. Practical and efficient noise control is reliant on an accurate diagnosis of what is causing the noise and the engineered measures taken to reduce the noise. The most common noise sources can be categorized into four types:

  • Continuous noise: A stable noise produced by objects or machines that are constantly running (engines or fans).
  • Intermittent noise: An infrequent noise with instances of quiet and noisy intervals that are expected (train horn or airplanes taking off).
  • Impulse/impact noise: A sudden burst of noise that is not regular (gun fire or fireworks).
  • Low frequency noise: Noise produced in the frequency range from about 10 Hz to 200 Hz by objects that may or may not be audible (transformers or heat pumps).

Effective noise control focuses on reducing the noise from these sources as close to the source as possible. Within architectural acoustics and environmental acoustics, noise control refers to practices employed for sound mitigation and reduction. These practices include interior sound reverberation reduction, inter-room noise transfer mitigation, and exterior building skin augmentation. There are also four basic principles of noise control that engineers can apply to reduce sound disturbances.

  • Sound insulation: The prevention of transmission of noise by the introduction of a mass barrier. Common materials have high-density properties such as brick, concrete, metal etc.
  • Sound absorption: A porous material which acts as a ‘noise sponge’. Common sound absorption materials include foams and fiberglass.
  • Vibration damping: A damping mechanism that works by extracting the vibration energy and dissipating it as heat. A common material is sound deadened steel.
  • Vibration isolation: The prevention of transmission of vibration energy from a source to a receiver by introducing a flexible element or a physical break. Common vibration isolators are springs, rubber mounts, cork, etc.

A Silencing Solution

ArmaComfort MTD Tape® in commercial wall assemblies can reduce disturbing noise for building occupants using all four above principles of noise control. The tape, when applied along steel studs in a conventional wall assembly, limits sound from passing through the wall, resulting in quieter rooms and more privacy. It is an easy-to-install alternative to resilient channel, extra drywall layers, or isolation clips. It can also be used on radiused walls and provides an air seal to the stud. ArmaComfort MTD provides excellent sound transmission isolation at mid-level to high frequencies providing a thermal break and it delivers a significant 7-point improvement in the Sound Transmission Class (STC) rating. Engineers can have confidence that ArmaComfort MTD meets ASTM E84 Class B and is UL Classified/Certified* for use in rated assemblies.

  • Quick installation – just peel and press to one side of stud face before drywall installation
  • Mechanical decoupling reduces sound passing through a wall assembly
  • Excellent sound isolation at mid-level to high frequencies
  • Improves STC ratings
  • Meets ASTM E84 Class B

* This product has been Classified by UL as to ANSI/UL 263 for Wall and Partition Facings and Accessories (CLBV.R38810) in the US and Certified by UL as to ANSI/UL 263 for Wall and Partition Facings and Accessories (CLBV7.R38810) in Canada as to fire resistance only, see UL product IQ.