Top 10 sound insulation materials trusted in 2022
Sound insulation and noise reduction materials are increasingly popular today for addressing the inconvenience caused by unwanted noise that affects people's quality of life. Let LPC explore the top 10 most effective and trusted sound insulation materials in 2022.
What are sound insulation materials?
Sound insulation materials are materials with low sound transmission properties, used to prevent sound transmission or reduce sound intensity between two separate environments, usually from inside to outside and from outside to inside.
Sound insulation materials trusted in 2022
Each material has different sound insulation capabilities. Therefore, depending on the noise level, work requirements, and your needs, different materials can be used.
1. Gypsum board
Considered the most common material, gypsum board is used in many types of buildings such as villas, apartments, hotels and restaurants, townhouses, and offices.
The advantages of gypsum board are its durability, ease of installation, and high aesthetic appeal. Therefore, in spaces that require a high level of aesthetics such as restaurants, hotels, and apartments, gypsum board is a preferred choice, especially as a sound insulation material for apartment buildings. Moreover, its sound insulation rating can reach up to 70 dB, providing relatively good sound insulation. In addition, gypsum board can also be effectively used for fire resistance and moisture resistance.
2. Sound insulation material using beamless flat slabs
In fact, the beamless flat slab is a new construction technology solution transferred from Europe to Vietnam, with calculations based on Eurocode standards. The beamless flat slab combines hollow plastic formers with protective concrete layers to create voids within the non-load-bearing concrete space of the slab.
Beamless flat slabs are part of the beam-and-slab structure of a building. When hollow plastic formers are used, the slab thickness increases, helping provide effective sound insulation between floors of the house.
In addition to their sound insulation performance, beamless flat slabs offer several outstanding advantages:
- Achieve spans from 7 to 22 m, creating open and spacious areas
- Optimize the structure – optimize economic efficiency (reduce slab construction costs by 5–15%)
- Flexible column grid, creating open architectural spaces
- Fast construction without the need to use gypsum ceilings for decoration.
Beamless flat slabs or Ubot plastic formers are currently a sound insulation solution that many investors are interested in and choosing.
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3. Sound insulation material made from fiberglass
Fiberglass is made up of lightweight glass fibers. Its components include silicate, aluminum, and metal oxides. Fiberglass is commonly used as the middle layer of a wall system to reduce the rate of sound transmission between two spaces.
The sound insulation performance of a space depends on the density of this insulation panel. The thicker the fiberglass layer, the better the sound insulation, and vice versa. In addition, fiberglass combined with gypsum board creates an effective sound insulation and noise reduction system. However, fiberglass is hard and brittle and may cause skin irritation when it breaks into small pieces.
Normally, the price of fiberglass sound insulation panels ranges from VND 15,000–50,000/m² (reference price).
4. Sound insulation material made from foam rubber
In fact, foam rubber, also known as memory foam, has sound and thermal insulation properties. It is a type of synthetic rubber that is more flexible and elastic than conventional rubber.
Foam rubber sheets have an interconnected honeycomb-like porous structure that helps reduce vibration and provides good sound insulation and noise reduction. Therefore, they are widely chosen as sound and thermal insulation materials for bedrooms, recording studios, bars, karaoke venues, cinemas, and more.
5. XPS sound insulation foam panels
XPS foam is a construction material with good thermal insulation and moisture resistance. XPS foam panels are not as widely used as the sound insulation panels mentioned above. However, this type of sound insulation panel is widely used in industrial facilities.
XPS foam does not provide high sound insulation or noise reduction performance, but it offers good thermal insulation. In addition, sound insulation foam panels are mold- and moisture-resistant. Therefore, many industrial facilities choose XPS panels to provide both sound and thermal insulation without causing mold growth or product damage. XPS foam panels can also be used as sound insulation panels for room partitions.
The reference price for XPS foam sound insulation material measuring 600×12000 mm with a thickness of 25 mm is approximately VND 65,000.
6. Air bubble sound and thermal insulation panels
There are four sound transmission media: solid, liquid, gas, and vacuum. Among them, a vacuum cannot transmit sound at all. Of the other three media, air is considered to have the lowest sound transmission speed. Therefore, researchers have developed air bubble sound insulation materials for bedrooms and reading rooms in prefabricated houses, tube houses, and more.
Air bubble materials are made from Polyethylene plastic sound insulation panels. The inside of the room sound insulation air bubble layer is silver aluminum-coated, while the PE plastic layer helps reduce sound transmission and prevent echoes, making it highly effective as a sound insulation and noise reduction material.
The price of air bubble sound and thermal insulation materials ranges from VND 1,400,000–1,600,000 per roll, depending on the product type.
7. Sound insulation adhesive panels
Sound insulation adhesive panels are also a product commonly used today. Made from soft and porous foam materials with good sound absorption and reflection properties, sound insulation adhesive panels are essential products for buildings with poor noise control.
In addition to their low cost, sound insulation adhesive panels come in a variety of designs, colors, and styles. They not only reduce noise but also enhance the aesthetics of your home. In particular, the panels are designed with a strong adhesive layer, resulting in a relatively long service life.
8. Acoustic wood panels
Like other materials, acoustic wood panels are also favored by many architects for treating sound in their projects. This material is commonly used for attractive wooden ceilings, auditorium walls, lecture halls, cinemas, and more.
A complete sound insulation system can be built using acoustic wood panels together with exposed gypsum ceiling frames or Vinh Tuong aluminum ceilings. In addition, acoustic wood panels are available in two standard sizes, 600×600 and 600×1200, suitable for a wide range of building types. However, compared with other materials, acoustic wood panels have lower sound insulation performance.
9. Acoustic foam
Acoustic foam is made from PE foam and can absorb high- and mid-frequency unwanted sounds. Acoustic foam is divided into three main types: flat acoustic foam, egg-crate acoustic foam, and pyramid acoustic foam, and is widely used in recording studios, radio studios, Studio Recording facilities, and more.
10. Sound insulation panel: Rockwool
Rockwool mineral wool is a mixture of slag and basalt rock heated at high temperatures. After heating, the mixture is processed into interconnected mineral fibers that are formed into rolls, blocks, panels, and other products depending on market demand. The price of this sound and thermal insulation material ranges from approximately VND 395,000–895,000 per package (reference price).
As can be seen, there are many types of sound insulation materials on the market, each with different characteristics and advantages in use. Hopefully, this information from LPC will give you more knowledge about sound insulation materials and help you make an informed choice for your home.
——Lam Pham Construction Company Limited – LPC
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Website: https://lpc.vn
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