Analysis of the influence of walls systems on the load of building structures aiming acoustic insulation

Abstract

The dimensioning of buildings structures is directly related to the magnitude of the loads that affect it. In order to guarantee structural stability and safety, the loads must be considered with precision on the project. Still, of expressive relevance, there is the building habitability, related to the user’s comfort, expressed qualitatively and quantitatively by Brazilian standard NBR 15575: 2013. The objective of this study is to analyze the impact of the choice of internal walls in the total load of the structure of a building, in the project stage. For this, 4 vertical sealing systems were adopted – masonry blocks (concrete, ceramics and cellular concrete) and light steel frame –, with Rw between 45 and 48 dB, and a standard residential building project. The acoustic insulation data were obtained through laboratory tests in accordance with ISO 10140-2: 2010. The results are presented by the relation between the total mass of the structures, verifying the variation between them. The results show that the concrete blocks and ceramic blocks systems presented similar total mass values on the structure, while the system with cellular concrete block presented a reduction of the total mass of approximately 9%, when compared to the heaviest system. The light steel frame system showed an 18% reduction.