Innovative Approach in Acoustic Simulation of Timber Walls

The acoustic insulation performance of a glulam system (timber-framed wall) is of paramount importance in sustainable lightweight constructions. Nevertheless, traditional models like impedance coupling or double-leaf theory cannot offer robust results comparable to measurements. Even Finite Element (FE) simulations may not provide good results, due to high variables computations models and the resultant error propagation. For these reasons, in this paper the Transfer Matrix Modelling (TMM) method has been adopted tor the acoustic analysis of glulam timber structures in order to understand its advantages and limitations. The sound insulation of glulam walls will be simulated using a decoupled approach where beams will be considered as linear sound bridges.