The prediction of the vibration reduction index Kij for brick and concrete rigid junctions

The vibration reduction index, Kij, is related to the transmission of the vibrational power over a junction between structural elements. Two empirical models are proposed to evaluate Kij, on the basis of statistical evaluations of numerous in-field tests carried out on rigid junctions between floors made by concrete beams and ribbed slab with brick blocks and brickwork walls, a type of junction that is frequently encountered in Southern European and Mediterranean buildings. These models can be applied in order to calculate the sound insulation properties, such as the normalized impact sound pressure level, image, and the apparent sound reduction index, R′, of walls and floors in buildings. The first model allows the single number value of the vibration sound reduction index of a junction to be calculated, on the basis of the real properties of the materials that constitute the junction. A new quantity, the “essential” mass per unit area, was introduced to implement the model. The second model provides an estimation of the Kij as a function of frequency, subdivided between BB-junction, as ribbed slab with brick blocks floor–brick wall, and CB-junction, i.e. concrete beam–brick wall.