Sound Transmission Loss of Light-Weight Slotted Steel Studs in a Gypsum Plasterboard Partition Wall

Acoustic bridging through structural links is known to reduce the Sound Transmission Loss (STL) of gypsum plasterboard partition walls with steel studs. As multifamily housing become more popular, stud manufacturers are increasingly interested in improving the acoustic characteristics of steel studs to improve the sound insulation. This work is an initial attempt to understand the influence of slotted stud configurations on the sound transmission loss (STL) of partition walls. A case of partition wall commonly known as the double-leaf wall incorporating a slotted stud design is analysed experimentally and numerically based on the ISO10140 guidelines. The numerical model used for the analysis is validated using experimental test at one-third-octave bands for a frequency range of 100 to 3150 Hz. The slot configurations are designed keeping the slot to non-slot area constant to identify the effect of slot location on the acoustic and structural behaviour. The results of this study provide a better understanding of the acoustic performance of double-leaf walls that use slotted stud sections. It is considered that this can help in developing acoustically efficient stud based partition walls to reduce acoustic bridging.