Investigation of light earth sound transmission loss at the wall scale

A fine understanding of the acoustic dissipation in walls made from biobased concrete is needed to predict and design properly their performances and to create comfortable spaces. This understanding is one of the objective of LOB+HIE (LOW BETON / HIGH EARTH) project, funded by Ademe, and focusing on the use of light earth (a biobased concrete resulting from the mix between clay and hemp shiv) to meet acoustic requirements in a public worksite. Acoustic data are already available in the literature at the material scale for this kind of solution. The aim of the present work is to provide experimental reference data at the wall scale for sound transmission on full-scale vertical walls, and then to extend it to other configurations by numerical simulations. The work is organised in three parts, including the transmission loss measurements on two different walls, the modelling of the walls with numerical simulations using a transfer matrix method approach, and finally the extension by simulation to other wall configurations, with a view to producing design aids for use by building professionals.