Co-op Report Nishant Final

University of Victoria
Engineering & Computer Science Co-op
Work Term Report
Fall 2016
Implementing Functionality for Impact Sound Insulation in
Data Entry Tool for soundPATHS
National Research Council Canada
NRC Construction
Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
Nishant Khanna
V00819179
Work Term 1
Computer Science
nkhanna@uvic.ca
20 December 2016
In partial fulfillment of the academic requirements of this co-op term
Supervisor's Approval: To be completed by Co-op Employer
This report will be handled by UVic Co-op staff and will be read by one assigned report marker who may be a co-
op staff member within the Engineering and Computer Science/Math Co-operative Education Program, or a UVic
faculty member or teaching assistant. The report will be either returned to the student or, subject to the student’s
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I approve the release of this report to the University of Victoria for evaluation purposes only.
Signature: Position: Date:
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Table of Contents
List of Figures ..................................................................................................................... 3
Glossary .............................................................................................................................. 4
Summary............................................................................................................................. 5
1. Introduction to Sound Transmission............................................................................ 6
1.1 Airborne Sound Transmission and Impact Sound Transmission.............................. 6
1.2 Direct Sound Transmission vs. Flanking Sound Transmission ................................ 7
1.3 Controlling Sound Transmission in Buildings.......................................................... 7
2. soundPATHS – A Web Application for Sound Transmission in Buildings................ 9
2.1 Overview................................................................................................................... 9
2.2 Benefit to Users and Target Audience .................................................................... 10
2.3 Redevelopment of soundPATHS ............................................................................ 10
3. Functionality for Apparent Impact Sound Transmission........................................... 12
3.1 Apparent Impact Sound Insulation vs Apparent Airborne Sound Insulation ......... 12
3.2 Implementation of New Functionality for Impact Sound Insulation ...................... 12
3.2.1 Importing Impact Data and Saving to the Database..................................................13
3.2.2 Active Impact Path Manager..................................................................................16
3.2.3 Creating Floor Deltas ............................................................................................17
3.2.4 Applying Impact Floor Deltas ................................................................................18
4. Safety Checks and Stored Procedures ....................................................................... 21
4.1 Check Data before Reviewing ................................................................................ 21
4.2 Stored Procedures ................................................................................................... 23
4.2.1 Getting paths by elements ......................................................................................23
4.2.2 Getting active paths by elements ............................................................................24
4.2.3 Getting inactive paths by elements .........................................................................24
4.2.4 Count paths by elements ........................................................................................25
4.2.5 Get path by ID ......................................................................................................25
4.2.6 Get recent version ID ............................................................................................26
Conclusion ........................................................................................................................ 27
References......................................................................................................................... 28

List of Figures
Figure 1: Tapping Machine used for Impact Sound Transmission [2] ............................... 6
Figure 2: Sound Transmission Paths between Adjacent Rooms [1] ................................... 7
Figure 3: Main Window of Data Entry Tool .................................................................... 13
Figure 4: Import Data Window......................................................................................... 14
Figure 5: Form to check Imported Impact Data from Excel File ..................................... 15
Figure 6: Data Review Form for Horizontal Room Pair................................................... 15
Figure 7: Image Showing Different Paths used for Sound Transmission [1] ................... 16
Figure 8: Active Impact Manager Form ........................................................................... 17
Figure 9: Delta Selection Form for Creating Deltas ......................................................... 17
Figure 10: Create Floor Deltas Form................................................................................ 18
Figure 11: Applying Impact Floor Deltas Form ............................................................... 19
Figure 12: Apply Deltas Form .......................................................................................... 19
Figure 13: Flanking Element does not Match Junction .................................................... 21
Figure 14: Bottom Junction [4]......................................................................................... 22
Figure 15: Direct Element does not Match Junction ........................................................ 22
Figure 16: getPathsByElements Procedure....................................................................... 23
Figure 17: getActivePathByElements Procedure.............................................................. 24
Figure 18: getDeactivePathsByElements Procedure ........................................................ 24
Figure 19: countPathsByElements Procedure................................................................... 25
Figure 20: getPathByID Procedure................................................................................... 25
Figure 21: getRecentVersionID Procedure ....................................................................... 26

Glossary
TL – Transmission Loss is the difference in sound pressure level between a source room
and a receiving room, normalized to the area of the separating partition and to the
absorption in the receiving room.
NISPL – Normalized Impact Sound Pressure Level is the sound pressure level in a
receiving room due to excitation with the standard tapping machine and normalized to the
absorption in the receiving room.
STC – Sound Transmission Class is a single-number rating of how well a building
partition attenuates airborne sound travelling through the partition.
IIC – Impact Insulation Class is a single-number rating of how well a building floor
attenuates impact sound travelling through the floor.
ASTC – Apparent Sound Transmission Class is a single-number rating of how well a
building system attenuates airborne sound travelling through the separating assembly
between two rooms and through the flanking elements.
AIIC – Apparent Impact Insulation Class is a single number-rating of how well a building
floor attenuates impact sound through the separating assembly between two rooms and
through the flanking elements.
ASTM – ASTM is an international standards organization that develops and publishes
voluntary consensus technical standards for a wide range of materials, products, systems,
and services.
ISO – International Organization for Standardization is an international standard setting
body composed of representatives from various national standards organizations.

Summary
The following report follows a general format with the first two sections describing
concepts and giving an overview of the software for which a new functionality was
implemented. The last two sections describe what was implemented in the software.
The sections in the report are:
 The first section describes concepts related to sound transmission.
 The next section gives a brief overview of NRC’s soundPATHS web application
for the calculation of direct and flanking sound transmission.
 The next section describes a basic functionality that was implemented for impact
sound insulation data based on the already existing version of airborne sound
insulation data in the Data Entry Tool.
 The final section describes the safety checks and stored procedures that were
implemented in the Data Entry Tool.

1. Introduction to Sound Transmission
As a sound wave travels across a room and reaches a wall, a reflective wave is produced
that will reintroduce a portion of that wave back into the room. The part of the original
sound that remains in the room will attempt to pass through the wall to the adjoining
room. The energy that survives this transfer is called Sound Transmission.
1.1 Airborne Sound Transmission and Impact Sound Transmission
There are mainly two ways in which sound is transmitted in buildings:
 Airborne transmission:
Airborne sound is transmitted from one room to another or one part of the
building to another by means of the air pressure waves that induce vibration in
one side of the wall in a room which results in setting a movement in a way that
the other side of the wall also vibrates.
 Impact transmission:
Impact sound is transmitted from one room to another due to an impact of an
object on the floor surface which results in transmitting sound to an adjacent
room. One way of testing impact sound insulation is by placing a standardized
tapping machine on the floor and measuring the sound pressure levels in the room
beneath at several different frequencies. Figure 1 shows the setup that is used to
measure impact sound transmission through a floor.
Figure 1: Tapping Machine used for Impact Sound Transmission [2]

1.2 Direct Sound Transmission vs. Flanking Sound Transmission
Figure 2: Sound Transmission Paths between Adjacent Rooms [1]
Figure 2 shows airborne sound transmission paths for transmission through the separating
assembly i.e. through the wall and for transmission through the flanking surfaces i.e. the
floor and ceiling.
1.3 Controlling Sound Transmission in Buildings
For the purpose of controlling sound transmission different construction types are used
that help in improving the sound insulation in buildings.
Some common construction types used for buildings in Canada are:
 Concrete Buildings
 Concrete Block Buildings
 Cross-Laminated Timber Buildings
 Wood-Framed Buildings
 Lightweight Steel-Framed Buildings
The regulations for calculating the ASTC for buildings in Canada are all mentioned in the
2015 edition of National Building Code of Canada.

There are many standards that are used for the measurement of airborne and impact
sound transmission.
Some standards that deal with airborne sound transmission:
 ASTM E90 [5] (Standard Test Method for Laboratory Measurement of Airborne
Sound Transmission Loss of Building Partitions and Elements).
 ASTM E413 [6] (Standard Classification for Determination of Sound
Transmission Class).
 ASTM E336 [7] (Standard Test Method for Measurement of Airborne Sound
Attenuation between Rooms in Buildings).
Some standards that deal with impact sound transmission:
 ASTM E492 [8] (Standard Test Method for Laboratory Measurement of Impact
Sound Transmission Through Floor-Ceiling Assemblies Using the Tapping
Machine).
 ASTM E989 [9] (Standard Classification for Determination of Impact Insulation
Class (IIC)).
 ASTM E1007 [10] (Standard Test Method for Field Measurement of Tapping
Machine Impact Sound Transmission through Floor-Ceiling Assemblies and
Associated Support Structures).
In addition, there are some ISO standards associated with airborne and impact sound
transmission through flanking surfaces:
 ISO 15712 [11] (Building acoustics – Estimation of Acoustic Performance of
Buildings from the Performance of Elements).
 ISO 10848 [12] (Acoustics – Laboratory Measurement of the Flanking
Transmission of Airborne and Impact Sound between Adjoining Rooms).

2. soundPATHS – A Web Application for Sound Transmission in
Buildings
2.1 Overview
NRC’s soundPATHS web application is a prediction tool for the calculation of direct and
flanking sound transmission between adjacent rooms. The software uses the calculation
procedure outlined in the 2015 edition of the National Building Code of Canada.
soundPATHS considers two types of sound transmission:
 Direct sound transmission between two rooms through the separating assembly,
i.e., a wall between two horizontal rooms or a floor between two vertical rooms.
Direct sound transmission is usually classified in terms of Sound Transmission
Class (STC) for airborne sound and in terms of Impact Insulation Class (IIC) for
impact sound.
 Flanking sound transmission is the transmission between two rooms through
paths other than directly through the separating assembly, as shown in Figure 1.
Combining the direct and flanking sound insulation gives the apparent airborne sound
insulation, which is classified as Apparent Sound Transmission Class (ASTC), and the
apparent impact sound insulation, which is classified as Apparent Impact Insulation Class
(AIIC). The calculation procedures used in soundPATHS can be found in the NRC
Research Report RR-331 (Guide to Calculating Airborne Sound Transmission in
Buildings).
The research report RR-331 contains various examples showing measurement data and
calculation steps for different construction types. Additional research reports provide
more data and detail for specific construction types:
 RR-333: Apparent Sound Insulation in Concrete Buildings
 RR-334: Apparent Sound Insulation in Concrete Block Buildings
 RR-335: Apparent Sound Insulation in Cross-Laminated Timber Buildings
 RR-336: Apparent Sound Insulation in Wood-Framed Buildings
 RR-337: Apparent Sound Insulation in Lightweight Steel-Framed Buildings

2.2 Benefit to Users and Target Audience
soundPATHS presents the sound transmission between two rooms for each junction,
highlighting the weakest and the strongest paths by which the sound is being transmitted.
The weakest path shows the user which of the building elements needs to be improved in
order to increase the apparent sound insulation, and the strongest path shows the building
elements that are overdesigned and where building material can be saved without
affecting the apparent sound insulation.
The main target audience for soundPATHS is:
 Builders/Contractors
 Suppliers/Manufacturers
 Designers/Architects/Engineers
 Building Owners/Managers
 Home Owners/General Public
 Building/Fire/Plumbing Officials
2.3 Redevelopment of soundPATHS
soundPATHS is being redeveloped because of a few reasons:
 The first version of soundPATHS was developed in Flash which is an obsolete
technology having less support in most mobile devices.
 Another problem with using Flash is that it does not meet the accessibility
requirements of the Government of Canada.
 Uploading data was done using a complicated form where the user had to select
from multiple drop down menus to upload one single path to the data base.

Changes made in the new version of soundPATHS:
 The new version uses HTML 5 in the front end making it compatible with tablets
and other mobile devices.
 The accessibility features like screen readers which are an audio interface in
HTML 5, helpful for sighted users meet the accessibility requirements of the
Government of Canada.
 Another change is the ease with which data can be uploaded to the database, i.e.
just by using a single Excel template multiple paths can be uploaded to the
database.

3. Functionality for Apparent Impact Sound Transmission
In the new version of the Data Entry Tool which is used for uploading and saving data to
the data base, functionality for airborne sound has already been implemented. Based on
the functionality already present for airborne sound a basic functionality for uploading
and saving impact sound data needed to be implemented.
3.1 Apparent Impact Sound Insulation vs Apparent Airborne Sound
Insulation
The following table provides an overview of the main differences between apparent
impact sound insulation and apparent airborne sound insulation:
Apparent Impact Sound Insulation Apparent Airborne Sound Insulation
This is classified in terms of IIC or AIIC. This is classified in terms of STC or ASTC.
This is measured using NISPL. This is measured using TL.
The higher the IIC/AIIC, the better the
impact sound insulation.
The higher the STC/ASTC, the better the
sound insulation.
The lower the NISPL, the better the impact
sound insulation.
The higher the TL, the better the sound
insulation.
The calculation of the IIC/AIIC only uses
the frequency range of 100Hz to 3150Hz.
The calculation of the STC/ASTC only
uses the frequency range of 125Hz to
4000Hz.
3.2 Implementation of New Functionality for Impact Sound Insulation
In soundPATHS, before saving the data to the data base the Data Entry Tool is used to
add elements and import elements from an Excel template. It is also used for importing
and reviewing the data before it is saved to the data base.
The following steps are performed when data is added to the data base:
1. Import data for impact sound insulation from an Excel template.
2. Review the data after importing.
3. Select the paths that need to be saved and made active from the active impact path
manager.
4. Save impact data to the data base.

After the impact path is saved to the data base, Deltas need to be created and applied for
the uploaded data using the Create and Apply Deltas options in the Data Entry Tool.
Deltas are elements like, covering, topping and ceiling lining that are applied to a bare
assembly i.e. a wall, floor or ceiling. The reason for applying Deltas is to improve the
sound insulation of the bare assembly thereby improving the ASTC or the AIIC rating.
In the new version of the Data Entry Tool all these steps have previously been
implemented for airborne data. Based on the already existing functionality, a basic
functionality for impact sound insulation data was implemented.
3.2.1 Importing Impact Data and Saving to the Database
Figure 3: Main Window of Data Entry Tool

Figure 3 shows the home page of the Data Entry Tool. All the options in the Data Entry
Tool perform specific tasks:
 The Element List and Junction List buttons are used to retrieve a list of elements
and junction types from the data base.
 The Add Element button is used to add a single element to the data base.
 The Import Elements button is used to import elements or edit existing elements
and save it to the data base.
 The Import Data button opens the import data window as shown in Figure 4.
 The Create Menus button is used to create JSON files that can be used by the
front end.
 The Create Deltas button opens the Delta selection form for creating Deltas as
shown in Figure 9.
 The Apply Deltas button opens the Delta selection form for applying Deltas as
shown in Figure 11.
Figure 4: Import Data Window
Figure 4 shows the import data window where the user has an option of either loading
airborne data on clicking import data button or loading impact data on clicking import
impact data button.
It is important to note that the correct Excel template should be used to load airborne or
impact data.

Figure 5: Form to check Imported Impact Data from Excel File
Figure 5 shows the data after being imported from the Excel template in the import
impact data form. In this form multiple Excel sheets can be loaded using a single
template. A different sheet can be selected in the same form using the drop down list
marked with the red outline.
On clicking the start review button marked with a black outline the data review form
opens up as shown in Figure 6.
Figure 6: Data Review Form for Horizontal Room Pair
Figure 6 shows all the paths that were uploaded from the Excel sheet. This form is used
to review whether all the paths are displayed properly for the different directions which in
this case are either following the Ff Path or the Fd Path in the Lt_to_Rt (Left to Right)

direction or the Rt_to_Lt (Right to Left) direction for a horizontal room pair or a Df Path
for a vertical room pair. All these paths can be visualized better through Figure 7.
Figure 7: Image Showing Different Paths used for Sound Transmission [1]
3.2.2 Active Impact Path Manager
Now, after reviewing the data a decision needs to be made about which path needs to be
saved and which path needs to be active, because there might be a case where multiple
versions of the same path with different data for a particular bare assembly might be
present in the data base. If one of them is made active, then it is easy for soundPATHS to
understand which path is being used for a specific bare assembly type.
To carry out this procedure there is a form Active Impact Path Manager.

Figure 8: Active Impact Manager Form
In Figure 8, for each of the path uploaded from the Excel file there will be an option to
either save the new path or make it active or else not to save the new path.
After a selection is made for each of the paths the data is uploaded to the data base.
3.2.3 Creating Floor Deltas
Now after uploading the data to the data base, next step is creating Deltas for the paths
that have been uploaded to the data base.
Figure 9: Delta Selection Form for Creating Deltas

Figure 9 shows the form where the selection is made for the type of Delta that needs to be
created. In the case of impact sound, only Floor Deltas can be created. On clicking the
Floor Deltas button the Create Floor Deltas form opens as shown in Figure 10.
Figure 10: Create Floor Deltas Form
Figure 10 shows the form used to create the Deltas after filling out all the details
properly, like the name of the User, Case number, Construction Type being used for the
Delta, what kind of Delta it is i.e., a Covering or a Topping or both and finally after
entering the Third Octave Values for the Delta, the Delta can be saved to the database. If
any of these text boxes are left blank the Data Entry Tool will throw an error prompting
the user to complete the form before the Delta can be saved.
3.2.4 Applying Impact Floor Deltas
After the Deltas are created, those Deltas need to be applied to the specific path for which
the Delta was created.

Figure 11: Applying Impact Floor Deltas Form
Figure 11 shows the form for selecting the type of Deltas that need to be applied, which
in this case are the Impact Floor Deltas.
On clicking the impact floor deltas button a new window opens up used for applying the
Deltas.
Figure 12: Apply Deltas Form

Figure 12 shows the form for applying the Deltas. Based on the selection of the room
orientation and the bare assembly selection, all the Deltas for that bare assembly Floor
will be displayed in the Floor Deltas section based on the Deltas created. After selecting
all the Deltas on clicking the apply Deltas button the Deltas will be applied to the selected
Floor assembly.

4. Safety Checks and Stored Procedures
There are some safety checks that are applied to the Data Entry Tool, to check if the data
being uploaded to the data base is valid.
4.1 Check Data before Reviewing
On uploading the data from the Excel template and before going to the data review form,
it is important to check whether all the flanking elements match the junction type and to
check whether the direct element matches the junction type.
Figure 13: Flanking Element does not Match Junction
In Figure 13 as the flanking element ID’s of Floor_L and Floor_R do not match, so the
Data Entry Tool prompts an error to the user which needs to be fixed if the data needs to
be reviewed before saving it to the data base.

Figure 14: Bottom Junction [4]
A junction is the part of the room to which the elements are being added. Figure 14
shows the Bottom junction of two adjacent rooms. Other possible junction types are, Top
junction, Front junction and Back junction.
Figure 15: Direct Element does not Match Junction
In Figure 15 the direct element type i.e. the Wall ID does not match the junction, so the
Data Entry Tool throws an error before the data can be reviewed.

4.2 Stored Procedures
Using stored procedures to extract and upload data to the data base is a faster and an
efficient approach, because in stored procedures the SQL code is broken down into small
chunks to carry out specific tasks, rather than running an entire SQL code for the
application.
There is one component common to all the stored procedures i.e. a Table Adapter which
is a designer-generated component used to connect to a data base, run queries or stored
procedures and fill their Data Table with returned data.
All the stored procedures mentioned below are used to perform different tasks in the Data
Entry Tool like:
 After getting the active or inactive paths using the procedures in Figure 17 and 18
it helps in managing the active and inactive paths in the active impact path
manager.
 After getting the number of paths in the data base for an element it helps to review
the data.
 After getting the paths using the element ID it helps the Data Entry Tool to
understand what the last path was added to the data base this is useful for
applying Deltas to that path.
4.2.1 Getting paths by elements
Figure 16: getPathsByElements Procedure

Figure 16 shows the procedure used to retrieve a path from the data base using the type of
elements used in that path.
4.2.2 Getting active paths by elements
Figure 17: getActivePathByElements Procedure
Figure 17 shows the procedure used to get the current active path from the data base
using the type of elements used in that path. If there is more than one current active path
in the data base this procedure will throw an error.
4.2.3 Getting inactive paths by elements
Figure 18: getDeactivePathsByElements Procedure

Figure 18 shows the procedure used to get the current inactive path based on the type of
elements used in that path.
4.2.4 Count paths by elements
Figure 19: countPathsByElements Procedure
Figure 19 shows the procedure used to count the total number of paths in the data base
for a specific element type based on the type of elements used in that path.
4.2.5 Get path by ID
Figure 20: getPathByID Procedure
Figure 20 shows the procedure used to retrieve a path using the primary key i.e. element
ID from the data base.

4.2.6 Get recent version ID
Figure 21: getRecentVersionID Procedure
Figure 21 shows the procedure used to retrieve the recent version ID of a path using the
types of elements used in that path and the latest version ID of that path.

Conclusion
The new version of soundPATHS is still in the development stage, but will be published
online in the next few months.
The new version of the Data Entry Tool is complete with the functionality for airborne
data. The functionality that was implemented for impact data is just the first version with
scope for additions that can be made in the future to add more features like:
 Safety checks for applying and updating Deltas.
 Safety checks to see whether the Deltas that are being applied are up to date or out
of date.
Many other features like this can be added to the Data Entry Tool to make uploading and
saving of data to the data base an easy and error free process for impact data.

References
1. Berndt Zeitler, David Quirt, Christoph Hoeller, Jeffrey Mahn, Stefan Schoenwald,
and Ivan Sabourin. "Guide to calculating airborne sound transmission in
buildings." National Research Council Canada. (2016).
2. National Research Council Canada.
3. Nrc-cnrc.gc.ca. (2016). soundPATHS – A web application to predict the sound
transmission between rooms - National Research Council Canada.
http://www.nrc-cnrc.gc.ca/eng/solutions/advisory/soundpaths/index.html.
4. soundPATHS. (2016). http://www.nrc-cnrc.gc.ca/soundpaths/flankingui_v2.html.
5. ASTM E90-09, Standard Test Method for Laboratory Measurement of Airborne
Sound Transmission Loss of Building Partitions and Elements, ASTM
International, West Conshohocken, PA, 2009.
6. ASTM E413-16, Classification for Rating Sound Insulation, ASTM International,
West Conshohocken, PA, 2016.
7. ASTM E336-16, Standard Test Method for Measurement of Airborne Sound
Attenuation between Rooms in Buildings, ASTM International, West
Conshohocken, PA, 2016.
8. ASTM E492-16, Standard Test Method for Laboratory Measurement of Impact
Sound Transmission Through Floor-Ceiling Assemblies Using the Tapping
Machine, ASTM International, West Conshohocken, PA, 2016.
9. ASTM E989-12, Standard Classification for Determination of Impact Insulation
Class (IIC), ASTM International, West Conshohocken, PA, 2012.
10. ASTM E1007-16, Standard Test Method for Field Measurement of Tapping
Machine Impact Sound Transmission Through Floor-Ceiling Assemblies and
Associated Support Structures, ASTM International, West Conshohocken, PA,
2016.
11. Building acoustics – Estimation of acoustic performance of buildings from the
performance of elements – Part 1: Airborne sound insulation between rooms. ISO
15712-1:2005. Geneva, Switzerland: ISO.
12. Acoustic – Laboratory measurement of the flanking transmission of airborne and
impact sound between adjoining rooms – Part 1: Frame document. ISO 10848-
1:2006. Geneva, Switzerland: ISO.

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