Introduction

Buildings are very complex mechanical structures and are subjected to many external and internal sources of noise and vibration. The requirements of lightweight construction in new buildings have made these buildings more susceptible to noise and vibration‐related problems. Thus, occupants frequently complain about the levels of noise and vibration they experience. Internal sources of noise and vibration in modern buildings are mechanical equipments, such as roof‐mounted heating, ventilation, and air‐conditioning (HVAC) units, boilers and elevators. The building occupants themselves produce noise in many ways (e.g. speaking with loud voices and their footsteps). In this chapter, we will start discussing the transmission of airborne sound through structures such as walls and floors. Sound transmission is of concern in many different noise problems, although the transmission of sound through walls of buildings is the topic which seems to have received the most attention. This is not surprising since in buildings (houses, multifamily apartments, and industrial buildings) we are mainly concerned with reducing the sound transmitted from one room to another. However, with the continued mechanization of transportation and other equipment, we are becoming more and more concerned with keeping exterior noise out of buildings (sometimes known as noise “immission”) – e.g. from surface transportation vehicles (mainly road traffic), aircraft noise, and industrial noise. Sometimes the prevention of industrial noise from reaching a community (sometimes known as noise “emission”) by the industrial building erected around the process must be considered. This problem, however, seems to be less frequently encountered. It is important to notice that consideration to noise and vibration insulation during the design and building stages is by far less expensive than taking corrective actions once the building is constructed. For more extensive discussions of noise and vibration in building structures, the reader is referred to more detailed treatments available in several books [1–10]. Sections 12.2–12.4 present a review of sound transmission theories for single and double walls and composite partitions. Section 12.4 reviews the use of Statistical Energy Analysis (SEA) to predict the transmission of sound and vibration through structures. The effects of leaks and flanking of a partition are discussed in Section 12.25. Sections 12.6 and 12.7 discuss single‐number ratings and test methods for airborne sound transmission. The transmission of impact sound (e.g. footsteps) and floor/ceiling assembly performance are reviewed in Section 12.8. Sections 12.9 and 12.10 review measured sound transmission loss data and sound insulation requirements for buildings. The chapter ends with a discussion on the vibration response of buildings to fluid flow and wind.