Lab & Site Testing case study
Roof Cassette Assessment and Testing
Background
SRL were engaged by a roof designer and manufacturer to assess and test the performance of a bespoke, lightweight roof cassette system that they had proposed for use on a 6300m2 events and conference centre in northern England.
Challenge
In order to adequately control noise from and within the exhibition space, the roof system was required to achieve a number of acoustic performance metrics, including a sound insulation performance of >62dB Rw, a rain noise performance of <45dB LiA, an a Class A acoustic absorption performance. These performance specifications, particularly the sound insulation metrics, are onerous for a lightweight roof system.
Solution
SRL played a critical role in demonstrating the suitability of the proposed roof system and it’s ability to meet the performance requirements that had been set. We initially assessed several options for the system, and advised whether we expected them achieve the performance requirements that had been set. Where we felt the proposed systems would have fallen short of the acoustic requirements, we recommended suitable changes or additions to the system to achieve the criteria.
The roof systems were then tested in SRL’s acoustic laboratory to confirm it could meet the performance requirements. Crucially, the desktop assessment provided information on what constructions were expected to be suitable, which allowed for a significantly reduced testing regime compared to going into these tests ‘blind’.
The tests demonstrated that our performance predictions for sound insulation and rain noise were accurate to within 5dB, and that we accurately estimated the acoustic absorption performance of the system. Our testing certificates also allowed the client to provide the project design team with robust performance data for their proposal, and allay any concerns regarding acoustics for the roof build-up.
By taking advantage of SRL’s consultancy team to provide desktop assessments of the systems prior to testing, we were able to minimise the cost of the overall procedure to the client, as the physical testing of the roof systems (which is much more costly than a desktop assessment) could be minimised. As a result, SRL provided excellent value to the client that may not be achieved with other test laboratories.
