Speaker
Description
Cross-laminated timber (CLT) panels are gaining popularity as load-bearing wall and floor elements due to their low surface mass, potential for sustainable sourcing, and speed of installation on site. However, accurately and efficiently predicting their airborne and impact sound insulation remains challenging. This difficulty arises from their complex vibroacoustic behavior, driven by strongly orthotropic layers, significant shear deformation, thickness resonances, and low impact impedance. To reduce computational effort, the vibroacoustic response is often approximated using an equivalent homogeneous orthotropic plate or solid panel, with elastic properties derived from measurements or a rule-of-mixtures approach. Such models, however, are typically semi-empirical and lose accuracy at higher frequencies. In this work, an alternative prediction method is proposed. The three-dimensional elastic deformation of each orthotropic layer is modeled exactly in the frequency–wavenumber domain, yet spatial discretization is avoided, such that the method remains computationally efficient. Finite-size effects are accounted for through equivalent anti-symmetric periodic loading and a baffled radiation analysis. For impact sound insulation, the floor’s point impedance is explicitly included. A series of validation examples illustrate that, with this method, accurate airborne and impact sound insulation predictions can be attained when directly employing the elastic properties of the constituent wood.