The sound insulation and directivity of the sound radiation from double glazed windows

The sound insulation and directivity of the radiated sound from double glazed windows have been measured by different researchers. Previously, airborne sound insulation models have been used to predict the associated measurement results with limited success. In this paper, the importance of accounting for the structure borne sound transmission between two glazing elements via the window frame on the prediction results is demonstrated. The decreased stiffness of the wall cavity as the depth is increased is the reason why sound transmission via the window frame needs to be considered. The reciprocity argument provided by Davy for the prediction of the directivity of sound radiating into a room is validated and it is shown that once the structure borne transmission is considered, an additional weighting term is not needed to compensate for the extra wall collisions which the sound experiences when radiated at grazing incidence.