Improved Sound Reduction with Laminated Glass

Dr. Uwe Keller

Growing concern over detrimental noise in densely populated areas has called for improvements in the sound insulation of our building spaces. While laminated safety glass has been optimized for safety and security and offers effective screening of UV-radiation as an additional benefit, its acoustic performance - although superior to monolithic glass - has not been given full consideration in the past. Now, newly developed PVB-films with enhanced vibration damping behavior have become available, providing an alternative to poured resins for glazing systems designed to meet high sound attenuation requirements.

Moreover, in addition to the use of acoustic PVB for architectural applications it has become evident that this new type of PVB can also contribute to further reduce noise levels experienced in cars. Using an appropriate interlayer actually present the only way to impart enhanced damping properties to windshield and sidelites since non-transparent damping materials, being very successful in damping body vibrations of a car, can naturally not be applied to glass surfaces.

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