The National Construction Code (NCC) 2016 for Class 2, 3 and 9c buildings requires services to be acoustically separated from habitable and non-habitable rooms by a specified performance criterion outlined in Part F5.6. Pipe systems consisting of lagged or acoustic pipes provide an acoustic benefit over traditional PVC pipes. Since neither lagged or acoustic pipes contribute to the separating construction between the services and room, rating their acoustic performance in accordance with the NCC Deemed-to-Satisfy Provisions in Part F5.6 is impossible. This paper presents and describes an established method to test and a unique calculation method to rate these acoustic pipe systems to demonstrate that the construction of these systems provides an acoustic benefit that may be compared against the NCC requirement. Results of tested lagged and acoustic pipes that are in the public domain are summarised. Various issues with the testing method, calculation procedure and NCC criteria are discussed. This paper promotes discussion directed towards the establishment of an Industry Code of Practice for Australian acousticians to enable standardised acoustic rating of innovative pipe systems in accordance with the NCC.
展开▼
