It is crucial for ITS to offer high-performance technologies and value-added services: this is the conviction of ITS Management, since the creation of the company.
In this context, ITS‘s human resource is continually committed to sustained Research and Development (R&D) activities in acoustics in order to maintain and increase the status of its scientific and technical knowledge in relation to the finalization & the improvement of construction systems & of simulation software in the field of sound insulation.
Main areas of Research and Development (R&D) in acoustics at ITS
The main areas of Research and Development in acoustics at ITS are:
- multi-layered acoustic structures, combining porous media (e.g. mineral wool, polyester wool, surfacings) and plates (perforated or not, then possibly with extensional or constrained damping), with respect to their properties e.g. in term of sound transmission through walls, sound absorption, propagation loss in silencers
- sound production: flow noise e.g. in silencers, or for other components of aeraulics networks or pressurized fluid networks e.g. elbows, straight lengths, control valves and noise related to gas depressurization
- sound propagation: transmission of noise in ducts, propagation of sound inside premises, transmission of sound to the outside of buildings, propagation of sound outside
Main applications of Research and Development (R&D) in acoustics at ITS
The main applications of Research and Development in acoustics at ITS are:
- products and construction systems for soundproofing, including when designed in a tailormade manner (panels for sound insulation or reverberation control, noise barriers walls and dividers, silencers)
- simulation means: software in Excel format, for internal use and for being marketed as Computer Aided Design (CAD) tools for the sizing of products and construction systems for soundproofing
Main outlets ITS Research and Development (R&D) in acoustics
The main outlets for ITS Research and Development in acoustics are:
- the protection of workers, to limit their excessive exposure to noise in workplaces (not only in workshops and other production premises, but also in offices, e.g. open spaces, call centers)
- the preservation of the environment, to reduce noise pollution (e.g. around industrial sites, not only in the field of energy production), and to maintain the desirable tranquility for the neighborhood vwith regrad to noisy installations
- the acoustic quality of buildings, both in terms of airborne sound insulation of envelope elements (roofs, walls including doors, windows, openings intended for air renewal), and in terms of noise limitation equipment, e.g. relating to Heating, Ventilation, Air Conditioning (HVAC) and regarding the reverberation control in premises (with regard to issues of speech intelligibility and hearing comfort, not only in concert halls but also in more ordinary places such as reception, teaching and training premises - for children, adolescents or adults -, catering rooms, spaces intended for the practice of indoor sports activities e.g. gymnasiums, swimming pools)
ITS’s expenditures for Research and Development (R&D) in acoustics
ITS’s expenditures for Research and Development (R&D) in acoustics has been as follows (as a percentage of its turnover):
- in 2021 : 27.8 %
- in 2020 : 34.6 %
- in 2019 : 30.4 %
- in 2018 : 18.9 %
- in 2017 : 39.9 %
- in 2016 : 28.0%
- in 2015 : 19.2 %