In a chemical plant, a large capacity centrifugal compressor (possibly occupying with auxilliary equipement a floor area close from 400 m2 with a height above 8 m) is a very powerful noise source potentially causing sound nuisance for personnel of the operator operating in the vicinity as well as for the neighborhood. It is often necessary to use in such cases a soundproofing equipment of high technology to ensure compliance of the installation on the one hand with respect to the legislation on noise at work and on the other hand with respect to the regulation in terms of environmental protection. In fact buildings housing such equipments must have outsized acoustic performance (the overall sound power level to consider is often above 125 dBA and noise emissions are with a very wide frequency spectrum).
ITS will participate in the construction of an industrial building with high acoustic performance for a large capacity centrifugal compressor (occupying with auxilliary equipement a floor area close from 400 m2 with a height above 8 m) installed in a chemical plant in Germany.
This soundproofing equipment will have a sound reduction particularly important (the overall sound power level to be considered is close from 130 dBA and noise emissions are with a very wide frequency spectrum), requiring a specific design of the partitions and of the ventilation system which is one of the major features of the soundproofing equipment.
The optimization of the cost and of the duration of intervention for assembly and disassembly operations are key factors of success of the efficient soundproofing concept considered.
The simulation of the sound attenuation of partitions, of the insertion loss (with and without flow noise) and of the total pressure loss of ventilation silencers as well as the simulation of the impact after soundproofing on the one hand in terms of sound power level and on the other hand in terms of sound pressure level at specified positions was performed using the acoustics simulation software SILDIS®.
Specific materials and construction systems to meet ambitious and varied targets in terms of technical performance will be integrated into the design as required.
Related features such as weather resistance, disassembly of the whole and of subsets, securities, lighting, electrical works ... will be integrated according to the needs for this industrial building with high acoustic performance.
Making possible the access necessary for the maintenance of this large capacity centrifugal compressor will be an important issue for this project, requiring the implementation of removable roof elements (with a crane) to allow the required interventions in case of repair. The large dimensions of these roof elements, and the technical constraints (durably) related to the desired functionalities i.e. on the one hand disassembly and on the other hand weathertightness (and tighness to noise) will make necessary an ingenious design and a neat construction.
The air renewal of this industrial building with high acoustic performance, requiring large air flows for which openings of large section will be necessary, which shall not, however, allow the propagation of noise towards the outside will involve the implementation of sophisticated ventilation systems , so as to sufficiently attenuate the noise related to the operation not only of the centrifugal compressor of large capacity, but also of fans, also very noisy, for which the classification ATEX, if it is required, will limit the possible technological choices.
This project will be a great challenge for ITS and its business partners.
In addition, the course of this project shows - once again - the possibilities for design and optimization of industrial soundproofing equipment of the software SILDIS®, whose computing power and reliability, as well as whose versatility made of it a choice tool for the selection of products and construction systems for many projects of sound insulation.