Comparison of ASTC results with the calculation performed using the NRC soundPATHS calculator

The NRC has developed a calculator that predict the apparent Sound insulation, as described in the procedure described in Section 5.8.1.4. or 5.8.1.5. of the 2015 edition of the National Building Code of Canada. Since 1984, MJM Acoustical Consultants has performed a lot of ASTC tests in the field on the huge variety of building structures (wood, steel, concrete, steel/concrete, etc.) and on different types of partitions (wood or steel). Since the 2015 National Building Code of Canada has been enforced in January 2022 in the Quebec province, there will be in increased demand to perform calculation the soundPaths calculator. Therefore, the performance of the calculator compared to real life situations should be assessed. The purpose of this paper is to present several comparison of the ASTC rating measured in the field and the rating provided by the soundPaths calculator using the same partitions compositions and building structure . We will then discuss the difference between the results and proposed some improvements of the NRC SoundPaths calculator.