Sound Insulation of Sliding Doors
09/03/2024
Others
Sliding doors are said to have slightly lower sound insulation performance compared to traditional hinged doors. I once spoke with the president of a company specializing in soundproof doors, and he mentioned that no matter how hard one tries, the maximum sound insulation performance for a sliding door is limited to 40dB at 500Hz. The reason for this is that, unlike hinged doors, sliding doors move horizontally (and sometimes vertically), which makes it difficult to secure the sealing gaskets effectively.
Our company has also manufactured many sliding doors in the past and initially struggled with this issue. We had to revise our designs multiple times to ensure that the sound insulation performance was maintained without affecting the door’s operation. However, we have now succeeded in achieving high sound insulation performance, largely due to the high demand from our customers.
Below are the measured sound insulation values when a sliding door was installed in a soundproof room. Note: Supplied to an automotive parts manufacturer at the end of 2019.
| Frequency (Hz) | 63 | 125 | 250 | 500 | 1000 | 2000 | 4000 | 8000 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Measured Insulation (dB) | 56.1 | 22.0 | 32.5 | 42.8 | 53.8 | 55.3 | 57.4 | 57.9 |
As shown above, the performance at 500Hz is 53.8dB. Although we do not disclose the methods for sealing or the door structure, this design approach allows us to achieve sound insulation levels comparable to an anechoic chamber.
However, compared to soundproof rooms, the doors for anechoic chambers are considerably heavier. Consequently, using commercial components for the sliding mechanism and other parts can be quite expensive. To address this issue, our company manufactures some of these components in-house.