ISO 15186-2:2003

Overview

ISO 15186-2:2003 - Acoustics: Field measurements using sound intensity specifies a sound-intensity method to determine the in-situ (on-site) airborne sound insulation of walls, floors, doors, windows and small building elements. The standard is intended for measurements made in the presence of flanking transmission and can provide sound power data for diagnostic analysis or for measuring flanking sound-insulation parameters. Results are frequency-dependent and can be converted to single-number ratings using ISO 717-1.

Key topics and technical requirements

• Scope and intent
  • In-situ sound intensity method for building elements where flanking paths exist.
  • Suitable for laboratories unable to meet ISO 15186-1 laboratory requirements.
• Instrumentation and measurement practice
  • Requirements for sound intensity probes, calibrators and measurement instrumentation (see IEC references).
  • Test arrangement and measurement surface definitions for source and receiving rooms.
• Test procedure and result expression
  • Procedures for averaging intensity and sound-pressure data over measurement surfaces.
  • Definitions of indices: apparent intensity sound reduction index (R'I), intensity element normalized level difference (DI_ne), intensity normalized level difference (DI_n), and flanking indices.
  • Conversion to weighted single-number values via ISO 717-1.
• Flanking transmission
  • How flanking paths affect measurements and methods to rank partial contributions.
  • Measurement of flanking sound reduction indices for individual transmission paths (useful for model validation).
• Precision and adaptation
  • Estimated reproducibility comparable to ISO 140-10 / ISO 140-4 for small and large elements.
  • Annex A provides an adaptation term K to adjust intensity-method results for comparison with conventional reverberation-room methods. Annex B gives precision/bias guidance; Annex C discusses flanking effects.

Practical applications and users

• Building acoustics consultants conducting on-site diagnostics of sound insulation and flanking paths.
• Test laboratories performing in-situ verification of partitions, doors, windows and floor elements.
• Acoustic designers and engineers validating prediction models (e.g., EN 12354-1) or measuring flanking sound reduction indexes.
• Manufacturers and compliance teams comparing in-situ performance to laboratory data (ISO 140 series) and converting to single-number ratings (ISO 717-1).

Related standards

• ISO 15186-1 (Laboratory measurements)
• ISO 15186-3 (Laboratory low-frequency measurements)
• ISO 140-3, ISO 140-4, ISO 140-10 (Conventional sound insulation methods)
• ISO 717-1 (Rating airborne sound insulation)
• EN 12354-1 (Prediction models)
• IEC 61043, IEC 60942 (Instrumentation and calibrators)

Keywords: ISO 15186-2:2003, sound intensity, field measurements, sound insulation, flanking transmission, in-situ acoustics, airborne sound insulation, sound reduction index, building acoustics.