Image of cushioning material applied using Lotte Chemical EPP material scheduled for development completion in 2022 Lotte Construction announced on the 19th that it has recently established a specialized noise and vibration research department called the 'Noise and Vibration Solutions Team' under its Technology Research Institute to achieve zero inter-floor noise.
The Noise and Vibration Solutions Team consists of 13 experts with master's and doctoral degrees in related fields such as noise and vibration, structure, concrete, design, and planning.
Until now, Lotte Construction's tasks and departments related to inter-floor noise, structural vibration, concrete materials, design, and development were dispersed. The company plans to integrate these into one unit, starting with building a database on inter-floor noise and advancing research and development for zero inter-floor noise in multi-family housing, including the development of cushioning materials and new technologies.
Floor impact noise, which causes inter-floor noise, is commonly divided into two types. 'Lightweight impact noise' occurs when hard and light objects such as spoons or plastic fall, and 'heavy impact noise' is caused by heavy and large impacts such as heels, basketballs, or hammers.
The problematic impact noise in inter-floor noise is the heavy impact noise. Lotte Construction plans to focus on this and start developing new cushioning materials from March this year.
The new cushioning material will utilize EPP (Expanded Polypropylene), an eco-friendly material produced by Lotte Chemical, in line with strengthening ESG (Environmental, Social, and Governance) management. Compared to materials used in existing inter-floor cushioning, EPP has higher durability and does not produce debris like Styrofoam buoy materials, making it an eco-friendly material that can be recycled and helps prevent marine environmental pollution.
By 2022, Lotte Construction plans to develop cushioning material technology that secures not only noise reduction performance but also eco-friendly performance, and gradually apply it to sites such as Lotte Castle and Le El, taking the lead in solving inter-floor noise problems.
Lotte Construction succeeded in developing a top-grade 60mm thick inter-floor noise insulation material using Styrofoam insulation from Lotte Chemical and rubber cushioning materials in 2015. The photo shows the installation of the cushioning material developed at that time. Photo by [Photographer's Name]
Additionally, the company plans to develop a new composite material structure that can dramatically block inter-floor noise by identifying all noise generation paths such as floors, ceilings, and walls and recombining apartment structural forms. This new composite material structure will include newly developed cushioning materials that have not been used in the construction field before to reduce inter-floor noise.
Park Soon-jeon, head of the Technology Research Institute and leader of the Noise and Vibration Solutions Team at Lotte Construction, said, "In the future, we will develop technologies that can dramatically block inter-floor noise not only through noise-blocking technologies using floors or ceilings but also by utilizing new composite material structures." He added, "We will continue to conduct relentless research so that Lotte Construction's technology can solve the social issue of inter-floor noise, which has recently emerged."
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