Acoustic Wall & Enclosure around Mechanical Plant – Liverpool

Overview

A large-scale project involving an acoustic wall, spanning several months and involving a lot of coordination. Thanks to our specialist project manager the programme was maintained and ran smoothly.

The project involved a few different acoustic mitigation solutions including our acoustic wall and high r’w enclosure in Liverpool. The site was in early-stage development and AGS Noise Control were responsible for all the key aspects of the project with scope including.

• 2no Acoustic Walls
• 2no Acoustic Enclosures
• Circular silencer attenuators
• Inlet and extract attenuators
• Electrical installations and connections
• Fire detection
• Crane and lifting services
• Supply and installation of structural Steelwork
• Weatherproof rubber roof membrane

Construction

The specification included our standard steel and high density mineral wool acoustic panels, PPC to the client’s preferred RAL colour. Each of the acoustic buildings of nearly 7m-high containing 2no ‘leaf and a half’ soundproof doors and the acoustic barriers had a single leaf personnel acoustic door each for access. The doors, fitted with slam-locks and internal push pads also included all the necessary hardware including acoustic seals and hinges.

Furthermore, the acoustic roof had a weatherproof rubber membrane skin installed. This is a specialist option that AGS goes above and beyond to provide, ensuring the longevity of the panels and protecting the internal plant equipment.

The structure included hot dipped structural steelwork to the relevant regulations BS EN ISO 1461 transmitting loads to the concrete slab that the enclosure stood upon. Our technical structural engineers performed load calculations ensuring the safety of the building.

The plantrooms were around 9m high and combined to around 200m² of floor area. Whilst the screens had a combined total length of about 50m. The installation ran smoothly with crane lifting, scaffolding, MEWPS, and structural steelwork all coordinated effectively, and the total install period only lasted around 12 weeks. A great achievement from all involved.

Thanks to our directly employed site installation engineers safely and efficiently completing the project with our quick to install acoustic panels, further aided by their extensive expertise. AGS feels investing in directly employed site engineers ensures that installations are undertaken with the highest care and precision. Especially important when dealing with expensive plant kit or other surrounding equipment on site.

The electrical works included LED lighting, emergency lighting, distribution board, sockets. With fire detection including fire panels, smoke detectors etc.

Attenuators and Silencers

To comply with the acoustic consultancy’s Noise Impact Assessment regulations, Low level air inlet attenuators and high-level air extract attenuators including weather louvres were included to satisfy ventilation requirements whilst ensuring noise breakout was mitigated effectively. A number of heat calculations were also undertaken to ensure an acceptable ambient internal temperature. AGS designed, manufactured and installed self-supporting circular silencers to the chiller fans. Which provided noise control to the units without increasing the resistance of airflow by incorporating sound absorption material and baffles in ductwork specific frequency ranges can be targeted for effective noise reduction.

A great example of AGS’ ability to provide a full turnkey solution and undertake a vast range of tasks as a contractor.