Banca de QUALIFICAÇÃO: DEBORA MENDES GOMES

THE SOUND THAT REACHES THE CLAY: Acoustic performance and comfort in earthen buildings

earth construction systems; acoustic performance; acoustic comfort.

Used for more than 9,000 years, the constructive use of land, in addition to its sustainable character, has demonstrated its potential and durability, resisting bad weather and its own time. Clay can control humidity, absorb heat and pollutants, its use saves transport costs, and can always be recycled and does not generate waste. A inherent density of the material contributes to sound insulation, in addition to porosity clay provides less sound reflection, which demonstrates the advantages of its use in acoustics. Despite recognizing quality in terms of acoustic comfort, studies on this matter in these systems are still scarce and not very in-depth earth constructions. In recent years, as the 2022 Frontiers Report points out, there is an increase in noise pollution in urban centers, which indicates potential problems for well-being and public health. In this context, currently, specific parameters have been established through standards to ensure the development of buildings with better acoustic performance, however, It is understood that the notion of what is comfortable is a broader and more complex topic than exceeds this limit. Thus, the research question raised is: how do earth buildings behave acoustically and what they can offer in the aspect of performance and comfort? The main objective of this research is to evaluate the performance and acoustic comfort of homes built with earth systems, located in the Metropolitan Region of Natal. In this way, the acoustic parameters relevant to the assessment, such as insulation and reverb. The methodological procedures consist of bibliographical research about the topic; data collection and performance evaluation through measurement of field, mathematical calculations and computer simulations; and user interviews on the perception and notion of comfort. Each earthen building passes through procedures described and the results found from the evaluation are compared each other to obtain more consistent data on the analyzed construction system.