DESIGN, CONSTRUCTION AND ACOUSTIC PERFORMANCE OF A SOUND-POOOF ENCLOSURE FOR DIESEL GENERATOR-SET

This paper presents the design and construction details of a soundproof enclosure for housing 20 KVA diesel generator-set. As the generator had to be installed close to the hospital building, it was desirable to reduce the transmission of noise by housing the generator in such an enclosure. The diesel engine being an air cooled one, it was essential to supply fresh air into the enclosure for its cooling. Forced inflow of air is provided through an inlet duct located in such a way that the incoming fresh air is thrown close to the inlet of cooling fan of the engine. The high velocity air stream, which heats up while passing over the engine head, escapes to the atmosphere through a rectangular outlet duct with enlarges inlet that receives hot air from the engine. The air ducts were designed specially and have been provided with acoustic lining for sound absorption. The masonary enclosure has been provided with double glazed fixed windows and double doors. The exhaust pipe of the engine fitted with a muffler has been taken out through the enclosure wall facing away from the hospital. Acoustic performance studies conducted in terms of attenuation provided by the enclosure at different frequencies have also been presented and discussed. The noise control measures adopted for building the sound-proof enclosure have been found to be quite effective as the noise levels inside the hospital building are now within the acceptable limits.