Abstract
Ethylene vinyl acetate (EVA) is widely used in the footwear industry. However, this manufacturing process generates significant waste. With the implementation of the Brazilian performance standard NBR 15575, all new residential buildings must meet the required performance levels. One of the requirements prescribed by the standard is impact noise insulation between floors, which can be achieved by using materials with low specific mass. Hence, this research study aims to develop a floor covering mortar incorporating EVA derived the footwear industry, to be used as floor covering for soundproofing. The study was conducted by undertaking compressive and tensile strength tests, as well as normalised impact sound pressure level, executed in a normalised chamber. Five mixtures were produced, with 20%, 40%, 60% 80% and 100% EVA substituting regular sand, as well as the conventional floor covering. Floor covering plates measuring 1m2, and one representative sample of the slab measuring 16m2 were molded, which acoustic isolation differed by 2dB. The mixture with the best performance provided a 9dB reduction in relation to the reference slab with conventional floor covering, proving to be effective for use as an acoustic insulator.
Keywords:
EVA waste; Impact noise; Acoustic insulation
