Quieting Swaziland Airport Terminal
Acoustiblok Airport Terminal Noise Abatement Project
Quieting Swaziland Airport Terminal – SWAZILAND, Africa – While airport officials all over the world are working to find ways to reduce high noise levels in their terminals, one of the world’s newest airports has addressed the problem during the terminal construction phase.
Acoustiblok® sound abatement material has been installed in the passenger terminal of the new, $150 million Sikhuphe International Airport in the Kingdom of Swaziland in southern Africa.
Airport designers chose to install state-of-the-art soundproofing material in the terminal of this African nation’s new international airport during the design phase, which began in 2005. Acoustiblok was chosen for its adaptability and performance ratings. Heavy but very flexible, just one thin layer of Acoustiblok’s unique 1/8-inch sound-abatement material added to a stud wall can block more sound than 12-inches of poured concrete.
Sikhuphe’s is the world’s newest international airport. Swaziland was formerly serviced by nearby Matsapa Airport, which handles only trans-Atlantic or intercontinental flights and serves largely as a charter airport for small regional carriers.
Prince Hlangusemphi, Swaziland’s minister of economic planning and development, said construction of the Sikhupe International Airport has been a cooperative multi-nation effort. Runway construction began in 2003, and terminal construction began in 2005, culminating in its structural completion in July, 2010. The airport is expected to be completely functional by early 2011.
The Sikhuphe airport’s Acoustiblok was supplied by the company’s South African distributor, Able Walling Solutions in Gauteng, South Africa, one of Acoustiblok’s many distributors worldwide.
Acoustiblok has been proven effective in reducing industrial and transportation noise exposure. This type of noise often exceeds limits recommended by the World Health Organization and contributes to noise-induced hearing loss.
Adding a 3mm layer of the UL-approved Acoustiblok increases a standard stud wall’s soundproofing factor by more than 98-percent. While other materials attempt to “stop” or “absorb” sound, Acoustiblok does neither. As the heavy, limp Acoustiblok material vibrates from the sound, it actually “transforms” the acoustical energy into “inaudible friction energy” in a process referred to as “isothermal adiabatic.” Lead, previously considered the best soundproofing, works on precisely the same basis and has exactly the same STC sound reduction rating.