The feasibility of rock wool waste utilisation in a double-layer concrete brick for acoustic: a conceptual review

Abstract

Denser population in a city leads to a serious noise pollution problem. In order to control the ambient noise effectively, a sound insulation brick is desired. However, conventional bricks have poor sound barrier system and is made from unsustainable materials that consume high energy. Hence, this paper introduces a feasibility study on rock wool waste utilisation in a double-layer concrete brick (a combination of aerated concrete and solid concrete) as a potential technique to improve the sound barrier system in brick walls. Currently, rock wool waste is one of the synthetic wastes, which are massively dumped into the landfill by the industry or building demolition castoffs every year. However, rock wool waste has the potential to be recycled and reused as a sound insulation material because it still has the fibrous structural characteristic. Aerated concrete is generally known as an acoustic material; hence, this paper reviews on the implementation of rock wool waste in the aerated concrete layer to improve noise absorption performance. The optimum sound absorption and the thickness of aerated concrete were subsequently integrated with the solid media to transmit sound and indirectly improve the overall brick strength to form a double-layer concrete brick and facilitate the invention of sustainable bricks.