Acoustics
Combining 100 years of industry experience with state-of-the-art
design facilities, Kimpton Acoustics is able to address the most
complex noise management challenge and provide the right
solution.
Norwich
Offshore Windfarm - Transformer Noise Enclosure
Davyhulme Waste Water Treatment Works
Whitelee
Windfarm - Transformer Noise Enclosure
Wyman
Gordon - Process Acoustic Enclosure
Carlsberg - Acoustic Canopies
Hydro Polymers - CHP Noise Enclosure
Stillingfleet Mine -
Generator Noise Enclosure
Leading Can Manufacturer -
Acoustic Enclosure
Liverpool Hope University -
Noise Control Solutions
Royal Mail - Acoustic
Reduction Solution
BP Sunbury - Acoustic Doors
Faiveley Transport - Acoustic
Doors
Titan Yacht - Marine Vessel
Solutions
Norwich offshore windfarm -
transformer noise enclosure
The Client
Sheringham Shoal Offshore Wind Farm resides 17km off the North
Norfolk coast. It's 88 turbines each with a blade span of 52m
extend for 6km into the North Sea.
The turbines are capable of producing 317 megawatts of
electricity, enough to power 220,000 domestic homes. The 1.1TWh of
generated electricity will save 500,000 tonnes of CO2 emissions
each year.
The Challenge
The environmental impact through noise and vibration originating
from super grid transformers, over time can be significant.
Over its 40 years of operation the sound emissions from the
transformer will gradually increase, the installation must be
'treated' to prevent the noise emissions exceeding those agreed at
planning stage.
The Solution
Kimpton Acoustics designed, manufactured and installed an
acoustic enclosure to the Super Grid Transformer.
The enclosure was supplied to site in modular kit form for ease
of transport and storage and assembled on site to National Grid's
standards.
The sound power level from the transformer when operating with
the enclosure fitted is guaranteed not to exceed 20dB @ frequency
of 100Hz.
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Davyhulme Waste water
treatment works
The Client
Davyhulme Sewage Works is one of the largest wastewater
treatment plants in Europe serving a population of 1.2 million in
and around Manchester city centre.
Since it was built in 1889, the plant has undergone many
upgrades and continues to expand and improve its processes in the
treatment of raw sewage. The plant uses anaerobic digestion to
treat the sewage which produces biogas, up to 70% of which is
Methane, a gas similar to Natural Gas.
United Utilities use the biogas to generate electricity.
The Challenge
As part of their Carbon Reduction commitment United Utilities
want to extract more of the available energy from the thousands of
tonnes of sewage that they treat each year. In order to do this
they need to upgrade their treatment works to allow them to harvest
the biogas and generate electricity via CHP's to power their
process and also feed the additional power into the National Grid.
With almost 10MW of electricity to be generated via 5 CHP's noise
will be an issue for local residents.
The Solution
In order to meet the planning guidelines Kimpton Acoustic
engineers worked with Clarke Energy to design and manufacture
Acoustic Enclosures for each of the 2.4MW gas engines.
Kimpton designed, manufactured and installed the engine
enclosures comprising steel framework, acoustic panelling and
access doors along with the attenuated filtered engine cooling and
combustion ventilation requirements.
The enclosures and associated ventilation systems will ensure
sound power reduction of 70dB(A) @ 1 meter from the inlet and
exhaust system.
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Whitelee Windfarm -
Transformer Noise Enclosure
The Client
Europe's largest onshore windfarm, Whitelee windfarm boasts 140
turbines and extends 13km in length, covering approximately 5,500
hectares. Located just south of Glasgow, it is capable of producing
322 megawatts of electricity, equivalent to 2% of Scotland's
electricity needs, or roughly sufficient to power the whole of
Glasgow.
The Challenge
The nearest occupied premises are located just 300m away from
the windfarm and the huge transformers required for a scheme of
this scale generate a noise level that exceeds regulations. As a
result, a solution had to be found to reduce noise levels to
prevent the windfarm from contravening the terms of its planning
consent.
The Solution
Kimpton Acoustics designed, manufactured and installed acoustic
enclosures to the transformers. They were supplied to site in
modular kit form for ease of transport and storage and assembled on
site. The sound power level from each transformer when operating
with enclosure fitted is guaranteed not to exceed 76 decibels.
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Wyman Gordon - Process Acoustic
Enclosure
The Client
Wyman Gordon is the global leader in the design, manufacture,
assembly and integration of complex metal components and products.
With more than 118 years' experience, the company uses forged
processes to serve numerous sectors including aerospace, power
generation, oil & gas exploration, medical, automotive, food
processing and nuclear.
The Challenge
Wyman Gordon produces metal pipes of up to 12 metres in length
and 1000mm in diameter for a range of industries.
The cleaning of these pipes is undertaken using a grinding wheel
'mole' which runs the full length of the pipe removing residual
mill scale. This process is inherently noisy as the pipe resonates
just as a tuning fork would while the grinding mole travels up and
down the pipe.
The Solution
To reduce the noise level, Kimpton undertook the design and
manufacture of an acoustic enclosure measuring 26m
long x 3.50m wide x 3m high to house the grinding mole rig and
steel pipes. The enclosure needed to provide excellent acoustic
performance to ensure operator safety and hearing
protection, access into the enclosure was provided by a
mechanically driven sliding roof providing a minimum opening 14.5m
long for access of pipes by an over head gantry crane.
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Carlsberg - Acoustic
Canopies
The Client
Carlsberg has grown to be one of the largest beer brewers in the
UK having began brewing in Denmark in 1847. The company now
supplies 140 countries worldwide and was responsible for brewing
Denmark's first beer with a type of yeast from which almost all
modern-day lagers are derived. Its bottling plant in
Northampton produces 54,000 bottles of beer an hour.
The Challenge
To meet changing health and safety legislation relating to
exposure to noise in the workplace, the plant required an acoustic
solution to address the noise level produced in a few areas around
the bottling line which was impacting on operational staff working
within these areas.
A separate requirement was to deliver a fully air-conditioned
noise haven to be used as a shift manager's office.
The Solution
Kimpton Acoustics was appointed to undertake three installations
across the plant to meet the specified health and safety
regulations.
Bottle line conveyors are characteristically noisy over the
distance they travel to the filling station, therefore acoustic
canopies were installed to reduce noise levels, whilst ensuring
total visibility and multiple access points along the full length
of the conveyor.
Fully air-conditioned noise havens are becoming increasingly
popular in automated plant areas and just such an area was created
for use as a shift managers office as part of the scheme.
To reduce the noise level at source, and therefore provide a
quiet environment for machine operators standing adjacent to the
equipment, Kimpton installed acoustic enclosures on the rinser
infeed, labeller infeeds and Wrapround infeed.
The design, manufacture and installation of the noise management
solutions were completed within budget and with minimal disruption
to the daily activity of the plant.
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Hydro Polymers
- CHP Noise Enclosure
The Client
Hydro Polymers is a fully integrated manufacturer of PVC, and a
major supplier to the PVC market in Northern Europe. PVC is
the most common thermoplastic and is used in many domestic,
medical, commercial and industrial products for example pipes,
bottles and window frames.
The Challenge
The organisation, located in Newton Aycliffe, is striving to
become carbon neutral and part of this effort
involved reducing the energy costs for the production of suspension
PVC resin.
The Solution
Kimpton was appointed to design, manufacture and install an
acoustic housing unit complete with integrated
ventilation to house a CHP (combined heat and
power) generator.
The resulting installation meant that the heat produced by the
generator, which would usually be spent to atmosphere, could be
used to heat the neighbouring process area therefore providing
free heat saving tens of thousands of pounds each
year.
The CHP unit was installed next to the s-PVC drier so that the
heated air from the unit can be used to meet the majority of the
thermal demand for drying of resin and at the same time generate
electricity to replace bought in electricity.
A subsequent independent noise survey verified noise
reductions had been attenuated from 113Db(A) as to have
negligible increase on the existing plant background noise
levels, a noise reduction of 36dB(A).
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Stillingfleet
Mine - Generator Noise Enclosures
The Client
Stillingfleet was part of the Selby Coalfield in North
Yorkshire, one of the biggest and most sophisticated mining
operations in Europe, employing thousands of workers over a 20-year
period. By 2004, changing geological conditions and the falling
price of coal on world markets meant that the mine was no longer
commercially viable and was forced to close.
The Challenge
Mine gas is an unavoidable by-product of coal mining as it is
created in the chemical process of coal formation. Mining activity
creates cracks and crevices that allow substances to be released,
and, as it is not possible to make a disused pit completely
gas-tight during the sealing off process, gas continues to enter
the atmosphere long after the mine has closed.
The leaking mine gas from Stillingfleet is estimated to be as
much as 12 million cubic metres over a 10 year period and UK Coal
planned to use it to generate electricity. However, the
generating sets needed to do this produced
noise levels above the threshold set out in
guidelines, jeopardising the company's plans.
The Solution
Kimpton designed and installed acoustic
enclosures for the project's four 2.5 megawatt
generators.
Meticulous attention had to be paid to combustion and cooling
airflows, so the Kimpton team's detailed knowledge of
generator application design parameters was
critical to ensuring that the final acoustic enclosure
installations meet all the client's requirements.
The installation reduced the noise levels to
within planning guidelines, ensuring that the project could go
ahead.
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Leading Can
Manufacturer - Acoustic Enclosure
The Client
With an annual capacity of some 13 billion units and a 31%
market share, this manufacturer is one of the leading beverage can
producers in Europe.
The Challenge
To maintain its position at the forefront of the beverage can
industry, the company installed high-speed, automatic, coil-feed
transfer presses at its manufacturing plants in Wrexham and
Deeside. The high noise levels generated by this equipment
had to be addressed in line with the company's HSSE commitment, so
the company looked for an acoustic solution that could be
integrated into the manufacturing process.
The Solution
Kimpton designed, manufactured and installed acoustic
enclosures that would house the presses and ensure
operator safety and hearing protection. The enclosures provide the
highest level of noise control while maintaining
the ability to access, service, and maintain the press. Meticulous
attention to detail ensured the final product met all the necessary
requirements.
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Liverpool Hope University
- Noise Control Solutions
The Client
Although officially it is one of the newest universities in the
country, the colleges that make up Liverpool Hope University have a
history of providing further education in the city for over 160
years.
Down the years Liverpool has earned a world wide reputation for
music of all kinds, from The Beatles to The Royal Liverpool
Philharmonic Orchestra, coincidentally founded in the 1840's at the
same time as Hope's first college. With the city now set to be the
European Capital of Culture in 2008 renewing even greater musical
interest, Liverpool Hope University has expanded its music
department with the construction of a new teaching recording studio
and control room.
The Challenge
Sited on the first floor of the University, the new
music studio had to ensure that whilst internally
it was protected from external airborne noise and
achieved acoustical characteristics for good sound quality, outside
the studio none of the music carried to other parts of the
building. Kimpton Acoustics was appointed to address this
noise management challenge.
The Solution
Both the music studio and the larger control room were of
modular construction enabling design and
manufacture by Kimpton at its factory on the Wirral and then
assembly of the panels from flat pack on site.
The acoustic wall and roof panels supplied were
of nominal 100mm thickness, complete with floating mass barrier.
Externally they were polyester powder coated in a light ivory
finish whilst internally the walls were covered in a durable cloth
finish. The internal floating floor with anti-static carpet tiles
in the control room and ceramic tiles in the studio, was tuned to
10Hz to provide vibration isolation against
structure-borne noise transmission.
Quadruple glazed soundproof windows provided a
visual link between the two rooms, but with 8.8mm and 11.5mm thick
clear laminated safety glass set in vibration isolating aluminium
panels and with window reveals lined with 12mm thick open cell
polyurethane expanded foam, there was no chance of noise
transfer.
Disability Discrimination Act (DDA) compliant soundproof
pedestrian access doors completed the structures. These were
compatible with the walls in terms of acoustic performance and
included complete dual glazed windows to each door leaf.
As well as the basic structure of the rooms, controls against
internally generated noise such as from ventilation systems or
light fittings also had to be in place. Stand-alone external air
conditioning units with heating and cooling capacity to each room,
complete with ducting, silencers and internal ceiling diffusers
were therefore part of the ventilation system design.
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Royal Mail - Acoustic
Reduction Solution
The Client
The Royal Mail distribution centre in Perth is a major depot for
the East Scotland region, there are approximately 60 trucks
travelling in and out each night.
The Challenge
Plans to increase the night time delivery and collection
schedule were inhibited by council regulations regarding
noise abatement after 8pm as the larger volume of
traffic would result in disturbing noise emissions
for local residents. A noise impact assessment identified
that a minimum insertion loss of 12dB was required at the adjacent
residential properties.
The Solution
Kimpton Acoustics was appointed to address the noise
reduction challenge. Acoustic absorption wall
lining, designed and manufactured as a modular construction to aid
transportation and installation, was fixed to the walls and the
underside of the canopy of the existing building.
The linings consist of sound absorption layers, which are
applied to the surfaces that would otherwise reflect unacceptable
noise.
An independent noise survey carried out after the installation
showed that the noise emissions had been reduced
to the required specified levels and the plans to increase the
night-time schedule could go ahead.
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BP Sunbury - Acoustic Doors
The Client
A world leader in the oil industry, BP has its research and
technology head office in Sunbury on Thames in Middlesex, a site
that employs some 2,500 people in 12 buildings.
The Challenge
Because of the proximity of the site to a nearby residential
area any new construction work has to mindful of local
sensitivities. The construction of a new pump house meant that
aesthetics as well as noise control were major
considerations and stringent planning requirements meant the new
building had not only to blend in with the local environment but
that noise pollution had to be minimised.
The Solution
Working for structural steelwork sub-contractors, W.S Britland
& Co, Kimpton was specified to supply five acoustic
doors to the pump house enclosure as well as some
sound-proofed infill panels.
The pump house itself is a timber clad steelwork construction,
sympathetic to the surrounding area and Kimpton was able to
manufacture bespoke acoustic doors with
co-ordinating hardware, all in accordance with the recommendations
of an earlier noise impact assessment.
Once the pump house construction was complete, a subsequent
independent noise survey was carried out which indicated that the
potential noise levels of 79 dB(A) has been attenuated to the
predicted background noise level of 60dB(A), well within
environmental requirements.
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Faiveley Transport -
Acoustic Doors
The Client
Part of The Faiveley Group, one of the world's leading suppliers
of railway systems and services, Faiveley Transport Birkenhead Ltd
designs and manufactures a wide range of brake control systems for
the rail industry.
The Challenge
Using a purpose-built test cell, Faiveley carries out critical
checks on brake product performance before delivering to the
customer. The relocation of an assembly production line adjacent to
the test cell presented potentially disturbing noise
emissions for the assembly personnel. A noise
survey of test equipment indicated levels of 104 dB(A), in
excess of acceptable levels for the workforce and the lack of
soundproofing to the cell's existing double doors
meant they had to be replaced.
The Solution
Kimpton Acoustics was specified to supply and install a set of
high performance acoustic double doors with
dual glazed windows and heavy duty hinges and door
latch.
An independent noise survey carried out after
the installation indicated that the potential noise level of 104
dB(A) had been attenuated to the predicted background noise
level of 60 dB(A), well within health and safety
regulations for the employees.
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Titan Yacht - Marine Vessel
Solutions
The Client
Vortex Marine provides a luxury yacht charter service. Capable
of carrying 22 passengers, the company's yacht 'TITAN' is designed
to cruise the Mediterranean and Caribbean and can be chartered for
weeks at a time.
The Challenge
Vortex Marine planned to convert a royal navy survey ship into a
luxury yacht to provide a charter service. As part of this
transformation, new Volvo marine generating sets were to be
installed on the upper level of the engine room but this had the
potential to create disturbing noise levels for
the 22 guests.
The Solution
Kimpton Acoustics were appointed to design and install an
acoustic solution that addressed the noise
produced by the generating sets and the potential impact on guests
and staff onboard the yacht.
Kimpton had to pay meticulous attention to combustion and
cooling air flows and detailed knowledge of marine diesel and
generator application design parameters was essential to ensure
that the final product met all the requirements.
To overcome the challenge of undertaking an installation on
board a marine vessel where access is restricted,
the acoustic enclosures were delivered to site as
a flat pack suitably sized to gain access into the engine room. To
control noise levels still further, the generating
sets were positioned on anti vibration mounts to
avoid noise vibration through the ships
structure.
An independent noise survey carried out after
installation indicated the potential noise had been reduced by 32dB
(A) to levels that will not disturb the enjoyment of guests
onboard.
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