Qualities in a sound mat have been defined for many years. Vibration noise can be mitigated through added resilience in a mat, greater quantity of airspace or with added thickness. All of these have to be balanced with the structural requirements of a flooring assembly. In other words, the grout joints can crack or gypsum concrete may need reinforcement if the sound control product is too thick, spongy or airy. The balance is enhancing performance but being mindful of structural integrity.
Vibration waves pass differently through solids, liquids and air. Different types of solid materials will have an effect at dampening or amplifying different frequencies. Air space can be broken into smaller parts to create a more difficult path for vibration waves. But air pressure can pass vibration in flooring applications and with “entangled net” products, even though touching is minimized, secondarily air pressure passes vibration. Still, the more void, the better the performance. The next frontier in product design will be to build composite materials that both modify the density of solids and control air pressure build up.