Back to Building Acoustics

Acoustic Shear Keys

Working with design teams and/or structural engineers our shear keys are designed to provide high vertical load capacity whilst reducing the number of assemblies, acoustic isolation and shear restraint required.

Farrat acoustic shear keys are typically used in the design of high-rise buildings to reduce the transmission of vibrations and noise.

Mitigating the effects of wind or vibration between different sections or components of the building.

The concept behind acoustic shear keys involves incorporating resilient materials or devices between structural elements to isolate them and limit the transmission of vibrations. These materials or devices act as dampers or shock absorbers, absorbing and dissipating energy from vibrations.

Acoustic shear key technology

The materials used within Farrat acoustic shear keys are selected to provide optimised vibrational energy dissipation. The acoustic shear key technology aims to improve the comfort and safety of occupants by reducing the perception of vibrations and noise within the building. By incorporating these key elements into the structural design, the propagation of vibrations is interrupted, minimising their impact on the building and its occupants.

It’s worth noting that the specific design and implementation of acoustic shear keys can vary depending on the building’s requirements, local building codes, and structural engineering practices. Consulting with our team of specialist designers and engineers is advised.

Our design principles

Farrat’s design principles and products provide an adaptable and flexible way of incorporating vibration control into building structures, with the aim to achieve the best combined system performance of load bearing capacity, structural integrity, vibration control and buildability. The success of a building isolation project is not just reliant on the performance of the isolation bearings but requires consideration of the entire building design including:

Structural modelling to achieve an integrated design between the structure and the isolation bearings
Robust structural design to take disproportionate collapse and column effective length into account
Effective structural and architectural detailing of all interfaces between isolated and non-isolated elements which may be structural internal fit out or services
A construction methodology that minimises risk, time and cost

Meet Our Engineers Knowledge Hub