The design and implementation of an industrial enclosure - structure enveloping sound source (machine), designed to protect the environment of the sound source (machine) - (carterization of machine tools, housing of noisy equipment or soundproofing building .. .) performing in terms of sound insulation necessitates the involvement of constructions often very airtight and often justifying moderate heat loss.
The ventilation of an enclosure is related to the need of evacuation of heat (calorific energy) dissipated by the enclosed equipment and not always transmitted through the walls of the enclosure.
The required ventilation rate is related to the thermal contributions of equipment installed inside the enclosure and to the performance in terms of thermal insulation of the partitions of the enclosure and also to the allowable temperature rise (difference between the temperature within the enclosure and the temperature of the air of the ventilation system).
With regard to thermal contributions in the workplace: those related to lighting, to computer equipment ... are generally minor, while those related to the process itself are often major and sometimes impacting the quality of the process itself: in the corrugated cardboard industry (where corrugators are concerned) or in printing industry (where rotary presses are concerned) for example. Where applicable, the presence of openings in the enclosure, permanent (passages for flow of raw material e.g. : wood entry for a planer) or temporary (periodic opening of doors by an operator, exit through enslaved hatches of finished products for example outlet for blocks for of a concrete press) are taken into account as well as the air flow necessary for the process itself (in terms of air to be introduced into the enclosure for drying or cleaning with compressed air for example) or the flow rate evacuated through a network of dust or chip discharge (woodworking machines for example) or suction trimmings (processing machinery in corrugated cardboard industry, for example) if they exist.
As far as thermal contributions in the energy sector are concerned, (and in particular: in the case of power generation units), their treatment can be a major aspect for the success of a soundproofing project, enabling enclosed equipment to operate in conditions as foreseen by the manufacturers without exceeding the acceptable temperature limits: when one or more fan(s), engine(s), compressor(s), generator(s), gas turbine(s) are involved, for example. Are taken into account also the needs of combustion air (for an engine or a gas turbine for example) that may require the creation of an aeraulic circuit separate from the ventilation circuit of the enclosure with dedicated filtration and silencing equipment (silencer). For such projects, a comprehensive specific study in terms of aerodynamics is required.
The existence of a ventilation system in an enclosure generally leads to the need to implement silencers (one for the air inlet and one for the air outlet to limit the propagation of noise through these openings) and sometimes to have to silence the fan wich sound power can sometimes be of the same order as that of other noise sources for which the enclosure has been considered and may lead to the implementation of soundproofing equipment also consistent - if not more consistent - as for the treatment of the partitions of the enclosure . The installation of enclosures in some particularly hot environments (in relation to climate, or due to the presence of heat sources - nearby - such as a furnace or as some processes) may necessitate the implementation of equipment of air conditioning.