LAYSON, PATRICIA BUILDING UTILITIES 3

ARC-3203 FEBRUARY 03,2022

IMPROVING THE ACOUSTICAL DESIGN OF A ROOM

SOUND INSULATION HAS THE ABILITY TO SOUNDPROOF AN ENVIRONMENT IN

RELATION TO ITS EXTERIOR. THAT IS, IT CAN BE USED TO "COVER" NOISE COMING IN
FROM THE STREET OR PREVENT SOUNDS GENERATED INSIDE THE SPACE FROM
"SEEPING" OUTWARDS. THIS PROCESS RELIES ON THE ABILITY OF SURFACES TO
CREATE BARRIERS, PREVENTING NOISE FROM PASSING FROM ONE ENVIRONMENT
TO ANOTHER. TO ACHIEVE AN ACOUSTICALLY ISOLATED ENVIRONMENT, SOUND
WAVES MUST BE COMPLETELY REFLECTED OR ABSORBED BY A ROOM'S MATERIAL
SURFACES WITHOUT EMITTING ANY SOUND ON THE OTHER SIDE.
BUT AN ENVIRONMENT WITH GOOD SOUND INSULATION DOES NOT ALWAYS
COINCIDE WITH QUALITY ACOUSTICS. WE HAVE ALREADY COVERED THIS TOPIC IN A
PREVIOUS ARTICLE. ALL BUILDING MATERIALS HAVE ACOUSTIC PROPERTIES
BECAUSE THEY ABSORB, REFLECT, OR TRANSMIT THE SOUNDS THAT AFFECT THEM.
WHEN SOUND WAVES ARE REFLECTED, THEY CAUSE AN INCREASE IN THE GENERAL
ECHO AND REVERBERATION LEVELS IN A SPACE. THAT IS, A SPACE BUILT WITH
REFLECTIVE MATERIALS, SUCH AS CONCRETE, PRODUCES MULTIPLE ECHOES AND
LITTLE CLARITY OF SOUND, WHICH MAY BE DESIRABLE FOR CERTAIN USES SUCH AS
CHURCHES. IN CONTRAST, ACOUSTIC ABSORPTION IS A PHENOMENON THAT
MINIMIZES THE REFLECTION OF SOUND WAVES IN AN ENVIRONMENT, MAKING THE
SOUND DISAPPEAR IMMEDIATELY AFTER ITS EMISSION. THE MORE ABSORBENT THE
MATERIAL THAT IS ADDED TO THE ROOM, THE SHORTER THE REVERBERATION TIME.
THIS IS WHERE WE FIND MOST OF THE CONFUSION AROUND ACOUSTIC MATERIALS.
TO ACHIEVE SOUNDPROOFING WE NEED LARGE MASSES, OR THICK AND HEAVY
WALLS AND SLABS. MATERIALS CONSIDERED "GOOD SOUND ABSORBERS" ARE
LIGHT, SOFT, AND POROUS. MATERIALS CONSIDERED "GOOD INSULATORS" ARE
HEAVY, HARD, AND SMOOTH. IF THE IDEA IS TO REDUCE THE NOISE ENTERING OR
LEAVING A ROOM, THE STRUCTURAL MASS OF THE WALLS, THE FLOOR, AND THE
CEILING MUST BE INCREASED, AND THE AIR SPACES FROM WINDOWS AND DOORS
MUST BE SEALED. BUT IF THE PURPOSE IS TO MAKE THE ENVIRONMENT MORE
PLEASANT, WITH LESS REVERBERATION, WHAT WE SEEK IS TO ABSORB THE SOUND.
FOR AUDITORIUMS, THEATERS, AND CINEMAS, WHERE THE ACOUSTICS SHOULD BE
AS CLOSE TO IDEAL AS POSSIBLE, AN ANALYSIS OF THE MATERIALS OF ALL
SURFACES IN THE ROOMS SHOULD BE PERFORMED, DEFINING HOW MUCH
ABSORPTION AND REFLECTION IS DESIRED AT EACH POINT. FOR THIS, THE
EXPERIENCE OF AN ACOUSTICS EXPERT IS ESSENTIAL.
TO ACHIEVE BASIC KNOWLEDGE, IT IS IMPORTANT TO KNOW THE CHARACTERISTICS
OF SOME OF THE MOST COMMON MATERIALS. FOR THIS PURPOSE, THERE ARE
TABLES THAT LIST THE ABSORPTION COEFFICIENTS OF EACH MATERIAL WHEN
EXPOSED TO CERTAIN FREQUENCIES (HERTZ). IT VARIES FROM 0.00 (PERFECTLY
REFLECTIVE) TO 1.00 (PERFECTLY ABSORBENT). FOR EXAMPLE, A COEFFICIENT OF
0.2 MEANS THAT 20% OF THE SOUND ENERGY THAT COMES INTO CONTACT WITH
THIS MATERIAL IS ABSORBED AND IS NOT REFLECTED BACK IN THE ROOM. THAT IS,
THIS MATERIAL IS 80% REFLECTIVE FOR A GIVEN SOUND FREQUENCY. TO
STANDARDIZE THESE QUANTITIES, THE LABEL NRC REFERS TO THE "NOISE
REDUCTION COEFFICIENT" AND IS A STANDARD CLASSIFICATION THAT
CORRESPONDS TO THE ARITHMETIC MEAN OF THE ABSORPTION COEFFICIENTS FOR
THE FREQUENCIES 250, 500, 1000 AND 2000 HZ.

MATERIALS AND THEIR RESPECTIVE NOISE REDUCTION COEFFICIENTS.

LESS ABSORBENT MATERIALS

• PLASTERED MASONRY | 0.025

• EXPOSED CONCRETE | 0.03
• GLASS | 0.03
• MARBLE | 0.01
• GRANITE | 0.015
• METAL SURFACE | 0.025
• CERAMICS | 0.015

MORE ABSORBENT MATERIALS

• GLASS WOOL | 0.68

• ROCK WOOL | 0.72
• ACOUSTIC FOAMS | 0.5
• WOOD FIBER ACOUSTIC PANELS | 0.57