MODULE 6

Basic Principles of Sound Absorption

• A sound strikes a surface, it is transmitted, reflected, or absorbed. Usually, all 3 events occur.
• The percentage of energy transmitted tends to be very small, generally less than 1%, which
would correspond to a transmission loss of 20db. All remaining energy is partially reflected and
partially reflected and partially absorbed.
• The process that result in acoustical absorption are FRICTION and RESONANCE
• A broken – up surface made of impervious material does not absorb sound, though it may
DIFFUSE, or it may scatter the sound in different directions
• Absorption through FRICTION occurs when sound has access in the fine pores and interstices
that one finds in porous and fibrous materials.
• Absorption through RASONANCE occurs when a stiff but not totally rigid system is set in
motion by sound (Example a plate or a confined volume of air, as in HEMOLTZ RESONATOR)
o RASONANCE is the quality in a sound being deep, full and reverberating / the reinforcement
or prolongation of sound by reflection from a surface vibration of neighboring object.
o RASONANCE is when you have an object with a certain natural frequency that starts vibrating
because of an external vibration that has a frequency equal to the natural frequency of the
object.
• Absorption through RASONANCE – few products use this principle by design, but there are
many building materials (glass, wood paneling, gypsum board etc.) that if not well restrained,
will resonate and thus absorbed.
• Acoustical absorptivity is quantified by sound absorption coefficient, which represents the
fraction of the incident that is absorbed.
• Highly Reflective materials have coefficients near zero.
• Highly Absorptive near One
• Virtually no material is perfectly reflective or perfectly absorptive.
• In general, materials with coefficients below 0.20 are rather reflective, whereas those with
coefficients of 0.80 or higher are very absorptive
SOUND ABSORPTION COEFFICIENT (SAC)
• SAC describes as the fraction of the incident sound energy that material absorbs.
• Theoretically, it may vary from 0 to 1.0 (perfect absorption will all incident sound energy
absorbed)
• Materials with medium to high sound absorption coefficient (>0.50) are referred to as sound –
absorbing
• Materials with low coefficient (<0.20) are sound reflecting.
Reverberation
• Is an echoing sound. When you bang on a big piece of metal, you can hear the reverberation
even after you stop banging. The repeating, often low, booming sound that follows the strum of
an electric guitar or the thump of a drumstick on a cymbal is called reverberation.
Reverberation Time
• It is the time required for the sound to “fade away” or decay in a closed space. Sound in a
room will repeatedly bounce off surfaces such as the floor, walls, ceiling, windows, or tables.

RT+ 0.16V/A
V= VOLUME OF THE ROOM
A= TOTAL ABSORPTION IN SABINS

VOLUME: L x W x H
SABINE’S: AREA x SAC
MODULE 7
REFLECTION & DIFFRACTION OF SOUND IN ROOMS

THE REFLECTION OF SOUND

• Bouncing back of sound waves from the surface is called reflection of sound or we can say
that when sound travels in a given medium it strikes the surface of another medium so that it
returns in some other direction, this phenomenon is called reflection of sound.
• The reflection of sound is similar to the reflection of light as it follows the laws of reflections. As
a sound wave travels across a room and touches a wall, a reflective wave is produced that will
reintroduce a portion of that wave back into the room.
• A polished or rough and big obstacle is necessary for the reflection of sound. The reflection of
sound waves is also affected by the shape of the surface.

DIFFRACTION OF SOUND
• The phenomenon in SOUND PROPAGATION whereby a SOUND WAVE moves around an
object whose dimensions are smaller than or about equal to the WAVELENGTH of the sound.
• The bending of waves around small* obstacles and the spreading out of waves beyond small*
openings.
• Longer wavelengths lower the frequency rates diffract more as they travel along or through an
entry way and less directional
• Shorter wavelengths higher the frequency rates diffract less as they travel along or through an
entry way and more directional
• The common example of diffraction is the contrast in sound from a close lightning strike and a
distant one. The thunder from a close bolt of lightning will be experienced as a sharp crack,
indicating the presence of a lot of high frequency sound. The thunder from a distant strike will be
experienced as a low rumble since it is the long wavelengths which can bend around obstacles
to get to you. There are other factors such as the higher air absorption of high frequencies
involved, but diffraction plays a part in the experience.

ACOUSTIC CRITERIA FOR SPEECH ROOM

• Reverberation must be kept to minimum

• This graph shows the maximum reverberation time per volume of room in cubic meters.
• Too low reverberation time (very high absorption, minimum reflection is also undesirable
because:
o It limits the size of the room to that which can be covered by direct sound only
o It is disturbing to the speaker since the absence of reflection prevents him from gauging
proper voice level and tens to cause excessive effort or shouting)
• The proper design of a room for speech is a compromise between the need for some reflection
and the desire to minimize reflection to preserve intelligibility.
• He reflections associated with reverberation can have either a salutary or a delirious effect.
ACOUSTIC CRITERIA FOR MUSIC PERFORMANCE ROOM
• Adequate design for a music performance room requires the recognition of the following
o Large – volume spaces require direct – path sound reinforcement by reflection
o Relatively long reverberation time is needed to enhance the music – the exact amount
depending on the type of music. This reverberance must, however, not include the clear
echoes.

o Directivity declines if the reinforcing signal is excessively delayed. With large ensembles,
directivity gives the sense of depth to an instrument location necessary for proper appreciation.
This is often referred to as clarity or definition in music. With solo instruments this problem is
diminished.
o Brilliance of tone is primarily a function of high – frequency content. Since these frequencies
are most readily absorbed, a good direct path must exist between sound source and listener.
• The actual design of music performance room is very complex involving extensive calculations
of absorption, reverberation time and ray diagramming and juggling of materials, dimensions
and wall angles.
• Simulation techniques and acoustics models are also employed.
• Most Modern design uses movable reflector angles panels and other active variables.
• After construction is completed, extensive tests are conducted, and field adjustments are
made
MODULE 8: RAY DIAGRAMS & SOUND PATH

REFLECTION

• These occur when sound hits the surface that is neither predominantly absorptive nor sound transparent at the
specific frequency.

• Non – absorptive surfaces that are large, as compared to the wavelength at a given frequency, reflect sounds.

SPECULAR REFLECTION

• This occurs when sound reflects off a hard-polished surface. These characteristics can be used to good advantage
to create an effective image source.

• In ancient Greek and roman theaters, seats were arranged on a steep, conical surface around the performer. The
virtue of arrangement in the figure shows that sound power travels to each location, with minimal attenuation

• Attenuation is a damping of sound, an interruption that diminishes the volume and quality of the sound wave.is a
damping of sound, an interruption that diminishes the volume and quality of the sound wave.

• The Epidaurus Theatre - the sounds are between 100 -500hz. The steps reflected the higher frequencies more
than the lower ones. This is one of the ancient structures with amazing acoustics

RAY DIAGRAMS

• Ray Diagramming is a design procedure for analyzing reflected sound distribution throughout a hall, using the first
reflection only.

• Ray Diagram is shown in the following figures

ECHOES

• A clear echo is caused when reflected sound at sufficient intensity reaches a listener approximately 70msec or
more after hears the direct sound.

• This occurs whenever the reflected sound path is more than 70ft.longer than the direct path.

• A sound or series of sounds caused by the reflection of sound waves from a surface back to the listener.

• Echoes even if not distinctly discernable in rooms. They are annoying and make speechless intelligible. The
relative annoyance is dependent on the time delay and loudness relative to the direct sound which, in turn are
dependent on the size, position, shape and absorption of the reflecting surface.

• Typical echo – producing surfaces in an auditorium are the back wall and the ceiling above the proscenium

• The figure above shows these problems and suggests remedies. Note that the energy that produced the echoes
can be redirected to places where it becomes useful reinforcement. If echo control by absorption alone were used
on the ceiling and back wall, that energy would be wasted. The rear wall, since its area cannot be reduced too far,
may have to be made more sound-absorptive to reduce the loudness of the reflected sound

FLUTTER

• A flutter is perceived as a buzzing or clicking sound, and it is comprised of repeated echoes traversing back and
forth between two non-absorbing parallel (flat or concave; surfaces. Flutters often occur between shallow domes
and hard, flat floors. The remedy for a flutter is either to change the shape of the reflectors, their parallel relationship,
or add absorption. The solution chosen will depend on reverberation requirements cost. or aesthetics

FOCUSSING

• Concave domes, vaults, or walls will focus reflected sound into certain-areas of rooms. This has several
disadvantages. For example, it will deprive some listeners of useful sound reflection and cause hot spots at other
audience positions.
DIFFUSION

• This is the converse of focusing and occurs primarily when sound is reflected from convex surfaces. A degree of
diffusion is also provided by flat horizontal inclined reflectors as shown.

CREEP

• This describes the reflection of sound along a curved surface from a source near the surface. Although the sound
can be heard at points along the surface, it is inaudible away from the surface.
MODULE 9: ACOUSTIC MATERIALS

SOUND ABSORBING MATERIALS and CONSTRUCTION

• All materials have some absorbing properties. Incident sound energy which is not absorbed must be reflected,
transmitted or dissipated.

• A material’s sound absorbing properties can be described as sound absorption coefficient in a particular frequency
range.

• There are three basic categories of sound absorbers:

Porous Materials commonly formed of matted or spun fibers

Panel (Membrane) absorbers having an impervious surface mounted over an air space

Resonators created by holes connected to an enclosed volume of trapped air

• The absorptance of each type of sound absorber is dramatically, in some cases, influences by the mounting
method.

POROUS MATERIALS

• The basic characteristic of all porous materials is a cellular network of interlocking pores.

• Sound absorption in porous materials is more efficient at high than low frequencies but their acoustical efficiency
improves in the low frequency range with increased thickness and with distance from their solid backing.

Examples:

1. Prefabricated acoustical units (wallboard and tile board)

• These includes various types of perforated, unperforated, fissured or textured cellulose and mineral fivertiles,
lay – in panels and perforated metal pans with absorbent pads constitute typical units

• Most sound absorbing tiles and panels are not sufficiently durable for wall application.

• For walls, use fibrous materials with protective open facings

Acoustical Plaster and Sprayed – on materials

▪ Plaster like product, distinguished by its porosity after it dries.

▪ Used mostly for noise in auditoriums where any other acoustical treatment would be impractical
because of curved or irregular shape of the surface.

▪ Applied in semi plastic consistency either by spray gun or by had troweling.

▪ Best at the higher frequencies, depends largely on such job conditions as the thickness and
composition of the plaster mixture, the amount of binder, the state of undercoat at the time of
application and the manner in which the finish is applied.
Acoustical Tile
▪ Widely used ceiling material made of mineral or cellulose fibers or fiberglass
▪ Available in modular sizes 300 x 300mm to 610 x 1120 mm
▪ Usually suspended in a metal grid, some can be glued or attached to solid surfaces
▪ Prone to damage, not recommended for surfaces within human reach
▪ Suspended provides less high – frequency absorption than those faces are porous.

Acoustical Foam
▪ Usually made of Polyurethane and manufactured with open cells or closed cells.
▪ Open cell foams are excellent sound absorbers, provided they are sufficiently thick. Uses included
padding for upholstered theater seats to stabilize reverberation regardless of occupancy.
▪ Close – cell foams absorb sound, but less efficiently and less predictably. More applied to ringing
surfaces such as large metal plate to provide damping
Acoustical isolation Blankets
▪ Manufactured from rock wool, glass fibers, wood fibers, hair felt etc.
▪ Installed in a wood or metal framing system
▪ Used for acoustical purpose in varying thickness between 1 and 5 inches.
▪ The absorption increases with thickness particularly in low frequencies.
 ▪ No aesthetically stylish finish, must be covered with suitable type of perforated boards, wood slats
etc.

▪ Available in forms of bats blankets and boards, is an excellent sound absorber.

▪ Applications include a great – many sound – absorbing treatments, insulation as in stud walls and
ducts

2. Perforated Resonators
• These types of sound absorbers are typically only used when you need to combat sound in a narrow, yet defined
frequency range. They're used to focus on issues related to bass frequencies.
• These types of absorbers work based on sound pressure. It's essentially a mass (front wall or diaphragm)
vibrating against a spring (the air inside the resonant absorber). By changing either the mass or the spring's
stiffness, you can adjust for resonant frequency.
• They work in a similar manner to that of a membrane absorber. Meaning they consist of a mechanical oscillation
system with a solid plate and tight air space.
3. Panel or Membrane Absorber
• The non – perforated panel or membrane absorbers represent another group of sound absorbing materials
• Impervious materials installed on solid backing but separate from it by air space will act as panel absorber and
will vibrate when struck by sound waves
• These materials are typically solid in appearance, and as such, they are commonly overlooked as sound
absorbing materials. With that said, they are particularly effective against low-range frequencies, such as bass.
• These panels are efficient in low frequency absorbers
• When selected properly, panel absorbers balance the somewhat excessive medium and high frequency
absorption of porous absorbers and room contents.
• Panel resonators are built with a membrane such as plywood or linoleum in front of a sealed airspace generally
containing absorbent material.
• The panel is set in motion by the altering pressure of the impinging sound wave
• Common examples of membrane absorbers are wood or hardboard paneling, suspended plaster ceilings,
windows, wood doors, gypsum boards, and wood floors