Sound Absorbing Materials and

Constructions
 Gets
Absorbed converted
by a into heat
Sound material
Sound Absorbers
• Absorption becomes
insulation only if the material is
backed by an impervious heavy
barrier.
• A good sound absorber is an
efficient sound transmitter and
consequently an inefficient
sound insulator.
 Sound-
Absorbing
Materials

Cavity (or
Panel or
Porous Helmholtz)
membrane
resonators
 Porous Materials
1. The basic acoustical
characteristic of all porous
materials, is a cellular
network of interlocking
pores.
2. Incident sound energy
is converted into heat
energy within these pores.
3. Cellular materials with Examples of Porous
materials:
closed and non-interlocking
1. Fiber boards
cells such as foamed resins,
2. Soft plasters
cellular rubbers, foam glass, 3. Mineral wools
etc are poor sound 4. Isolation blankets
absorbers.
Sound absorption of porous materials Sound absorption of 2” mineral wool
increases with thickness, particularly at blanket installed on rigid backing and
low frequencies. on 1” framing.
 Characteristics of Porous Absorbents
1. Their sound absorption is more efficient at high than at low frequencies
2. Their acoustical efficiency improves in the low frequency range with
increased thickness and with distance from their solid backing.

Types of commercial porous materials

Prefabricated Acoustical Units

Acoustical plasters and sprayed-on

Materials

Acoustical (isolation) blankets

 Sizes of typical
commercial acoustical
tiles

Edge conditions of
typical commercial
acoustical tiles
 Prefabricated Acoustical Tiles
 can be mounted by cementing to a solid backing, nailing or screwing to a
wood framing, ceiling suspended.
 Sound absorption exceeds that of standard acoustical tiles because their
exposed edges are finished in the same way as their faces.

Pros:
1. They have a reliable, factory-
guaranteed absorption
2. Installation and maintenance are
relatively easy and economical
3. Can be decorated without
seriously affecting their
absorption
4. Use in ceiling systems can be
integrated functionally and
visually with lighting, HVAC.
5. Offer flexibility in partitioning
6. Suitable mounting results in
efficient increase in absorption
Cons:
1. Difficult to conceal joints between
adjacent units
2. The soft structure would be
subjected to mechanical damage if
installed at lower levels of walls
3. Use of paint for re-decoration may
harmfully alter the absorption of
most prefabricated acoustic tiles
unless manufacturer’s instructions
are followed.
 Prefabricated Acoustical Tiles
Types include:

 Perforated
 Imperforated
 Fissured
 Textured cellulose
 Mineral fiber tiles
 Lay-in panels
 Perforated metal pans
with absorbent pads
 Acoustical Plasters and Sprayed-on Materials
 Mostly used in auditorium spaces where any other acoustical
treatment would be impractical because of the curved or irregular
shape of the surface.
 Applied in a semi-plastic consistency, either by a spray gun or by
hand troweling.
 Acoustic efficiency is usually best at the higher frequencies, which
in turn depends on the thickness and composition of the plaster
mixture, the manner in which the finish is applied, etc.
 Maintenance of acoustical plasters and sprayed-on finishes certainly
offers some difficulties.
 Redecoration may cause serious deterioration of their acoustical
properties.
 Manufacturer’s instructions to be followed while installation and
during redecoration.
Acoustical Plasters and Sprayed-on Materials

Fiberglass
acoustical
plaster
 Acoustical (isolation) Blankets
 Manufactured from rock wool,
glass fibers, wood fibers, heir felt,
etc
 Generally installed on a wood or
metal framing system
 Used for acoustical purposes in
varying thicknesses between 1”-5”
 Absorption increases with
thickness, particularly at low
frequencies
 They do not provide an
aesthetically satisfactory finish.
Hence, they are covered with a
suitable type of perforated board,
wood salts, etc.
 Panel (or membrane) Absorbers
 Any impervious material installed on a solid backing
but separated from it by an air space will act as a
panel absorber and will vibrate when struck by
sound waves.
 Panels of this sort are efficient low-frequency
absorbers
 Panel absorbers balance the somewhat excessive
medium and high-frequency absorption of porous
absorbers and room contents
 Following panel absorbers contribute to low-
frequency absorptions in auditoriums:
 Wood and hard-board panels
 Gypsum boards
 Suspended plaster ceilings
 Furred-out plasters
 Rigid plastic boards
 Because of increased resistance, they are often
installed on the lower parts of walls, thereby
providing a suitable finish for the dado.
 Cavity (or Helmholtz) Resonators
 Consists of an enclosed body of air
confined within rigid walls and
connected by a narrow opening to the
surrounding space, in which sound
waves travel
 Absorbs maximum sound energy in a
narrow region of the low-frequency
band
 Cavity resonators can be applied
o As individual units
o As perforated panel resonators
o As slit resonators
 Individual Cavity Resonators
 Standard concrete blocks using a regular concrete mixture
but with slotted cavities called Soundblox units.
 They eliminate the need of additionally installed sound-
absorptive surface treatment, hence economical.
 Maximum sound absorption occurs at low frequencies.
 Perforated Panel Resonators

 Contain large number of necks,

constituting the perforation of
the panel, thus functioning as
an array of cavity resonators
 The peak values of frequencies
can be shifted
• Varying the thickness of the
perforated panel
• The size and spacing of holes
• Depth of air space behind the
panel
• Type, thickness and density of
the applied isolation blankets
behind the perforated panel
• Spacing between the elements
Typical Installation of a
perforated panel
resonator using various
types of perforated
facings and with an
isolation blanket in the
air space.

A – Perforated Board
B – Slotted hardboard
C - Perforated metal or
plastic
 Variable Absorbers

 Various uses of the same

auditorium require
special sound-absorbing
constructions capable of
varying the Reverberation
Time appropriate for that
particular event.
 For this purpose various
sliding, hinged, movable
and rotatable panels have
been designed that can
expose either absorptive
or effective surfaces.
Mounting and distribution of Absorbing Materials
Mounting and distribution of Absorbing Materials

Various factors which have to be considered for mounting

include:

 Physical properties of the acoustical material

 Strength, surface texture and location of the room
enclosure
 Space available for the treatment
 Time required for the labor
 Probability of removal in the future
 Cost
 Choice of Sound-Absorbing Materials
Following details must be examined in the
selection of sound-absorbing finishes or
constructions:

1.Sound absorption coefficients at representative

frequencies of the audio-frequency range
2.Appearance (size, edges, joints, colour, texture)
3.Fire endurance and resistance to flame spread
4.Installation cost
5.Ease of installation
6.Durability (resistance to impact, mechanical injuries
and abrasion)
7.Light reflectance
8.Maintenance, cleaning, effect of redecoration
 Choice of Sound-Absorbing Materials
9. Job conditions (temperature, humidity, etc)
10. Integration of room elements into the acoustical finish
11. Thickness and weight
12. Moisture and condensation resistance one the room is in use
13. Access to suspended ceilings
14. Thermal-Insulation value
15. Attraction for vermin, dry rot, fungus
16. Removability
Acoustical Requirements of
different types of Built
Environments
 Auditorium
Theatres

Lecture Halls

Churches

Concert halls

Opera Houses

Motion Picture Theatres

 General Acoustical Requirements
The hearing conditions in an auditorium are affected purely by
architectural considerations such as
• Room shape
• Dimensions
• Volume
• Layout of boundary surfaces
• Seating Arrangement
• Audience capacity
• Surface treatments
• Materials for interior decoration
 General Acoustical Requirements
The following are the requirements for good hearing conditions
in an auditorium:

 There should be adequate loudness in every part of the auditorium,

particularly the remote seats
 The sound energy should be uniformly distributed in the room
 Optimum Reverberation characteristics should be provided in the
auditorium to allow the most favourable reception of the program
material by the audience and the most efficient presentation of the
program by the performers
 The room should be free of acoustical defects such as echoes, long-
delayed reflections, flutter echoes, sound concentrations, distortion,
sound shadow and room resonance.
 Noise and vibrations which would interfere with listening or
performing should be excluded or reasonably reduced in every part
of the room
 Location of an Auditorium – Site Conditions
• Better sound quality in an auditorium should begin with sensible
site planning.
• The Auditorium should be separated from all exterior noise and
vibration sources such as noisy traffic, parking and loading, etc.
• A protective buffer zone of rooms, such as lobbies, vestibules,
circulation areas, etc. between exterior noise sources and
auditorium will permit better ambience inside the auditorium
• These buffer spaces should have sound-absorbing ceilings and if
possible carpeted floors.
• These circulation areas should always be shut off from the
auditorium space properly by door.
• If two auditoriums are located one next to the other, a wall or floor
of adequate acoustical performance must be provided between
them for simultaneous use.
 Adequate Loudness
Size of the Auditorium

Energy losses of the travelling

sound waves & Excessive
Absorption by Audience and
other contents

Energy losses of the

travelling sound
waves

INADEQUATE LOUDNESS
 Adequate Loudness
Sound-energy losses can be reduced and adequate loudness can be provided
in the following ways:
 The Auditorium should be shaped so that the audience is close to the sound
source, thereby reducing the distance sound must travel.
 In larger auditoriums use of balcony brings more seats closer to the sound source
Position of sound source:
 The sound source should be raised as much as feasible in order to secure a free
flow of direct sound waves to every listener
Audience area:
 The floor of the audience seating should be properly ramped or raked because
sound is more readily absorbed by the audience at grazing incidence.
 For safety, the gradient along the aisles of sloped floors should not be more than
1:8.
 Audience should occupy seating area which are advantageous both for viewing
and for hearing
 Adequate Loudness
Placement of sound reflectors
 The sound source should be closely and abundantly surrounded with large sound-
reflective surfaces such as plaster, gypsum board, plywood, plexiglas, rigid plastic
boards in order to provide additional reflected sound energy to every portion of the
audience area, particularly to the remote seats.
 It should be remembered that the dimensions of the reflecting surfaces must be
comparable to the wavelengths of the sound waves to be reflected
 Adequate Loudness
 The reflectors should be placed such that the time-delay gap between the direct
and first-reflected sound does not exceed 30 milliseconds.
The angles of the sound reflectors are governed by the laws of sound reflection

Position of sound Reflectors:

Front portions of the side walls and the ceiling of the auditorium are always
suitable surfaces for the accommodation of sound reflectors
Parallel placement of sound reflectors, particularly those located near the sound
source should be avoided to eliminate undesirable back reflections to the sound
source.

Volume of the auditorium

The floor area and volume of the auditorium should be kept at a reasonable
minimum, thereby shortening the distance that direct and reflected sounds must
travel.
 Adequate Loudness
 In addition to reflective surfaces that reinforce sound towards the audience,
additional reflective surfaces must be provided which direct sound back to the
performers.
This is true in case of musical or vocal performances
 Diffusion of Sound
Factors to be
considered

Surface irregularities must be Surface irregularities must

abundantly applied be reasonably large

These surface irregularities include: Use of acoustic

1. Exposed structural elements
diffusers is particularly
2. Decorations
3. Coffered Ceilings
important for concert
4. Serrated Enclosures halls, opera houses,
5. Protruding boxes radio and recording
6. Sculptured surface decorations studios and music
7. Deep window reveals rooms
 Control of Reverberation

Approximate range of optimum mid-frequency (500 to 1000 Hz) RTs for

fully occupied rooms of various volumes and functions
 Control of Reverberation
In almost every auditorium the audience proves most of the absorption - about
5 sq. ft sabins per person.
When attendance fluctuates widely, hearing conditions should also be
satisfactory in the partial or even total absence of an audience.
This is balanced by placing absorptive surface underneath the upholstered
seats.

General Rules:
Sound-absorbing materials should be installed along those boundary surfaces
of the auditorium which are liable to produce such acoustical defects as echoes,
flutter echoes, long-delayed reflections and sound concentrations.
Acoustical treatment should go first on the 1)rear wall, then on the portions of
the 2)side walls, which are furthest from the source or along the 3)perimeter of
the ceiling
The 4)middle area of the auditorium supplies short-delayed sound reflection to
the audience.
 Elimination of Room Acoustical Defects
1. Echo 8. Sound
Shadow
2. Long-
Delayed
Reflection
7. Room
Acoustical Defects Resonance
3. Flutter
Echo

6. Distortion
4. Sound
Concentration 5. Coupled
spaces
 Elimination of Room Acoustical Defects
Echo:
Noticeable when the sound is being reflected from any boundary surface
with sufficient magnitude and delay.
Occurs if a minimum interval of 1/25 sec (for speech) to 1/10 sec (for
music) elapses between the direct and reflected sound

Long-Delayed
Reflection:
A defect similar to
echo except that the
time delay between the
perception of direct and
reflected sounds is
lesser.
 Elimination of Room Acoustical Defects
Flutter Echo:
Consists of rapid succession of noticeable small echoes
Observed when a short burst of sound is produced between parallel
sound-reflective surfaces
Can be prevented by installing sound-absorbing materials along the
reflecting surfaces
If acoustical finishes along these critical areas is not feasible, they should
be rendered diffusive or tilted, in order to produce beneficial short-delayed
reflections.
 Elimination of Room Acoustical Defects
Sound Concentration:
Also referred to as ‘hot spots’
Caused by sound reflection from concave surfaces
Intensity of sound from hot spots is generally high at the expense of other listening
areas or ‘dead spots’
The presence of hot and dead spots creates a non-uniform distribution of sound energy
Large concave structures render high level of sound concentration. Hence, should be
avoided or treated with efficient sound-absorbing materials
If acoustical treatment is not feasible, these concave surfaces should be laid out in a
manner that they focus sound in space outside of above the audience area.
 Elimination of Room Acoustical Defects
Coupled Spaces
If an auditorium is connected to an adjacent reverberant space (such as a vestibule,
stairwell, corridor, stage tower, etc.) by means of open doorways, the two rooms will
form coupled spaces.
As these two spaces are connected, an inflow of reverberant sound is noticeable in
the auditorium.
This disturbs audience close to the doorway no matter how much consideration is
given to reverberation control of the room
Can only be controlled by providing adequate acoustical separation between the
coupled spaces (balancing the RT in both spaces)
 Elimination of Room Acoustical Defects
Distortion
An undesirable change in the quality of musical sound due to the
uneven or excessive sound absorption of the boundary surfaces at
different frequencies
Can be avoided if the applied acoustical finishes have balanced
absorption characteristics over the entire audio-frequency range

Sound Shadow
Noticeable under a balcony which protrudes too far into the air space of an
auditorium
A balcony space with depth exceeding twice the height, should be avoided
since they will prevent the remote seats underneath from receiving an
adequate amount of direct and reflected sounds, thus creating poor
audibility
 Basic Principles in Designing Cinemas
 Represents an exclusively single-purpose auditorium.
 If properly designed, it will be difficult to use for other purposes other than
film projection.
Concept:
 In other auditorium types, both the sound
source and the audience are present, and both
are live.
In such cases, assuming any normal sound
source, hearing conditions depend solely upon
the acoustical qualities of the room
 In a motion-picture theatre, the original sound
source is not present but reproduced from the
sound track of the film by a loudspeaker
 The reproduced sound reflects the acoustical
characteristics of the studio in which the scene
was shot/sounds that are re-recorded.
This means that the sound track on the film has
a built-in RT independent of the RT of the
theatre in which the film is projected.
 Basic Principles in Designing Cinemas
 The goal in acoustical design of cinema theatre is to reduce the room-
acoustical effect of the auditorium to a minimum in order to preserve the
genuine acoustical environment of the film as recorded on the sound track
and as reproduced.
This is achieved by providing a relatively shorter RT in the auditorium.

Favourable hearing conditions are achieved in motion picture

theatres by the following room-acoustical measures:
 Rectangular floor shape with horizontal floor should be avoided. An
appropriate fan-shaped floor plan adequately raked will best suit both
viewing and acoustical requirements
 The volume-per-seat value should be between 2.8 to 4.3 cu m,
preferably closer to the lower figure.
 Overhead sound reflectors should be used above the screen; the entire
screen or its major central portion should be made reflective
 Basic Principles in Designing Cinemas
 The initial time-delay gap between the sound
from the loudspeaker and the first reflected
sound from any reflective surface should not
exceed 40 msec at any part of the seating
 The audience floor should be steeply ramped
towards the rear to provide clear sight lines for
the entire audience, thereby providing an ample
supply of direct sound.
 The projection screen and the loudspeaker
behind it should be high enough for the entire
audience to be well covered by the sound beam
 Vertical boundary surfaces, except those close
to the screen, should be generously treated with
sound-absorbing finishes in order to achieve a
short RT and to avoid acoustical defects
 Wrongly placed sound reflectors tend to make
the sound appear to come from the wrong place,
thus spoiling the illusion.
 Basic Principles in Designing Cinemas
 Parallelism between reflective surfaces close to
the screen should be avoided. The wall behind
the screen should be acoustically treated.
 The length of the room should preferably not
be above 46 m, to avoid excessive loudness from
the loudspeakers
 Balconies should not be too deep
 The correct distance from the screen to the first
row of seats should be determined from the
aspect ratio and the dimensions of the screen.
 Heavily upholstered seats should be used to
counteract detrimental room-acoustical effects of
widely fluctuating attendance
 The floor between the screen and the first row
should be carpeted
 The noise originating from the projector room
should be prevented from entering into the
audience area by treating its interior surface with
efficient sound-absorbing materials
Basic Principles in Designing Broadcasting Studios
 Broadcasting studios generally have fluctuating scenarios with respect to the
various acoustical factors to be considered.
 Acoustical conditions are basically dead in a Television studio
 Reverberation, if necessary can be increased by using appropriate settings
and properties, movable acoustical screens and artificial reverberation
 TV studios are constructed in different sizes according to the required floor
area and height.

TV Studios

Audience Dubbing
Studios suites
General- Small Interview
Purpose and announce
Studios studios
Audience
Studios
General-Purpose
Studios
Small Interview and
announce studios
Dubbing suites
Basic Principles in Designing Broadcasting Studios
 A considerable clear height is usually required over the working area of larger
studios to accommodate the lighting grid and for flying the scenery, Jimmy Jibs
 Television studios normally have the following spaces:
• Production control room (video) – Required RT of 0.25 sec
• Sound Control room (audio) – Required RT of 0.25 sec
• Lighting control room
• Sound Effects room
• Announcer’s booth – Required RT from 0.25 to 0.3 sec
• Storage rooms
 Sound amplification system is essential if the audience is to receive adequate
coverage
 Simple and inexpensive acoustical treatments are usually applied in television
studios, such as Mineral-wool blankets, wood-wool slabs, etc
 The required low frequency absorption can be obtained by plywood,
hardboard, etc. especially installed in the lower portion of the wall up to 1.8 to 2.4
m.
 Most of the wall treatment is eventually shielded by a cyclorama curtain spaced
0.9 to 1.8 m away from the wall, thereby providing adequate space for
unobtrusive circulation along the periphery of the studio
CYCLORAMA CURTAIN