April 2021 – Geonoise Indonesia

What is Absorption?

Absorption refers to the process by which a material, structure, or object takes in energy when waves are encountered, as opposed to reflecting the energy. Part of the absorbed energy is transformed into heat and part is transmitted through the absorbing body. The energy transformed into heat is said to have been ‘lost’. (e.g. spring, damper etc.)

What is Sound Absorption?

When the sound waves encounter the surface of the material: part of them reflects; part of them penetrate, and the rest are absorbed by the material itself.

Formula for Sound Absorption: –

The ratio of absorbed sound energy (E) to incident sound energy (Eo) is called sound absorption coefficient (α). This ratio is the main indicator used to evaluate the sound-absorbing property of the material. A formula can be used to demonstrate this.

α (absorption coefficient) =E (absorbed sound energy)/ Eo (Incident sound energy)

In this formula: α is the sound absorption coefficient;

E is the absorbed sound energy (including the permeating part);

Eo is the incident sound energy.

Generally, the sound absorption coefficient of the materials is between 0 to 1. The larger the numeral is, the better the sound absorbing property. The sound absorption coefficient of suspended absorber may be more than one because its effective sound-absorbing area is larger than its calculated area.

Example: If a wall is absorbed 63% of incident energy and 37% of energy is reflected then the absorption coefficient of wall is 0.63.

How can we measure Absorption Coefficient?

The absorption coefficient and impedance are determined by two different methods according to the type of incident wave field.

Kundt’s tube (ISO 10534-2)
Reverberation room (ISO 354)

Kundt’s Tube Measurement Method: (ISO 10543-2)

For measurement of small specimen use Kundt’s tube or Impedance tube also called as Standing wave tube. The result from measurement of absorption factor and acoustic impedance, using the standing wave method, obviously are meaningful only when assuming these to be independent of the size of the specimen, which is normally quite small. The absorption factor for normal incidence is determined by measuring the measuring the maximum and minimum pressure amplitude in the standing wave set up in the tube by a loudspeaker.

This basic technique is, an mentioned in the introduction, considered a little outdated in comparison with more modern methods based on transfer was implemented relatively late (1993) in an international standard, ISO 10534-1, after being used for al least 50 years. Commercial equipment has also been available for many decades. However, there exists a second part of the mentioned standard, ISO 10534-2, based on using broadband signals and measurement of the pressure transfer function between different positions in the tube. ISO 10543-2, which implies the specified two microphone method is extended to spherical wave fields.

Normally Placid Impedance tube is used for absorption coefficient and transmission loss measurement.

(https://www.placidinstruments.com/product/impedance-tube/)

The above fig shows Impedance tube

Click here to refer Placid Sound absorption measurement

Click here to refer Placid Sound transmission loss measurement

Reverberation Room: (ISO 354)

Reverberation Room method is traditional method, measurement of the absorption factor of larger specimens is performed in a reverberation room. One then determines the average value over all angles of incidence under diffuse field conditions. The product data normally supplied by producers of absorbers are determined according to the international standard ISO 354, required for measurement is 10-12 square meters and there are requirements as to shape of the area. The reason of these requirements is that the absorption factor determined this method always includes an additional amount due to the edge effect, which is a diffraction phenomenon along the edge of the specimen. This effect makes the specimen acoustically larger the geometric area, which may result in obtaining absorption factors larger than 1.0. Certainly, this does not imply that the energy absorbed is larger than the incident energy.

Sound Absorption coefficient of different materials:

The sound absorption of the material is not only related to its other properties, its thickness, and the surface conditions (the air layer and thickness), but also related to the incident angle and frequency of the sound waves. The sound absorption coefficient will change according to high, middle, and low frequencies. In order to reflect the sound-absorbing property of one material comprehensively, six frequencies (125Hz, 250Hz, 500Hz, 1000Hz, 2000Hz, 4000Hz) are set to show the changes of the sound absorption coefficient. If the average ratio of the six frequencies is more than 0.2, the material can be classified as sound-absorbing material.

Application of Sound Absorber:

These materials can be used for sound insulation of walls, floors, and ceilings of concert hall, cinema, auditorium, and broadcasting studio. By using the sound absorbing material properly, the indoor transmittance of sound waves can be enhanced to create better sound effects.

Select your sound absorber from https://www.blast-block.com/

Several generations of students and teachers have battled the inherent problems caused by noise and poor acoustic design in educational settings. Despite the problem having been recognized for over 100 years, acoustics in classrooms remain under-addressed in older buildings and many newer built schools. A 2012 released study “Essex Study-Optimal classroom acoustics for all” defines the need and benefits of acoustically treating classrooms. The study looked at the impact of reducing reverberation time in a working classroom environment. The conclusion drawn after several measurements of acoustics and surveys with participants was a demonstrable clear benefit to all by improving the acoustic environment. Simply, uncontrolled reverberations in a classroom have a direct negative effect on health and performance, for both students and teachers.

Reverberation is the echo of sound reflecting from hard surface to hard surface causing noise to build up and creating a confusing, unintelligible mass of sound. The hard surfaces such as windows, blackboards, concrete blocks and gypsum walls found in most classrooms do not absorb sound energy and as a result, the sound reflects back into the room, arriving at the ear many times at intervals that are milliseconds apart. This creates a sound that is smeared and the brain has difficulty distinguishing the primary information and disseminating it from the reverberation. This problem is exacerbated when hearing assist devices and cochlear implants are used. Excess reverberation also affects students with auditory processing issues, ADHD, and other learning challenges. In fact, all students benefit from lowering the reverberation and improving intelligibility.

Reverberation is measured in relation to time. The measurement (RT60) is the time it takes for sound to decay by 60dB in a particular space. The greater the reverberation time, the more “echo” in a room, and the greater the listening challenges become. The reverberation time of a room will depend on variables such as the size of the classroom, the reflective surfaces, and how other absorbent or reflective features in the room may increase the effect.

The Effect on Students and Teachers
Most learning occurs from the verbal communication of information and ideas. Traditionally, classrooms have not been designed with attention to how the room sounds or how it may affect the students and teachers that are using it. It is well known that proximity to the teacher increases student engagement and the comprehension of the material being taught. As most classes have 30 or more students in it, it is impossible for every student to be close to the teacher. For students at the rear of the class, the volume level reaching the students will be reduced by as much as 20dB compared to when it is created. The brain then has to differentiate whether the sound being received is the source material or the sound bouncing off the walls. When one factors in the natural reverberation in the room, the delay in sound reaching the ear, along with distractions such as HVAC noise, the classroom base-level sound and noise seeping in from outside the doors and windows, it is not surprising to find that many children are simply not hearing the material they are being taught.
And this is only the beginning. As the ambient sound level in the classroom increases, the teacher naturally increases his or her voice level. The ‘classroom chatter’ naturally increases to compensate and the problem exacerbates to the point where the teacher and students begin to lose concentration.

Children do not Listen Like Adults
When you consider the acoustic problems described, studies suggest that as many as 30% of students may actually be challenged in understanding their teacher’s message. Poor intelligibility due to proximity to the teacher, excessive reverberation and noise result in a lack of comprehension of the material being taught.
Most adults would not notice these challenges as life experience allows us to “fill in the missing words”.

The solution is to acoustically treat the classroom
Right from the early days of radio, broadcasters came to the conclusion that unless the source broadcast was clear and concise, the message would get lost. To address the problem, absorptive acoustic panels were mounted on the broadcast studio wall surfaces to suppress the reflections and improve intelligibility for the listener. This practice continues to this day and the same rules apply whether you are teaching in a classroom, delivering a message in a house of worship or broadcasting a distance learning class over the internet.

A popular solution is to suspend the panels from the ceiling. The added benefit of the airspace created behind the panel when suspended increases the panel’s absorptive surface area. This is particularly effective in noisy cafeterias. For classrooms with T-bar ceilings, there are acoustic tiles that can replace the original non-absorptive compressed fiber tile. Actual panel placement is not as critical as one may think. It is more about using available space to your best advantage by evenly distributing the panels around the room.
A classroom free from excessive reverberation and noise is far more conducive to learning and greatly contributes to better student success – whether the student has learning issues or not. Reducing the ambient sound level also makes it easier to teach, reduces teacher stress and burnout, and significantly reduces listening fatigue for everyone. When you consider the teacher – student benefits and the relatively low cost involved installing acoustic treatment, a practical solution for school districts and post secondary institutions that care about attaining the maximum results from their student body is readily available.

Credit : James Wright, Business development executive at Primacoustic