What is a sound wave?
Sound is a physical, mechanical wave that is an oscillation of pressure transmitted through a solid, liquid, or gas, composed of frequencies within the range of hearing and of a level sufficiently strong to be heard, or the sensation stimulated in organs of hearing by such vibrations.
What is noise control?
Noise control is an active or passive means of reducing sound emissions. Practical and efficient noise control is wholly reliant on an accurate diagnosis of what is causing the noise, which first involves finding the source of noise. Once the source of noise has been found, the focus is reducing the noise at source by engineering means.
What is sound proofingl?
Soundproofing is any means of reducing the sound pressure with respect to a specified sound source and receptor. There are several basic approaches to reducing sound: increasing the distance between source and receiver, using noise barriers to reflect or absorb the energy of the sound waves, using damping structures such as sound baffles.
What are the types of noise control?
There are four basic principles of noise control:
- Sound insulation: prevent the transmission of noise by the introduction of a mass barrier. Common materials have high-density properties such as, loaded vinyl (flexible sound barrier) etc.
- Sound absorption: a porous material which acts as a noise sponge by converting the sound energy into heat within the material. Common sound absorption materials include high density polyester, open cell foams.
- Vibration damping: applicable for large vibrating surfaces. The damping mechanism works by extracting the vibration energy from the thin sheet and dissipating it as heat. A common material is sound viscoelastic membrane.
- Vibration isolation: prevents transmission of vibration energy from a source to a receiver by introducing a flexible element or a physical break. Common vibration isolators are springs, rubber mounts etc.
What materials are used in architectural acoustics?
Acoustical wall and ceiling panels can be constructed of many different materials and finishes. The ideal acoustical panels are those without a face or finish material that interferes with the acoustical infill.. Fabric covered panels are one way to maximize the acoustical absorption. The finish material is used to cover over the acoustical substrate. Hight density polyester is a commonly used acoustical substrate. Finish materials often consist of fabric, wood or metal. Fabric can be wrapped around substrates to create what is referred to as a ” Stretched Fabric system” if laid onto a wall, and require no modifications. Such fabrics are generally acoustically ‘transparent, meaning that they do not impede a sound wave. Prefabricated panels are limited to size, “on-site acoustical wall panels” This is constructed by “framing” the perimeter track into shape, infilling the acoustical substrate and then stretching and tucking the fabric into the perimeter frame system. On-site wall panels can be constructed to work around door frames, or any other intrusion.