|
MEMTECH |
illbruck-sonex noise
control |
architectural l
broadcast / audio |
||
|
|
|
|||
SONEX® Cuts Reverberation 61% in Church's Multi-purpose Room
"The room echo seemed to be tolerable for basketball and volleyball games," says the Rev. Jim Sollenberger. "In fact it may have even added to an atmosphere of excitement. However, we had plans to use the room for banquets, conferences, special musical presentation and large worship services, so we knew something had to be done." The church's architect contacted Cary Sonneborn of BRD Noise and Vibration Control, Inc., a representative of illbruck, inc., of Minneapolis, the manufacturer of SONEX noise control products. Eric Johnson of illbruck, inc. suggested that an RT 60 test be performed to determine the extent of the room's reverberation problem. The RT 60 test is used to determine the severity of reverberation, by measuring the time it takes for a loud sound to decay by 60 dB. The multi-purpose room measured 100 ft. long, 75 ft. wide and 24 ft. high. Its interior surfaces included a a vinyl-on-concrete floor, carpet-covered wood panels on the walls to a height of 8 ft. and a corrugated metal ceiling. According to Rev. Sollenberger, the facility was designed to hold an average of 200 people. This was an important factor to noise for any sound-reduction strategy, says Johnson, since each person absorbs a predictable amount of sound energy. Johnson and Sonneborn conducted the RT60 test six times at various locations around the room and found the average reverberation time was 5.12 seconds with five people in the room. Based on acoustic design guidelines, Johnson says that in order for human speech to be intelligible, reverberation time needed to be reduced to less than 2.00 seconds. That means that a substantial amount of SONEX sound-absorbing material would have to be added to the room's surfaces to reduce reverberation to an acceptable level. Johnson and Sonneborn calculated that 3,072 sq. ft. of SONEXone panels over about 40% of the ceiling surface would provide enough absorption to reduce the reverberation time to about two seconds when the room had an occupancy of 200 people. SONEXone is illbruck's most popular style of sound-absorbing foam, and it provides a good combination of economy and performance. In addition, SONEX is fiber-free, making it safe and easy to install. To cut costs, the member of the congregation provided the labor for installing the SONEXone using illbruck's special adhesive to mount the panels, to the corrugated ceiling. They applied the adhesive directly to the ceiling "ribs" and held the 2'x4' SONEXone panels in place for a few moments until the adhesive took hold. When installation was completed, Johnson and Sonneborn repeated the RT60 reverberation test at six locations around the room and found the average reverberation time had been cut to 61% to 2.06 seconds with only four people in the room. That meant that when the room had its normal complement of 200 people in it, the reverberation time would be at or below the design goal of 2.00 seconds, allowing the room to fulfill its original "multi" purpose. illbruck manufactures a broad range of attractive acoustical ceiling tiles, wall panels, baffles, and other noise control products for commercial and industrial applications, including: SQUARELINE® Metal Ceiling Tiles, HARMONI™ and WHITELINE™ Ceiling Tiles, CONTOUR® Wall and Ceiling Tiles, FABRITEC™ Wall Panels, SONEX® Wall Panels and Baffles, and PROSPEC® Barriers and Composites.
For more information contact: |
||||
|
Memtech
Incorporated, |
||||
