Methods of Sound Absorption

METHODS OF SOUND ABSORPTION

When a sound wave strikes one of the surfaces of a room, some of the sound energy is reflected back into the room and some penetrates the surface.

The parts of the sound wave energy are absorbed by conversion to heat energy in the material, while the rest is transmitted through the material

The level of energy converted to heat energy depends on the sound absorbing properties of the material.

Room acoustics describes how sound behaves in a space. That means the listener and the sound source are in n the s same room.

If the room has nearly no sound absorbing surfaces (wall, roof and floor), the sound will bounce between the surfaces and it takes a long time e before the sound dies out.

The listener in this kind of room will then have a problem registering the speaker because he hears both the direct direct sound and repeated reflected sound waves.

If the surfaces instead are covered with sound absorbing material, the reflected sound will decrease much quicker and the listener will only hear the direct sound. Also, the general sound level in the room will decrease. (Fig. 3.3