When it comes to soundproofing, both absorbent materials and barriers are very important.
Absorbent materials are generally porous and light; they do exactly what they say on the can: absorb sound waves. They allow sound waves to enter their structure and dissipate their energy so that they do not escape space. Some of the energy will be converted into heat and the rest will be transferred. With sound insulation, the goal is to absorb as much as possible and to transfer the remaining energy away from that location. Materials such as fiberglass, foam and mineral wood are often used for this.
Barrier materials typically reflect the sound back into the room instead of absorbing it. They are made of dense, non-porous materials such as concrete, steel or plasterboard. Barriers are often used where there are homes near railway lines or busy highways; they will be raised between the two to try to mitigate the noise that reaches home. These can only look like fences next to the road, but they are often the result of detailed calculations and scientific design using the latest technology to ensure that they can predict the optimal geometry for the best results.
As a general rule, materials that are good sound absorbers are not good sound barriers and vice versa. It is common to see a barrier wall with a layer of absorbent material laid over the top for the best of both worlds. In some cases, people may choose the so-called "room in a room", where secondary walls, floor and ceiling are all built inside the room to minimize the amount of sound that escapes the room. The secondary walls can use both barrier and absorbent materials to be as effective as possible. Most sound that escapes a space is actually not sound absorbing waves, but vibrations of solid structural elements. By building a space within a room and filling the cavities with absorbent materials, a comb limits the amount of vibration as much as possible.
When considering whether to use sound absorbers, barriers, or both, it is important to keep in mind any distortion of sound that may occur. For example, if you soundproof a music recording studio, people outside will not hear the music, but those inside will not have distorted sounds.
0 Comments