SCALE-MODEL INVESTIGATION OF THE EFFECT AND OPTIMAL DESIGN OF SOUND ABSORBERS IN AN OPEN-PLAN OFFICE

Authors

  • Md Amin Mahmud Graduate Research Assistant
  • Murray Hodgson Professor and Director, Acoustics and Noise Research Group,

Abstract

The UBC Vancouver AERL building fourth-floor open-plan student area contains TECTUM sound-absorptive baffles located flat against, and suspended from, the ceiling. Is this the optimal configuration or would they, for example, be more effective if located in a different configuration? This paper discusses tests performed in a 1:8-scale open-plan model with 18 workstations, using a suitable 1:8-scale-model sound-absorbing material (6-mm-thick felt), to investigate the sound absorption provided by acoustical treatments such as baffles in AERL and find the optimal configuration. Both the reverberation time (T_20 in s) and sound level decrease per doubling of distance (DL2 in dB/dd) were tested for 15 different absorber configurations (suspended, ceiling-mounted and sidewall absorbers and their various combinations), including the current configuration. The optimal absorber configuration ? absorber covering the whole ceiling and, the second best, a combination of all types of absorber ? was the same for both T_20 and DL2, and performed much better than the current configuration of the AERL space area.

Author Biographies

Md Amin Mahmud, Graduate Research Assistant

Acoustics and Noise Research Group, Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of British Columbia.

Murray Hodgson, Professor and Director, Acoustics and Noise Research Group,

Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of British Columbia.

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Published

2016-08-24

How to Cite

1.
Mahmud MA, Hodgson M. SCALE-MODEL INVESTIGATION OF THE EFFECT AND OPTIMAL DESIGN OF SOUND ABSORBERS IN AN OPEN-PLAN OFFICE. Canadian Acoustics [Internet]. 2016 Aug. 24 [cited 2023 Sep. 21];44(3). Available from: https://jcaa.caa-aca.ca/index.php/jcaa/article/view/2898

Issue

Vol. 44 No. 3 (2016)

Section

Proceedings of the Acoustics Week in Canada

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