Designation: C 423 - 02
Standard Test Method for
Sound Absorption and Sound Absorption Coefficients by
the Reverberation Room Method"
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1. Scope
1.1 This test method covers the measurement of sound
absorption in a reverberation room by measuring decay rate
Procedures for measuring the absorption of @ room, the
absorption of an object, such as an office screen, and the sound
absorption coefficients of a specimen of sound absorptive
‘material, such as acoustical ceiling tile, are described.
1.2 Field Measurements—Although this test method prima-
rily covers laboratory measurements, the test method described
in 4.1 can be used for making field measurements of the
absorption of rooms (see also 5.5). A non-standard method to
‘measure the absorption of rooms in the field is described in
‘Appendix 2.
1.3 This test method includes information on laboratory
accreditation (See Annex Al), asymmetrical screens (see An-
nex A2), and reverberation room qualification (see Annex A3).
14 This standard does not purport 1o address all of the
safety concerns, if any, associated with its use. It is the
responsibility ofthe user of this standard to establish appro-
priate safety and health practices and determine the applica-
bility of regulatory limitations prior to use.
2, Referenced Documents
2.1 ASTM Standards:
€ 634 Terminology Relating to Environmental Acoustics?
E 548 Practice for Generic Criteria for Use in Evaluation of
Testing and Inspection Agencies?
E795 Practices for Mounting Test Specimens During
‘Sound Absorption Tests?
2.2 ANSI Standards:
S1.6 Preferred Frequencies, Frequency Levels, and Band
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Numbers for Acoustical Measurements*
S1.11 Specification for Octave-Band and Fractional-
Octave-Band Analog and Digital Filters?
$1.26 Method for the Calculation of the Absorption of
Sound by the Atmosphere
3. Terminology
3.1 Except as noted in 33, the terms and symbols used in
this test method are defined in Terminology C634. The
following definition is not curently included in Terminology
C634:
3.1.1 sound absorption average, SAA—a single number
rating, the average, rounded off to the nearest 0.01, of the
sound absorption coeflicients of a material for the twelve
‘one-third octave bands from 200 through 2500 Hz, inclusive,
measured according to this test method.
3.1.11 Discussion—The sound absorption coefficients shall
bbe rounded off to the nearest 0.01 before averaging. If the
tunrounded average is an exact midpoint, round to the next
higher multiple of 0.01. For example, report 0.625 as 0.63.
3.2 In previous versions of this test method a single number
rating, called the noise reduction coefficient (NRC), was
defined as follows:
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provide comparison with values reported in the past seo
12413).
33 Definition of Term Specific to This Standard—The
following term has the meaning noted for this test method only
33.1 output interval, At, [1], s—of a real-time analyzer, the
time between successive outputs; this time is not necessarily
the same as the integration time.
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4, Summary of Test Method
4.1 Measurement ofthe Sound Absorption of « Room
4.11 A band of random noise is sed asa test signal and
tumed on Tong enough (out the time for 20 dB decay in the
test band withthe smallest decay at) forthe sound pressure
level to reach a steady state, When the signal is med of the
sound pressure level will decrease andthe decay rate in ech
frequency band may be determined by measuring te slope of
a straight line fitted to the sound pressure level of the average
decay curve, The absorption of the room and its contents 1s
calculated, based onthe assumptions tht the incident sound
fel is difise before and during decay and that no additonal
‘nergy enters the room during decay, from the Sabine fol:
anoone! a
where:
4. = sound absorption, m? or Seb,
¥ = volume of reverberation room, mor f°,
= speed of sound (calculated according to 11.13), mis or
1%s, and
= decay rate, dBi,
‘These conditions must be filled ifthe measurement isto
have meaning. The sound absorption calculated according to
Bq 1 is sometimes called the Sabine absorption
4.1.2 In genera, sound absorption isa function of frequency
and measurements are made in @ series of frequency bands
4.2 Measurement ofa Sound Absorption Coeffcient—The
absorption ofthe reverberation room is measured a outlined in
4.1 both before and afer placing a specimen of material o be
tested inthe room. The increase in absorption divided by the
tea ofthe test specimen isthe dimensionless sound absorption
coeficient. In inch-pound units itis reported with the dimen
sonless “uni sabin per square foot, Sabi
43. Measurement ofthe Sound Absorption ofan Object Such
as an Office Screen, a Theater Chai, or a Space Absorber-
The absorption of the reverberation room is measured as
cutined in 4.1 both before and afer placing one or several
identical objects in the room. The increase in absorption
divided by the mumber of objects is the absorption in square
eters per object or sabins per object.
5. Significance and Use
5.1 Measurement of the sound absorption of a room is part
of the procedure for other acoustical measurements, such as
determining the sound power level of a noise source or the
sound transmission loss ofa partition. It is also used in certain
calculations such as predicting the sound pressure level in a
room when the sound power level of a noise source in the room
is known,
5.2 The sound absorption coefficient of a surface is a
property of the material composing the surface. It is ideally
efined as the fraction of the randomly incident sound power
absorbed by the surface, but inthis test method itis operation-
ally defined in 4.2. The relationship between the theoretically
defined and the operationally measured coeficients is under
continuing study.
5.3 Diffraction effects® usually cause the apparent area of a
specimen to be greater than its geometrical area, thereby
increasing the coefficients measured according to” this test
‘method. When the test specimen is highly absorptive, these
‘values may exceed unity.
5.4 The coefficients measured by this test method should be
used with caution because not only are the areas encountered in
practical usage usually larger than the test specimen, but also
the sound fled is rarely diffuse. In the laboratory, measure-
ments must be made under reproducible conditions, but in
practical usage the conditions that determine the effective
absorption are often unpredictable. Regardless of the differ-
‘ences and the necessity for judgment, coefficients measured by
this test method have been used successfully by architects and
consultants in the acoustical design of architectural spaces,
5.5 Field Measurements—When sound absorption measure-
‘ments are made in a building in which the size and shape of the
room are not under the operator's contro, the approximation to
a diffuse sound field is not likely to be very close. This matter
should be considered when assessing the accuracy of measure-
‘ments made under field conditions. (See Appendix X2 for @
procedure that ean be used in the field with less sophisticated
‘nstrumentation,)
6, Interferences
6.1. Changes in temperature and relative humidity during the
‘course of a measurement may have a large effect on the decay
tate, especially at high frequencies and at low relative humidi-
ties. The effects are described quantitatively in ANSI 1.26.
‘These effects due to temperature and relative humidity changes
can be accounted for by the procedure in 6.2
62 Itis advisable to make measurements in the room when
itis empty and in the room when it contains the test specimen
under conditions of temperature and relative humidity so
nearly the same that the adjustments due to air absorption do
not differ significantly. In any case the relative humidity in the
room shall be greater than 40°% during the test. Unless the
conditions given in Table 1 are satisfied, decay rates for the
‘measurements in the 1000 Hz one-third octave band and above
in both the empty room and in the room containing the test
specimen shall be adjusted by subtracting the decay rate due to
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TABLE 1 Requirements forthe Temperature and the Relative
Humidity During Decay Rate Measurement When Adjustment Is
Not Made for Air Absorption”
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air absorption, determined according to ANSI S1.26, from the
decay rate calculated according to 11.4 (see especially 11.4.1
and 11.42)
Norn The absorption cocficions given in Table 1 of the version of|
ANSI S126 current when thi test method wae writen are in units of