Helmut v. Fuchs (Auth.) - Applied Acoustics Conc

Applied Acoustics: Concepts, Absorbers, and
Silencers for Acoustical Comfort and Noise

Control
Helmut Fuchs
Applied Acoustics: Concepts,

Absorbers, and Silencers
for Acoustical Comfort
and Noise Control
Alternative SolutionsInnovative Tools
Practical Examples
2123
Helmut Fuchs
Berlin
Germany
ISBN 978-3-642-29366-5
ISBN 978-3-642-29367-2 (eBook)
DOI 10.1007/978-3-642-29367-2
Springer Heidelberg Dordrecht London New York
Library of Congress Control Number: 2012949847
Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg 2013
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Foreword
No discipline in engineering is used in so many different capacities in such diverse

areas of lifeat work, at home or in recreationas acoustics. Absorbers in one form
or the otherinstalled at boundaries, in rooms or ductshave become indispensable
for noise control and acoustical comfort. They present a continuous challenge for
researchers, developers and manufacturers. This book will provide an overview of
the current state of knowledge and technology in airborne-sound absorbers, covering
a wide range of applications and requirements.
Noise emission is a negative side-effect of nearly all technical innovations. Noise
reduction is, therefore, an inevitable problem every manufacturer of loud machinery
or producer of noisy processes has to contend with. Nonetheless, not being considered
a primary feature sought in a device, noise-reduction measures are generally viewed
as a source of additional costs that generates no corresponding profits. Architects
and builders alike rarely see a need to make concessions in planning, let alone for
the (often negligible) additional costs of incorporating noise control in designing a
building or a room. It is small wonder, therefore, that engineers working on noise
abatement or improving acoustical comfort have so little esteem. Particularly in
scientific research, acoustics is deemed a breadless artnot worthwhile promoting,
indeed dispensable. In many new university faculties, acoustics has the stigma of an
unproductive discipline and is relegated to environmental studies. Only few can
imagine that acoustics offers opportunities for major innovation or even for lucrative
new technologies that are able to save jobs and create new ones.
In view of this scenario, the creation and expansion over 25 years of the Department of Engineering and Architectural Acoustics at the Fraunhofer Institute of
Building Physics IBP, largely (up to 80 %) motivated and funded by industry, may
come as a bit of surprise. This was only possible because the actors involved were
not satisfied with just seeking solutions to acoustical problems by analyzing them
and then testing and building prototypes, filing patent applications, and writing impressive publications, in other words leaving it to someone else, for example a less
innovative technician, to turn new knowledge into a marketable product. This
mindset shown in Model B of Table 1, favored by many acousticians, results at best
in half-finished products that end up in journals and books like in a museum for
unsellable works of art.
v
vi
Foreword
Table 1 Ways to bring innovations on the market in collaboration with industrial partners by means
of services (S) and license, know-how and cooperation agreements (CA) as practiced by FhG
Way A
Steps
Phases
Research
& Development
Adaptation
& Production
Problem
Solution
Transfer
Property rights
Test
Prototype
Suitability
Market
Durability
Design
4
5
6
7
Marketing
FhG
8
9
10
Way C
Way B
Industry FhG
Industry FhG
Industry
4
CA
5
Quantity
Price
Alternatives
Competition
Communication
Cooperation
Penetration
Diversification
10
10
Demonstration
Media
Acousticians are able to serve business and industry much better if they put their
expertise to use, as shown in Model A, by offering a variety of services, for example
inspection, consultancy or support, whatever the client needs. But this model, too,
will not lead to real collaboration and cooperation between research and development,
thus not to truly sharing market success. As a fruitful alternative, a group of, at times
more than twenty, scientists, engineers and technicians at IBP favored Model C of
Table 1 and tackled acute acoustical problems of utmost relevance and significance,
creating in their applied research innovative tools, materials and concepts to solve
them. Not before prototypes and feasible implementation and demonstration projects
could be defined, were suitable commercial partners approached, which frequently
led to long-term license, know-how and cooperation agreements.
Using Model C, fifteen alternative fiberless absorbers ALFA as shown in Fig. 1
have meanwhile reached production maturity. Apparently, these novel sound absorbers and silencers meet a definite market needa market primarily dominated
by materials and building elements conceived 4050 years ago. At any rate, even in
a time of empty public purses and a sluggish construction business, these absorbers
and silencers, apart from reducing noise pollution, were able to create new or additional products for more then ten small and mid-size companies (Mittelstand).
With the flexibility and creativity that SMC are famous for, five or more of these
companies have prevailed against conventional competition with innovative acoustic elements with often optimum property rights protection. Being innovators and
problem solvers, some of these companies have become hidden champions in their
Foreword
vii
Fig. 1 Alternative fiberless absorbers ALFA for architectural acoustics and noise abatement
market segment. However, standards and guidelines for conventional technologies

and also prevailing teachings often hamper quick implementation of innovations.
Moreover, several innovations were announced as strongly conflicting with conventional fibrous/porous absorbers, which makes other experts wary. Lacking for a
long time has been a comprehensive compilation of all noise-reduction principles
viii
Foreword
and products showing their respective advantages and drawbacks. Since the predominantly national co-operation and application projects were initially described
in a wealth of mostly German publications, these took place unnoticed by a global
acoustical community. This compendium tries to fill a gap and calls for an overdue
communication.
One example of especially fast implementation in commercial practice is the
novel, highly absorptive cladding for acoustic test cells in numerous research and
development laboratories of automotive manufacturers and their suppliers. Not surprising, considering that by far most acousticians work in this sector and are well
esteemed by management, because noise reduction and acoustical comfort (sound
design) are crucial in the automobile industry.
The first edition of this book (2004) dealt primarily with compound panel absorbers CPA and broadband compact absorbers BCA and their integration in
anechoic test facilities (Chap. 12). Their extraordinary effectiveness, despite their
thinness, made them equally popular for use in rooms used for intensive communication, for example offices, classrooms, conference and music rooms. The second
edition included the large microperforated absorber (MPA) family in its fundamental part and added a new application part on room acoustics (Chap. 11).
Great progress was also made with silencers especially in improving their effectiveness at low frequencies and resistance to aggressive or fouling fluids, which led
to developing promising alternatives, again always in collaboration with competent
industrial partners. The fundamental section on panel resonators was extended and
two additional chapters on interference silencers, respectively active resonators were
included. Moreover a third application section (Chap. 13) was added dealing with
energy-saving and cost-reducing duct cladding in ventilation and exhaust systems.
This first English edition follows closely the third German edition as a compilation of the authors 40 years of experience in searching, teaching and consulting
in the field of applied acoustics. His Leitmotiv continues to be to seek innovative
solutions to general problems in practice. Entry in this monograph, however, found
only innovations that were realized not only under laboratory conditions (sometimes
government funded) but also were successfully implemented in real-life projects.
Furthermore, included are only prototypes of acoustic elements that have meanwhile
become cost-effective commercial products (many with corresponding patent protection). Scientific principles and derivations are only presented to the extent that
they are essential for the reader to be able to apply the new knowledge, measures,
materials and elements successfully.
The original literature on which the innovative contents of this compendium
are based is cited at the end of each chapter. Technical papers in journals
such as Bauphysik, Lrmbekmpfung, Gesundheits-Ingenieur, Arbeitswissenschaft,
Trockenbau-Akustik, Orchester, Beratende Ingenieure, Acustica, Applied Acoustics,
Noise Control Engineering et al. have continuously helped to bring these developments to an, admittedly still limited public attention. Readers constructive response
and comments encouraged me to again revise and expand Chap. 11 by adding some
principle reflections and propagating a new type of edge absorbers as a particularly
cost-effective means to improve the noise situation in rooms for communicative uses.
Foreword
ix
Just as the preceding editions, this is no less a work in progress. For this reason, I
would again welcome readers critical comments.
In all my publication efforts I owe a lot to my former leading researchers at
Fraunhofer IBP: U. Ackermann, W. Frommhold and D. Eckoldt (duct silencers),
X. Zha and H. Drotleff (room acoustics) and P. Leistner and P. Brandsttt (noise control) with their respective teams. My special thanks go to my translator M. Nierhaus
for her herculean efforts.
Berlin
December 2011
Helmut Fuchs
About the Author
Helmut V. Fuchs studied electrical engineering at the Technical University of Berlin

obtaining his doctorate under L. Cremer and R. Wille. After working in fundamental
research at institutes of the Deutsche Luft- und Raumfahrt in Berlin and Oberpfaffenhofen, Sound and Vibration of the University of Southampton and Aeroacoustics
of Stanford University, he founded the Department of Technical Acoustics at the
FhG Institut fr Bauphysik IBP in Stuttgart, where he worked from 1979 until 2005
on applied research and development in diverse areas of noise control. As of 1986
he was professor for architectural acoustics and immission protection at the University of Applied Sciences in Stuttgart, and as of 1995 deputy director of the IBP and
head of its department of Architectural and Engineering Acoustics. The author is
presently engaged in acoustically improving the working and learning conditions in
communication and tuition environments.
xi
Contents
Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
1
3
The Low Frequency Problem . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

2.1 Conclusions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
5
12
13
Sound Absorption for Noise Control and Room-Acoustical Design . . .

3.1 Prevention of Destructive Reflections . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
3.2 Room-Acoustical Design . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
3.3 Lowering the Sound Level in Rooms . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
3.4 Preventing the Lombard Effect . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
3.5 Attaining Acoustic Transparency . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
3.6 Conditioning Acoustical Measuring Rooms . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
3.7 Protection Against Noise from the Outside . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
3.8 Silencers in Flow Ducts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
3.9 Encapsulation of Machines and Plants . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
3.10 Damping of Structure-borne Sound . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
3.11 Shielding Quiet from Loud Areas . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
3.12 Conclusions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
15
17
17
18
19
20
21
22
24
25
26
27
28
29
Passive Absorbers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
4.1 Fibrous Materials . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
4.2 Open-pore Foams . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
4.3 Puffed Materials . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
4.4 Conclusions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
31
34
36
38
41
41
Panel Absorbers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
5.1 Foil Absorbers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
5.2 Panel Resonators . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
43
43
48
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Contents
5.3 Compound Panel Absorbers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

5.4 Conclusions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
50
60
60
Helmholtz Resonators . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
6.1 Perforated Panel Absorbers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
6.2 Slotted Panel Absorbers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
6.3 Membrane Absorber Boxes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
6.4 Conclusions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
63
63
65
71
75
76
Interference Silencers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
7.1 Quarter-Wavelength Resonators . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
7.2 Half-Wavelength Resonators . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
7.3 Tubular Silencers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
7.4 Conclusions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
79
80
82
83
86
86
8 Absorbers with Active Components . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

8.1 Active Mass-Spring Systems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
8.2 Active Side-Branch Resonators . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
8.3 Active Mode Silencers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
8.4 Conclusions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
89
89
93
97
99
99
Microperforated Absorbers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
9.1 MPA Panels . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
9.2 MPA Foils . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
9.3 MPA Surface Structures . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
9.4 Conclusions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
101
105
111
113
117
118
10 Integrated and Integrating Sound Absorbers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

10.1 Sound Absorbers as Constructive Elements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
10.2 Broadband Compact Absorbers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
10.3 Sound Absorbers in Edges and Corners . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
10.4 Sound Absorbing Furniture . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
10.5 Thermally Activated Acoustic Elements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
10.6 Anechoic Claddings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
10.7 Absorbing Chimney Inlays . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
10.8 Porous Glass Absorber Modules in Sound Barriers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
10.9 Conclusions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
121
123
124
127
132
135
138
141
145
145
146
11 Sound Absorbers in Room Acoustics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 149

11.1 On the Perception of Acoustics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 150
Contents
11.2 Objective Criteria for the Acoustic Quality of Rooms . . . . . . . . . . . . .

11.2.1
Room Size . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
11.2.2
Large-scale Structure of a Room . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
11.2.3
Small-scale Structure of a Room . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
11.2.4
Early Reflections . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
11.2.5
Reverberation in a Room . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
11.2.6
Bass Ratio . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
11.2.7
Noise Level in a Room . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
11.2.8
Level Distribution in a Room . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
11.2.9
Impulse Response of a Room . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
11.2.10 Clarity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
11.2.11 Definition . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
11.2.12 Center Time . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
11.2.13 Lateral Sound . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
11.2.14 Articulation Loss . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
11.3 Speech Intelligibility . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
11.3.1
Late Reflections . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
11.3.2
Reverberation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
11.3.3
Signal-to-Noise Ratio . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
11.3.4
Frequency Limitation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
11.3.5
Masking by Low-frequency Components . . . . . . . . . . . .
11.4 Noise Development in Rooms for Communication . . . . . . . . . . . . .
11.5 Current Trends in Architecture . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
11.6 Room Acoustic Standards (DIN 18 041) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
11.7 Room Acoustics for Speech Communication . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
11.7.1
Create acoustical transparency! . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
11.7.2
Damp the room modes! . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
11.7.3
Tailor the reverberation spectrum! . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
11.8 Room Acoustics for Open-plan Offices . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
11.9 Room Acoustics for Classrooms . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
11.10 Room Acoustics for Musicians Workplaces . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
11.10.1 Noise-exposure of Musicians . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
11.10.2 The EU Guideline 2003/10/EG . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
11.10.3 Measures for Noise-Level Reduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
11.10.4 Reducing Emissions by Room Acoustical Measures . . .
11.11 Acoustics for Performance, Recording and Reproduction of
Speech and Music . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
11.11.1 Minimum Room-acoustical Requirements . . . . . . . . . . .
11.11.2 Bass Foundation and Reverberation Time . . . . . . . . . . . .
11.12 Churches as (Coincidental?) Models . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
11.12.1 A New Structure with Acoustical Risks . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
11.12.2 Excellent Acoustics as an Unexpected Result . . . . . . . . .
11.12.3 Reverberation Accentuating High-Pitch Sound . . . . . . . .
11.12.4 Acoustic Revalorization of Churches . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
11.13 Amphitheaters as Ancient Models . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
xv
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152
154
155
156
157
159
160
162
163
165
165
166
167
167
168
171
172
173
175
175
180
185
186
191
196
197
197
199
207
209
209
212
213
216
220
221
223
230
232
233
236
241
243
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Contents
11.13.1 Appreciations of Ancient Theaters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

11.13.2 Acoustic Properties of Half-open Enclosures . . . . . . . . .
11.13.3 Audience in the round? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
11.13.4 Conclusions for Modern Architecture . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
11.13.5 Enclosures of a New Scale for Big Events and
Great Emotions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
11.14 Examples of Innovative Room Acoustics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
11.14.1 Demanding Assembly Places . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
11.14.1.1 Dining rooms . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
11.14.1.2 Assembly halls . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
11.14.1.3 The Forum in the Office Innovation
Center . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
11.14.1.4 The Schlterhof in Deutsches
Historisches Museum (German Historic
Museum) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
11.14.1.5 Lobby and Atrium at the Fraunhofer
headquarters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
11.14.1.6 Conference rooms of the Ministry of
Commerce . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
11.14.1.7 Multipurpose rooms in the Academy of
Arts Berlin . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
11.14.2 Gyms and Recreational Halls . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
11.14.3 Places of Learning . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
11.14.4 Communication and Multi-purpose Rooms . . . . . . . . . . .
11.14.5 Open-plan Offices . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
11.14.6 Musicians Workplaces . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
11.14.7 Groes Haus of the Staatstheater Mainz . . . . . . . . . . . . .
11.14.8 Music Studios . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
11.14.9 Machine Shops, Production Halls and Railroad
Enclosures . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
11.14.10 Acoustic Measurement Rooms . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
11.15 Review and Prospects of Room Acoustics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
245
245
248
249
373
377
382
384
12 Sound Absorbers and Silencers in Anechoic Test Facilities . . . . . . . . . .

12.1 State of the Art in Anechoic Rooms . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
12.2 Noise Sources in Motor Vehicles . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
12.3 Conventional Tools and Materials for Freefield Rooms . . . . . . . . . . . .
12.4 Design Concepts for Anechoic Rooms . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
12.5 Computer Simulation of Anechoic Rooms . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
12.6 Three Alternative Absorber Elements for Anechoic Rooms . . . . . . . .
12.7 Examples of Innovative Acoustic Test Stands . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
12.7.1 BMW Engine Test Cell in Munich . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
12.7.2 Audi Aero-Acoustic Wind Tunnel in Ingolstadt . . . . . . . . . . . .
12.7.3 Mercedes Technology Center in Sindelfingen . . . . . . . . . . . . .
393
395
396
397
400
414
424
431
432
440
444
252
254
255
256
260
263
266
268
269
272
275
283
289
300
316
336
353
Contents
xvii
12.7.4 Volkswagen Acoustics Center in Wolfsburg . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

12.7.5 Daimler-Chrysler Wind Tunnel in Auburn Hills . . . . . . . . . . .
12.7.6 PSA Peugot/Citroen Wind Tunnel at ST-Cyr-LEcole . . . . . .
12.7.7 BMW Aerodynamic Test Center in Munich . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
12.7.8 Experiences Gained in China . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
12.8 Review and Prospects of Anechoic Test Facilities . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
447
478
487
491
492
499
502
13 Silencers in Flow Ducts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

13.1 Planning Silencer Systems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
13.2 Geometric Silencer Parameters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
13.3 Estimation of the Damping . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
13.3.1 Limitations Due to Flanking Transmission and Wave
Beaming . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
13.3.2 Extended Piening Formula . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
13.3.3 The Low-Frequency Problem . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
13.3.4 The Influence of Flow . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
13.3.5 The Influence of Temperature . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
13.3.6 The Influence of Reflections . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
13.3.7 The Influence of Coverings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
13.3.8 The Influence of Structure-borne Sound Transmission . . . . . .
13.3.9 Damping at Higher Modes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
13.4 Estimation of the Self-Noise . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
13.5 Noise Radiation into a Room . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
13.6 Estimation of the Pressure Losses . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
13.7 Silencer Measurements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
13.7.1 Insertion Loss . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
13.7.2 Transmission Loss . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
13.7.3 Propagation Loss . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
13.7.4 Immission-relevant Damping . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
13.8 Examples of Innovative Duct Linings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
13.8.1 Resonator Silencers for Mine Ventilation Systems . . . . . . . . .
13.8.2 Membrane Absorbers in Exhaust-gas Filter Systems . . . . . . .
13.8.3 Alternative Silencers at Paper Mills . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
13.8.4 Silencers in Mineral-fiber Production Plants . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
13.8.5 Silencers for Wet Dust Scrubbing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
13.8.6 Silencers for Dust-loaded Exhaust Air . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
13.8.7 Silencers in Heating Systems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
13.8.8 Active Silencers in Air-conditioners . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
13.8.9 Silencer Design for HVAC Systems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
13.9 Review and Prospects of Duct Silencers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
507
507
509
511
512
513
515
517
517
518
519
519
520
522
523
524
528
532
536
536
536
540
540
543
547
551
561
565
567
571
573
575
579
Index . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 583
Symbols, Abbreviations, Units
E
S
Eyr
R
a
e
p
s
w
, n
f
L
LQ
p
s
t
R
,
dB km1
106 m
s1
Hz
dB
dB
Pa
m
mm
/kWh
g m1 s1
Sound absorption coefficient

Mean absorption coefficient
Absorption coefficient of furnishings
Absorption coefficient of boundaries
Absorption coefficient after Eyring, Eq. (11.9)
Maximum possible at resonance
Absorption coefficient (in air), Table 3.2
Effective absorption coefficient, Eq. (2.9)
Practical absorption coefficient , Fig. 11.31
Absorption coefficient after Sabine, Eq. (3.15)
Weighted absorption coefficient, Fig. 11.31
Boundary layer thickness, Eq. (4.13)
3-dB bandwidth, Eq. (2.3)
Bandwidth
(sound) level difference
Level reduction at the source
Pressure difference, loss, drop
Path length difference
End correction at perforations, Eq. (4.12)
Matching ratio of a resistance, Eq. (4.7)
Prize of energy
Pressure loss coefficient, Eq. (13.2513.27)
Loss factor
Frequency patameter, Eq. (13.7)
(dynamical) viscosity, Eq. (4.13)
Efficiency, e.g. of a fan, Eq. (13.28)
Volume efficiency, Eq. (12.15)
Angle of radiation, emission, wave incidence
Wave length
Availability of a system, Eq. (13.32)
Damping exponent, Eq. (4.6)
Poissons number
xix
xx
0
W
Pa s m2
kg m3
kg m3
kg m3
s1
A
AE
AP
AAWT
AC
ALFA
ALcons
ASA
a
m2
m2
m2
B
BHKW
BCA
BMW
BR
B
b
C, Ctr
C50
C80
CAD
c
c0
cd , ct
CPA
dB
dB
dB
D
D*
D
Da
Da
%
mm
Pa m3
mm
m s1
m s1
m s1
dB
dB
dB m1
dB
dB
Directivity factor, Eq. (3.14)

Specific flow resistance, Eq. (4.4)
Densty
Reflection coefficient, Eq. (3.5)
Density (of air)
Density of wall elements
Perforation ratio, Eq. (4.12), (6.1)
Porosity, Eq. (4.2)
Cross-sectional discontinuity
Transmission coefficient
Transmission coefficient of a foil
Structure factor, Eq. (4.3)
Circular frequency
(equivalent) Absorption area
Absorption area of furnishings
Absorption area of audience
Aero-Acoustic Wind Tunnel
Air conditioning
Alternative Fiberless Absorber, Fig. 1
Articulation loss of consonants, Eq. (11.18)
Asymmetric structured absorber, Sect. 12.6
Slot spacing, Fig. 6.3
Width of a silencer, Eq. (13.3)
Block-Heizkraftwerk
Broadband compact absorber, Sect. 10.2
Bayerische Motorenwerke
Bass ratio, Eq. (11.10)
(specific) bending resistance, Eq. (5.9)
Slot width, Fig. 6.3
Spectrum adaptation parameters, ISO 717
Definition, Eq. (11.15)
Clarity, Eq. (11.14)
Computer Aided Design
Sound velocity
Sound velocity (in air)
Dilatation wave velocity, Eq. (5.11- 5.14)
Compound panel absorber, Sect. 5.3
Damping
(specific) Damping of silencers, Eq. (13.6)
Damping per unit length of a silencer, Eq. (13.4)
Propagation damping in air
Propagation loss in a silencer, Eq. (13.37)
Dd
De
De
Di
Ds
DB
DBU
DC
DHM
DI
DIN
DL2
DLf
d
d
d
d
d
d
dB
dB
dB
dB
dB
E
Ed
EDT
EK
EL
EnEV
e
Pa
Pa
s
T a1
MWh a1
F
F0
FA
FAW
FhG
dB
dB
dB
mm
mm
mm
mm
mm
m
mm
m2
FIZ
FKFS
f
f0
fH
fMPA
fR
fS
fc
fd
Hz
Hz
Hz
Hz
Hz
Hz
Hz
Hz
xxi
Transmission loss of a silencer, Eq. (13.36)

Insertion loss of an encapsulation, Eq. (3.24)
Insertion loss of a silencer, Eq. (13.33)
Damping/shielding on propagation path, Eq. (2.1, 3.21)
Shielding by a screen, Eq. (3.25)
Deutsche Bahn AG
Deutsche Bundesstiftung Umwelt
Daimler-Chrysler
Deutsches Historisches Museum
Directivity Index, Eq. (2.1, 3.21)
Deutsches Institut fr Normung
Level decay per doubling of distance, VDI 3760
Level increase compared to freefield, VDI 3760
Thickness of a construction element
Distance from or between walls, Fig. 5.1, 6.1, 9.1
Lining thickness of silencers, Fig. 13.1
Halph the thickness of a silencer splitter, Fig. 13.1
Thickness of a damping layer
Spacing between two shells
Elasticity module
Elasticity module of a damping layer
Early Decay Time
Energy costs, Eq. (13.32)
(elektrical) energy, Eq. (13.31)
Energie-Einsparverordnung
Spacing of a coffering, Eq. (6.14)
Frequency mistuning, Eq. (5.6)
Net ground surface of a room
Foil absorber, Sect. 5.1
First Automotive Works
Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft zur Frderung der angewandten
Forschung e. V.
Forschungs- und Ingenieurzentrum, BMW
Forschungsinstitut fr Kraftfahrwesen und
Fahrzeugmotoren Stuttgart
Frequency
(lower) limiting frequency of an anechoic room
Helmholtz resonance frequency, Eq. (6.2)
MPA resonance frequency, Eq. (9.7)
Resonance frequency
Schrder frequency, Eq. (2.5)
Cut-on frequency, Eq. (7.12), (13.15)
Fundamental frequency of a CPA, Eq. (5.11)
xxii
fm
fo
fu
Hz
Hz
Hz
Mid-frequency of a band
(upper) Corner frequency for silencers, Eq. (13.8)
(lower) Corner frequency for silencers, Eq. (13.9)
G
GK
GMD
dB
Strength, Eq. (11.13)

Grenzkurve
Generalmusikdirektor
H
HOAI
HVAC
h
heff
Hight of splitter silencers, Fig. 13.1

Honorarordnung fr Architekten und Ingenieure
Heating, ventilating, air conditioning
Room hight
(effective) Screen hight, Sect. 3.8
m
m
IACC
IBP
IDMT
IIS
ISE
ISO
Interaural cross correlation coefficient

Institut fr Bauphysik, FhG
Institut fr Digitale Medientechnologien, FhG
Institut fr Integrierte Schaltungen, FhG
Irrelevant sound effect
International Standardization Organization
K
K0
K1
K2
KS
KV
KW
Km
Kr
kC
kE
kT
kPL
kf,h , kf,t
dB
dB
dB
m2 n1
m3 n1
W m3
(raw) Construction costs, Eq. (12.18)

Propagation correction, ISO 3745
Background noise correction, ISO 3745
Room response correction, ISO 3745
Surface parameter, Eq. (10.2), (11.26)
Volume parameter, Eq. (10.3)
Thermal parameter, Eq. (10.4)
MPA numerical parameter, Eq. (9.5)
MPA numerical parameter, Eq. (9.6)
Useful-energy factor, Eq. (11.19), Fig. 11.14
Echo factor, Eq. (11.19), (11.20)
Reverberation factor, Eq. (11.19), Fig. 11.15
Site factor, Eq. (11.19), (11.21)
Band limitation factors, Fig. 11.21
L
L
L
LF
LEX
LEX,8h
LEX,40h
LS
LW
Le
dB
dB
m
(mean) sound (pressure) level

Sound (pressure) level
Length, e.g. of a silencer
Lateral energy fraction
Exposure level, Eq. (11.38), Table 11.4
Exposure level, averaged over an 8-h day
Exposure level, averaged over a 40-h week
Noise interference level
Sound power level
External noise level
dB(A)
dB(A)
dB(A)
dB
dB
dB
xxiii
Leq
Li
Lx
lm
lx , ly , lz
dB(A)
dB
dB
m
m
(energy) equivalent mean noise level

Immission (noise) level
Sound level distribution, Eq. (11.13)
Mean free wave path, Eq. (11.5)
Dimensions of a rectangular room
M
MA
MDR
MPA
m
m
m
m
m
mA
mF
mH
mP
mS
mW
Pa s2 m1
Mass, Eq. (8.3)

Membran-Absorber, Sect. 6.3
Mitteldeutscher Rundfunk
Microperforated absorber, Chap. 9
Cross-sectional discontinuity, Eq. (7.1)
Blockage ratio, Eq. (13.1)
Damping constant (in air), Table 3.2
(related) Mass, Eq. (9.5)
Mass per unit area
of vibrating air, Eq. (3.2)
of a foil, Eq. (4.10), (4.11)
of air in holes, Eq. (6.1)
of a plate
of air in slits, Eq. (6.6)
of a wall
N
N
N
NGF
NR
NRC
NVH
Nel
n
n
kW
103 m1
kg m2
kg m2
kg m2
kg m2
kg m2
kg m2
kg m2
Pa m1
m2
kW
min1
OIC
Power
Number of eigenfrequencies, Eq. (2.6)
Compliance, Eq. (8.3)
Net ground surface
Noise-Rating
Noise Rating Curves, ISO 1996
Noise, Vibration, Harshness
(elektrical) Power, Eq. (13.29), (13.30)
Number of e.g. sources, silencer splitters, Eq. (13.3)
Revolution number
Office Innovation Centre, FhG
P
Pa
Pi
Pr
Pt
p
W
W
W
W
W
Pa
Sound power
absorbed, Eq. (3.1)
incident, Eq. (3.1)
reflected, Eq. (3.1)
transmitted, Eq. (3.1)
Sound pressure
Q, q, qV
Qmax
qE
m3 s1
m3 s1
m1
Volume flow rate

Maximum air exchange in a room
Density of diffusors, Sect. 11.2.7
R
Rw
dB
dB
Sound transmission loss

(weighted) Transmission loss
xxiv
r
r
r
r0
rH
Pa s m1
mm
m
m2
m2
dB
dB
(komplex) Reflection factor

Friction resistance
Amplitude ratio, reflection factor, Eq. (9.6)
(smallest) Dimension of holes or slits
Diffuse-field radius or distance, Eq. (3.14), (11.34), (11.35)
S
S
SAK
SIL
SMC
SA
SA, erf
SE
SG
SH
SK
SR
SS
s
s
s
Sd
smax
m2
m2
m2
m2
m2
m2
m2
dB
m
m
Pa m1
m2
m
smin
Ss
Sr
m2
T
TB
TE
Tsoll
TV
t
teff
tK
tS
s
s
s
s
U
UBA
UVV
Absorptive lining, e.g. in a silencer, Fig. 13.1

Umweltbundesamt
Unfallverhtungsvorschrift
V
V
m3
(raw)Volume of a room
(electrical) Amplification
mm
mm
mm
s
Bounding surface of a room

Surface enveloping a source, Eq. (12.5)
Schallausbreitungskurve, VDI 3760
Speech interference level, Fig. 11.4
Small, medium-sized company
Absorber surface
(required) Absorber surface
Surface of furnishings
Ground surface
Open surface of a perforation
Surface of an encapsulation
Test surface, Eq. (3.16)
Lateral strength, Eq. (11.17)
Lateral spacing between silencer splitters, Fig. 3.1
Distance from a source
Stiffness per unit area, Eq. (5.2)
(total) Cross section of a silencer
(maximum allowed) Measuring distance in an anechoic test
room
(minimum) Distance from a source in an anechoic test
room
(free) Cross section of a silencer
Strouhal number, Eq. (13.41)
Reverberation time of a room
Evaluation time, Eq. (11.38)
Immission time, Eq. (11.38)
(recommended mean) Reverberation time, DIN 18041
Technischer berwachungsverein
Thickness of a plate or foil
(effective) Plate thickness, Eq. (4.12)
Depth of a wedge absorber, Eq. (4.9)
Center time. Eq. (11.16)
xxv
V
VS
VW
Va
Vd
Vi
VDI
VOB
VW
v
vs
%
%
%
m3
m3
m3
m s1
m s1
Intelligibility of syllables
of sentences
of words
(total)Volume of cladding in an anechoic room
of damping material in a silencer
(usable) Volume in an anechoic room
Verband Deutscher Ingenieure
Verdingungsordnung fr Bauleistungen
Volkswagen
Sound particle velocity
Flow velocity in the airway of a silencer, Eq. (13.13)
Pa s m1
(komplex) Wall impedance, Eq. (3.6)
x
Z0
ZR
(normalized) Friction parameter in MPA, Eq. (9.1), (9.2)

1
Pa s m
Pa s m1
Wave resistance (in air)

Characteristic impedance of a resonator, Eq. (5.5), (6.5),
(9.8)
Chapter 1
Introduction
Exposure to noise pollution is continually growing. Even in highly developed countries, traffic noise has been increasing 0.20.3 dB(A) a year despite stricter regulations
having reduced emission power levels LW of passenger cars, motorcycles and trucks
in Europe on average 6, 9, respectively 12 dB(A) in the last 20 years. The decisive
immission level is rising particularly due to surging traffic on an increasingly denser
grid of streets, roads and highways. Noise disturbance from air traffic has developed
similarly: successful noise reduction (L in Eq. (1.1)) at individual sources (LW ) has
been more than counterbalanced worldwide by their increasing number (n). According to the publications of the Umweltbundesamt (Federal Environmental Agency),
see e.g. Ortscheid (2003), the number of people suffering from exposure to noise
pollution in Germany has more than doubled from 30 % in 1965 to about 70 % in
2003. The percentage due to motor vehicle traffic, the main culprit, rose between
1988 (Fig. 1.1) and 2002 from 55 to about 65 %, due to air traffic from 37 to close
to 40 % and due to rail traffic from 17 to over 20 %, with rising tendency.
L = LW L + 10 lg n
(1.1)
Owing to national and international laws and regulations, nearly all significant noise
generators underlie strict emission controls (see e.g. Chap. 12 for the automobile
sector), which is a crucial factor for the approval of any new device. Apart from this,
a growing number of buyers and users place much value in convenience, including
acoustical comfort. As experience has shown it is easier to meet A-weighted limiting
emission values, which are generally accepted to be the solely relevant values, by
applying noise-reduction measures at the source at high frequencies, the spectrum
of nearly all sources of noise has tended to shift to lower frequencies, where secondary noise abatement measures and those applied on the propagation path (L in
Eq. (1.1)) are fundamentally less effective than at high frequencies. With increasingly
powerful electro-acoustical systems ELA in homes, cars and outdoors, recreational
and neighborhood noise have risen considerably especially in the bass range. In view
of the listening behavior of young people and the growing number of adults with
impaired hearing (currently 20 % in Germany), this trend will continue.
Although noise pollution in manufacturing, particularly in the metal-processing
industry, has decreased, a barely noticed new noise problem has cropped up on a
H. V. Fuchs, Applied Acoustics: Concepts, Absorbers, and Silencers
for Acoustical Comfort and Noise Control,
DOI 10.1007/978-3-642-29367-2_1, Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg 2013
1 Introduction
Fig. 1.1 Percentage of the

German population disturbed
by various noise sources
considerable scale in the service industries, especially in communication-intensive,

socially and intellectually demanding professions. Moreover, communication innovations (mobile phones) have contributed to the increase in noise disturbance in
offices, conference rooms and service centers, but also in classrooms, gyms, restaurants and trains (Chap. 11). Here too, up to now noise disturbance has been reduced
only at high frequencies by installing sound-absorptive suspended ceilings, floor
coverings, curtains as well as special plasters and wallpaper. Partially high sound
screens installed later to shield individual workplaces are just as ineffective at low
frequencies as the many noise-control structures erected along highways.
Although conventional sound absorbers and silencers made of fibrous or porous
materials are indispensable for damping high-frequency noises from machinery or
equipment, in daily noise-abatement and room acoustical practice, just as in industrial acoustics laboratories and development centers, the actual problems, however,
are increasingly found at the low frequencies. Treating them would require passive
absorbers of considerable thickness (Chap. 4). The acute lack of suited space-saving
reactive and active silencers or sound absorbers that are installable with acceptable
pressure loss in ventilation systems or space requirements in auditoria and assembly
halls is the reason that even people with impaired hearing perceive the rumbling of
machines and plants as extremely disturbing, also over great distances (Chap. 13).
Those responsible for noise control in large companies know that noise abatement
should be implemented as close to the source as possible, optimally tackling it within
the generation process. However, noise reduction is only successful if it is included
early in the designing phase as it involves development costs andsometimes even
more importantvolume, weight and materials. Low-noise products, therefore, are
usually more expensive to produce, respectively purchase. Little known even to
acousticians, however, is that the rumbling phenomenon at low frequencies (even
below 100 Hz) in a room decreases speech intelligibility to such a degree that all
communicators (even those talking on a phone) involuntarily start raising their voices
(see Sects. 11.4 and 11.5) to the extent that they disturb others. In this case, simple
measures are able to not only damp the noise level in a room but to reduce noise at
the sources indirectly, yet very effectively and sustainably as well as simultaneously
raise the acoustical comfort for all.
References
In addition to the mentioned passive and reactive sound-damping materials and

elements, this book will review the numerous available products for noise control and
acoustical design including those based on alternative fiberless absorbers ALFA of
Fig. 1.1 in the foreword, initiated by the author at the Fraunhofer IBP and previously
described comprehensively in Fuchs et al. (2002, 2003; Fuchs 2001a, b; Fuchs and
Mser 2004, 2013). In discussing them, focus is always on applicability in practice and not impressiveness of theory. Presented are designing, dimensioning,
and implementing, in particular, novel passive, reactive, and active sound absorbers
in real transfer projects carried out by the inventors in close collaboration with their
licensees, as valid examples, following the projects from the consulting and planning
to the execution and monitoring and finally to the clients acceptance and documentation phase. The book confronts the reader with a number of acute omnipresent
noise and acoustical quality problems but at the same time offers equally many
practical solutions in the ten fundamental and even more so in the three application
Chaps. 1113.
References
Fuchs HV (2001a) From advanced acoustic research to novel silencing procedures and innovative
sound treatments. Acustica 87(3):407413
Fuchs HV (2001b) Alternative fibreless absorbersnew tools and materials for noise control and
acoustic comfort. Acustica 87(3):414422
Fuchs HV, Mser M (2004) Schallabsorber. In: Mller G, Mser M (eds) Taschenbuch der
Technischen Akustik, Chap. 9. Springer, Berlin, pp 247304
Fuchs HV, Mser M (2013) Sound absorbers. In: Mller G, Mser M (eds) Handbook of engineering
acoustics, Chap. 8. Springer, Berlin (in press)
Fuchs HV, Zha X, Krmer M, Zhou X, Eckoldt D, Brandsttt P, Rambausek N, Hanisch R, Leistner
P, Leistner M, Zimmermann S, Babuke G (2002, 2003) Schallabsorber und Schalldmpfer.
Innovatorium fr Manahmen zur Lrmbekmpfung und Raumakustik. Parts 16. Bauphysik
24(2):102113; 24(4):218227; 24(5):286295; 24(6):361367; 25(2):8088; 25(5):261270
Ortscheid J (2003) Weniger Lrmbelastung in der Wohnung und am Arbeitsplatz? Z Lrmbekmpf
50(1):1213
Chapter 2
The Low Frequency Problem
From the emission sound-power level LW of a source Q, which can be determined

under freefield conditions, e.g. according to DIN 45 635 (1984), respectively ISO
3745 (2003), the immission sound pressure level L in its vicinity (outdoors) can be
described, of course only schematically, by:

L = LW LQ + DI + 10 lg n 20 lg s
Di 20 lg f m 10 lg A
i
+ LR + LS + LT + const
(2.1)
with LQ standing for possible noise reduction at the source, for example, by direct
intervention in the generating mechanism, by encapsulation and/or silencers. As it
is easier to lower A-weighted sound levels, accepted worldwide as solely relevant,
by applying measures at high frequencies, reduction measures generally shift the
maximum in noise spectra to low frequencies. The last two increases in sound level
also symbolize influences on the sources themselves, the influence of noise (LS ) and
unsuited reverberation times in a room (LT ) on human voices (Sects. 11.411.10).
A sources directivity index (DI), for example a fan blowing out of a stack, may be
another reason why at immission-relevant radiation angles (usually between 80 and
100 ) low frequencies are raised a decisive 10 dB compared to the high frequencies,
see Fig. 13.54. DI, expressed as 10 lg v can mean a frequency-independent increase
in L if an assumed source radiating uniformly in all directions does not radiate freely
(directivity factor v = 1), but over a completely reflecting surface (v = 2), from an
edge (v = 4), or from a corner (v = 8).
The number n stands for a variable number of same sources (for instance the
influence of traffic density on roads and rails as well as in the air or occupancy in
call centers, classrooms and dining rooms). The distance 20 lg s (outdoors, e.g. with
a 6 dB decrease per doubling the distance s), which always plays a big role in noise
estimates, is of course again frequency-independent.
On the other hand, most damping and shielding effects on the propagation path
(Di ) are much stronger at high frequencies than at low ones. Insulation using light
resilient elements (with mass m), for example windows, also increases strongly like
20 lg f with frequency. Finally the noise penetrating a closed room encounters an
absorption area A there, which is always much less at low than at high frequencies.
2 The Low Frequency Problem
It must be assumed that the emission spectrum measured in a freefield near the
source rarely is relevant for the actual noise disturbance in its more remote vicinity.
The greater the distances and the more obstacles the sound waves have to overcome
on their path to the respective immission point, the more do the low frequency components dominate. These are often perceived as especially annoying even if in practice
A-weighting frequently conceals this problem. It is also general practice, supported
by relevant norms and guidelines, to measure noise levels, sound insulation, and
sound damping only down to 125 or 100 Hz and not to weigh more closely until
above 500 Hz. This results in impressive single-number sound-damping and insulating ratings, for example a weighted absorption coefficient w according to Fig. 11.31
and a weighted sound transmission loss Rw according to Fig. 11.5. Nonetheless, their
effectiveness in the individual case however often falls far short of the users expectations, because single-number ratings of sources and transmission paths cannot
simply be added or subtracted. But rather, serious room and architectural planning
has to take into account the respective spectral characteristics of all the terms in
Eq. (2.1).
Often the low frequency problem is even graver: on the one hand, double-walled
elements, such as windows, doors and facades, owe their high damping effect at
medium and high frequencies, which is in their favor in conventional single-number
weighting, to mass-spring resonances at frequencies below 100 Hz, at which sound
transmission from the loud side to the quiet side can occur practically unhindered,
see Fig. 3.3 and Fuchs and Zha (2007). On the other hand, the low-frequency noise
can greatly excite so-called cavity resonances or eigenresonances in a room and in
this manner may under circumstances also lead to substantial amplification (LR in
Eq. (2.1)) at certain frequencies. This can not only be very disturbing, but may also
complicate measurement at low frequencies, see Fuchs et al. (1998b, 2000).
Eigenresonances are most distinct in rooms in which at least one dimension
is smaller than about 5 m. In a frequency range between 200 and 50 Hz, under
circumstances down to 31 Hz, standing waves (modes) similar to those in a twodimensional field (Chap. 3, Table 3.1) determine the sound field. Figure 2.1 shows
for a quasi undamped 5 4 3 m room, barely more than 10 strong resonances occurring in a transfer function measured between two diagonally opposite corners,
according to Cremer and Mller (1974, 1982b, Chap. 11 there) at

2 2
ny
nx 2
c0
nz
fnx , ny , nz =
+
+
; nx , ny , nz = 0, 1, 2 . . .
(2.2)
2
lx
ly
lz
with the sound velocity c0 . If resonances in adjacent rooms and in their separating
building elements approximately coincide, this strong interaction of the sources with
the room and the elements can even be quite dramatic in close or farther vicinity with
LR = 1030 dB in Eq. (2.1) at low frequencies.
Figure 2.2 shows the sound level distribution in a plane 1.3 m above the floor
for the 1,1,0-mode at 55 Hz with a maximum variation of nearly 40 dB between
the center and the four edges of the windowless room rendered completely sound
reflective on all sides. If its inevitable wall absorption at each single mode n, for
Fig. 2.1 Eigenfrequencies and transfer function in an undamped rectangular room with V = 60 m3 .
(According to Fuchs et al. 1998b, 2000)
Fig. 2.2 Sound level

distribution of the mode 1,1,0
at f = 55 Hz, 1.3 m above the
floor of the weakly damped
room of Fig. 2.1 simulated.
(According to CD-ROM
1998)
example as 3-dB bandwidth n = 2fn according to Kurtze et al. (1975, p. 65

there) as derived from its resounding time (for 60 dB) Tn in s according to Cremer
and Mller (1974, 1982b, Chap. 9 there) is taken into account in the calculation with
n =
6.9
Tn
(2.3)
(e.g. from Tn measurements such as described by Oelmann and Zha1986), the sound
field in this reference room can be determined at very low frequencies in good
agreement with measurements. However, every room left sound reflective, even
completely asymmetrical hoods for loud machines, automobile passenger compartments, studios for recording and mastering audio productions and reverberation
rooms for measuring the absorption coefficient of construction elements and the
power of sound sources, yes even freefield rooms behave similarly at low frequencies, see Zha and Fuchs (2009): The room booms; all active sources are selectively
amplified or influenced in their sound radiation behavior. Under these conditions,
acoustic measurements are only possible using special precautions, which Fuchs
et al. (1998b, 2000) discuss in some detail.
In a rectangular room measuring with 1x > 1y > 1z , respectively in a cube, the
lowest resonance is at
c0
c0
f1 =
resp.
f1 =
.
(2.4)
2lx
23V
Below this lower limiting frequency, the room behaves increasingly like a pressure
chamber excited as a whole. Above f1 the modal fields dominate. Between two
resonances according to Eq. (2.1) the room is practically unexcitable even by a sine
tone. Above a not quite equivocally determinable higher frequency

T
fS = (2000 4000)
(2.5)
V
(the higher numerical value according to Cremer and Mller (1974, 1982b, Chap. 13
there), the lower according to Vorlnder (2008, Eq. 4.13 there)) with the volume V
in m3 and the reverberation time T in s of the room, named after Schrder (1954),
the resonances move so close together that there are enough, for example, within a
one-third-octave band for the sound field to be considered as diffuse for standard
room and architectural acoustic measurements. After Bies and Hansen (1996), the
number of eigenfrequencies N between 0 and f increases according to
N=
4 3
1
f V + 2 f 2S +
fL
3
8c0
3c0
4c0
(2.6)
with the volume V = 1x 1y 1z in m3 , the surface S = 2 (1x 1y + 1x 1z + 1y 1z ) in m2 and

the length of the edges L = 4 (1x + 1y + 1z ) in m of a rectangular room. In the case of
measurements with a relative constant bandwidth f/fm , the frequency density N

Table 2.1 Constants for
calculating the
eigenfrequencies of a room
within a given bandwidth
according to Eq. (2.7)
f / fm
1/2
1/ 32
1/ 12 2
(Octave)
(Third-octave)
(1/12-octave)
C3
C2
C1
8.89
2.96
0.74
1.11
0.37
0.09
0.087
0.029
0.007
Fig. 2.3 Eigenfrequency

density N according to Eq.
(2.7) and Table 2.1 for the
room according to Fig. 2.1
within octaves (),
third-octaves (2), or
half-tones (1/12-octaves)
(related to the respective bandwidth f) can be estimated, dependent on the mean
band frequency fm in Hz, according to
3
2
fm
fm
fm
N = C3
V + C2
S + C1 L
(2.7)
c0
c0
c0
with the constants for the different bandwidths given in Table 2.1. Figure 2.3 shows
the to-be-expected mode density for the reference room dependent on frequency.
Third-octave measurements suffice for most requirements in architectural acoustics. On the other hand, octave measurements, particularly at low frequencies, are
completely inadequate. In comparison 1/12-octave measurements meet higher requirements in noise control. By approximation, Eq. (2.7) also applies for rooms that
are not rectangular although not for really flat rooms.
A second limiting frequency fS above which a diffuse field or reverberant field
may be assumed in weakly damped rooms is given, again somewhat differently, in
Cremer and Mller (1978, 1982a) and Morse and Ingard (1968), respectively DIN
52 212 (1961):
3c0
fs =
3
V
resp.
2c0
fs =
.
3
V
(2.8)
This uncertainty is indicated by the gray area in the simplified representation of

Fig. 2.4. Even the first limiting frequency is still considered optimistic for rectangular
rooms, on which the conventional architectural acoustic laboratory tests are based
10
Fig. 2.4 Frequency ranges of

a predominantly modal,
respectively diffuse, sound
field in a cubic room
dependent on its volume
(according to Fuchs et al.
1998a). Transition range
(gray), see Eq. (2.8); first
eigenresonance of the room
(----), see Eq. (2.2)
almost without exception. Experienced acoustical engineers no longer quite trust

their measurements in a 300 m3 reverberation room below 200 Hz.
Suppression of the, in many regards, disturbing room modes, for example with
the passive edge absorbers known from studios, so-called bass-traps (see, e.g.
Everest 1994, Fig. 194 there) are meant to require too large volumes. Cummings
(1992) had the idea to draw off sound energy from the modal field by installing
an array of compact resonators in the room. Their task is to build up a second modal
field in anti-phase with the first. In this theoretical approach the exact positions and
(complex) impedances of the concentrated bass traps have to be introduced in order
to calculate the resulting modal field. What one may gain along these lines in practice
is discussed in Sect. 8.3 with a PhD work of Zimmermann (2003), Zimmermann et al.
(2004).
For extended two-dimensional absorber claddings, for example at walls and ceilings in free-field rooms, which have to absorb also the modal components in the
arbitrarily excited sound fields in these rooms, a detailed spatial sound-field calculation using an image-source model according Zhou et al. (2004), Zha and Fuchs
(2009) has proven to be much more to the purpose, see Sect. 12.5.
In the case of reactive or active absorbers that stand isolated, however, it must be
kept in mind that they always influence the structure of the sound fields in their vicinity
and, for example, if disposed adjacently, may interact with each other. Optimum use,
especially in small rooms, therefore requires the same amount of experience as proper
installation of loudspeakers and monitors, especially subwoofers in audio rooms.
In the development of special bass absorbers and for comparison of the effectiveness of their diverse construction forms, a measuring procedure of Zha et al. (1996,
1999), has proven quite successful in the range (a) of a very low eigenfrequency
density (N < 5 per third-octave). For this purpose, as in a reverberation compartment according to Cremer and Mller (1974, 1982b, Chap. 11, p. 258 there), the
resounding time already introduced in Eq. (2.3) for determining mode damping is
measured with sine excitation at measuring points (Fig. 2.5) carefully adjusted to the
11
Fig. 2.5 Schematic

representation of the source
(LS) and receivers 18 in the
5 4 3 m low-frequency
lab at IBP (according to Zha
et al. 1996, 1999) for testing
absorbers at low frequencies
mode structure once without the test specimen (Tn,0 ) and once with it (Tn,m in s) in
the corners and edges of the room. Analogous to the reverberation room procedure,
an effective absorption

1
V
1
(2.9)
e = 0.16
SA Tn,m
Tn,0
coefficient can thus be determined with the surface of the absorber SA in m2 . However,
it must be noted that for physical reasons this effective absorption coefficient
can assume values also far above 1
is not only a property of the absorber itself, but rather, due to its interaction with
the sound field, is also a property of the measuring room,
can have a different effect depending on where the test specimen is positioned in
the room with volume V in m3 ,
can depend not only on the effectiveness of the absorber but also on its size (SA ),
cannot automatically be applied to other installation situations or, for example,
be used straightforwardly to determine sound levels according to Eq. (3.12) and
reverberation times according to Eq. (3.10) in a room, as e.g. described by Fuchs
et al. 2011; Fuchs and Lamprecht 2012.
Nonetheless, the described acute problems at low frequencies, in particular in small
rooms, justify any feasible means that contributes to developing new tools, materials
and building elements to solve them.
For the range (b) (5 < N < 20 per third-octave), to save time, it is possible to
excite the test cell with third-octave noise from one corner and measure the decay
(Tn ) of all eigenfrequencies of the respective frequency band in other corners.
Finally, for the range (c) (N > 20 per third-octave), the absorption coefficient
(s ) can be measured straightforwardly according to DIN EN ISO 354 (2001) and Eq.
(3.15). Numerous tests in other rooms have confirmed that a certain basic damping
of the reverberation room in at least two of its lower corners distinctly improves repeatability and reproducibility at low frequenciesat least up to 200 Hz. Moreover,
current developments of new types of absorbers (see e.g. Sects. 5.3 and 11.15.10) have
shown that the theoretically predicted absorption mechanisms or those obtained from
12
preliminary tests under other measuring conditions also become evident in a reverberation room only if, according to Fuchs et al. (1998b, 2000) the room is suitably
dampednota bene always within the limits set by the standard.
However, it is stressed again that in the frequency range which is so important for
room acoustics and for noise control and in which absorbers inevitably react with the
sound field, any (f) is a value that can only be used with corresponding experience.
The influence of the room remains strong even if the sound waves impinge oblique on
the walls, floors or ceilings, especially when a source does not excite the room from
the center but rather from a corner, see Fig. 11.193. As the room resonances according
to Eq. (2.2) always adjust to the respective mean room dimensions 1x , 1y , 1z and
every available bounding surface can only be rendered absorptive once, suitable,
much more effective broadband sound absorbers that are as space-saving as possible
had to be newly developed. As sound energy, shown in Fig. 2.2 only as an example,
at low frequencies always tends to distribute unevenly in a room, there is no point
in distributing the absorbers spatially or two-dimensionally as evenly as possible,
for instance according to the guidelines of the freefield standards. Instead it is more
expedient to place the to-be-optimized absorber surfaces for the lowest frequency
components in the corners and edges of the measuring rooms. From there, all room
modes can be damped with the greatest efficiency, in other words the maximum
effective absorption coefficient e . In future, the desired goal
to minimize sound levels in a room (originating from beneficial or disturbing
sources inside or outside the room),
to create an as homogeneous as possible sound field in acoustic measuring rooms
to determine sound power or sound absorption (in so-called reverberation rooms)
as well as sound insulation (in diverse building element test stands),
to eliminate destructive reflections for undisturbed examination of the sound fields
in every detail of any, also very low frequency, radiating sources (in so-called
freefield rooms),
can be attained with innovative elements somewhat more easily than with conventional means, see Fuchs et al. (2001). Here all commonly known sound absorbers
reach their limits at low frequencies. The following, therefore, will describe the
fundamentals of state-of-the-art of passive, reactive and active absorbers, part of
which were previously addressed in Fuchs (2002). Chapter 11 will then deal with
the application of new concepts and elements for progressive room acoustics and
Chap. 12, respectively Chap. 13 with concepts and elements for innovative freefield
rooms, respectively duct silencers. All three last mentioned chapters give numerous
representative application examples.
2.1
Conclusions
Noise control and acoustic comfort tasks escalate in complexity at the low frequencies. The problems are mostly obscured by single-number rating and A-weighting
being regularly applied. They are often augmented by installing double-shell
References
13
elements in buildings, which owe their acoustical reputation to an excellent performance at the high frequencies only. As an inevitable result, booming modes dominate
all sound fields in a room being excited by wanted or unwanted sound sources of any
kind. Conventional damping materials of a limited thickness are of very restricted
use to cope with these low-frequency problems. There is therefore an urgent need
for the development of new tools, materials and construction elements to efficiently
absorb sound energy in this important frequency range, see Chaps. 58. To achieve
this goal, it is necessary to first derive suitably adjusted measuring and calculation
procedures. Not all of these can follow prevailing philosophies and regulations or
the existing requirement and test standards, see e.g. Sects. 11.6 and 11.14.10.
References
Bies DA, Hansen CH (1996) Engineering noise control. E & FN Spon, London
CD-ROM (1998) Ausschnitte aktueller Themen. Fraunhofer IBP, Stuttgart
Cremer L, Mller HA (1974) Die wissenschaftlichen Grundlagen der Raumakustik, vol II. Hirzel,
Stuttgart
Cremer L, Mller HA (1978) Die wissenschaftlichen Grundlagen der Raumakustik, vol I. Hirzel,
Stuttgart
Cremer L, Mller HA (1982a) Principles and applications of room acoustics, vol I. Applied Science,
London
Cremer L, Mller HA (1982b) Principles and applications of room acoustics, vol II.Applied Science,
London
Cummings A (1992) The effects of a resonator array on the sound field in a cavity. J Sound Vib
154(1):2544
DIN 45 635 (1984) Geruschmessung an Maschinen. Teil 1: Luftschallemission, HllflchenVerfahren. Rahmenverfahren fr 3 Genauigkeitsklassen
DIN 52 212 (1961) Bestimmung des Absorptionsgrades im Hallraum
DIN EN ISO 354 (2001) Messung der Schallabsorption in Hallrumen
Everest FA (1994) The master handbook of acoustics. McGraw-Hill, New York
Fuchs HV (2002) Innovative sound absorption productsnew tools and materials for noise control
and acoustic comfort. In: Pandalalai SG (ed) Recent research developmentssound & vibration,
Part 1. Transworld Research Network, Kerala, pp 203239
Fuchs HV, Lamprecht J (2012) Covered broadband absorbers improving functional acoustics in
communication rooms. Appl Acoust (in press)
Fuchs HV, Zha X (2007) Zur Lsung akustischer Probleme bei tiefen Frequenzen. Lrmbekmpfung
2(3):108113
Fuchs HV, Leistner P, Brandsttt P, Zha X (1998a) Gestaltung tieffrequenter Schallfelder in
kleinen Rumen. In: Hauser G (ed) Bauphysik-Berichte aus Forschung und Praxis. IRB-Verlag,
Stuttgart, pp 481502
Fuchs HV, Sph M, Pommerer M, Schneider W, Roller M (1998b) Akustische Gestaltung kleiner
Rume bei tiefen Frequenzen. Bauphysik 20(6):181190
Fuchs HV, Zha X, Pommerer M (2000) Qualifying freefield and reverberation rooms for frequencies
below 100 Hz. Appl Acoust 59(4):303322
Fuchs HV, Zha X, Zhou X, Drotleff H (2001) Creating low-noise environments in communication
rooms. Appl Acoust 62(2):13751396
Fuchs HV, Lamprecht J, Zha X (2011) Zur Steigerung der Wirkung passive Absorber: Schall in
Raumkanten schlucken! Gesundheits-Ingenieur 132(5):240250
14
ISO 3745 (2003) Acousticsdetermination of sound power levels of noise sources using sound
pressureprecision methods for anechoic and semi-anechoic rooms
Kurtze G, Schmidt H, Westphal W (1975) Physik und Technik der Lrmbekmpfung. G. Braun,
Karlsruhe
Morse PM, Ingard KU (1968) Theoretical acoustics. McGraw-Hill, New York
Oelmann J, Zha X (1986) Zur Messung von Nachhallzeiten bei geringer Eigenmodendichte.
Rundfunktechn Mitt 30(6):257268
Schrder M (1954) s. Cremer et al. (1974). p 309
Vorlnder M (2008) Auralization. Springer, Berlin
Zha X, Fuchs HV (2009) Schallfeldsimulation mit SpiegelquellenEine Planungshilfe fr
reflexionsarme Rume. Bauphysik 31(4):208215
Zha X, Fuchs HV, Sph M (1996) Messung des effektiven Absorptionsgrades in kleinen Rumen.
Zha X, Fuchs HV, Nocke C, Han X (1999) Measurement of an effective absorption coefficient below
100 Hz. Acoust Bull 510
Zhou X, Zha X, Babuke G (2004) Computerised planning aid for the design of anechoic chambers.
In: ProceedingsCFA/DAGA 2004, Strasbourg, pp 3334
Zimmermann S (2003) Control performance of active absorbers in enclosed harmonic sound fields.
PhD thesis, TU Berlin
Zimmermann S, Joseph P, Leistner P (2004) Control of low-frequency enclosed, harmonic sound
fields with active absorbers. In: ProceedingsCFA/DAGA 2004, Strasbourg, pp 8182
Chapter 3
Sound Absorption for Noise Control

and Room-Acoustical Design
If a sound wave with a sound power Pi , a sound pressure pi , a sound particle velocity vi
and a frequency f impinges on an obstacle which is large compared to its wavelength
, it is partially reflected (Pr ) (and possibly diffracted and scattered), allowed to pass
through (Pt ), transmitted as structure-borne sound (Pf ), as well as absorbed (Pa ), see
Fig. 3.1, with
Pi = Pr + Pt + Pf + Pa .
(3.1)
If the obstacle is, for example, a wall (or ceiling) with a mass per unit area of m"W
that is large compared to the air mass per unit area m"A co-vibrating with the incident
wave,
m"W >> m"A =
1 pi
1
0
=
Z0 =
,
2f vi
2f
2
(3.2)
with the wave resistance

Z0 = 0 c0 = 408 Pa s m1
(at 20 C and 105 Pa),
(3.3)
the density 0 = 1.21 kg m3 and the sound velocity c0 = 344 m s1 of air, only a
minor part of the sound power passes through or is transmitted. The largest part is
reflected back to the source or into the room unless an absorptive material or element
is installed on or in the wall, which swallows an essential part of Pi immediately
upon impact, i.e. converts it into heat.
In order to quantify such a sound absorber regarding its effectiveness for the
source side, Pt and Pf can be added to Pa :
=
Pa + Pt + Pf
Pi Pr
=
= 1 .
Pi
Pi
(3.4)
The absorption coefficient can thus, just like the reflection coefficient , assume
values between close to 0 as well as close to 1. The latter may also be expressed by
the ratio of the amplitudes of the sound pressure of the reflected (pr ) and that of the
impinging wave, the generally complex reflection factor r:
=
Pr
pr 2
= 2 = r 2 = 1 .
Pi
pi

(3.5)
15
16
3 Sound Absorption for Noise Control and Room-Acoustical Design
Fig. 3.1 The path of the

power of a sound wave
impinging upon an absorptive
obstacle
According to Cremer and Mller (1974, 1982b, Chap. 3 there), r can be derived from
the also complex wall impedance W, which completely describes the wall structure
acoustically. Valid for normal sound incidence with pressure pW and velocity vW is:
W =
r=
W 0 c0
;
W + 0 c0
pW
= W + j W ;
vW
=
4W 0 c0
.
(W + 0 c0 )2 + W 2
(3.6)
(3.7)
Equation (3.7) is also referred to as matching law: absorption is the greatest if the
imaginary part of the impedance vanishes. However, it reaches its maximum value 1
only if the real part of the impedance just equals the characteristic impedance 0 c0
of air. For any mismatch, the incident and reflected waves yield a standing wave
in front of the wall, in which the level difference,
L = Lmax Lmin
(3.8)
represents a measure of the absorption coefficient, see Cremer and Mller (1978,
1982b), Tennhardt (1984) and Table 3.1. The extreme values for result, on the
one hand, with hard, smooth plastered or tiled masonry ( 0.01) and, on the other
hand, with especially designed wall-cladding in anechoic rooms ( 0.99). Most
sound-absorptive construction materials and elements with a surfaces Si and with
i -values between 0.2 and 0.6, sometimes up to over 0.8, as shown in the sound
absorption tables, e.g. of Fasold and Veres (2003), Fasold et al. (1987), Kuttruff
(1994, 2000), Hohmann (2009), add up to the equivalent absorption area AS of
the room. In addition to this, furniture, objects and acoustic modules suspended as
individual elements from the ceiling, mounted at a distance from the wall or standing
on the floor as well as occupants present in the room also contribute with Aj to the
resulting absorption area A of the room:

AS =
i Si ; AE =
Aj .
(3.9)
i
3.2
Room-Acoustical Design
Table 3.1 Difference in

sound level L in dB in a
plane standing wave in front
of a more or less absorptive
plane obstacle and the
corresponding absorption
coefficient and reflection
factor | r |
17
L in dB
|r|
0.999
0.990
0.900
0.600
0.200
0.010
0.6
2.0
6.0
13.0
25.0
50.0
0.032
0.100
0.316
0.630
0.890
0.990
At least ten fields of application can be defined in which sound absorption is of crucial
importance:
3.1
Prevention of Destructive Reflections
In front of weakly absorbing boundary surfaces ( < 0.2), the sound field according
to Eq. (3.8) and Table 3.1 is spatially varying. The reflections can make localization
of sound sources difficult and diminish the clarity of music and the intelligibility of
speech, especially at low frequencies. This disturbs not only the work of musicians
or sound engineers (e.g. in front of a wall or a control window), but also staff
working in front of a glass facade in open-plan offices. Even if the distance between
the source and, in particular, concave reflectors (with r > 0.9), for instance the rear
wall of an auditorium, is large, echoes from there are perceived as very disturbing
on the stage. Echoes from reflecting hemispheres or cylinders can make electroacoustic systems go completely awry as the incident in 1992 in the assembly hall of
the German Bundestag in Bonn spectacularly demonstrated, see Sect. 11.14.1 b. In
such cases, apart from changing the architectural structure (e.g. slanting windows or
walls) or installing reflectors in front or suspended, the only remedy is to eliminate
the destructive reflections by means of selective absorption.
Especially in anechoic rooms, even the smallest reflecting surfaces, for example
control panels or lamps, are able to strongly interfere with the measurement. As it is
not always possible to slant the surface in such a manner that the incident sound waves
do not deflect to the measuring site but rather into the highly absorptive cladding,
again the only remedy to eliminate destructive reflections is by absorption. Always a
special problem are floor reflections in so-called semi-freefield rooms (see Sects. 12.5
and 12.7.4).
3.2
Room-Acoustical Design
On the other hand, if the reverberation time T in s in a theater or a church,

T = 0.16
V
,
A
(3.10)
18
Table 3.2 Damping constant m in 103 m1 for sound propagation in rooms (at 20 C and 50 %
air humidity), absorption coefficient a in dB km1 outdoors (at 10 C and 70 %) and acoustical
boundary layer thickness in 106 m according to Sect. 4.2 and Fig. 9.3 at 20 C in air as a function
of frequency in kHz
f
m
a
< 0.25
< 0.08
< 1.00
> 95.00
0.50
0.25
2.00
67.00
1.00
0.75
4.00
47.00
2.00
2.50
8.00
34.00
4.00
7.50
20.00
24.00
8.00
25.00
50.00
17.00
with a large volume V in m3 and too a small resulting absorption area A in m2 ,

A = AS + AE + 4V m,
(3.11)
is too large, speech intelligibility may suffer. As absorption by the furnishings and the
audience (AE ) is largely given, the acoustician has to try and provide suited surfaces
(Si in Eq. (3.9)) for this task. However, concert halls and operas often suffer from
too much damping at the high frequencies by the soft upholstery of seats (AE ) and
the audience. As damping along the path of the sound waves between two reflections
(m) also diminishes strongly toward low frequencies, see Table 3.2, what large as
well as small rooms primarily need are absorbers for low frequencies, much more
seldom also for high frequencies. When using conventional absorbers, the tendency
therefore is intentionally or unintentionally to achieve more at the high frequencies
than is good for the acoustics of a room. As frequencies below 250 or 125 Hz are
often ignored, the result in many cases is muffled or muddy room acoustics (see
Sect. 11.11). The problem with need-adjusted sound absorbers, which prevent an
unfortunately often encountered significant rise in reverberation time toward low
frequencies, is usually not addressed because even experts rarely measure at the low
frequencies or consider them for assessments, probably also because there are few
corresponding comparisons available for representative halls, see Barron (1993).
In contrast, in freefield rooms, absorption in the entire relevant frequency range
must be solely accomplished by the cladding of the bounding surfaces. Under such
conditions, a reverberation time according to Eq. (3.11), of course, makes no sense.
But rather, here the room response to the source is determined from deviations from
the 20 lg sterm in Eq. (2.1) by level decay measurements, for example according
to ISO 3745 (2003), see Chap. 12.
3.3
Lowering the Sound Level in Rooms
Given sound sources with an assumed constant sound power level LW , the mean
sound pressure level L in a room can be lowered by installing sound-absorbing built-in
elements and claddings:
L = LW 10 lg A + 6 dB.
(3.12)
3.4 Preventing the Lombard Effect
19
In this case it is, of course, important that the absorption spectrum (A in m2 ) is optimally adapted to the respective source spectrum. However, within the diffuse-field
distance according to Eq. (3.14), room acoustic measures have no effect. Nonetheless, most investment is associated with such measures, in which according to
L = 10 lg
A2
A1
(3.13)
doubling of A results in only a 3 dB reduction in room level and workplaces in the

vicinity of loud machines can hardly benefit.
It is explicitly pointed out here that a small room improperly damped at low
frequencies is strongly excited at its lowest eigenresonances, see Chap. 2. This also
applies to sources which in this spectral range actually produce only a relatively small
portion of their energy, for example the human voice (see Sect. 11.3). Particularly
if the source of excitation is also a resonator capable of coupling with the room
modes, it is beneficial to employ for noise reduction sound absorbers adjusted to the
room and to the source spectrum, for example measured under freefield conditions.
Succeeding in damping the ten resonance peaks, e.g. in a 5 4 3 m room between
35 and 90 Hz (Fig. 2.1) from up to 30 dB down to under 5 dB (see Fuchs et al. 1998,
2000) clearly demonstrates that with the right sound absorbers in a room considerably
more can be accomplished than lowering the level 36 dB, as is generally considered
attainable for factories in noise-control practice according to Eqs. (3.12) and (3.13).
This noise abatement approach is, of course, especially attractive if at least two
opposite surfaces are sound reflective and only a few meters apart, for example the
ceiling and floor of a factory, bureau or cafeteria.
3.4
Preventing the Lombard Effect
In assembly halls, conference rooms and open-plan offices, restaurants, classrooms,

bank lobbies etc., places where many people tend to raise their voices at the same
time, conversation can become torture if A is not large enough or its spectrum not
properly adjusted to the sources. This can be drawn from the diffuse-field distance
rH in m (also see Sect. 11.4), which with

P1
(3.14)
rH = 0.14 A
Pges
marks the distance from the source at which the sound level of the direct sound field
just corresponds to the diffuse field yielded by the multiple reflections. Conditions
for an individual speaker (P1 ) to be able to make himself intelligible can be improved
somewhat by not letting him speak somewhere in the middle of the room ( = 1) but
positioning him in front of a large reflecting wall ( = 2), at an edge ( = 4) or even
in a corner ( = 8), provided that the room was sufficiently damped at low frequencies. Similar improvements can be achieved as is well known using loudspeakers
20
with a high directivity parameter directed at certain parts of the room which are
particularly important, see Cremer and Mller (1978, 1982a, Chap. 7 there).
Although according to Eq. (3.14), it seems that with the number of people speaking
simultaneously (Pges ), the accompanying absorption area (A) increases proportionally at the same time, experience shows that one understands the person facing one
worse the more people there are gathering and talking, for example at a reception.
The reason for this is that the participants in a discussion unfortunately only bring
absorbers for frequencies above about 250 Hz. If however the low frequencies remain
undamped and the reverberation time rises significantly a booming fills the room
which masks the high frequency components that are vital for the intelligibility.
The result is according to the so-called Lombard effect (see Lazarus et al. 2007) that
all speakers tend to speak louder (see LS and LT in Eq. (2.1)) thereby further
impairing communication, see Sects. 11.4 and 11.5. In order to remedy this problem, it is necessary to employ, particularly in small rooms, special low-frequency
absorbers for frequencies at least down to 63 Hz, if possible down to 50 Hz, as many
room-acoustical retrofitting measures have proven, often to the users amazement,
see Sect. 11.4 and Fuchs et al. (2001); Fuchs and Lamprecht 2012.
3.5 Attaining Acoustic Transparency

In small to medium-size rooms for ensemble playing or teaching music, a similar
communication problem arises for the musicians as well as the conductor and the
teacher. In practice rooms, orchestra rehearsal rooms, but especially in the cramped,
partially covered opera orchestra pits in which more than a hundred highly qualified
musicians play under confined, nerve-racking conditions (only 320 m3 volume,
respectively 11.5 m2 ground area per musician!). Low-frequency rumbling blurs the
clarity of the music and makes it hard to hear the bass instruments which are crucial
for ensemble play. In comparison, the stronger radiating brass wind instruments
(having in a certain direction a significantly larger diffuse-field distance according
to Eqs. (3.14) and (11.34) are better positioned at the rear wall of the orchestra.
However, as mutual hearing cannot really succeed under the poor room-acoustical
conditions prevailing in orchestra pits worldwide, musicians tend to play louder, to
the detriment of the overall performance, because they feel that they will otherwise
not be able to hear themselves and control their playing.
Experience has shown that such poor working conditions result in an uneven,
difficult to conduct and often too loud orchestra sound and makes it difficult in many
opera houses to attain a balance between the voices on the stage and the music from
the orchestra pit. At maximum levels far above 100 dB(A) and equivalent averaged
levels to 90 dB(A) according to Barron (1993), it is small wonder that employers offer personal ear-protection before entering this acoustical torture chamber.
Nonetheless, many musicians suffer serious hearing loss at an early age. Projects to
retrofit these extraordinary workplaces revealed that here too special space-saving,
low-frequency absorbers are able to remedy a particularly grave noise problem, see
Sects. 11.10 and 11.14.6 and Fuchs 2007.
3.6 Conditioning Acoustical Measuring Rooms
3.6
21
Conditioning Acoustical Measuring Rooms
The phenomena at low frequencies described in Chap. 2 are a particular problem of all
standard acoustical testing procedures in enclosed measuring spaces: a precondition
for determining, for example, the sound power level LW of a stationary source, for
instance according to Eq. (3.12), from the average sound level L which it generates
in a room with an equivalent absorption area A is the formation of a relatively homogeneous (diffuse) sound field. Even in the case of standard prescribed averaging
over several microphone positions in a room, excitation of the modes according to
Eq. (2.2) and e.g. Fig. 2.2, leads to insufficient repeatability (in the same test room
with the same sound source) and poor reproducibility (at one and the same source
in differently dimensioned test rooms) of the measuring results. It would be an illusion to assume that reverberation rooms with unparallel boundary surfaces do not
show distinct mode excitation, see Fig. 11.193. Especially, experienced acoustical
engineers are aware that in and below the gray regions indicated in Fig. 2.4, their
reverberation rooms can only be interpreted and employed with caution, for example
with respect to positioning the test specimen in the room. This applies all the more to
determining the absorption coefficient s from the reverberation times Tm with and
To in s without the test specimen with its absorber surface SA in m2 , usually laid on
the floor, and the room volume V in m3 according to

1
V
1
s = 0.16
(3.15)
S A Tm
T0
As absorber test specimens, depending on their position in the room and thus their
effect on the respective mode field, can influence the latters sound level decay in
quite different ways after the test source has been turned off, this problem occurs
even more intensively in absorption-coefficient measurements according to EN ISO
354 (2003) than in sound-power measurements according to ISO 3742 (1988) (see
Chap. 5). It becomes particularly disturbingly noticeable in the much smaller rectangular rooms routinely used in accordance with EN ISO 140 (1997) for determining
sound transmission loss R in dB from the (again averaged) level difference between
the source and receiving room, L = L1 L2 , the testing surface SR in m2 and the
equivalent absorption area A2 in m2 in the receiving room according to
R = L + 10 lg SR 10 lg A2
(3.16)
In order to make all these measuring and testing procedures more reliable at low
frequencies and increase their reproducibility and repeatability, it is recommendable
to make use of the absorption area of empty measuring rooms explicitly approved
by the cited guidelines to homogenize the sound fields by installing suited absorber
modules, preferably in the cornersalso as an effective supplement to the already
installed diffusers, see Fig. 3.2. Especially suited for this task are the broadbandeffective, very compact resonators described in detail in Sect. 5.3 and Fuchs and
Zha (1996). Also, or particularly, in the case of freefield rooms according to ISO
3745 (2003), due to the importance of damping low-frequency room modes here,
22
Fig. 3.2 Reverberation rooms with acrylic-glass diffusers and CPA modules according to Sect. 5.3
for homogenizing the sound field
it is, of course, advisable not to rely solely on passive porous or fibrous cladding,
but again install reactive absorbers preferably in the corners and edges of the room
(see Chap. 12).
3.7
Protection Against Noise from the Outside
In this context, it is necessary to call attention to another up to now little regarded

noise-control problem: noise penetrating a closed room from the outside, which can
be remedied very effectively by means of suited absorption measures:
Li = Le R + 10 lg S 10 lg A.
(3.17)
Surfaces S in m2 with little sound transmission loss R (e.g. windows and glass
facades) are continually increasing in buildings, leading, even if exterior levels Le
are assumed to be constant, to higher interior levels Li . Conventional evaluation of all
building elements by single-number ratings (Rw ) has led to multi-shell constructions
which seem to score particularly well. According to Lotze (2006), in the case of
normal sound incidence, their imposing insulation values according to
R = 20 lg f + 40 lg
f
+ 20 lg W + 20 lg d 105 dB
fR
(3.18)
3.7 Protection Against Noise from the Outside
23
Fig. 3.3 Sound transmission

loss R according to EN ISO
140 (1997) of a door alone
(dashed) and with a facing
shell (CPA according to
Sect. 5.3, 1 mm steel sheet
metal, 40 mm soft foam)
increase especially strongly with frequency in Hz above fR due to the two masses
(m1 and m2 in kg m2 ) in them forming a mass-spring resonance system at

m1 + m 2
fR = 60
(3.19)
m1 m2 d
apart from the specific weight of the wall shells w in kg m3 and their thickness d in
mm and the distance d in m. However, this very impressive insulation at high frequencies is often obtained at the expense of an insulation dip below 100 Hz (thus outside
the standard evaluation range!), see Fig. 3.3. For this reason, the low-frequency
components, for example of traffic noise, disco sound, or even noise from industrial
exhaust systems, are perceived as the actual disturbance if doors and windows are
closed. Relatively light pliable shells, as occasionally employed in construction and
mechanical engineering, according to the pure mass law after Lotze (2006),
R = 20 lg f + 20 lg W + 20 lg d 105 dB,
(3.20)
lose toward the low frequencies 6 dB per octave of their insulation, which otherwise
is only determined by its mass per unit area.
Some people, however, are especially sensitive to low-frequency noises and tones.
People with impaired hearing perceive low-frequency rumbling as extremely disturbing. It is tempting to reduce the sound level Li according to Eq. (3.17) in the
low-frequency range, where R and A are seldom measured but, as experience has
24
shown, tend to be very small, by installing low-frequency absorbers. In very favorable

cases these offer three types of noise reduction:
a) Reduction of the room eigenresonances,
b) Prevention of coupling with element resonances
c) Damping exterior noises penetrating the room
This is not yet customary, because present standards, guidelines, and measurement
regulations relating to the emission, transmission and immission of sound still largely
ignore the frequency range below 100 Hz, and until recently, there were no really
suitable sound absorbers available in practice.
3.8
Silencers in Flow Ducts
Designing silencers for air-conditioning ducts is quite different: here it has of course
since long been a matter to adjust the effectiveness of the silencers to the individual
sound power spectrum (Lw ) given by the system, for example its ventilator. Very often
damping is greatly exaggerated at the high frequencies. In propagation over large
distances s in m in open country, predominantly the low-frequency noise components
are again often left in the immission level Li according to

Li = LW De + DI 20 lg s
Di 11 dB
(3.21)
i
as already discussed with reference to Eq. (2.1), because all the damping present on
the propagation path and possibly in existent shielding (Di ) principally reach much
higher values at high than at low frequencies. Absorption, for example, in sound
propagation outdoors,
Da = a s
(3.22)
is according to Table 3.2 above 2.5 kHz already more than 10 dB km1 but negligible
below 250 Hz. The directivity index DI at the duct end into the open air often also
according to Sect. 13.5.4 diminishes absorption only at high frequencies. Insertion
loss De in dB of the silencer usually installed in flow ducts or chimney stacks,
therefore, very often demands an as high as possible absorption coefficient of the
inserted absorber particularly at low frequencies in order to be able according to the
Piening (1937) formula
De = 1.5
U
L
Ss
(3.23)
to be effective far below the beaming frequency (see Sect. 13.3) at a given length
L in m and absorptive lining U in m and a free cross section Ss in m2 of the silencer
assembly.
3.9 Encapsulation of Machines and Plants
25
Fig. 3.4 Encapsulation of

humans (a) or sources (b) as a
noise control measure. (After
Gruhl and Kurze 2006)
As a consequence of the described need for sound absorption especially at low

frequencies (< 250 Hz) to very low frequencies (below 100, down to 50 or 31 Hz),
passive (fibrous/porous) sound absorbers are also not able to fulfill the manifold
demands of this noise control sector. Thick splitters in the flow ducts and chimney
stacks would cause unnecessarily high pressure losses and energy costs, see Chap. 13.
3.9
Encapsulation of Machines and Plants
The tight fit of sound hoods often leaves little room for sound-absorptive cladding
which could be effective not only at high but also at medium and low frequencies.
Moreover, a drawback of thicker porous or fibrous layers of damping insulation is that
they insulate thermally as well. Only large sound insulation R of usually closed steel
panels as exterior wall elements of an encapsulation is not of much use if sufficient
absorption in the same frequency range is not installed inside the hood. Only in this
manner can it be prevented that the sound energy reflected and enclosed in the hood
leads to the development of higher interior levels. The insertion loss De of a cabin
as noise protection for humans or as a measure at the source in Fig. 3.4 according to
De = R 10 lg
SK
1
= R 10 lg
AK
K
(3.24)
does not depend on the size SK of the closed encapsulation but strongly on the
equivalent absorption area AK , respectively the average absorption coefficient K of
its inner cladding.
Mechanically and chemically highly resistant absorptive cladding is of use in
rooms that are strongly flowed through or very grimy. Recommendable are porous
glass foam according to Sect. 4.3 (e.g. in engine rooms) and microperforated surfaces
according to Sect. 9.3 (e.g. engine compartments or under the floor section of motor
vehicles), in the latter case also with an additional function as a heat shield to
prevent heat being conveyed into the passenger compartment. Weight and space play
an important role in portable encapsulations of loud devices, which moreover lead
to limiting their effectiveness at low frequencies. On the other hand, in immobile
26
Fig. 3.5 Anechoic encapsulation of peripheral elements of technical sound sources, such as engines
in acoustic test cells, see Chap. 12. (Courtesy of Faist Anlagenbau)
encapsulations of stationary sound source components, for example in workshops or

test stands, the broadband compact absorber described in Sect. 10.2 can provide very
broadband and high sound insulation. In anechoic acoustic test cells (see Chap. 12),
encapsulations, such as shown in Fig. 3.5, can also be designed so absorbent for sound
waves impinging from the outside that they hardly disturb the freefield conditions of
the room for the to-be-tested sound sources.
3.10
Damping of Structure-borne Sound
A subject matter of this book is absorbers and silencers for airborne sound in all its
forms. It stems, apart from the aerodynamic sources such as for example the human
voice, wind instruments or fans, in many cases from vibrating elements, for example
sounding boards of string and percussion instruments or housings of machinery.
Their structure-borne sound can be excited by coupled vibrating strings or rotating
wheels. At high frequencies, sound radiation of thin, light elements can be reduced
in a noise attenuating manner by providing a suited damping coating.
The only way to reduce low frequency vibrations would be to increase the mass of
the transmitting and radiating elements to a usually unacceptable degree. In the case
of walls and ceilings of a building, the occurrence of vibrations, for example from
the foundation or from a concentrated source, has to be stopped by suited bearing
(for instance on spring-elements). A single room, however, can be decoupled from
the rest of the building, so to say room in room, by insulating it by means of
concrete construction on single spring packets according to Fig. 12.8 or lightweight
construction, for example with spring elements distributed over a steel frame as
shown in Fig. 3.6, or an actual insulation mat.
Meanwhile there is a just as wide a range of products for structure-borne sound
insulation elements and special vibration dampers, which can be applied on the
3.11 Shielding Quiet from Loud Areas
27
Fig. 3.6 Steel frame on spring elements for insulating structure-borne sound from the floor slab of
a freefield measuring room. (Courtesy of Faist Anlagenbau)
respective construction elements as close as possible to the source, as for the airbornesound absorbers described in the following, see for example Schirmer (2006). Worth
mentioning are small about 5 5 5 cm cubes of rubber-coated mineral wool such
as were, for instance, very cost-effectively and easily installed in a listening room,
see Sect. 11.14.8 c by Zha et al. (1996), which despite their many advantages have
not yet found widespread use in building construction.
3.11
Shielding Quiet from Loud Areas
Among the most overestimated noise-control measures, at any rate conventionally

applied in enclosed rooms with sound-reflective walls and ceilings, are sound screens,
for example according to Fig. 3.7. In the best case, their shielding effect according to

Ds = 10 lg 1 + 20
h2eff
s

(3.25)
is determined and very limited by the ratio of the effective screen height heff to the
sound wave length , on the one hand, and to the distance s between the source
and the receiver from the screen, on the other hand as Fig. 3.8 shows: a relatively
high screen of heff = 0.4 m allows a more than 10 dB reduction in noise level at
1,000 Hz, but only 3 dB at 100 Hz. However, a precondition of these values is, often
quite unrealistically, that all the surfaces on and in the vicinity of the screen are fully
absorbent. Here, the development of transparent microperforated elements according
to Chap. 9 might bring a breakthrough by enabling larger heff values. Should the sound
screen also shield visually, the plastic or glass elements can be tinted or printed
accordingly. Mser (2007, Chap. 10 there) gives a very good theoretical description
of the diffraction of sound waves impinging obliquely on an assumed semi-infinite
screen edge.
28
Fig. 3.7 So-called sound

screens between workplaces
in an open-plan office (see
Sect. 11.14.5)
3.12
Conclusions
Applied acoustics has indeed to deal with much more than just sound insulation
and damping. Yet successful noise control and acoustic comfort rely heavily on the
implementation of efficient sound absorbers, especially those which can cover a
broad range of frequencies. Relatively simple design principles and almost trivial
calculation formulae can help to find fundamental problem solutions provided that
producers of loud technical sound sources and developers of acoustically demanding
heff
Level reduction [dB]
heff = 0.6 m 0.4 m

16
12
s=1m
0.4 m
8
4
0
63
125
250
500 1000 2000 4000 8000

Frequency [Hz]
Fig. 3.8 Maximum possible shielding Ds according to Eq. (3.25) for different screen heights heff
and s = 1 m (with totally absorptive bounding surfaces)
References
29
rooms lend an ear to the noise development to be expected and reserve a minimum
of resources for treating this widely underrated inevitable by-product of any human
activity. Two outstanding building plots for necessary innovations are described in
detail and illustrated by numerous exemplary case stories in Chap. 13 (Silencing
noise generated in air-handling systems) and Chap. 11 (Calming sound generated in
communicative actions).
References
Barron M (1993) Auditorium acoustics and architectural design. E & FN Spon, London
Stuttgart
Stuttgart
London
London
EN ISO 140 (1997) Measurement of sound insulation in buildings and of building elements
EN ISO 354 (2003) Measurement of sound absorption in a reverberation room
Fasold W, Veres E (2003) Schallschutz + Raumakustik in der Praxis. Verlag Bauwesen, Berlin
Fasold W, Sonntag W, Winkler H (1987) Bau und Raumakustik. Verlag Bauwesen, Berlin
Fuchs HV (2007) Der Raum spielt mitWeniger Schallbelastung durch akustische Gestaltung des
Orchesterraumes. Orchester 55(7/8):1016
communication rooms. Appl Acoust 74(1): 1827
Fuchs HV, Zha X (1996) Wirkungsweise und Auslegungshinweise fr Verbund-PlattenResonatoren. Z Lrmbekmpf 43(1):18
Fuchs HV, Sph M, Pommerer M, Schneider W, Roller M (1998) Akustische Gestaltung kleiner
Gruhl S, Kurze UJ (2006) Schallausbreitung und Schallschutz in Arbeitsrumen. In: Schirmer W
(ed) Technischer Lrmschutz, Chap. 13. VDI-Verlag, Dsseldorf
Hohmann R (2009) Materialtechnische Tabellen. In: Fouad NA (ed) Bauphysik-Kalender 2009,
Chap. E. Ernst & Sohn, Berlin
ISO 3742 (1988) Determination of sound power levels of noise sources
ISO 3745 (2003) Determination of sound power levels of noise sources using sound pressure
precision methods for anechoic and semi-anechoic rooms
Kuttruff H (1994) Raumakustik. In: Heckl M, Mller HA (eds) Taschenbuch der Technischen
Akustik, Chap. 23. Springer, Berlin
Kuttruff H (2000) Room acoustics. E&FN Spon, London
Lazarus H, Sust CA, Steckel R, Kulka M, Kurtz P (2007) Akustische Grundlagen sprachlicher
Kommunikation. Springer, Berlin
Lotze E (2006) Luftschalldmmung. In: Schirmer W (ed) Technischer Lrmschutz, Chap. 5. VDIVerlag, Dsseldorf
Mser M (2007) Technische Akustik. Springer, Berlin
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Piening W (1937) Schalldmpfung der Ansauge- und Auspuffgerusche von Dieselanlagen auf
Schiffen. VDI-Z 81(26):770776
Schirmer W (2006) Technischer Lrmschutz, Kap. 4, 11 und 12. Springer, Berlin
Tennhardt HP (1984) Messung von Nachhallzeit, Schallabsorptionsgrad und von Materialkennwerten porser Absorber. In: Fasold W, Kraak W, Schirmer W (eds) Taschenbuch der Akustik,
Sect. 4.4. Verlag Technik, Berlin
Zha X, Fuchs HV, Hunecke J (1996) Raum- und bauakustische Gestaltung eines MehrkanalAbhrraumes. Rundfunktechn Mitt 40(2):4957
Chapter 4
Passive Absorbers
Based on the range of applications and market volume, by far the largest and most
important group of sound absorbers is founded on the principle of providing sound
waves upon impact, according to Fig. 3.1, as little resistance W as possible. If the
layer thickness d of the passive absorber is very large, according to Lotze (2006)

W = 0 c0
1j
(4.1)
2f 0
would only depend on three material parameters:
a. Porosity defined by the acoustically effective air volume enclosed inside the
absorber (VL ) and the entire volume of the absorber (VA ),
=
VL
< 1,
VA
(4.2)
b. Structure factor defined by an air volume contributing to compression (VK ),

respectively acceleration (VB ),
=
VK
1,
VB
(4.3)
c. Specific flow resistance

defined by the pressure difference p for a steady flow
with velocity v through an absorber layer of thickness x,
p
.
vx
(4.4)
For very small flow resistances or very high frequencies Eqs. (3.6), (3.7) and (4.1)
simplify,
4
,
<< 20 f W = 0 c0
; =
(4.5)
2 + +
31
32
4 Passive Absorbers
Fig. 4.1 Matching ratio as a

function of the specific flow
resistance
for varying layer
thickness d
and show that for fibrous materials having values and that deviate but slightly
from 1, such as are usually used for acoustical purposes, W approaches the value
0 c0 and the value 1 (matching). In this limiting case, a plane sound wave would
decay exponentially along its path in the material, according to Cremer and Mller
(1974, 1982, Chap. 8 there) with an exponent.
f.
(4.6)

0 c02
Equation (4.6) shows the characteristic property of all passive sound absorbers: to
absorb stronger at high than at low frequencies.
However, sound should release its energy to the otherwise passive absorber on an
as short as possible path (d in Fig. 3.1) through the absorber to the reflecting wall
and on the way back by the friction of the air particles in the wave on the very finely
structured fibrous or open-pore material. It apparently no longer suffices to make
as small as possible, for 100 Hz according to Eq. (4.5), for instance far below
750 Pa s m2 . Actually of interest for use in noise control and room acoustics are
predominantly materials with
> 7 500 Pa s m2 . In order for sound to be able to
penetrate the absorber unimpeded,
should not be made too large, but, in order for
it to find sufficient friction loss exposure on its double passage through the absorber,
should be large enough. For the layout parameter flow resistance (

in a product
with layer thickness d, respectively this value in relation to the wave resistance 0 c0 ),
the range
800 <
d < 2400 Pasm1
resp.
2<=
d
<6
0 c0
(4.7)
in general has proven to be optimal, see e.g. Mser (2007, Fig. 6.13 there), Mser
(2007) or Fuchs and Mser (2004, 2013). The matching ratio is shown in Fig. 4.1
Passive Absorbers
33
Fig. 4.2 Absorption

coefficient of fibrous/porous
absorbers of varying
thickness for an optimum
adjustment ratio for diffuse
() respectively normal
() sound incidence. (See
e.g. Fasold et al. 1987; Fasold
and Veres 2003)
as a function of
with d as a parameter and 1 according to Frommhold
(2006). The somewhat schematic and normalized representation in Fig. 4.2 shows
that for layer thicknesses d nonetheless no high absorption coefficients can be
attained. For d /8 one can expect
80 %
for
42.5 3
10
f
(4.8)
with d in mm and f in Hz; but only for d /4 is > 0.9.

This extremely simple dimensioning advice for practically all homogeneous fibrous/porous materials, which in practice are employed just about anywhere as sound
absorbers or silencers, suggests practically universal use. However, it should be noted
that for absorption at 100 Hz with d = 500 mm, the optimum
according to Fig. 4.1
lies between 1 600 and 4 800 Pa s m2 and thus again below the flow resistance
of conventional absorption materials. Such loose material, even if well-protected
and packed, could not be employed in room acoustics. Also in meter-thick splitters behind fiber fleece and perforated sheet metal, it is not advisable to absorb low
frequencies with material having optimum flow resistance and correspondingly low
specific weight and little firmness. For anechoic cladding of freefield rooms, for
measuring purposes one initially resorted to /4-long mineral fiber wedges or pyramids where the sound waves encounter in the entry plane a resistance that deviates
only slightly from 0 c0 . But on the overall at least /2-long path of the sound waves
to the wall and back they loose nearly all their energy (ca 99 %) by dissipation in the
fibrous/porous material. Such cladding having wedge lengths tK in mm according to
tK =
85 3
10
f
(4.9)
of, for instance, 1 700 mm for 50 Hz must of course be supported and protected with
additional reinforcement or acoustically transparent coverings to retain their shape.
34
4 Passive Absorbers
For the low frequency range, there are fortunately meanwhile alternatives available
that require smaller volume, are less sensitive with corresponding durability, see
Sect. 12.6. Despite a few limitations regarding the practical realization of homogeneous, finely structured layers, the solid curves in Fig. 4.2 can be used for comparison
as reference curves for diffuse, respectively the dash-dotted curves for normal sound
incidence, even if the materials and assemblies of a given thickness may structurally
differ.
4.1
Fibrous Materials
The absorbers discussed here, preferably and predominantly made of synthetic mineral fibers, are called passive absorbers, because theydespite their generally very
low specific weight A 30150 kg m3 are practically not excitable by sound
waves. Their structuresas fragile and sensitive they may be to mechanical stress
are heavy enough not to provide any impact surface for arbitrary airborne sound fields
in the hearing range. To sum up, especially fibrous materials having a thickness of
50100 mm are ideal sound absorbers for the frequency range above 500250 Hz.
In this frequency range, it is easy to estimate the respective required absorption according to Eqs. (4.1)(4.8). Densely woven carpets or 510 mm thick fabric wall
hangings suffice to strongly absorb in the kHz range, but with a flow resistance of,
at best, more than 105 Pa s m2 .
All fibrous absorbers need as protection against abrasion, a fiber fleece of corresponding denseness, which must be adjusted to the optimum flow resistance of the
overall assembly according to Eq. (4.7). Flow resistances of various common fabrics are found in e.g. Fasold and Veres (2003, Table 4.2 there). A test procedure for
determining the acoustical transparency of fabric materials is described in Leistner
and Drotleff (2004).
In order not to substantially impede sound entry, a foil often disposed in front of
the absorber as abrasion protection must not be too heavy (m" F ), respectively too
thick (t) compared to the air mass moved with the sound wave according to Eq. (3.2):
m F = F t << m A =
0 c0 1
.
2 f
(4.10)
For the transmission coefficient of the foil F = Pt /Pi to amount also to at least 80 %,
its mass m2 F in kg m2 should according to Tennhardt (1984) and Kuttruff (1994)
be
m F
90
f
(4.11)
for f > 250 Hz thus m" F < 360 g m2 , but for 2 500 Hz only 36 g m2 . However, this
estimate is only valid if the foil is still able to move freely and not (as is usual)
clamped between the absorber filling and a perforated metal sheet, see Lotze (2006,
4.1 Fibrous Materials
35
Fig. 4.3 Absorption

coefficient 0 for normal
sound incidence on a layer of
varying thickness d made of
conventional mineral fibers
having optimally adjusted
flow resistance = 4 (),
respectively constant
= 8000 Pa s m2 () in
front of a sound-reflective
wall
Figs. 6-17 and 6-18 there). Preferred is a facing made of resistant fabric or fleece,
especially if the latter is mounted on a fibrous board or mat.
If a perforated plate facing, as camouflage and mechanical protection, should also
allow at least 80 % of the sound to pass, according to Fasold et al. (1987, Fasold and
Veres 2003), its effective plate thickness teff in mm and the perforation ratio must
be selected according to
teff
75 3
10 ;
teff = t + 2t.
(4.12)
Fasold and Veres (2003, Fig. 4.11 there) give the end corrections 2t by which
the plate thickness t is increased with varying perforation geometry. Nonetheless,
facings having a perforation ratio of usually > 0.3 may be considered acoustically transparent up to very high frequencies. For much smaller see Lotze (2006,
Fig. 6-16 there) and Sect. 6.2.
For the influence of specific weight , material compression and temperature on
the effectiveness of fibrous sound absorbers see Frommhold (2006), Lotze (2006),
Delany and Bazeley (1970), Mechel (1994). It is, however, pointed out that even
most detailed calculations for fibrous layers with widely varying facings, due to the
generally large variation of all material data during production, always offer only a
rough estimate and that any planning must anyway be based on test results for normal
or statistical sound incidence for the very great variety of fibrous absorbers available
on the market.
For a fibrous material, for example glass wool or rock wool, having an assumed
constant specific flow resistance of 8 000 Pa s m2 , as are often used in splitter
silencers, the absorption coefficient for normal sound incidence can be calculated
according to Delany and Bazeley (1970) for varying layer thickness d. Fig. 4.3
shows that this material allows to anticipate an optimum result consistent with the
steeply rising characteristic curve from low to high frequencies as in Fig. 4.2 only for
d 200 mm. Due to the much too large flow resistance with great layer thicknesses
36
4 Passive Absorbers
Fig. 4.4 Absorption

coefficient S for diffuse
sound incidence on a 60 mm
thick glass-wool plate
weighing 80 kg m3 behind a
5 mm thick layer of porous
plaster (2) compared to an
absorber of the same overall
thickness according to
Fig. 4.2
such as d = 500 mm, absorption above 31.5 Hz falls significantly short of expectations. With thinner layers common as wall and ceiling lining (e.g. d = 2050 mm),
absorption in the entire relevant frequency range lies far below the values according
to Fig. 4.2.
It is, therefore, expedient to cover thinner mineral wool layers in situ with a
relatively thick porous plaster. Apart from attractively covering the sensitive mineral
wool optically and protectively, the plaster is able to improve absorption considerably,
at least at medium frequencies. Figure 4.4 shows, as such an example, the absorption
coefficient of an overall 65 mm thick commercially available structure as measured
in a reverberation room. It can, however, attain neither the effectiveness of a real
low-frequency absorber according to Chap. 5 nor the effectiveness of a broadband
absorber according to Sects. 10.2 and 10.3 with absorption coefficients even far
above 80 % in a wide frequency range.
4.2
Open-pore Foams
Plastic foams whose fine skeletal structures keep small pores open in the submillimeter range act in a first approximation according to Eqs. (4.1)(4.8), quite
similar to the fibrous sound absorbers according to Fig. 4.2. In certain soft foams,
co-vibration of the structures can be observed at lower frequencies, at which according to Eq. (3.2) also considerable air masses are set into motion, and this can be
utilized to a certain degree for acoustical optimization. High flexibility, easy processing and shaping and durable bonding with other materials, also with resilient gluing,
make foams an important sound absorber in noise control as well as in room acoustics. As streamlined preformed elements, these porous absorbers can, for example, be
attached to turning vanes in the corners of large air ducts. In the automobile-acoustics
wind tunnel at the University of Stuttgart, foam profiles bearing a very thin coating
4.2 Open-pore Foams
37
Fig. 4.5 A 8.5 m high bending silencer of a wind tunnel (left) with membrane absorbers according
to Sects. 6.3 and 12.4 and guiding vanes (right) aerodynamically optimized with layers of foam.
(See Eckoldt and Fuchs 1995)
Fig. 4.6 Insertion loss De of
two 2.5 m long profiles
according to Fig. 4.5, foam
uncoated (); foam coated
(); same-length straight
100 mm thick splitters with a
500 mm spacing (2)
have been exposed to adjacent velocities of up to 137 km h1 (38 m s1 ) since 1993

without any signs of abrasion or aging (Fig. 4.5).
Figure 4.6 shows the benefit of up to 20 dB due to two-fold sound deflection on the
one hand, and the moderate drawback due to the coating on the other. With a suctionside constant 40 mm, respectively 100 mm, and a pressure-side up to 160 mm,
38
4 Passive Absorbers
respectively 200 mm, thick lining, the pressure-loss coefficient of the, in this case
given Krber- profiles could be reduced from = 0.1350.112 and correspondingly
energy saved.
For some room-acoustical applications, foams can be more easily, flexibly and
attractively processed than fibers, provided that fire regulations are met. A tearresistant textile with suited flow resistance often suffices as covering. However,
there are also textile coverings on the market that, similar to the fibrous absorbers in
Fig. 4.4, shift the efficiency range of the porous absorbers a little from high to medium
frequencies. Placed on the floor of sound hoods or freefield rooms, foam lining
covered with a thin perforated metal sheet can be even walked on, see Sect. 12.7.1
and Babuke et al. (1998).
After a brief boom, the trend to organic (e.g. seaweed, coir, wood shavings) or
animal materials (e.g. sheeps wool) as an environmentally friendly replacement for
synthetic mineral fibers has ebbed. It is noted, however, that practically all kinds of
porous or fibrous material with approximately optimum flow resistance according
to Eq. (4.7) can be employed as damping material. For example, an easily soiling
mineral-fiber filling in a silencer splitter can be covered first with a suited fleece or
foil on top of which comes a thinner (being much more expensive) layer of stainless
steel wool behind a perforated metal sheet, see Fig. 13.13. Any residue from the
fluid can be easily cleaned from a splitter covered in this manner, for example, by
means of compressed air or water jets. If instead aluminum chips are used as a
sound absorber, the material must be tightly stuffed to attain the same absorption
as with a mineral-fiber layer of the same thickness, see Fuchs et al. (2002, 2002,
Part 1, Fig. 11 there). At any rate, it is not necessary to try to seek pore sizes, chip
thicknesses or fiber diameters in the m range, as is usually the case with mineral
fibers, see Mechel (1994, Table 19.7 there), unless the aim is to simultaneously
optimize thermal insulation with these various finely structured materials in addition
to sound damping. After all, the thickness of the acoustical boundary layer on a
plane obstacle of the order

1500
=
=
(4.13)
0
f
with the dynamic viscosity in air = 0.018 g m1 s1 at 20 C at medium and low
frequencies f in Hz is also only in the sub-millimeter range, see Table 3.2.
4.3
Puffed Materials
Among the unintended damping effects in buildings are edges, slits, niches and cavities, although their purpose may be different, for instance, increasing the diffusivity of
sound fields. Air conditioning and other installations can influence room-acoustical
design considerably. There are, however, a whole series of elements in walls and
ceilings that are also able to selectively serve sound absorption purposes in addition
4.3 Puffed Materials
39
Fig. 4.7 Absorption

sound incidence on a porous
volcanic rock material
according to Fuchs 1995 with
d = 120 mm compared to an
absorber of the same
thickness according to
Fig. 4.2
to statics. Among these are elements made of puffed clay, porous concrete and especially formed hollow-block bricks. If their given porosity is not covered by dense
plasters or facings, an absorption coefficient close to 1 can also be expected for
d /4 in an inhomogeneous porous material even with a, by no means, optimum
flow resistance
d. According to Fig. 4.7, however, for example, for porous volcanic rock with 4 and a sound velocity in the material of c 170 m s1 for
d = 120 mm, a minimum damping sets in at about 800 Hz corresponding to d /2
and a second maximum not below d 3/4.
Fuchs and Mser (2004, p. 212, Fig. 8.4 there) mention a special gypsum foam
with a moderate absorptivity when it is suitably needled. However, if a completely
open-pore, sufficiently fine-structured glass foam according to Gdeke and Fuchs
(1998), Gdeke and Babuke (1999) is used, with some optimization an absorption characteristic comparable to that of a layer of mineral wool can be attained as
shown in Fig. 4.8. For this purpose, shards of waste glass are ground and mixed
with a puffing agent. Thermal expansion of the granules ensues, and the granules are
then fractionated. Already commercially available, these products are employed as
lightweight aggregates for mortar. In glass-foam production, these puffed glass granules are coated with a sintering agent. From this mass, a molded body is formed and
dried. The created green body, which can now already be mechanically finished,
undergoes a final thermal treatment and is fired like a brick. During this firing step,
a sort of liquid phase sintering occurs causing the puffed glass granules to glue
together. During the sintering phase, an ion exchange occurs between the fluid phase
and the granules, which leads to material-inherent bonding. The resulting fiber-free
absorber material can then be processed, for example bored, sawed or milled with
conventional machines, yielding in this way quite varied application possibilities.
This non-inflammable glass foam with a specific weight of 200300 kg m3 is
distinguished by high pressure resistivity (1.2 106 Pa) and temperature stability
(up to 540 C) and extraordinary environmental compatibility as well as recycling
40
4 Passive Absorbers
Fig. 4.8 Microscopic

photograph and absorption
sound incidence on an
assembly of glass foam
comprising three layers each
100 mm thick and weighing
230, 250 and 275 kg m3
compared to an absorber of
the same total thickness
potential. Now that the acoustical requirements can be reliably and sustainably guaranteed also in mass production, this material is perfectly suited for use in partition
walls, screens, wall and ceiling claddings, encapsulations, suspended ceilings, suspended acoustic modules and silencer splitters demanding maximum mechanical and
chemical resistance. The significantly greater weight, compared to most other porous
absorbers, can in many cases be offset by its greater stability, see e.g. Sects. 10.8 and
11.15.9.
References
4.4
41
Conclusions
A huge variety of fine-structured fibrous and porous materials are found in the indoor
and outdoor environment. They can, intended or not, absorb the sound energy from
waves impinging on them. Countless structures employing such artificial or natural
materials are in use. In fact, from first glance one may get the impression that these
can be used to cope with any arbitrary noise control and acoustical comfort problem.
This view is supported by the very simple design principles valid for these passive
absorbers. From an acoustical point of view, their only limitation lies in the fact that
they can only absorb frequency components the wavelengths of which are no greater
than about 48 times the thickness of their layer thickness. Hence for the damping
of low frequencies in small and medium-size enclosures a novel configuration of
passive absorbers is described in Sect. 10.3 which can replace large cladding surfaces on walls and ceilings by concentrating a generally smaller quantity of ordinary
damping material in some of their corners. Another handicap with fibrous/porous
sound absorber elements may be seen in their fragile and open structures of one
kind or another. This can cause severe soiling and hygiene problems and calls for
rigorous precautionary measures or more robust silencing elements. A promising
alternative porous absorber made of recycled glass enables new applications under
heavy mechanical and chemical loads, inside and outside, see e.g. Sect. 11.15.9.
References
Babuke G, Fuchs HV, Teige K, Pfeiffer G (1998) Kompakte reflexionsarme Auskleidung fr kleine
Merume. Bauphysik 20(5):157165
Stuttgart
Cremer L, Mller HA (1982) Principles and applications of room acoustics, vol II. Applied Science,
London
Delany ME, Bazeley EN (1970) Acoustical properties of fibrous absorbent materials. Appl Acoust
3(2):105116
Eckoldt D, Fuchs HV (1995) Schalldmpfer in der Eckeein Konzept zur wirtschaftlichen
Lrmminderung in Luftkanlen. Bauphysik 17(4):115119
Frommhold W (2006) Absorptionsschalldmpfer. In: Schirmer W (ed) Technischer Lrmschutz,
Chap. 9. Springer, Berlin
Fuchs HV (1995) Lrmschutz durch fortschrittliche Schalldmpfertechnologien. Z Lrmbekmpf
42(3):6171
Fuchs HV, Mser M (2004) Schallabsorber. In: Mller G, Mser M (eds) Taschenbuch der
Technischen Akustik, Chap. 9. Springer, Berlin, pp 247304
Fuchs HV, Mser M (2013) SoundAbsorbers. In: Mller G, Mser M (eds) Handbook of engineering
acoustics, Chap. 8. Springer, Berlin (in press)
Innovatorium fr Manahmen zur Lrmbekmpfung und Raumakustik. In 6 Parts. Bauphysik
24(2):102113; 24(4):218227; 24(5):286295; 24(6):361367; 25(2):8088; 25(5):261270
42
4 Passive Absorbers
Gdeke H, Babuke G (1999) Anwendungsorientierte Baustoffentwicklung am Beispiel eines neuen

Glasschaumes. Bauphysik 21(5):236238
Gdeke H, Fuchs HV (1998) REAPORsintered open-pore glass as a high-strength sound absorber.
Glastech Ber Sci Technnol 71(9):282284
Leistner M, Drotleff H (2004) Acoustical transparency of perforated panels with fabric linings. In:
ProceedingsCFA/DAGA 2004, Strasbourg, pp 957958
Lotze E (2006) Luftschallabsorption. In: Schirmer W (ed) Technischer Lrmschutz, Chap. 6.
Springer, Berlin
Mechel FP (1994) Schallabsorption. In: Heckl M, Mller HA (eds) Taschenbuch der Technischen
Chapter 5
Panel Absorbers
Consistent with the historical development of sound absorbers, focus in Chap. 4,

the first chapter on the fundamentals of sound absorbers, was on passive absorbers.
Due to their market dominance, they also predominate in all the standard literature
on absorbers and silencers. When combined with conventional foil facings as airtight protective layers against abrasion, their mass should not exceed a certain limit
according to Eq. (4.11) in order to impede as little as possible sound entering the
porous material, the actual absorber. Section 6.2 will describe how a very effective
broadband absorber for medium frequencies can be produced with only a partial,
for example slotted rigid panel covering a porous or fibrous material densely packed
behind the entry slots. The present chapter will deal with reactive absorbers which

encounter the sound field with an impermeable layer whose mass m per unit area
is not small but very large compared to the air mass moved with the sound wave
according to Eq. (3.2). Such a mass is only able to react with the sound field if
rendered excitable as part of a resonance system.
The simplest way to do this is to attach a resilient panel at a distance to a rigid rear
wall, as indicated in Fig. 5.1, to a substructure which defines the distance to the wall
d and acoustically seals the thus formed air cushion. Inside the airspace compressed
by the motion of the panel should, consistent with the historical development, be a
thin layer (d ) of a fibrous or open-pore damping material with a flow resistance
d ,
which according to Bies and Hansen 1996 optimally has the values given in
Eq. (4.7), is placed so loosely that it does not come in contact with the panel and
can, therefore, neither impede nor directly damp its vibrations, see Fasold et al. 1987
(p. 140 there) and Everest 1994 (Figs. 923 there).
5.1
Foil Absorbers
If the heavy layer 1 in Fig. 5.1 had no stiffness of its own, the incident sound wave
according to Fig. 3.1 would impinge on a wall impedance according to Eq. (3.6)
W = r + W m + Ws ;
Wm = j m = j t t

(5.1)
43
44
5 Panel Absorbers
Fig. 5.1 Classical panel

resonator comprising a sealed
layer of mass m (1); an
assumedly rigid frame (2); an
air cushion with a thickness d
(3); a damping layer with a
thickness d (4)
with a relatively difficult to quantify friction r in Pa s m1 , according to Lotze 2006

approximately r =
d /3, a radian frequency = 2f and a mass m per unit area in
kg m2 of a panel with the thickness t in mm. The impedance of the air cushion, as
long as its thickness d is small compared to /4, reduces to its stiffness s per unit
area in Pa m1 :
Ws = j 0 c0 cot
d
0 c0 2
s
= j .
= j
c0
d
(5.2)
The strongest reaction of this resonator is when the imaginary part of W approaches
zero. This is the case at the resonance frequency fR in Hz (with d in mm):

s c0
0 1900
1
fR =
(5.3)
=
= .

2 m
2 m d
m d
This allows W, when normalized to 0 c0 , to be written as

W
m s f
r
fR
=
+j
= r + j ZR F.
0 c0
0 c0
0 c0
fR
f
The normalized characteristic impedance of this resonator
s
m
m
Z
R
ZR =
=
=
0 c0
0 c0
0 d
(5.4)
(5.5)
is a function only of the value of the resonators mass and spring and determines according to Eq. (3.7), multiplied by a frequency mistuning parameter F, the absorption
coefficient for normal sound incidence:
=
4r
(r + 1) + (ZR F )2
2
1+
max

2
ZR
F
r +1
F =
f
fR
,
fR
f
(5.6)
Equation (5.6) indicates three things:

The maximum possible absorption coefficient R = 1 can only be attained with a,
for this simple mass spring system, optimal damping (r = 1, respectively r = 0 c0 )
at the resonance frequency (F = 0, respectively f = fR ).
5.1 Foil Absorbers
45
Fig. 5.2 Absorption

coefficient of a simple
mass-spring system
dependent on the frequency
f and the normalized
characteristic impedance ZR ;
a weakly damped (r = 0.2);
b optimally damped (r = 1);
c strongly damped (r = 5)
Independent of its value at resonance, R (fR ), diminishes along the logarithmic

frequency scale in Fig. 5.2 like a sort of bell curve to both sides of fR with
increasing |F|, the more rapidly the smaller the resistance r is.
While the influence of r on the bandwidth, even if suited damping material could
be used, can however only be changed by the factor 5 (r 0.2 compared to r 1),
the occurring characteristic impedance ZR multiplied by F represents an adjustment parameter which may be varied by orders of magnitude for the broadband
effectiveness that is attainable with such a reactive absorber. This too is shown
in Fig. 5.2 as a function of the frequency normalized to the respective resonance
frequency fR .
Thus an optimum design of a mass-spring system is achieved by specifically selecting
the characteristic impedance independent of r. As fR according to Eq. (5.1) is only
dependent on the ratio s /m , the most important design principle with the given goal
46
5 Panel Absorbers
Fig. 5.3 Absorption

sound incidence on a 0.3 mm
thick 200 200 mm
polycarbonate foil, 50 mm in
front of a rigid rear wall
is to select both m and s as small a possible independent of the respective fR , This
confirms that low-frequency absorbers cannot be optimized by a large mass alone.
According to Fasold and Veres 2003, the wall distance d in mm should be neither too
large nor too small compared to the wave lengths which are to be absorbed,
3400
28 3
=
<d<
=
10 .
f
100
12
f
(5.7)
Designing special low-frequency absorbers, as challenged in Chap. 2, generally

rules out, of course, employing great thicknesses d according to Eq. (5.7) for wall
linings, for example 560 mm for 50 Hz, but instead to seek to attain small ZR values
via an as small as possible mass m . However, this is in conflict with the main
design principle of this resonator according to Eq. (5.3). Consequently, conventional
low-frequency absorbers according to this principle, too, are only effective in a
relatively narrow band, respectively attain only values below 0.5, see Fasold et al
1987 (Table 7.1 there), for conventional plywood, particle and plaster boards with,
respectively without backfill in the cavity.
Theoretically with optimum damping r = 1, a 2.5 mm thick steel plate at a distance
d = 100 mm should attain = 1 at fR = 50 Hz. With ZR = 11 it should, however, only be
effective in a very narrow band. Previously in order to reduce in a hall a reverberation
time that rises sharply at low frequencies, an acoustician had to insist on large d
(building volume!), positioning varyingly adjusted resonators adjacent to each other
(space requirements!) and thus saddle the builder with very high costs for such
paneling (budget limitations!). Consequently, in many cases Helmholtz resonators
were resorted to (see Chap. 6) concealed niches and cavities, for example, in the
ceiling area of concert halls and theaters, again with only relatively minor effect.
Somewhat more favorable is the situation regarding designing resonators with thin
plastic foils or metal membranes for medium frequencies, in particular if multiple
layers are placed behind each other. Figure 5.3 shows first the absorption coefficient
determined in an impedance tube of a foil with m = 0.28 kg m2 at a distance of
d = 50 mm in front of a rigid rear wall. Even without any damping material in the
cavity, in this configuration almost optimum damping r 0.8 at fR 500 Hz sets
in. If the resonances of three foils arranged in series lie far apart by corresponding
5.1 Foil Absorbers
47
Fig. 5.4 Absorption

sound incidence on three
layers of foil placed in front
of a wall; measurement (2);
calculation ()
selection of their specific weights and distances, measurement and calculation by

Zhou et al. 1998 show distinctly separate maxima (Fig. 5.4). On the other hand, if
the resonances lie closer together, absorption of the layered assembly seems spread
apart. Figure 5.5 depicts, for example, an absorber that absorbs a good 60 % between
200 and somewhat above 2,000 Hz.
Kiesewetter 1980 describes moulded cup-shaped foil absorbers plugged together
to form easy-to- handle, marketable modules. Rough comparison of the absorption
of this variant composed of three layers of 0.20.4 mm thick plane, respectively
molded PVC foils measured in a reverberation room according to Fig. 5.6 with the
calculated one of Fig. 5.5 indicates that it is not necessary, as maintained by the
inventor, to assume excitation of diverse bending vibrations of multiply-folded floor
and ridge elements of the cup structures to explain their broadband efficiency. In
rooms requiring high hygienic standards, translucent foil baffles have come into use
at that time (Fig. 5.7) with some advantage over conventional forms of construction
employing a mineral wool filling:
a sealed, dense surface and therefore easier to keep clean,
translucent design of suspended ceilings in rooms with skylights,
small surface weight and, therefore, little additional load on the support structure
at the ceiling.
Chapter 9 takes up another line of innovation (by microperforation) using PVC,
polycarbonate and ETFE foils rendered effective even at higher frequencies in a
plane single-layer or double-layer assembly.
48
5 Panel Absorbers
Fig. 5.5 Calculated

absorption 0 of foils in front
of a rigid wall, simple
assembly (); triple
assembly ()
5.2
Panel Resonators
The diverse plane, pliable foil absorbers described in Chap. 5.1 demonstrate that,
contrary to traditional concepts, realizing a broadband-effective resonator having
optimum losses (r 1) according to Fig. 5.1, does not require
placing suited damping material 4 loosely in the air cushions 3,
preventing by all means any contact between the damping material 4 and the front
plate 1 to enable the latter to really vibrate freely,
Fig. 5.6 Schematic sketch of a foil absorber according to Kiesewetter 1980 and its absorption
coefficient s for diffuse sound incidence
5.2 Panel Resonators
49
Fig. 5.7 Translucent foil absorber baffles above the bottling plant of a brewery
broadband effectiveness by means of a multiplicity of eigenresonances of 1

between the support 2 or by means of a special shape of 1.
Mechel 1994 describes an elastic panel resonator in which, according to Fig. 5.1,
a front plate 1 does not only vibrate in its entirety against the spring of the air
cushion 3 and possibly also the spring of support 2, but should instead, respectively
in addition, absorb airborne sound via its bending-vibration eigenfrequencies. Zhou
et al. 1998 pursue this idea with parallel-connected impedances according to Ford
and McCormick 1969

B Bmn mn
B Bmn

Wmn =
; m, n = 1, 3, 5 . . .
(5.8)
+ j m Amn
L4
L4
of an assumed square plate with an edge length L and a thickness t as well as a mass
m per unit area and a bending resistance
B =
Et 3
12(1 2 )
(5.9)
with the elasticity module E and Poissons number (e.g. 0.3 for steel). The constants
Amn , Bmn for free-lying (thick), respectively fixed in a frame (thin), plates are taken
from Ford and McCormick 1969 (see Table 5.1), the corresponding loss factors are
empirically determined by Zhou et al. 1998 from numerous model measurements in
an impedance tube on plates measuring L = 0.2 m to be 11 = 0.3 and 13 = 31 = 33 =
0.1. In order to just be approximately consistent with the calculation, the basic mode
(notably without any damping material on the plate or in the cavity) had to be assumed
damped much stronger than all higher modes without being able to physically account
for the values of the different loss factors.
50
5 Panel Absorbers
Table 5.1 Constants after Ford and McCormick 1969 occurring in calculating the eigenfrequencies
according to Eq. (5.10) of square plates simply supported at their edges
Support
A11
A13 = A31
A33
B11
B13 = B31
B33
Fixed
Free
2.02
1.52
10.8
13.7
57.1
123.0
2,640
0592
1.9 105
1.3 105
2.8 106
3.9 106
Experimental and theoretical eigenfrequencies determined from

0
0 c02
c0
B d Bmn
1
+
; fmn =
W = Wmn j
d
2 m d Amn
0 c02 L4 Amn
(5.10)
for the small (L = 0.2 m) test objects examined by Zhou et al. 1998 are quite consistent
also with multi-layer aluminum assemblies up to t = 0.8 mm. In the case of d = 30
50 mm thick intermediate air cushions, they, all still well above 125 Hz, remain so far
apart and so narrowband that it may be concluded that such type of panel resonators
would have hardly gained particular practical significance. If the plane metal foils
are replaced with plastic foils, the measurement by Zhou et al. 1998 (Fig. 11 there),
deviating from the calculation, shows significantly wider maxima. This digression
substantiates the experience made in practice by Fasold et al. 1987; Fasold and Veres
2003 that the plates smallest dimensions should not be selected less than 0.5 m and
its area less than 0.4 m2 . In order to be able to utilize, with suited damping in the
cavity, at least the mass-spring resonance to the degree possible if single plates are
firmly attached at the edges. Nonetheless, due to the multiplicity of influences of
the manner of attachment between 1 and 2 according to Fig. 5.1, the design of these
resonance absorbers is always uncertain. Fasold et al. 1987; Fasold and Veres 2003
recommend to always rely on test results as a design basis. However, a panel resonator
that extends to much lower frequencies and operates much more broadband can be
attained, if essential features in its assembly are changed according to Sect. 5.3.
5.3
Compound Panel Absorbers
The narrowband effectiveness of conventional panel resonators according to

Sect. 5.2 has, following some detours roughly outlined in Fuchs 2001 (Fig. 17 there),
led to the development of a more broadband compound absorber that can be excited
not only by its mass-spring resonance but also by a multiplicity of bending vibrations.
In order to achieve this, however, the entire area and the entire edge of a 0.53 mm
thick steel plate, as illustrated in Fig. 5.8, has to be borne in an as free-vibrating
and excitable manner as possible. If for such heavy plates (5 < m < 25 kg m2 ), as
must be imagined from Eqs. (5.3) and (5.9), a frequency range 100 < f < 50 (or even
below) is to be reached with thicknesses of only 50 < d < 100 mm, it is quite obvious
that loose damping material in the cavity without contact with the plate cannot result
in an optimal dissipation of all plate vibrations according to Eq. (5.6) and Fig. 5.2
(corresponding to r 1). The densely packed foil absorber according to Cremer and
5.3 Compound Panel Absorbers
51
Fig. 5.8 Compound panel absorber CPA (schematically): 1 freely vibrating plate (e.g. 0.53 mm
steel); 2 fibrous/porous damping layer; 3 attachment profiles; 4 rigid wall; 5 rear plate (e.g. 23 mm
steel)
Mller 1974, 1982 ( 50 there) already lets assume that advantageous is an intimate
bond between the front plate (with very little internal friction as in steel) and a resilient material with great internal friction that is snug but does not impede vibration.
Best is if the whole surface of the plate is allowed to float on an elastomer layer.
If the latter is composed according to Fig. 5.8, for example, of a soft-foam plate
2 as described in Chap. 4.2, with approximately the dimensions of the front plate
or (as in the case of the application of Fig. 11.91) somewhat larger or (as illustrated
in Fig. 10.22) a bit smaller, both layers of the compound in front of a rigid rear
wall 4 (or also with a corresponding second heavy shell 5 as a baffle) can be
excited by the sound field surrounding this body to very varied but always strongly
damped vibrations. The compound panel absorber CPA differs from classical panel
resonators according to Sect. 5.2 by
very resilient, preferably thin, but if acoustically required, also heavier front
plates,
fundamentally much smaller thickness, maximal d = 100 mm, for a preferred
frequency range A between about 31125 Hz,
generally larger coherent surfaces SA > 1 m2 ,
advantageously different edge lengths 1.5 m Lx > Ly 1 m,
lack of a sealed air cushion between 1 and 4 respectively 5 (Fig. 5.8),
pliable point by point connection between 1 and 2,
an attachment respectively support construction that holds the module on the wall
or on the ceiling without impeding the plate vibrations,
if required, a frame which surrounds the entire element and which, by means of
selectively designed perforations on its lateral faces, through which sound may
enter into the porous or fibrous layer 2, renders possible a second adjustable sound
52
5 Panel Absorbers
absorber, which is able to develop maximum effectiveness, for example if needed

in a frequency range B between about 125 and 500 Hz directly adjacent to range
A mentioned above.
Such a universally implementable acoustic element according to Fuchs and Zha 1996
ideally realizes, as the CPAs first important mechanism, the mass-spring resonator
according to Chap. 5.1. As a highly damping plate 2 with suited flow resistance has
replaced the air cushion, most applications no longer require additional coffering,
substructures or frames. The resonance frequency of this compound system,

d
Ed
cd
= fR
,
(5.11)
fd =
2 t td
E0
nonetheless only shifts insignificantly in relation to fR in Eq. (5.3) if the dilatation
wave velocity cd in plate 2 is decreased in relation to c0 to about the same extent
as d is increased in relation to 0 ; in other words, the elasticity module of the

damping layer Ed only deviates a little from E0 = 0.14 106 Pa (for air at 20 C), for
example for soft foam: 0.1 < E < 0.8 106 Pa. In contrast to assemblies as illustrated
in Fig. 5.1, the compound panel is able to vibrate freely. In this case, the 1,1-mode,
in which the panel shows the greatest displacement in its center, does not shift to a
higher fundamental frequency as is to be expected according to Eqs. (5.9) and (5.10)
due to the displacement-impeding supports. But rather, without being fixed in a rigid
frame, the panel in the assembly illustrated in Fig. 5.8 is able to vibrate freely in all
its own modes if plate 2 co-vibrates just as unimpeded as an anti-vibration coating
and in doing so damps as intended.
Now if plate 1, floating like on foam, is exposed to the sound field, one can,
with the CPAs second essential effective mechanism, take up theoretically where
the probably oldest systematic study on plate vibrations left off: As early as in 1787,
to the amazement of his contemporaries, Chladni made the eigenresonances visible
on plane, entirely unclamped square plates by covering them with dust composed
of sand, sawdust, etc. Cremer 1981 (Chap. 4 there) describes this historical method
in his unique language: Upon excitation at an eigenfrequency, the fine grains
of dust begin to dance and wander to calmer locations, to the nodal lines. If the
excitation frequency, which may occur via airborne-sound with loudspeakers or
directly as structure-borne sound, is allowed to sweep slowly, one characteristic
vibration after the other becomes visible. From how the characteristic forms change
with the frequency, it is even possible to deduce whether or not strong interferences
are to be expected. Chladnis dust figures, however, only indicate the location of
the nodal lines; they do not say whether the areas they enclose vibrate a lot or a
little.
Today a laser vibrometer makes the vibrations of a steel plate, for example
1.5 1 m and 1 mm thick, much better visible and easier to measure. Figure 5.9 visualizes the displacement of the plate when lying horizontally on a narrow, 100 mm
high wooden frame in front of a rigid floor (without damping in the cavity) is excited
by a loudspeaker from the front at a distance of about 1 m for the (5,3)-mode according to Eq. (5.9) at the frequency 50 Hz. Apparently the plate is able to vibrate quite
53
Fig. 5.9 Visualization of the displacement of a steel plate measuring 1.500 1.000 1 mm excited
by airborne sound as measured with a laser vibrometer by Koch 2003. Left: plate on a 100 mm
wooden frame, excited at 50 Hz; right: a plate on a 100 mm melamine resin foam, excited at 76 Hz
well into the edge regions despite its, though very soft, fixture there. On the other
hand, Fig. 5.9 shows the displacement with the same excitation at 76 Hz when this
plate lies flat on a 100 mm thick plate of melamine resin foam (with no frame). The
amplitude of the vibrations is only a factor 1.4 less than in the previous case; however in the second case, single modes cannot be identified at any frequency without
systematic modal analysis.
Unfortunately, the mathematical description of the completely free panel vibrations with finite expansion is complicated. Almost one hundred years after Chladni
1787; Lord Rayleigh 1877 referred to them as a problem of great difficulty. It is not
until Hurlebaus et al. 2001 that, based on Ritz 1909, exact solutions for completely
free boundary conditions all around appeared. When studying panel resonators
not in their capacity as sound absorbers but rather in their complementary capacity
as sound generators in musical instruments, for example as front and back plates of
violins, one is also confronted with free bending waves in subjective and objective
sound analyses for the selection and shaping of the wood (long before integrating
them). If even in cases where vibration behavior at discrete frequencies is crucial,
after extensive discussion (see Fletcher and Rossing 1991), the eigenfrequencies of
the supported rectangular panel (with no air cushion) are deemed to suffice for approximation, they can also be used for approximation in the present context relating
to a model for a broadband absorber:

2
2
my
my
mx 2
B
mx 2
fmx m y =
= 0.45cd t
(5.12)
+
+
2 m
Lx
Ly
Lx
Ly
with mx , my = 1, 2, 3. . . , because according to Cremer 1981 (Chap. 3 there) otherwise
the mathematics would be too complicated and the insight gained is too little. For a
t = 2 mm thick 1.5 1 m steel panel with a dilatation wave velocity cd 5,100 m s1 ,
the lowest frequency would be about f1,1 = 6.6 Hz, thus far below the mass-spring
frequency according to Eq. (5.3) of fR = 48 Hz for d = 100 mm.
54
5 Panel Absorbers
The number of eigenfrequencies of the panel in a certain frequency band f after

Schirmer 2006 according to
N = 1.75
SA
f ;
ct t
SA = Lx Ly
(5.13)
does not rise with mean frequency, in contrast to the room resonances according to
Eq. (2.7). Nonetheless for the above example in the 50 Hz octave already 9 eigenfrequencies are excitable, in the 100 Hz octave even 18. At any rate, this is enough
to provide for each of the room modes according to Chap. 2 a panel resonance for
damping it, in particular, if in practical application both t and SA of the absorbers,
which preferably are installed at the edges of the room, can be varied. In any case,
these are favorable conditions for developing a broadband low-frequency absorber.
Actually in it occur the low-frequency panel resonances up to about 125 Hz, all coupled with the mass-spring resonance, even if not exactly as expressed in Eq. (5.3) for
panels in front of a sealed air cushion. Fletcher and Rossing 1991 (Figs. 3.93.13
there) describe the vibration forms of rectangular panels with free boundaries and
Lx /Ly = 2; 1.5 and 1 very well. The formula provided there for the f1,1 mode of the
square panel has a somewhat smaller constant than the corresponding degenerated
Eq. (5.11),
ct t
f1,1
= 0.6 2 (free);
L
ct t
f1,1
= 0.9 2 (supported)
L
(5.14)
and allows anticipating a greater eigenfrequency density of the free compared to

the supported panel. As of concern here is not the identification of individual panel
vibrations, but rather solely a sufficient mode density N in a pertinent frequency
range around fR , respectively fd according to Eq. (5.11), these important absorbers
will here be described mainly by measurements.
To start with, Fig. 5.10 shows the absorption of a conventional panel resonator
according to Chap. 5.2 comprising a t = 0.2 mm thick stainless steel plate in front
of a d = 100 mm deep cavity. As anticipated, its resonance frequency according to
Eq. (5.3) shifts only little, its absorption however rises markedly at low frequencies if an according to Eq. (4.7) optimum flow resistance
d = 1,090, respectively
1,740 Pa s m1 is applied in the cavity.
Fuchs et al. 2002, 2003 (Part 2, Figs. 1012 there) show absorption measurements on compound panel absorber CPA that were tailored to the 1.7 0.65 m
cross section of the impedance duct at Fraunhofer IBP with an edge spacing of
520 mm. Excitation with plane waves in an impedance tube resembles that with
6 resonators, each measuring 1.5 1 m, with open edges positioned in parallel as
shown in Fig. 5.11 on the 6 bounding surfaces of the rectangular room according
to Fig. 2.1 if the effective absorption coefficient is determined after Zha et al. 1996
for the respective axial modes perpendicular to the absorbers. The results for 1 mm,
respectively 2.5 mm thick 1.5 m2 large steel plates show two broad absorption maxima between 30 and 90 Hz, confirming approximatelyto the extent possible with
only 5 axial modesthe expected shift of fd from about 80 to 50 Hz according
to Eq. (5.11). The 0.75 m2 compound panels do not show this shift toward the

Fig. 5.10 Absorption
sound incidence on a 0.2 mm
thick 1.70 0.65 m stainless
steel plate as the firmly
closing lid of a d = 100 mm
deep trough with a mineral
fiber layer according to
Fig. 5.1 ( = 50 kg m3 ,
= 2.18 104 Pa s m2 );
d = 88 (2), 50 (), 0 mm
()
Fig. 5.11 Effective

absorption coefficient e
according to Zha et al. 1996,
1999 measured for the lowest
axial modes and
corresponding alignment of
6 CPA with d = 100 mm;
Lx = 1.5, Ly = 1.0 m,
t = 1.0 mm (2), Lx = 1.0 m,
Lx = 1.0, Ly = 0.75 m,
t = 1.0 mm (), Lx = 1.5,
Ly = 1.0 m, t = 2.5 mm (),
Lx = 1.0, Ly = 0.75 m.
t = 2.5 mm ()
55
56
5 Panel Absorbers
Fig. 5.12 Effective absorption coefficient e measured for the lowest room modes with 6 CPAs
(2), respectively only foam () with d = 100 mm and t = 1 mm in 2 corners of a room; axial
modes (nx ,0,0; 0,ny ,0; 0,0,nz ), tangential modes (nx ,ny ,0; 0,ny ,nz ; my ,0,nz ) and oblique modes
(nx ,ny ,nz )
lower frequencies so distinctly. For this reason, for practical applications generally
SA > 1 m2 is selected.
If the same 6 CPA are installed in 2 opposite corners according to Fig. 5.12 at
a distance of 200 mm from the edges of the room, e can be measured after Zha
et al. 1996, 1999 at carefully selected microphone positions with a greater number
of eigenfrequencies. The results show e values far above 1, which naturally is due
to the strong concentration of sound energy in the corners, especially for tangential
and oblique modes. For comparison, Fig. 5.12 shows the much smaller absorption
coefficient for the case that all CPA modules are replaced by same size plain foam
plates, as the room modes thus no longer encounter co-vibrating compound resonators. From 100 Hz upwards, the absorption coefficient of the CPA that is open
at its edges can be measured, even in a rectangular room according to Fig. 2.1,
drawing on DIN EN ISO 354 (2003). As the results in Fig. 5.13 a show, there is no
substantial difference between CPA of different plate thickness. However according
to (b) smaller CPA modules have an advantage at higher frequencies, because they
have, in relation to their surface SA , a larger edge area for sound diffraction into
the porous absorber. At any rate, suitably designed CPAs are able to not only cover
very broadband-effectively the bass range but can also be highly effective into the
kHz range should that at all be desired in the respective application. If not, the edges
may be sealed acoustically which does not need to have a negative effect on the lowfrequency absorption. Zha et al. 1996 (Figs. 4 and 5 there) document a somewhat
different installation situation with a continuous absorption spectrum.
These laboratory tests for CPA modules reveal the peculiarities of low-frequency
absorbers in small rooms as described in Chap. 2 which have to be dealt with in
practice. Nonetheless they permit quantification of the geometric and material influences of an absorber and comparison of different products. But in the long run,
when implementing new absorber technologies, there is no alternative to drawing on
reverberation room measurements according to DIN EN ISO 354 (2003) to characterize the absorber. The test specimens are distributed in conventional manner and as
57

coefficient s , measured like
in a reverberation room
according to EN ISO
354-2003 for CPA with
d = 100 mm; Lx = 1.5,
Ly = 1 m, t = 1 mm (2),
Lx = 1.0, Ly = 0.75 m,
t = 1 mm (), Lx = 1.0,
Ly = 0.75 m, t = 2.5 mm ()
illustrated in Fig. 5.14 on an approximately 12 m2 area of the floor of the reverberation room, and the absorption coefficient according to Eq. (3.15) with the volume V
of the reverberation room and the surface SA of the test specimen is calculated from
the reverberation times T0 , respectively Tm , measured with, respectively without the
test specimen at least at 12 microphone positions.
However, the problem discussed in Chap. 2 requires qualifying the measuring
room for frequencies below 125 Hz. As the conventional oblique arrangement of opposite boundaries just as the installation of additional diffusers, as has been proven,
do not contribute significantly to homogenization of the sound field at low frequencies, the only resort is suited damping of the room modes as explained in detail in
58
5 Panel Absorbers
Fig. 5.14 Measurement of the absorption coefficient in a reverberation room damped by six CPA
modules in 2 lower corners
Sect. 11.14.10 and Fuchs et al. 1998, 2000. 3 CPA modules with the dimensions
1.5 1.0 0.1 m with 1 mm, respectively 2.5 mm thick resonant panels in sealed
frames in two bottom corners of a 392 m3 reverberation room of the Fraunhofer IBP
proved excellent for measuring the absorption coefficient in order to obtain good
reproducible results down to at least 63 Hz (measured with third-octave signals).
Figure 5.15 shows the reverberation time of the damped reverberation room without a test specimen according to Fig. 5.14 compared to an empty room left sound
reflective. The average equivalent absorption area shown at the bottom of Fig. 5.15
indicates that a room damped in this manner still complies with the requirements set
by the standard if the limiting curve there is extrapolated horizontally down to 63 Hz.
Figure 5.16 shows the measuring results for six CPA modules with 1 mm thick
resonant steel panels compounded with 100 mm thick plates of melamine resin foam,
respectively polyester fibers, separated 0.2 m from each other and all enclosed by a
0.1 m high sound reflective frame as depicted in Fig. 5.14. The absorption coefficient
related to the absorption area SA = 9 m2 has a broadband maximum in the frequency
range 63 < fd < 125 Hz and a tail gradually decreasing to the kHz-range, which is
predominantly due to the 60 % open edges of this test setup. For thicker steel plates
the maximum shifts somewhat also in the reverberation room, which however below
63 Hz, even in this damped state, is no longer suited for measurements.
This low-frequency absorber is meanwhile frequently implemented in room
acoustics (see the examples in Chap. 11 and Fuchs et al. 2005) but also in industrial
applications, see e.g. Fuchs et al. 1999 and Chaps. 12 and 13. Having smooth, for
instance lacquered or powder-coated surfaces and requiring little space, CPA often
meet the demands of architectural design. As modules they find use as pin boards,
white boards, bulletin boards, projection screens and even as mirrors, see e.g. Fuchs
et al. 1997. Being quite thin, they can also be concealed behind facing shells, see
Sect. 11.15.1 f) and Leistner and Fuchs 2004, suspended ceilings and joist floors,
see Sect. 11.15.3 a) and Drotleff et al. 2000, Drotleff and Zhou 2001, or integrated
in anechoic cladding, see Sect. 10.5 and Chap. 12.

Fig. 5.15 Reverberation
times (top) and equivalent
absorption areas (bottom) in a
reverberation room with
V = 392 m3 without () and
with (2) constant basic
damping in 2 lower corners
according to Fig. 5.14. For
comparison (): maximum
permissible absorption area
according to DIN EN ISO
354 (2003)

coefficient s of 6 CPA
modules (1.5 1 0.1 m,
1 mm steel) with melamine
resin foam (2), respectively
polyester fibers (),
measured according to
Fig. 5.14 and related to
SA = 9 m2 . For comparison:
fibrous/porous absorbers of
the same thickness according
to Fig. 4.2
59
60
5.4
5 Panel Absorbers
Conclusions
One knows since long that wooden panels incorporated in a rooms wall cladding
and furniture are able to absorb low-frequency airborne sound provided that they
can freely vibrate. Many old auditoria are believed to owe their acoustical quality
partly to such a comfortable environment. If co-vibrating elements are to be purposely installed in order to reduce noise and improve acoustic comfort of modern
architectural structures especially at the low frequencies, these have to be qualified
as much more effective and broadband in their absorption characteristics. This is
best accomplished by a novel design of panel resonators which are easily excitable
and heavily damped at a large number of their vibrational modes. The compound
panel absorbers CPA could be optimized as marketable modules to efficiently extract
acoustical energy from all kinds of enclosures and air-handling ducts. They may be
found not only as universally applicable, prefabricated stable absorber modules but
also as integral parts of transparent partitions for large-scale open-plan offices (see
Sect. 11.15.5) and of particularly lean constructions of anechoic linings for acoustic
test cells and wind tunnels (Chap. 12).
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Schirmer W (2006) Technischer Lrmschutz, Chaps. 4, 11 und 12. Springer, Berlin
Zha X, Fuchs HV, Sph M (1996) Messung des effektiven Absorptionsgrades in kleinen Rumen.
Rundfunktechn. Mitt 40(3):7783
100 Hz. Acoustics Bulletin (Jan/Feb 99):510
Zhou X, Heinz R, Fuchs HV (1998) Zur Berechnung geschichteter Platten- und LochplattenResonatoren. Bauphysik 20(3):8795
Chapter 6
Helmholtz Resonators
Section 4.1 dealt with the behavior of perforated or slotted plates as sound-transparent
facing layers for the camouflage or mechanical protection of acoustic damping material. Here the effective plate thickness teff , respectively the perforation ratio
according to Eq. (4.12) should not exceed, respectively fall short of certain limits
in order to hinder sound as little as possible from entering the actual absorber, e.g.
a porous layer. On the other hand, concerning conventional and innovative plate
resonators Chap. 5 shows how resonance mechanisms can turn layers covered with
heavy steel plates into very effective broadband absorbers.
This chapter will focus on reactive absorbers in which the mass in the holes or slots
of varyingly perforated plates or membranes is not small compared to the air mass
co-vibrating in the sound wave impinging on the holes according to Eq. (3.2). Such a
mass, under circumstances loaded with the air adjacent to the perforations, can react
with the sound field similar as the plate in panel resonators if rendered excitable as part
of a resonance system. In the simplest case, this occurs by placing a perforated plate
at a distance d from a rigid rear wall (Fig. 6.1). Unlike panel resonators (Fig. 5.1),
damping this air in air vibration systemalso in a conventional mannercan not
be achieved by simply filling the cavity loosely with damping material (a) but rather,
even more efficiently, by mounting an optimum flow resistance according to Eq.
(4.7) in the form, for example, of a fiber fleece or cloth directly in front of (c) or
behind (b) the holes.
6.1
Perforated Panel Absorbers
Equations (5.3)(5.6) can also serve as an acoustical description of perforated panel

absorbers if r stands for the flow resistance (r =
d/0 c0 for a given specific resistance
) rendered dimensionless with 0 c0 and m stands for the acoustic mass
mH (SH = total open surface of the panel) as transformed to the absorber surface SA ,
mH =
0 teff
SH
.
with =
SA

(6.1)
63
64
6 Helmholtz Resonators
Fig. 6.1 Classical Helmholtz

resonator with damping
material in the cavity (b), or
flow resistance behind (a),
respectively in front of the
perforated plate (c)
According to Eqs. (5.1) and (5.2) the resonance frequency of this Helmholtz resonator
is:

SH
SH
c0
c0
c0
=
=
(6.2)
fH =
2 dteff
2 dSA teff
2 V teff
and for d; teff in mm, SH ; SA in cm2 and V in cm3 the numerical-value equation
reads:

3
(6.3)
fH = 54 10
dteff
in Hz for the perforated-surface resonator. The perforation ratio is usually in the range
0.02 < < 0.2. If only one concentrated hole SH guides the fluctuating air mass:

SH
.
(6.4)
fH = 17 103
V teff
For an estimate of teff refer to Sect. 4.1 and Fasold and Veres (2003). According to
Eq. (5.5), the characteristic resistance is

teff

.
(6.5)
ZH =
d
Similar to panel resonators, with Helmholtz resonators only large depths (d) lead

, whereas very small holes and thick plates only
to low frequencies and small ZH
6.2 Slotted Panel Absorbers
65
yield narrowband low-frequency absorbers even if damping is at an optimum (r = 1).

One should therefore try to incorporate additional vibration modes which are able to
broaden the cavity resonators absorption characteristics. Fasold et al. (1987, p. 141
there) pursues a similar line of thought. Zhou et al. (1998) investigate numerous different perforated-panel resonators including associated panel and cavity resonances,
with or without coffering inside, yielding excellent agreement between theory and
measurement. Thus it becomes evident that with a depth of 50 mm, the absorption
bandwidth remains minimal even at medium frequencies as long as resonances lie far
apart. If resonances are pushed closer together, only one of the mechanisms dominates, see Zhou et al. (1998, Figs. 47 there). On the other hand, if the Helmholtz and
the first panel resonances (fH according to Eqs. (6.3) and (6.4) and f11 , f13 according
to Eq. (5.9)) are optimally tuned one octave apart, they do not impede each other
(Zhou et al. 1998, Fig. 8 there). However, in that case sufficient damping must help
fuse the single maxima to a really broadband absorption spectrum.
Cremer and Mller (1978, 1982a, 29 there) provide a survey of conventional
hole geometries in relatively thick and therefore generally non-excitable wooden
or plaster board panels. The perforation ratio may vary between 2 and 30 %, the
air mass vibrating in the holes according to Eq. (6.1) between 30 and 330 g m2
and the resonance frequency according to Eqs. (6.3) and (6.4) between 420 and
1 460 Hz. For absorption spectra measured in a reverberation room see Fasold et al.
(1987, Table 7.2 there). The example 7.2.4 given there shows how difficult it is to
cover the frequency range below 250 Hz with this type of Helmholtz resonator. Even
with depths of 240 mm, absorption dips sharply below 200 Hz. On the other hand,
perforated-panel absorbers have found wide acceptance as mid-frequency absorbers
in room acoustical design. The following will describe a manner of designing and
optimizing a special class of particularly broadband slotted panel absorbers.
6.2
Slotted Panel Absorbers
The design of conventional Helmholtz and perforated-panel absorbers usually follows Eqs. (6.1)(6.3), yielding, as tests have generally proven, relatively narrowband
resonance absorbers. Broadband absorption is only attained if, as shown in the example of a silencer splitter in Fig. 6.2 for power plants, the geometric parameters in the
modules placed side by side or behind each other are greatly varied. If, however, a
broadband mid-frequency absorber is to be optimized to save space or area, it pays to
look a bit closer at the effective mechanisms and components of the cavity resonator
described in Sect. 6.1. To optimize it, similar to the compound resonators in Sect. 5.3,
close coupling of the air motion in the slots with that within the voluminous, porous
or fibrous flow resistance disposed directly behind them has proven to be advantageous. Moreover, a specific distribution of the slots within the absorber surface SA
gains in significance not only regarding end correction as part of teff according to
(4.12). Furthermore eigenfrequencies of the space formed between the slotted panel
and the rigid rear wall can play a significant role in broadening its resonance range.
66
Fig. 6.2 Helmholtz

resonators arranged in series
in flow direction in a silencer
splitter for power plants. (See
Chap. 13 and Fuchs et al.
1989a, 1989b)
Fig. 6.3 Basic assembly of

slotted panel absorbers with
parallel slots. (According to
Leistner and Fuchs 2001)
Not considering the ratio of the slot width b to the slot spacing a only, as is usually
the case in conventional designs, but explicitly entering a and b in the calculation as
single geometric parameters offers new optimization possibilities. For an explanation
of the function model of slotted panel absorbers, Fig. 6.3 gives the geometric (slot
configuration) and material parameters (damping layer).
As for the Helmholtz resonators described in Sect. 6.1, the air mass in the slots
including the respective end correction (here only one-sided on the front side) is
given by:
mS = tS 0
with tS = t + t.
(6.6)
The impedance of the absorber layer with depth d , in relation to the free slotted
area, may according to Lotze (2006) be written as
W = WA coth A d .
(6.7)
The wave resistance WA and the propagation constant A of the absorber layer can
be estimated with sufficient accuracy according to Mechel (1994) by

0.11
;
WA = 0 c0 (E + 0.86) j
E

2f
0.22
A =
(6.8)
(E 1.24) + j
c0
E
67
E=
and
0 f
(6.9)
for
> 7,500 Pa s m2 . For open-cell melamine resin foam with verified skeleton
vibrations, including the specific weight in the form of an additional mass proves
useful:
E=
0
0 f
.
j
2
(6.10)
In assuming that the sound field in the absorber develops like behind a diffraction
grid with a slot spacing a and a slot width b, Leistner and Fuchs (2001) derive the
wall impedance of the slot absorber including the air mass in the slots and the end
correction (t):

3
b 2
1
a2

.
(6.11)
j ms + WA coth A d +
WA A sin
WS =
b 3
a
On the one hand, coupling the spring-like wall impedance of the absorber layer with
the air mass in the slots again defines a resonance system. On the other hand, however,
the absorber layers effective spring and damping effects are modified according to the
third term in Eq. (6.11). This explains the distinctly lower resonance frequency and
greater bandwidth of these absorbers compared to damped or undamped Helmholtz
resonators of the same depth.
Figure 6.4 shows the absorption coefficients calculated according to Eqs. (3.7)
and (6.11) and measured according to EN ISO 354 (2003) of an absorber with greatly
varying slot geometry but always roughly the same 0.02. Figure 6.5 compares a
slotted panel absorber with 0.02 to two conventional Helmholtz resonators with
optimum damping, one with only one central slot, another with only one central hole
each with the same . Also shown are the results for the uncovered porous absorber
alone. The potential advantages over conventional absorbers are:
Compared to homogeneous fibrous/porous absorbers, slotted panel absorbers with
the same depth d are able to shift the absorption maximum by two to four thirdoctaves, as all Helmholtz resonators do.
Compared to a conventional Helmholtz resonator with only one central slot, the
slot panel absorber can be tuned to somewhat lower frequencies.
Compared to a conventional resonator with only one correspondingly larger hole,
this absorber can be made considerably more broadband.
Regarding their practical application, slotted panel absorbers are distinguished by
high and broadband absorption predominantly in the medium frequency range. They
can thus save depth, and their stripe-like covers are easy to design and install. They
also enable a variety of new surface structures. Shifting the maximum of a passive
absorber according to Fig. 6.5 nearly two octaves to lower frequencies by nothing but
an almost arbitrary partial covering meets a current demand as described in Chap. 2.
Hitherto the covering between the slots was assumed to be rigid, so that neither bending vibrations can set in nor can the movements of the cover compress
68
Fig. 6.4 Absorption

sound incidence on coverings
with varying slot width b and
spacing a but about the same
perforation ratio in front of
50 mm soft open-cell
melamine resin foam with
10 kg m3 and
10
kPa s m2 ; top view (a),
calculation (b),
measurement (c)
the absorber layer. However, also yielded are combination possibilities with other
resonance principles, e.g. with pliable foils according to Sect. 5.1 or resonant panels
according to Sect. 5.3 in front of an absorber layer. Figure 6.6 shows, for example,
the absorption coefficient for diffuse sound incidence of a slotted panel absorber designed with tile-shaped steel plates of varying format. When the spacing a between
the slots becomes larger, an additional absorption maximum is clearly discernable
at about 100 Hz for the mass-spring resonance, as anticipated according to Eq. (5.3),
respectively (5.10).
69
Fig. 6.5 Absorption

coefficient 0 measured in an
impedance tube
(200 200 mm) of a slotted
panel composed of a
199 199 1 mm steel
sheet metal with a 1 mm
circumferential slit in front of
100 mm soft foam (as in
Fig. 6.4) with the same
perforation ratio 2 %
(14), without cover
according to Fig. 4.2 ( ),
with one 4 mm central slit
( ) respectively one 32 mm
central hole (---) as calculated
according to Sect. 6.1 for
optimum damping r = 1.
(After Leistner and Fuchs
2001)
By neglecting the sound propagation behind the plate in the homogeneous absorber layer with a relatively high flow resistance
10 kPa s m2 for relatively
large slot spacings a = 1 250 mm the impedance of the mass-spring system may be
written as
WP =

1
j mp + WA coth A dA
1
(6.12)
with the mass mp per unit area of the resonant plates. Parallel connection with
WS according to Eq. (6.12) yields, according to Zhou et al. (1998), the resulting
impedance
Wres =
W P WS
WP + W S
(6.13)
which permits to again shift the absorption of a porous or fibrous layer (see Chap. 4)
in an impressive manner to low frequencies. When the slots and the panels become
larger, the mass-spring effect sets in at low frequencies; the slot effect at medium
frequencies, on the other hand, loses significance. With the slotted panel absorber
theory thus expanded by Koch (2003), one can apparently quite well describe qualitatively the vibration as well as the diffraction effects in a compound panel resonator
according to Sect. 5.3. The coupling of panel and slot absorbers also shows up in the
last described curves of Fig. 6.6 and in silencers studied by Hanisch et al. (2004).
70
Fig. 6.6 Absorption

coefficient s measured in a
damped reverberation room
according to Fig. 5.14 of a
slotted panel absorber with an
excitable cover (1 mm steel);
without a cover,
d = da = 50 mm (),
312 312 mm covers with
b = 15 mm (),
b = 28 mm () (see
photograph),
b = 50 mm (2), calculation for
1 250 1 250 mm covers
with b = 50 mm (---). (After
Hanisch 2001)
More recently Kautsch et al. (2009) developed a special type of a slot absorber
which can be installed at large surfaces on the inner side of exterior walls without
the usual condensation problems of conventional absorbers: First a 56 cm thick
cellulose layer with a specific weight of 100 kg m3 composed of recycled paper
and a flow resistance optimized to 19 600 Pa s m2 is sprayed onto an arbitrarily
shaped ground. The sound reflective ridges are formed by a special 1215 mm thick
base coat of plaster with little vapor-diffusion resistance, and the intermediate slots
are again filled with cellulose, see Fig. 6.7. What makes this acoustic wall so
attractive is that the slot absorbers can subsequently be acoustically tuned to relatively
low frequencies (see Fig. 6.8) by applying a final, highly porous, dispersion-bound,
23 mm thick, now full-surface finishing coat of plaster. Such a smooth even surface
meets the demand for an invisible room acoustic measure.
Perforated-surface and slotted panel absorbers according to Sect. 6.1 and 6.2 always need fibrous or porous material for damping. Chapter 9 on microperforated
structures describes absorbers designed for the same frequency range that do not
6.3 Membrane Absorber Boxes
71
Fig. 6.7 A slot absorber on

the inner side of exterior
walls intended to be
completely covered with a
cellulose-based plaster.
(Courtesy of cph)
Fig. 6.8 Absorption

coefficient for normal sound
incidence on a
20 20 6 cm sample
composed of slot absorbers
according to Kautsch et al.
(2009), adjusted to
250315 Hz without (2, ),
respectively to 80100 Hz
with (left) a highly porous
finishing coat of plaster
require any damping material. However tackling low frequencies without damping materials but with moderate depths demands still another technology, which is
described in what follows.
6.3
Membrane Absorber Boxes
Certain applications forbid using fibrous or porous damping materials such as plastic
soft foam for health, hygiene, fire prevention or durability reasons. The microperforated layers described in Chap. 9 are also not a universally applicable alternative.
Instead silencer-splitters made entirely of aluminum or stainless steel that are hermetically sealed all round against the flow have proven quite satisfactory for room
72
Fig. 6.9 Model of a two-sided absorptive membrane absorber box (a), with partially unrolled
perforated and cover membranes (b)
ventilation systems, for example in hospitals, senior citizen homes and factories
requiring clean-room conditions and industrial ventilation systems, for example
involving strongly soiling or aggressive fluids in flow ducts or chimney stacks,
These membrane absorbers due to Ackermann et al. (1987, 1988) owe their great
rigidity and resistance to their honeycomb structure over which two relatively thin
(0.05 < t < 1 mm), preferably metallic plates are mounted plane on one or both sides
(Fig. 6.9).
The extensive subdivision of the otherwise empty cavity acts acoustically like
coffering which prevents lateral propagation of sound within the cavity when the
sound waves impinge obliquely or grazing (e.g. when employed in a silencer splitter).
If the ridges are spaced apart a distance e in mm
e
42.5 3
=
10
8
f
(6.14)
with f in Hz, according to Cremer and Mller (1974, 1982b, 37 there) this fiberless
absorber also always reacts locally, i.e. with a wall impedance W according to
Eq. (3.6). Although the membrane absorber only requires a fraction of the depth d
of a passive absorber for maximum absorption it still needs greater cavity depths d
for low frequencies, in order to remain sufficiently broadband. A resulting roughly
constant e/d ratio of about 12 also satisfies static requirements. In practice, cubic
cavities having, for example, Lx Ly d = d3 = V 1,000 cm3 for maximum absorption
at 250 Hz have proven satisfactory.
Lying as lightly as possible on the grid, the perforated membrane provides one
hole or slot for each cavity to produce a Helmholtz resonator. Hole and cavity
sizes are adjusted to each other approximately according to Eqs. (6.3) and (6.4).
The end correction 2t 0.85 dH for round holes, barely smaller than 5 mm,
according to Sect. 4.1 and Fasold and Veres (2003) is of particular significance,
since the membrane thickness t is generally very small in relation to the hole
diameter dH . V = 1,000 cm3 , dH = 10 mm, SH = 0.78 cm2 , t = 0.2 mm, teff = 8.7 mm
6.3 Membrane Absorber Boxes
73

coefficient 0 of a membrane
absorber (without a cover
membrane) for normal sound
incidence; measurement (),
calculation ()
yields, for example, according to Eqs. (6.3) and (6.4) fH 160 Hz and according to
Eq. (6.5) roughly ZH 3.3. These parameters, with sufficient damping, yield
relatively broadband absorbers according to Fig. 5.2.
According to Eq. (5.3) the first panel resonance of an unperforated aluminum
membrane would occur approximately at fR = 258 Hz. Actually, however, the effective compliance of the air cushion in V is increased somewhat by the membrane
yielding for the Helmholtz resonance and by the air plug giving way in the hole
for the panel resonance. This coupling of two resonance mechanisms is pursued in
theory and experiment by Fuchs et al. (1992b), Frommhold et al. (1993). Figure 6.10
shows for the described membrane absorber (still with no cover membrane) a rather
good agreement with an approximate calculation (also including the edge effects in
the perforated membrane) that two principal maxima can dominate the absorption
spectrum in the membrane absorber: fH at about 125 Hz and f11 at about 270 Hz. A
secondary maximum is discernible at f13 650 Hz.
A tubular silencer comprising a polygon of membrane absorber strips shows in
Fig. 6.11 a similar characteristic measured as insertion loss according to Sect. 13.7.1.
Fig. 6.11 Internal view of an octagonal tubular silencer composed of membrane absorbers (without
a cover membrane) and insertion loss De ; holes open (2), holes closed () (see Sect. 13.8.3)
74
If the holes of the perforated membrane are pasted over, what remains is only a panel
resonator which is greatly reduced in its ability to absorb. If a cover membrane is
placed directly in front of the perforated membrane without touching it, the broadband absorption maximum, which is not always broadband to such an extent, shifts
to somewhat lower frequencies. Apparently, the additional mass in such a complex
vibration system couples in. In that case, however, higher modes of the perforated
membrane then usually disappear. Bedding the cover membrane on soft sponge rubber strips substantially improves absorption at high frequencies as demonstrated in
Fuchs et al. (1992c). The photographs of the powder figures of an f15 mode in
Hunecke and Zhou (1992) show that the cover membrane is able to vibrate like in a
compound panel absorber (Sect. 5.3).
A significant influence on membrane absorber losses is how the perforated membrane is attached to the ridges. An adhesive that eventually becomes very hard usually
leads to a loss in absorption. Better results are obtained using a consistently pliable
adhesive, for example silicon. Applications in which the originally employed adhesive apparently evaporated due to continuous structure-borne wear demonstrate
that the perforated membrane does not have to be fixed at all as long as the two
membranes remain separate and in shape. Generally, however, care must be taken
to protect membrane absorbers from strong vibrations by means of corresponding
structure-borne isolation, see Fuchs et al. (1992a).
As optimum results can be obtained with membranes made of materials with
a high loss factor (e.g. plastics with 101 ) as well as with materials with
extremely low internal damping (e.g. aluminum with 7 105 ), it is unlikely
that this parameter is of decisive significance. The friction of the air particles in
the wall boundary layers in the vicinity of the holes can also not be considered the
mechanism responsible for the unexpectedly high damping, because the absorption
of conventional Helmholtz resonators built of much thicker perforated plates then
ought to be greater instead of less.
Characteristic of a membrane absorber is that it works even if the cover membrane
is placed at a minimal distance from the holes and in this manner greatly deforms
the vibrating air plug. Nonetheless, the thus forced vibrations in the narrow space
between the perforated membrane and the cover membrane with correspondingly
greater wall friction, similar to the ones that become active according to Trochidis
(1982) in damping bending waves in double-leaf elements, cannot play a decisive
role here, because the membrane absorber also absorbs well with larger spacings and
even better without a cover membrane.
It is known that even in conventionally assembled Helmholtz resonators, part
of the damping can be caused by sharp edges at the holes. This effect may play a
still greater role in the not previously used extremely thin membranes, because the
particles of air at the edge of the hole must turn 180 instead of 90 once or twice as
is the case with thicker panels. The unsteady flow in the range of this discontinuity
separates even for the relatively small sound particle velocity so that free shear
layers may form with great energy losses. This cut-off edge effect is especially
marked if the thickness of the membrane approximates the order of magnitude of the
particle displacement in the hole. This is easily possible if excitation is strong (levels
around 100 dB) and resonance amplification (plus about 20 dB). This could explain a
6.4 Conclusions
75
Fig. 6.12 Damping at acoustically activated flow through holes; left: in conventional Helmholtz
resonators; at the hole wall (a), in a narrow space underneath the cover (b), in a porous/fibrous layer
(c); right: in membrane absorbers; at two 90 - edges (a), at a cutting-edge (b), at a collar (c)
non-linear damping mechanism that already sets in at exciting sound levels for
which normally the laws of linear acoustics still apply.
The edge effect with the typical shearing off of fluid particles from the air plug
vibrating in the holes of the resonator is illustrated at the inwardly flanged edges of
the holes (Fig. 6.12): When the plug moves inward fluid particles are shaved off
just as in the outward-directed vibration phase. At least the kinetic energy contained
in this separation process is completely converted into heat. If however this damping
mechanism plays a role, it is comprehensible that razor sharp membranes do not
build up additional damping if the edges of the holes are not designed smooth but
somehow corrugated.
This low-frequency absorber proved to be very successful in a variety of instances
as a silencer splitter for special requirements, see Ackermann et al. (1988), Fuchs
et al. (1989b), Eckoldt et al. (2000). Whereas using membrane absorber components as wall elements in hoods with particularly high damping and sound insulation
between 25 and 125 Hz according to Fuchs et al. (1990) and Vr (1992) still await
application. Nonetheless, the membrane absorber may be named as responsible for
the breakthrough of completely fiberless absorber technologies in the ducts as well
as in the plenum of an aero-acoustic wind tunnel, see Fuchs et al. (1992b) and Potthoff et al. (1994) and Brandsttt et al. (2002, 2003). The latter paved the way for an
innovative acoustic test-stand technology now familiar particularly in the automobile
industry, see Chap. 12.
6.4
Conclusions
Like sounding-boards in the form of panel resonators also sounding-vessels in the

form of Helmholtz resonators have already been treated by ancient authors, though
primarily as sound sources or reinforcements rather than as sound absorbers in the
76
present sense. According to Pappalardo (2007) the Roman architect Vitruvius in the
first century BC has argued that, hidden in cavities inside the steps of the cavea
of amphitheaters, were bronze containers which could (via consonance) raise the
clarity of speech from the stage and the orchestra. More recently, these reactive
structures seem to have gained new interest as novel sound absorbers. Only few
of these, however, prove successful in their technical realizations. Ever so often,
in attempts to make them fit practical requirements under real working conditions,
they turn out to become rather intricate and hence indisputably expensive, see Fuchs
(2000). Conventional Helmholtz resonators are in fact too narrowband and ineffective
not only as stand-alone modules but also as perforated-surface linings. The slotted
panel absorbers described here as compact silencer modules and as acoustic linings
employing various damping materials have succeeded as noise control measures in
central heating systems (Sect. 13.8.7) and as a room acoustic measure, especially
when medium frequencies are to be damped. The membrane absorber, as a combination of the Helmholtz and panel resonator principles, was even earlier very successful
as a rugged broadband low-frequency absorber module for both industrial noise control (Fuchs 1993) and acoustic comfort tasks. The latter also opened the market for
alternative fiberless absorbers which, due to their completely sealed construction,
can cope with highest hygiene demands. The again fiberless microperforated structures, essentially another variant of Helmholtz resonators, are dealt with in Chap. 9
of this compendium, since they have developed very fast from laboratory prototypes
(in the early 1990s) to a variety of marketable absorber families of their own, mainly
for medium and high frequencies.
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Leistner P, Fuchs HV (2001) Schlitzfrmige Schallabsorber. Bauphysik 23(6):333337
Springer, Berlin
Pappalardo U (2007) Antike Theater. Michael Imhof, Petersberg
Potthoff J, Essers U, Eckoldt D, Fuchs HV, Helfer M (1994) Der neue AeroakustikFahrzeugwindkanal der Universitt Stuttgart. Automob Z 96(7/8):438447
Trochidis A (1982) Krperschalldmpfung mittels Gas- oder Flssigkeitsschichten. Acustica
51(4):201212
Vr IL (1992) Enclosures and wrappings. In: Beranek LL, Vr IL (eds) Noise and vibration control
engineering, Chap. 13. Wiley, New York
Vitruvius MP (1st century BC) De Architectura. Book V: Public places
Chapter 7
Interference Silencers
Depending on the sound source and the application conditions, silencers and encapsulations have to be adjusted to always different, under circumstances even narrowband
noise spectra, and often are exposed to extreme mechanical, chemical and thermal
loads. Every new application presents a challenge and demands innovative solutions,
be it to minimize pressure losses (in ventilation systems) or to prevent overheating
(of engines). In some cases, the soiling problem alone still prevents implementing
suited noise control measures in ducts and machines, whereas occasionally exaggerated measures are encountered under normal conditions, especially with regard
to the high frequencies. Considering that especially abrasion and soiling of fibrous
or porous damping materials create severe problems, alternative, fiberless absorber
technology is urgently needed (Fuchs 2001, 2002).
The membrane absorber described in Sect. 6.3 can be universally employed as
a silencer splitter and an encapsulation wall element with high damping and insulation (by its exceptional stiffness) when it comes to low frequencies, pressure loss,
durability and easy cleaning requirements. Suited for high frequencies are elements
made of sintered glass foam according to Sect. 4.3. Whereas for the crucial low frequencies broadband cladding according to Sect. 10.6 has proven particularly good
especially for chimney stacks. What is lacking is a robust sound absorber for a wide
medium frequency range between about 250 and 2 500 Hz. Moreover, when installed
in machines and motor vehicles, sound absorbers are exposed to massive vibrations
and shocks which neither the membrane nor the glass foam nor any other damping
material is able to withstand.
Here cavity resonators of various designs with prime-quality steel walls have
proven to be most successful. Often they do not even need any damping material.
Instead they owe their main effectiveness to a multiplicity of interference mechanisms
which generate reflections of the sound energy back to the sound source. This reactive
principle, already discussed e.g. in Chap. 2 as influencing the sound-field distribution
in a closed room, can however not solve room-acoustic and environmental noise
problems described in Chap. 3. Insertion loss according to Sect. 3.8, which in this
context should rather be called insulation, can be attained just with reactive means.
As these principally act relatively narrowband, generally several such interference
silencers, varyingly tuned and adjusted to the respective sources, must be joined side
79
80
7 Interference Silencers
Fig. 7.1 Principles of

reactive interference
silencers; simple
cross-sectional discontinuity
(a), expansion chamber (b),
side-branch resonator (c),
by-pass duct system (d)
by side or in series, as depicted in Fig. 6.2 with regard to Helmholz resonators in a

silencer splitter.
7.1
Quarter-Wavelength Resonators
How pure reflective silencers work in principle can be demonstrated by a simple cross-sectional discontinuity (m) in a rigid pipe according to Fig. 7.1a. If the
dimensions of both areas S1 and S2 are small in comparison to the wavelength, with
W = 0 c0 m;
r=
m1
;
m+1
m=
S1
S2
(7.1)
and the wave resistance 0 c0 of the medium a reflection coefficient or a sound

transmission loss may be derived from Eq. (3.4) with Pa = Pf = 0 according to
=1
Pt
;
Pi
R = 10 lg
Pi
1
=
;
Pt
1
Pi
1
(m + 1)2
= 10 lg
=
10
lg
.
Pt
1 r2
4m
(7.2)
Thus low frequencies are strongly reflected, for example from air outlets in large
wall and ceiling surfaces (S2 >> S1 ) with:
R
= 10 lg m 6 dB for m 1.
(7.3)
7.1 Quarter-Wavelength Resonators
81
Fig. 7.2 Insertion loss De of

a rigid expansion chamber in
a water-pipe system with
m = 20 and 1 = 125 mm;
measured by Fuchs and
Voigtsberger (1980) in a
water-borne sound laboratory
and calculated according to
Eq. (7.4) ()
This however applies only if the wave propagation is plane in front of and behind
widening (or correspondingly narrowing) of the cross section. When the room with
its eigenresonances interacts with the duct, this type of sound control shows corresponding troughs and (between two resonances) also peaks as described in theory
and experiments by Teige et al. (1996).
If separated by a distance 1 an abrupt expansion is followed by a sudden contraction of the duct according to Fig. 7.1b, the reflection repeats there, but with inverse
sign, yielding after Mser (2004, 2007):

2
2
m 1
l
R = 10 lg 1 +
(7.4)
sin 2
2m
with insulation maxima of

Rmax
= 20 lg m 6 dB for m 1
(7.5)
at the frequencies
fn =
c0
(2n 1);
4l
n = 1, 2, 3 . . .
(7.6)
Such a /4-resonator has also already been tested as a water-borne silencer with
m = 20 (Fig. 7.2) by Fuchs (1983, 1983) in a comprehensive study of the generation
and control of plumbing noise.
Expansion chambers like those described in detail by Mser (2007) (Sect. 9.1
there) in theory and experiment are rarely actually employed in ventilation duct or
pipe systems. In fact, appendices like those sketched in Fig. 7.1c, which can be
connected to the main duct with a similar cross section, have proven to be more
practicable as side-branch resonators. Here at frequencies according to Eq. (7.6),
the plane waves running forth and back in the open/closed tube are superimposed
on the waves in the main duct in such a manner that the wave allowed to pass (Pt in
82
Fig. 7.3 /4-resonators of

two lengths arranged in series
in a silencer splitter for power
plants. (See Chap. 13 and
Fuchs et al. 1989a, 1989b)
Fig. 3.1) is much weakened. As in Helmholtz resonators (Chap. 6), the air mass covibrating at the pipe inlets leads, according to Kurtze et al. (1975, Chap. 2.7 there),
to an inlet correction to the length l dependent on the pipe radius r
l
= 0.6r
resp.
0.85r,
(7.7)
if the pipe ends open in the room, respectively in a large wall. In order to make this
type of cavity resonators broadband, wave guides of different length can be arranged
side by side, and their walls can advantageously be rendered absorptive with damping
material, as Fig. 7.3 shows for a splitter silencer as a practical example. Mounting
the latter vertically ensures that any deposits in the cavities always fall out. Another
method of widening the damping spectrum of /4-resonators, especially at low
frequencies, is presented in Sect. 8.2.
7.2
Half-Wavelength Resonators
The interference principle described in Sect. 7.1 can also be realized with by-pass
duct systems according to Fig. 7.1d which split the impinging sound wave (P1 ) over
same-size cross sections, and at frequencies
fn =
c0
(2n 1);
2l
n = 1, 2, 3 . . .
(7.8)
superimpose them again in anti-phase to the transmitted wave. Knowing that, for
several mechanical reasons, this very simple one-dimensional interference principle
is rarely realized in practice, one can imagine what obstacles an anti-noise system
that has to operate with diverse electrical in addition to the mechanical components
continuously and reliably has to overcome, refer also to the active principles discussed
in Chap. 8.
7.3 Tubular Silencers
83
Fig. 7.4 Principle of a

combustion-engine muffler

As long as cavities, which are used inside long wave guides as described in Sect. 7.1
and 7.2, remain small compared to the wavelength these can, of course, not influence the sound transmission. If however installed over a short pipe support between
a pulsating source, for example a reciprocating pump or a combustion engine, and a
pipe system, they are able to act, very effectively, as a buffer volume, similar to
a vibration isolator, above an often not very pronounced mass-spring resonance as
described by Fcker (1979) according to Gsele (1959). Developing complex reactive cavity silencers that are individually adjusted to loud engines and machines and
work with a combination of cavities, pipe supports and perforated-surface structures
often with numerous flow turns, for example like in Fig. 7.4, in close interaction with
the sound source and the connected pipe system has meanwhile become a specialist
field in acoustics. Using linear and non-linear theories and numerical methods, numerous parameters, flow effects and temperature effects can be attuned to each other
to optimize damping, see Fcker (1979) and Galaitsis and Vr (1992).
One of the lines of development described in Fuchs (2001, 2002) led to special
silencers for exhaust and chimney stacks. Also not requiring fibrous/porous materials
as damping material, they are usually made of stainless steel and if required are
easy to clean. Up to 2 m in diameter, these tubular reactive silencers are designed
especially for low frequencies. Figure 7.5 shows the principle: they comprise cavities
arranged concentrically around the air-conducting pipe and are connected to the duct
via a perforated sheet-metal ring. The input impedance of a single such cavity is
according to Munjal (1987):
t
c
0 2
0 eff
0 0
WR =
(7.9)
+j

nx c0
n x Sh
S tan L + tan L
c
c0
c0
with the number of holes nx in the perforated sheet-metal ring, the cavity depths La
and Lb , cavity face Sc = ra 2 ri 2 , perforated sheet-metal thickness t, hole radius
r, hole area Sh = r2 and, due to the two-sided co-vibrating medium masses, an
effective hole length teff = t + 1.7r.
In Eq. (7.9) the first expression indicates the friction of the air in the holes, the
second the mass of the co-vibrating air in the holes and the third the resilience of the
air volume enclosed in the cavity. In elongated cavities, the silencer acts essentially
84
Fig. 7.5 Longitudinal section

and insertion loss De of a
tubular silencer (according to
Eckoldt et al. 1998);
calculated ( ) and
measured () in a test stand
according to Sect. 13.7
like a /4-resonator with cavity depths La and Lb . The resonance frequency can be
approximately estimated using Eq. (7.6). Due to the co-vibrating air mass in the
holes, it however shifts according to Eq. (7.9) toward somewhat lower frequencies
compared to Eq. (7.6):
0 teff
=
n x Sh
Sc tan
0 c0
L
c0 a
+ tan
L
c0 b
(7.10)
This equation can only be solved numerically or graphically because the resonance
frequency = 2 f turns up on both sides of the equation. For low frequencies and
short cavity lengths ( L/c0 1), Eq. (7.9) degenerates into the equation for a
Helmholtz resonator

0 teff
0 2
0 c0 2
WR =
+j
,
(7.11)
c0
Sn
V
having an opening area Sn and a cavity volume V.
For plane waves in the duct with a diameter D as is justified up to the so-called
cut-on frequency
fc = 0.586
c
D
(7.12)
85
Fig. 7.6 Longitudinal section

and insertion loss De of a
tubular silencer comprising
six cavities (according to
Eckoldt et al. 1998) calculated
( ) for 180 C and measured
() at 20 C in a test stand
and under the idealizing assumption of an infinitely long duct, the propagation
damping Da can be calculated according to

W + W0
R
2
Da = 20 log
(7.13)
.
WR
Herein W0 = 0 c0 /S is the impedance normalized with the cross-sectional area S of
the duct. Figure 7.5 also shows a comparison of the insertion loss De measured in the
test stand with the presented calculation using a design program developed especially
for this silencer. As the perforated sheet-metal ring is disposed at the entrance to the
cavity, only damping of the large cavity length Lb appears. Very pronounced are the
high, yet relatively narrowband damping peaks occurring, as explained above, at /4
(third-octave band 80 Hz) and 3 /4 (250 Hz).
The described theory is suited for calculating the silencing effect of a single
cavity. Arrangements of several cavities in series leads to a coupling of the individual
resonators yielding a correspondingly broadened insertion loss. In this case, the
losses can be calculated using the previously mentioned methods in that the silencer
is modeled as a wave guide with concentrated elements (resonance cavities) and
distributed elements (coupled via the distances between neighboring perforations).
Figure 7.6 shows such a tubular silencer with six cavities of varying length in
series and thus with different resonance frequencies. Consequently, a low-frequency,
broadband silencer can be produced as the measurement in a test stand for air at 20 C
and the calculation for later use at 180 C depicted in Fig. 7.6 demonstrate. As this
tubular reactive silencer for exhaust and chimney stacks with a diameter of up to 1 m
does not require porous absorbers and the cavities remain completely empty, it can be
86
easily cleaned with liquid. The cleaning ducts are connected to the cavities via valves
as shown in Fig. 7.5. Another advantage of such silencers is that their pressure loss
is negligible because the flow duct remains ideally smooth. For practical examples
in use see Sect. 13.8.6 and Eckoldt et al. (1998), Fuchs et al. (1999a, b).
7.4
Conclusions
Sound wave interference effects play a prominent role in acoustic comfort and noise
control matters. For low frequency, one-dimensional plane wave propagation as in
pipes and ducts below their cut-on frequency, it is possible to design attractive innovative silencers with a remarkably high noise reduction performanceeven without
employing any damping materials. Tubular coaxial structures found their way into
a difficult market as sound attenuators in exhaust gas stacks, in particular of thermal power stations. Eckoldt et al. (2004) report e.g. an insertion loss of more than
40 dB between 31.5 and 4 000 Hz achieved in a 31 m high stack with an outer diameter of 2 m. It combines a 7.6 m long tubular reactive component with a 9 m long panel
resonator section (Chap. 5) for the low and medium plus an 8 m long porous lining
(Chap. 4) for the medium and high frequencies with corresponding splitters in places.
Brandsttt et al. (2004) report on another application of tubular silencers of much
smaller dimensions which can also fit into almost any private central heating system
emitting low-frequency, mostly tonal noises (Chap. 13). Both extremely successful
developments were, very typically, only made possible by a close cooperation of
the Fraunhofer IBP with two small, respectively medium-size industrial companies
along way C in Table 1 of the foreword preceding this compendium.
References
Brandsttt P, Bay K, Fischer G (2004) Noise reduction at heating system exhaust pipes. In:
Eckoldt D, Rambausek N, Brandsttt N, Hemsing J (1998) Nutzung von Schornsteinen als
Breitband-Schalldmpfer. Bauphysik 20(6):191194
Eckoldt D, Krmer MM, Hemsing J (2004) Silencers for exhaust gas stacks of a power station. In:
Fcker P (1979) Reflexionsschalldmpfung mittels Reihenresonator. In: Schirmer W (ed) Lrmbekmpfung, Chap. 13. Tribne, Berlin
Fuchs HV (1983, 1993) Generation and control of noise in water supply installations. Part 1:
Fundamental aspects. Appl Acoust 16:325346; Part 2: Sound source mechanisms. Appl Acoust
38:5985; Part 3: Rating and abating procedures. Appl Acoust 39:165190
Fuchs HV (2001) Alternative fibreless absorbersnew tools and materials for noise control and
and acoustic comfort. In: Pandalalai (ed) Recent research developmentssound & vibration,
Part 1, pp 203239. Transworld Research Network, Kerala
Fuchs HV, Voigtsberger CA (1980) Schalldmpfer in Wasserleitungen. Z Wrmeschutz Klteschutz
Schallschutz Brandschutz Special issue:4680
References
87

Fuchs HV, Eckoldt D, Hemsing J (1999a) Alternative Schallabsorber fr den industriellen Einsatz:
Akustiker suchen nach faserfreien Schalldmpfern. VGB Kraftwerkstech 79(3):7678
Fuchs HV, Eckoldt D, Hemsing J (1999b)Alternative sound absorbers for industrial use: acousticians
on the quest for alternative attenuators. VGB Power Technol 79(3):5860
Galaitsis AG, Vr IL (1992) Passive silencers and lined ducts. In: Beranek LL, Vr IL (eds) Noise
and vibration control engineering, Chap. 10. Wiley, New York
Gsele K (1959) ber die Dimensionierung von Schalldmpfern nach dem Reflexionsprinzip.
Hochfrequenztech Elektroakust 68(1):1521
Karlsruhe
Mser M (2004) Engineering acoustics. Springer, Berlin
Munjal M (1987) Acoustics of ducts and mufflers. Wiley, New York
Teige K, Brandsttt P, Frommhold W (1996) Zur akustischen Anregung kleiner Rume durch
Luftauslsse. Z Lrmbekmpf 43(3):7483
Chapter 8
Absorbers with Active Components
Some of the passive and reactive sound absorbers and silencers discussed in
Chaps. 47 have a long tradition in noise control and acoustic comfort business.
The compound panel resonators of Sect. 5.3, the membrane absorbers of Sect. 6.3
and the tubular silencers of Sect. 7.3 represent new fiberless variants with particularly high, broadband effectiveness at low frequencies. Active noise abatement
measures, also called anti-noise, nevertheless are continuously drawing much
more vivid attention in the media. Due to their very complicated electro-acoustic
and electronic design, they have, however, found only rather limited use in very
special instances, for example in headsets for helicopter pilots. In contrast, the aim
in what follows is to present a relatively simple principle for actively improving the
performance of reactive absorbers. These have meanwhile proven to be successful as
highly effective silencer units for low and medium frequencies especially in compact
air-conditioning and heating systems.
The type and manner of how concentrated elements (mass, spring, friction) and
modal components (plates, wave guides, cavities) are coupled in single or combined
resonance systems as described in Chaps. 57 offer possibilities for a variety of
actively enhanced resonators. In this context the term active does not mean the introduction of additional acoustical elements. Their effectiveness, however, is altered
and enhanced by integrating them in electro-mechanic or electro-acoustic transducers. For their operation usually a minimal supplementary electrical energy input is
needed, which is used in quite different ways. Some of the developments described
in Leistner and Castor (2000), Leistner et al. (2000), usually customized for lowcost standard electro-acoustic components, have already gained some significance
in noise control tasks. Small in size and at the same time highly effective primarily
at low frequencies, they are a welcome complement to passive and reactive sound
absorbers.
8.1 Active Mass-Spring Systems

Regardless of their design, activated systems can be modeled e.g. by an acoustical
serial circuit with at least one mass, spring and friction element. Corresponding rules
and terms of electric and equivalent acoustic networks may be found in Lenk (1977).
89
90
8 Absorbers with Active Components
Fig. 8.1 View (a), section (b) and block diagram (c) of an electro-acoustically activated mass-spring
system
As an example, Fig. 8.1 shows a mass-spring system with the input parameters sound
pressure p0 and sound flow q. In this case a conventional conical loudspeaker, actually
its membrane, assumes the function of the mass M with the impedance
WM = j M
(8.1)
and the closed encasement volume behind the loudspeaker functions as the resilience
N, respectively the spring, e.g. as a wave guide having a length L with
WN =
1
j N
WN = j 0 c0 cot k0 L.
(8.2a)
(8.2b)
In addition, there is the inevitable friction WR completing the impedance of the

mass-spring system corresponding to the serial connection in the block diagram of
Fig. 8.1c. The loudspeaker has a drive system (oscillation coil etc.) by which the
vibrations of the membrane can be intensified to improve the systems absorption.
In order to do this, the membrane vibrations, respectively their interaction with
the exciting sound waves, have to be detected, for example, by a microphone in
direct vicinity of the membrane and, correspondingly amplified, coupled back to the
oscillation coil of the loudspeaker.
With the microphone voltage at the input of a power amplifier with a linear amplification V its output signal lies at the clamps of the loudspeaker. This connection
can be entered in the serial connection as a variably controlled sound source by way
of a sound pressure pQ = V p0 . The impedance of such an activated mass-spring
system is:

1
1
W =
WR + j M +
.
(8.3)
1+V
j N
The amplification setting influences the impedance with high amplification values
lowering it. This effect is indicated on Fig. 8.2 for normal sound incidence in an
8.1 Active Mass-Spring Systems
91
Fig. 8.2 Determination of the

absorption coefficient 0 of
an activated mass-spring
system and a porous absorber
layer in an impedance tube
(250 250 mm)
Fig. 8.3 Absorption

coefficient 0 of the activated
mass-spring system of
Fig. 8.1 measured according
to Fig. 8.2; without (- - -),
with () amplification,
porous/fibrous absorber of
Fig. 8.2 for d = 100 mm
( )
impedance tube by the difference between the switched-on and switched-off amplifier setting (Fig. 8.3). Comparison of the about 1 L small active resonator box
with an equally thick but much wider absorber layer demonstrates quite markedly
the advantages of active mass-spring systems: high absorption is attained at low
frequencies with a particularly small volume. Active resonators are a practical alternative for applications e.g. in the form of splitters as shown in Fig. 8.4 which require
minimal space in ventilation ducts according to Leistner and Castor (2000) or in
air-conditioners (Leistner et al. 2000). Comparison with conventional silencers in
Fig. 8.5 reveals the up to six times higher damping effect of the active silencer splitters with the same dimensions. The photograph in Fig. 8.4 shows an advantageous
combination of active resonators with porous absorbers.
The simple expression in Eq. (8.3) does not, however, suffice to be employed for
designing, because some details (components, interactions etc.) are missing which
also need to be considered in the control circuit. Lippold (1995) and Krger and
92
Fig. 8.4 Active silencer splitters comprising activated mass-spring resonators and thin layers of a
porous material as part of a silencer assembly in the facility according to Figs. 13.11 and 13.16
Fig. 8.5 Measured insertion
loss De of the active silencer
splitters of Fig. 8.4; length
250 mm (), respectively
500 mm (), as compared to
that of a porous silencer in a
similar configuration ()
Leistner (1998) performed extensive tests and described the different acoustical and
electrical control mechanisms in active resonators. In addition to the basic properties (quantity and phase of the transmission function, mechanical execution etc.) of
the electro-acoustic transducer, the manner of and the coupling with the acoustical
environment can influence the functioning of active resonators. This applies both to
the low frequency range in which damping is to be attained and the high-frequency
range in which at least no emissions due to electro-acoustic instabilities of the control
circuit should occur. Here also lie the limits of the adjustable amplification according
to Eq. (8.3): at low frequencies it is the harmonic distortion of the displacement and
at high frequencies the occurrence of eigenmodes of the loudspeaker membrane.
8.2 Active Side-Branch Resonators
93
Fig. 8.6 Setup, components (a) and block diagram (b) of an activated and electronically adjustable
mass-spring system
However, within these limits the components can be sufficiently varied and the
resonance system adjusted to the respective source spectrum.
Figure 8.6 shows an example in which an additional sound pressure signal enters
the control circuit of the resonator. Microphone 2 is located in the air volume behind
the loudspeaker membrane its signal being amplified separately and added to the
amplified signal of microphone 1 in front of the membrane. From the block diagram,
a simplified expression of the resulting impedance can be derived:

1
1 VN
W =
WR + j M +
.
(8.4)
1 + V0
j N
Regarding the to-be-set amplification V0 , everything remains the same as in Eq. (8.3).
The amplification VN , however, permits setting electronically according to sign and
quantity the effective strength of the air spring and thus the absorption spectrum.
Figure 8.7 compares two different adjustment variants with a merely reactive resonator and another simply activated resonator. The absorption maximum can thus
be varied in the range of one octave without changing any components. Automatic
adjustment practically depends, for example, on the signals from simple actuators
(e.g. tachometers) which characterize the condition and thus the spectrum of a noise
source (e.g. an engine).

Another low-frequency problem gaining urgency according to Sect. 13.8.7 and Leistner et al. (2001) are exhaust noises in heating systems. These are on the rise which
is of concern not only to the operator but in particular to the neighborhood (see
94
Fig. 8.7 Absorption

coefficient 0 of the
mass-spring system according
to Fig. 8.6 as measured
according to Fig. 8.2 (a) and
calculated (b) without (thin
curve), respectively with
amplification (bold curve)
and high (), respectively
low () additional adjustment
of the amplification
Bay et al. 2004). The previously described form of active mass-spring resonators
are, however, not suited for use at high temperatures, with strong condensation and
under other adverse conditions. In the case of active side-branch resonators, their
appended ducts are not only employed as acoustical elements but advantageously
exploited mechanically. In this case, the already described mass-spring system terminates an elongated cavity with a length L, see Fig. 8.8. The cavity acts as a heat
insulating air volume with good heat-conductive side walls and as an acoustic wave
guide according to Sect. 7.1. The input impedance of such a wave guide with an
initially rigid rear end is in the undamped case given by Eq. (8.2b). At the resonance
frequencies, the imaginary part of the impedance disappears so that at least this
precondition for high absorption is fulfilled.
In the more general case of an arbitrary impedance WL at the rear end of the
cavity, one finds for the input impedance according to Munjal (1987):
W =
WL cos k0 L + j 0 c0 sin k0 L
j W0 cL0 sin k0 L + cos k0 L
(8.5)
95
Fig. 8.8 View (a), section (b) and block diagram (c) of an activated acoustic mass-spring system
with a connected cavity (wave guide). (According to Leistner et al. 2001, Courtesy of Kutzner +
Weber)
The transition to Eq. (8.2b) is easy to follow for very high impedances (soundreflective end). In order to describe the active combination of a mass-spring resonator
and a wave guide, the impedance according to Eq. (8.4) has to be employed for WL in
Eq. (8.5). In this form, however, some important details are not yet taken into account
in Eq. (8.5). The actual ratios, for example, between the effective membrane area of
the loudspeaker and the cross-sectional areas of the resonator housing and the cavity
also influence the impedance of the active wave guide. Moreover, for this cavity
resonator the end correction, respectively more precisely the radiation impedance
according to Munjal (1987) of the air column in the cavity must also be considered,
thus shifting the resonance to lower frequencies.
The acoustic advantage of an active resonance system lies in its effectiveness in
the low-frequency range. As an illustration, take once again a silencer in, respectively
on a duct as depicted in Fig. 8.9. The measurement setup comprises a cylindrical
duct as the measurement path to which are flanged two identical active resonators.
Without electrical amplification (V0 = 0), the first damping maximum occurs at
about 260 Hz. Its height is determined by the mentioned cross-sectional ratios. The
resonance frequency is defined by the length of the air column from the loudspeaker
membrane to the duct end plus the end correction. When the amplifier is switched on,
maximum damping already sets in at 60 Hz. Achieving such a resonance frequency
without active means would require more than four times the cavity length with
the same end correction. Thus activation has a space-saving effect, an advantage
attractive for installation or retrofitting in confined spaces. The two curves of different
resonator frequencies attained simply by switching the amplifier on and off indicate
another advantage: in noise spectra with high levels at varying frequencies depending
on the operating conditions, the resonators can be simply adjusted automatically.
If the cavity alone does not suffice to protect the electro-acoustic components,
there are other possible ways of reducing thermal loads. Additional components with
96
Fig. 8.9 Measured insertion

loss of two active side-branch
resonators without (- - -) and
with amplification ()
a protective effect are, for example, perforated sheet metal, fleece and foil covers
as described in Sect. 4.1 placed at the entrance of the cavity. A porous fleece layer
is characterized acoustically by its flow resistance (WV ), whereas foils are reactive
components (mass WF = j m F ) which can detune the entire system. The same
applies to perforated sheet metal. In this case, the mass (WLB = j m LB ) usually
of the air plugs in the holes like in the Helmholtz resonator described in Chap. 6
changes the resonance(s) of the coupled system. Their influence can be integrated in
Eq. (8.5) as follows:
W = WLB + WV + WF +
WL cos k0 L + j 0 c0 sin k0 L
j W0 cL0 sin k0 L + cos k0 L
(8.6)
In addition to the already described acoustical behavior, it is worth mentioning that

in this example the function remains stable for a duct temperature of up to 150 C, a
8.3 Active Mode Silencers
97
temperature range that is representative for heating systems of a moderate capacity.

The advantageous combination of an active mass-spring system with other reactive
components is not confined to cavity resonators such as wave guides or Helmholtz
resonators according to Spannheimer et al. (1994). Additional acoustical components, extended or varied control structures as described in Okamoto et al. (1994)
but also adapted selection and positioning of sensors can, for example, help reduce
the sensitivity to external impacts on active resonance systems.
8.3 Active Mode Silencers

The ability of active resonators to damp low-frequency noises effectively with very
small volumes is advantageous not only for their use as silencers in or on ducts. Spacesaving solutions are also welcome for damping, respectively influencing sound fields
in rooms. There is no question that the active resonance absorbers presented here are
not suited for every room acoustical situation. Today large-surface installations in
halls or auditoriums with correspondingly many active systems seem neither acoustically nor economically expedient. Low-frequency problems, however, also arise in
small rooms in which there is little space for absorbers. In this case, the geometry
of the room dictates the often extremely uneven sound pressure distribution. The
distorting effect of the room resonances as described in Chap. 2, which is able to
influence all sound transmissions like a narrow-band filter, calls for a suitable active
treatment of the low frequencies in small rooms. According to Cummings (1992), the
mathematical expression for the sound transmission between a source (sound flow
q) at a location rQ (xQ , yQ , zQ ) and a receiver (sound pressure p) at a location rE (xE ,
yE , zE ) in a rectangular room (volume V), dimensions (lx , ly , lz ) with sound-reflective
walls is:
p(rE )
j 0 n (rQ )n (rE )
= WQE =
q(rQ )
V
n (Kn2 k02 )
N
(8.7)
The boundary conditions of the ambient room are expressed in the symmetrical
eigenfunctions n , the eigenvalue Kn and the orthogonality factor n with = 1,
2, . . . N. The summation expressed in Eq. (8.7) including the imaginary prefactor
represents the transmission function, respectively the transfer impedance WQE of the
room.
Integration of an active resonator at the location rR requires three preconditions:
(1) the resonator must, just like the sound source, be small compared to the respective
wavelength; (2) its sound flow must be defined as adverse to the sound flow of the
source; and (3) its reaction must relate to the pressure at the location rR generated
by the source. Using the correspondingly induced additional transfer impedances
(WQR , WRE ) on the individual paths (source resonator, resonator receiver)
and the impedance of the resonator W, the ratio of the overall sound pressure at the
98
Fig. 8.10 A sound-reflective

room with a sound source, a
receiver, an active resonator
and the schematically drawn
transfer paths and
impedances. (According to
Zimmermann 2003)
receiver and the sound flow of the source is:

p(rE )
WQR WRE
= WQE
q(rQ )
WRR + W
(8.8)
This comprises a superposition of the transmission path source receiver (WQE

with no resonator) and source resonator receiver. Apart from the geometric
coordinates, the transfer impedances are the same. Unusual is the impedance WRR ,
which should be considered as the acoustic load impedance of the resonator and
therefore requires a near-field consideration (measurement, calculation). Transition
from Eq. (8.8) for a high resonator impedance to Eq. (8.7) is easy to discern and can be
readily attained, for example for practical demonstration, by removing or switching
off the active resonator. Figure 8.10 shows such a case, in which the sound source
and the receiver face each other across the room. An active resonator according to
Fig. 8.1 is located on the floor in one of the remaining corners of the room. Also
shown are the transmission paths, respectively the transfer impedances according to
Eq. (8.8).
Zimmermann (2003) was able to show how this specific type of anti-mode
silencing concept can work in theory and in experiment. It may well attract the
interest of sound engineers in audio studios, who thoroughly know the peculiarities
at the low frequencies of their respective workplaces. They maywith all electromechanical and electronic devices at their disposalin fact try to heal some of these
often narrowband problems by adding activated systems in one or two room corners
according to Fig. 8.10 in addition to the already present room-acoustical treatment,
see Zimmermann et al. (2004, Figs. 2 and 3 there). When it comes to cope with the
rumbling phenomena in ordinary rooms according to Table 11.2, however, a more
rigorous treatment of the rooms edges and corners is mostly more to the purpose.
This alternative approach is dealt with in Sects. 10.3 and 11.14.3.
References
8.4
99
Conclusions
Applied acoustics is a technical discipline which is generally underrated in public

awareness. There are only two exceptions to this: The one is when a newly built concert or multi-purpose hall does not fulfill the expectations of its visitors or builders.
The other is whenever an anti-noise issue is raised by an eloquent scientist. In both
cases the broadest interest may be very easily provoked among journalists creating
quick condemnations, respectively wild speculations, both on equally weak arguments. What these two topics nowadays have in common is the obviously unavoidable
implementation of far advanced electro-acoustics of one kind or another. The active,
or better: activated absorbers and silencers addressed in this chapter also make use
of the fascinating fact that acoustical processes can be advantageously influenced
by electro-acoustical means consuming almost negligible energy with an enormous
amplification of, in particular, certain resonant absorption effects. In contrast to some
better communicated active sound field cancellation phenomena, some of the present
actively supported damping devices have already reached market maturity in several
practical applications (see also Sect. 13.8). More generally, one may conclude that
active noise control is more easily accomplished on locally confined spaces (e.g. a
pilots inner ear or a silencers resonator box) than on extended spaces or areas.
References
Bay K, Krmer MM, Brandsttt P (2004) Compact silencer for heating systems. In: Proceedings
CFA/DAGA 2004, Strasbourg, pp 459460
Cummings A (1992) The effects of a resonator array on the sound field in a cavity. J Sound Vib
154(1):2544
Krger J, Leistner P (1998) Wirksamkeit und Stabilitt eines neuartigen aktiven Schalldmpfers.
Acustica 84(4):658667
Leistner P, Castor F (2000) Aktive Schalldmpfer fr Absauganlagen. Luft Kltetech 36(8):366368
Leistner P, Meneghin G, Sklenak B (2000) Aktive Schalldmpfer fr Raumklimagerte. Heiz
Luftung Haustech 51(7):4245
Leistner P, Fuchs HV, Fischer G (2001) Alternative Lsungen fr den Schallschutz an Heizkesseln.
IKZ Haustech 56(23):3842
Lenk A (1977) Elektromechanische Systeme. Systeme mit konzentrierten Parametern, vol 1. Verlag
Technik, Berlin
Lippold R (1995) Untersuchung hybrider Absorberkassetten zum Einsatz in Schalldmpferkanlen.
PhD thesis, TU Dresden
Munjal M (1987) Acoustics of ducts and mufflers. Wiley, New York
Okamoto Y, Boden H, Abom M (1994) Active noise control in ducts via side-branch resonators. J
Acoust Soc Am 96(3):15331538
Spannheimer H, Freymann R, Fastl H (1994) Aktiver Helmholtz-Resonator zur Dmpfung von
Hohlraumeigenschwingungen. In: 20. German Annual Conference on AcousticsDAGA 1994,
pp 525528
Zimmermann S (2003) Control performance of active absorbers in enclosed harmonic sound fields.
PhD thesis, TU Berlin
Zimmermann S, Joseph P, Leistner P (2004) Control of low-frequency enclosed, harmonic sound
fields with active absorbers. In: ProceedingsCFA/DAGA 2004, Strasbourg, pp 8182
Chapter 9
Microperforated Absorbers
Chapter 4 presents a survey of the classical materials used in sound absorbers and
their design. Primarily discussed are a variety of fibrous/porous materials with passive, i.e. non-reactive behavior toward airborne sound waves. More recently, various
types of absorbers gain importance which react quite differently to the sound field
that excites them (Chaps. 58). Whether the vibrations occur in panels, foils or membranes (Chaps. 5 and 8) or in diversely shaped air volumes (Chaps. 6 and 7), affixing
or applying small or large amounts of damping material can influence and optimize
the effectiveness of these resonators (except for the membrane absorbers in Sect. 6.3).
The present chapter examines absorbers which develop a relatively broadband effectiveness with fundamentally no damping materials. The idea of utilizing the friction
in small holes and slots to absorb sound energy is much older than using extremely
thin mineral fibers in initially comparatively coarse structures and it originally stems
from Russian research by Rschevkin and Terossipjantz (1941), Rschevkin (1959) and
Veliszhanina (1951). However, it was thanks to an old Chinese master acoustician,
Maa (1975), that microperforated absorbers (MPA) were installed for the first time
in 1992 to solve one of the most spectacular acoustical disasters in Germany during
the opening of the German Bundestag in Bonn, see Fuchs and Zha (1993, 1997).
Meanwhile, in addition to the transparent acrylic glass absorber, a whole family of
fiberless acoustical elements made of a variety of different metals, plastics, woods
and recently even glass has been developed.
Sound absorption in fine-fiber or open-pore materials having prevailed in noise
control and room acoustics since the 1950s, it was tremendous progress, as Kurtze
(1977) was able to demonstrate that ceiling or wall claddings with thick passive
layers as described in Chaps. 4 and Fig. 9.1a behind perforated plates with an at least
15 % open area could simply and cost-effectively be replaced by similarly perforated
sheet-metal cassettes and wooden or plaster-board panels when these are covered on
the front or the rear with a much thinner fleece or fabric, see Fig. 9.1b.
Figure 9.2 shows how a wide absorption maximum sets in at d /4 when a
fleece cover with varying flow resistance is employed; a relative minimum remains
at d /2; however at d /8 if an optimum flow resistance is applied, 80 %
can be attained like with a homogeneous passive absorber according to Fig. 4.2
and Eq. (4.8). If the distance d is large enough, sound absorbers, especially for
101
102
9 Microperforated Absorbers
Fig. 9.1 Acoustical wall and

ceiling cladding;
fibrous/porous damping
material behind perforated
plates with > 15 % (a),
perforated plate as in (a) but
covered with a fibrous/porous
fabric (b), microperforated
plate/foil with 1 % (c)
Fig. 9.2 Absorption

coefficient s measured in a
reverberation room of a
perforated sheet-metal ceiling
according to Fig. 9.1a, b with
d = 200 mm; fibrous/porous
absorber according to Fig. 4.2
(), 7 mm fleece cover
(1 kg m2 ) (), 5 mm fleece
cover (0.5 kg m2 ) (),
0.6 mm fleece cover ()
room-acoustical purposes, can be built that are also broadband at low frequencies.
However, the usual perforated or slotted impression of the conventional camouflage
or abrasion protection is still visible if the fleece faces the room. In the long run,
soiling of the covers on the perforated plate is almost inevitable due to a certain flow
through even if acoustic plaster, for instance to bridge joints, is applied on the
front side.
In architecture there has been a continuous trend to employ increasingly more
glass in public buildings, on the exterior or in partitions. Having profited from this
Microperforated Absorbers
103
trend with rising sales of conventional products, the glass industry also addressed
new technical challenges (especially regarding noise control and thermal insulation)
in an exemplary fashion by developing a series of decisive innovations. The right
selection of the noise-control class for the facade according to the to-be-expected
noise level outside and the right execution of surrounds and door insulation according
to the required noise decoupling from adjacent rooms easily permits fulfilling even
raised noise control standards using state-of-the-art technology, see Hessinger and
Sa (2009).
If the shells on the inner side of these glass elements are not too thick they form,
sometimes coupled to cavities, acoustically very valuable low-frequency absorbers.
However, this does not apply for medium and high frequencies in such glass interiors. As advantageous the high specific weight and the great rigidity of glass (both
parameters are comparable to that of concrete and other massive building materials)
are for attaining a satisfactory sound isolation, so disadvantageous can be their inevitably resulting intensive sound reflections. Acoustic consultants are often at a loss
how to resolve complaints about reverberation (up to an unbearable noise level) or
poor intelligibility (up to the failure of the electro-acoustic equipment) in rooms with
glass boundaries. Regarding lateral boundaries, often the only solution is to draw
drapes or lower shades and thus destroy a relevant part of the architectural concept.
With his idea of placing microperforated panel absorbers at a distance in front of a
rigid rear wall, Maa (1987) launched ergonomically the development of new acoustical elements that do not require porous/fibrous damping materials, see Fig. 9.1c. Their
acoustic effectiveness can be exactly adjusted almost independent of the selection of
the material of the plates but solely by the selection of its geometric parameters, MPA
made producing the first optically transparent sound absorbers possible, for example
composed of acrylic glass, polycarbonate, PVC, ETFE or normal flat glass. Thus the
acoustical disaster mentioned above was the beginning of a very fruitful GermanChinese collaboration developing and implementing entire families of transparent or
translucent acoustical elements for demanding building interiors, CD-ROM (1999).
In all the MPA variants that have meanwhile been tested in different practical
applications, the air co-vibrates as a mass in the numerous adjacent holes (a, b) or
slots with the air in the intermediate space (d) between the absorber and a usually
rigid rear wall (Fig. 9.3a) acting as a spring similar as in a Helmholtz resonator
according to Chap. 6. In contrast to the conventional perforated-surface absorbers
described in Sect. 6.1 and the slot resonators described in Sect. 6.2 and Leistner and
Fuchs (2001), the perforation ratio selected for MPA is always relatively small
(preferably in the order of magnitude of 1 %). In particular, however, the smallest
hole or slot dimensions (2r0 ) are always selected so small that they are in the same
order of magnitude as the acoustical boundary layer () of a steady flow in the holes
according to Fig. 9.3b and Eq. (4.13), see Cremer and Mller (1974, 1982, 42
there).
In all porous sound absorbers in which friction damps air vibrations, the relationship of pore dimensions transverse to the vibration direction and the thickness of the
boundary layer play a crucial role. For cylindrical holes with a radius of r0 in mm
104
Fig. 9.3 The microperforated

absorber principle: top view
and section, schematically
(a) sound particle velocity
distribution in large holes
(left), small holes or slots
(right) (b)
the dimensionless friction parameter

x=

r0
= 0.65r0 f
(9.1)
with f in Hz describes qualitatively how effectively the wall friction is able to damp
the vibrations in the holes.
In conventional perforated-panel absorbers with 2 < r0 < 25 mm, internal friction with 10 < x < 500 remains minimal as long as no additional damping material
is applied in the vicinity of the holes for additive dissipation. In contrast to this,
for typical hole dimensions 0.05 < r0 < 5 mm in an MPA, r0 always remains in
the order of , allowing optimum damping of the resonance-amplified vibrations in
the holes. For open-pore foams, pore dimensions of between 0.1 and 0.5 mm are
recommended to obtain high internal friction even without a resonance effect. If the
same model of friction in narrow ducts as treated in the Rayleigh model according
to Cremer and Mller (1974, 1982, 40 there) is applied to friction on conventional
synthetic mineral fibers, average fiber diameters of 45 m according to Mechel
(1994, Table 19.7 there) yield friction parameters that greatly deviate from the optimum value x 1. Indeed, comparing the theory behind the Rayleigh model with
the measurements with real fiber absorbers however allows determining an effective
pore radius between 65 and 125 m, thus interestingly yielding 0.5 < x < 5, very
similar to those in MPA.
9.1 MPA Panels
105
In other words, the microperforation can be selected according to the desired

frequency range in such a manner that, for r0 in the sub-millimeter range, x does
not deviate much from 1. With a correspondingly fine perforation (r0 ), friction can
also be adjusted for vibrations in the holes at high frequencies in such a way that no
additional damping material is required in front of, in or behind the holes or in the
cavity for optimum damping of the MPA resonator. With their inherent friction and
their acoustical functioning completely defined by their geometric parameters, MPA
can be calculated exactly from their design parameters, respectively can be designed
precisely for the given sound spectrum.
With thermally conducting metal or glass plates, additional losses due to thermal
conduction can be identified in a thermal boundary layer, which according to Cremer
and Mller (1974, 1982, 30 there) is of the same order of magnitude as the acoustic
boundary layer. With an otherwise same geometric design, for example, an MPA
made of metal has somewhat greater inherent absorption than one made of acrylic
glass. In consensus with other authors, if the plate is a thermally conducting metal,
Maa (1975) introduces additional losses having a value 0.024 g m1 s1 in the
boundary-layer parameter x in addition to viscosity according to Sect. 4.2, so that

x = 0.42r0 f
(9.2)
replaces Eq. (9.1) for MPA elements with good thermal conductance (e.g. when
made of steel or aluminum).
9.1
MPA Panels
The MPA theory and its long history going back to the 1940s, in which the Russian
scientist Veliszhanina (1951) played a significant role is recounted in detail in Fuchs
and Zha (1995). Here, the intention is to use the wall impedance of a microperforated
assembly shown in Fig. 9.3 according to Eq. (3.6) in relation to the characteristic
resistance of air

W
d

(9.3)
= r + j m cot
0 c0
c0
in the approximation of Maa (1975) for cylindrical holes to describe MPA. In contrast
to the simple mass-spring system already discussed in Chaps. 5, 6 and 8 as a model
for resonance absorbers with concentrated elements (d ), the cot d/c0 in
Eq. (9.3) now describes the fact that for the broadband MPA desired here, the cavity
between the perforated plate and the wall actually represents for high frequencies a
cavity resonator according to Sect. 7.1.
For d = /4, this cavity resonator permits a vibration maximum, which is damped
corresponding to r , if the mass per unit area, normalized with 0 c0 , of the air m
capable of vibrating in the holes is not too large (compare Eq. (9.10)). For d = /2,
on the other hand, cot d/c0 becomes infinitely large so that at the corresponding
106
frequency and multiples of it no co-vibration and therefore, within the scope of this
model, no absorption is possible. As
d c0
=
d
c0
cot
(9.4)
only applies for very low frequencies, the frequency of the absorption maximum
tends to somewhat lower frequencies compared to whatever type of rough estimate
according to Eq. (6.2). The main difference to the conventional Helmholtz resonator
however lies, of course, in the (via x according to Eqs. (9.1) and (9.2) strongly
frequency-dependent form of r and m in Eq. (9.3),
m =
t
Km ;
c0
r =
1/2
Km = 1 + (9 + 0.5x 2 )
+ 1.7r0 t 1
(9.5)
t
t
8
Kr
Kr ;
= 0.34(0.78)103
2
0 c0 r 0
r0 2
1/2
Kr = (1 + 0.031x 2 )
+ 0.35xr0 t 1 ,
(9.6)
with the last terms in the factors Km and Kr characteristic for MPA being easily recognizable as special end corrections whichlike in the classical Helmholtz
resonatorwith the ratio r0 /t raise the vibrating mass but lose significance if the
holes are small (r0 in mm) and the plates thick (t in mm).
The approximation (9.6) permits characterizing MPA analog to a simple massspring system according to Sect. 6.1 regarding its dominant resonance frequency

fMPA = 54 103
(9.7)
dtKm
in Hz and their normalized characteristic impedance

t Km

Z MPA =
d
(9.8)
by just estimating the correction factor Km , which is dependent for its part via x
according to Eq. (9.1), respectively (9.2), on the frequency range of the design,

according to Eq. (9.5) with d and t in mm. Also derived from the ratio (r + 1)/ZMPA
is then, according to the model in Sect. 5.1, the relative bandwidth of the respective
MPA, thereby providing a simple tool for designing specific MPA.
Figure 9.4 shows how three different sound absorbers can be made from the same
t = 3 mm thick plate with the same perforation ratio 0.014 and the same
distance from the wall d = 50 mm by simply varying the size of the holes. The
first curve describes an almost still conventional Helmholtz resonator with x = 19;
Km = 1.9; Kr = 7; r1 = 0.24; ZMPA = 2.9 (always at its resonance frequency
fMPA = 376 Hz) with apparently somewhat too small damping and only moderate
bandwidth. In contrast, the second curve shows the MPAs characteristic broadband
9.1 MPA Panels
107
Fig. 9.4 Influence of the hole size (b = 2r0 ) on the absorption coefficient 0 of an MPA panel
Fig. 9.5 Absorption coefficient 0 for normal sound incidence on a 5 5 cm microperforated plate
with thermal conduction; measurement (), calculation ()
effectiveness which can be optimally adjusted in the range 0.1 > 2 r0 > 1 mm to
the respective sound spectrum. The third curve indicates a strongly overdamped
resonator with much too small holes.
Figure 9.5 shows, for normal sound incidence, the absorption coefficients calculated for a microperforated steel sheet metal in front of a rigid wall and measured
in an impedance tube on a 5 5 cm specimen. Both curves distinctly show a dip at
f 1 700 Hz corresponding to d = /2 and a smaller second absorption maximum
108
Fig. 9.6 Influence of the number of holes per m2 on the absorption coefficient 0 of an MPA;
154 000, 309 000, 549 000
at 2 000 Hz. Figure 9.6 is to depict the influence of the number of holes (309 000
compared to 154 000/m2 ) with an otherwise identical MPA geometry: according to
Eq. (9.7), the maximum shifts by about half an octave (from 500 to 750 Hz). According to Eq. (9.6) friction diminishes from r = 1.69 to 0.87. However, at the
same time the characteristic resistance ZMPA changes from 2.07 to 1.46 so that the
bandwidth according to Eq. (5.6) remains practically unchanged. A further increase
in bandwidth can be attained with the same but smaller values a and b and thus
a larger r as shown in Fig. 9.6 with the dashed curve. However, this only marginal
improvement is at the expense of increasing the number of holes per m2 from 309 000
to 549 000.
In transition from normal to oblique or diffuse sound incidence, after Maa (1975)
according to
=
4r cos

(r cos + 1)2 + m cos cot
d cos
c0
(9.9)
for > 0 the absorption maximum shifts to somewhat higher frequencies and is
somewhat lower. However, as not only r becomes actually smaller but also ZMPA ,
the relative bandwidth in the diffuse field increases somewhat. For normal sound
incidence agreement between the calculation and the measurement is always good
(<5 % difference in 0 ), whereas measurements in a reverberation room often reveal
that the theoretical values, especially at high frequencies, are exceeded somewhat
(Fig. 9.7). The estimates according to Maa (1975) are always on the safe side. However, this may change if MPA are excited by grazing sound incidence, for example
9.1 MPA Panels
109
Fig. 9.7 Absorption coefficient of a simple MPA at diffuse sound incidence; measurement (),
calculation ()
as resonators in silencer splitters, if the cavity behind the perforated plate is not
coffered.
A room-facing convex MPA as shown in Fuchs and Zha (1994, Figs. 15 and 16
there) permits increasing the bandwidth of its effectiveness further in such a manner
that it is possible to absorb more than 50 % of the impinging sound energy over
more than two octaves with only a single MPA variant. However if the bandwidth
of a one-layered MPA does not suffice, two or three microperforated structures can
be arranged in series, preferably with increasing distance to the rear wall, in such
a manner that the higher frequency components are absorbed predominantly in the
front MPA, as seen from sound incidence, and the lower frequencies predominantly
in the rear MPA. Figure 9.8 shows a design example with a bandwidth of four octaves.
Maa also provided the basis for this calculation by Zhou et al. (1998).
As already discussed with regard to panel resonators in Chap. 5, very broadband
sound absorbers can also be attained with MPA by placing differently tuned modules
(e.g. wooden panels at varying distances) side by side. For example, in the case of an
MPA designed as a microperforated sheet-metal suspended ceiling, like the one on the
market under the brand name Perfora (see Fuchs et al. 1997), a certain broadband
effectiveness can be attained by varying the suspension height d. Figure 9.9 shows
this influence for t = 0.5 mm thick steel sheet metals with 0.5 mm holes and a
perforation ratio of about 1 %. Especially if there are large cavities in a rigid ceiling or
wall, this product is able to reduce the reverberation time at medium frequencies, for
example in schools, hospitals, reception halls and corridors regarding the problems at
medium frequencies described in Sects. 3.13.5 (see Fuchs and Zha 1999). Likewise
a ceiling cavity cleft by trusses or various installations, enhances the broadband
effectiveness of a MPA acoustic ceiling. Chapter 11 however points out that, in
order to improve the acoustics of rooms used for intensive communication, it is
advantageous to install additional low-frequency absorbers.
110
Fig. 9.8 Calculated

absorption coefficient 0 of a
three-layered aluminum MPA
() for normal sound
incidence compared to a
fibrous/porous absorber of the
same thickness according to
Fig. 4.2
Fig. 9.9 Absorption

coefficient s measured for
diffuse sound incidence of a
microperforated sheet-metal
suspended ceiling with
t = 0.5, b = 0.5, a = 5 mm;
d = 50 (), 100 (), 200
(), 400 mm ()
As previously pointed out, the effective mass of the air in the holes is inversely
proportional to the perforation ratio , see Eq. (9.5). If a design is aimed at the
low frequencies by means of small and large t values, according to Eq. (9.6) r
can be raised simultaneously. However, the bandwidth is limited, because according
to Eq. (9.8) ZMPA increases then at the same time. Finally an even more important
limitation of the approach must be noted: If the mass in the holes m reaches the
order of magnitude of the plate mass m2 /0 c0 per unit area or becomes even larger,
the MPA designed in this manner can not be excited, as Fig. 9.10 demonstrates with
9.2 MPA Foils
111
Fig. 9.10 Absorption coefficient 0 calculated for normal sound incidence on a MPA with its
acoustic mass in the holes exceeding the mass of the plate; measurement with (), respectively
without holes (), calculation ()
an aluminum plate with a density , x = 4.2, Km = 3.36 and a mass ratio

m
0 Km
=

m /0 c0
(9.10)
of more than 2. Instead two panel resonances according to Sect. 5.2 distinctly appear
in the measurement.
9.2
MPA Foils
The industrial development of an entire family of quite different microperforated

acoustical elements began, following initial boring attempts in aluminum prototypes,
in 1993 with cutting small holes and narrow slots into acrylic glass with a correspondingly programmed single-beam laser. A bit later a multiple-spindle drilling machine
was used to bore holes into plastic materials. After that steel sheet metal thinner than
1 mm was microperforated with punching tools to form suspended ceiling cassettes.
Meanwhile, special slitting methods followed by a rolling process has made serial
production of thin sheet-metal and plastic elements for noise control e.g. in motor
vehicles possible. A few more sophisticated and expensive design ideas are discussed
as curiosities by Fuchs (2000).
One may anticipate a thin foil or membrane very densely perforated with very
small holes (Kang and Fuchs 1999). As the cavity resonances in such a surface
112

coefficient 0 of a foil MPA
(no thermal conduction)
calculated for normal
incidence with b = 0.2,
a = 2, t = 0.2 mm; d = 25
(), 50 (), 100 (), 200
(), 400 (), 800 mm ()
structure with a perforation ratio of 1 % according to the cot term in Eq. (9.3) apparently are easily excited, the MPAs large first main maximum according to Fig. 9.11
can be shifted far to lower frequencies with increasing d and still have a relatively
high spine at medium and a long tail at high frequencies. The resulting broadband effectiveness of this special Helmholtz resonator, whose undamped cavity is
rendered excitable via a microperforated structure by impinging sound waves, brings
to mind the compound panel and slotted panel resonators described in Sects. 5.3 and
6.2 whose cavities must be densely stuffed with damping material. Comparably low
frequencies can be attained with MPA elements, however, only with much greater
thicknesses. Moreover, it must be prevented that the excited air mass according to
Eq. (3.2) sets a too light structure into motion only as an entirety without much
damping occurring in its holes.
Section 5.1 discusses panel absorbers in detail as mass-spring systems for preferably medium frequencies. However for noise abatement in leisure areas with loud
childrens shouting it was necessary to extend the frequency range to 4 kHz. Ultimately employed were two-layered microperforated polycarbonate foils as described
in detail in Sect. 11.14.2 and in Fuchs et al. (1998) for the public indoor swimming
pool Welle in Gtersloh. It took some time and effort to develop a reliable method to
melt the tiny holes with hot needles on a roller before such foils could be brought on
the market under the trade name Microsorber and installed in acoustically demanding halls and assembly rooms. The two-layered assembly positioned at a distance of
100 mm, respectively 130 mm, from the rear wall according to Fig. 9.12 yields more
than the sum of the absorption of the two single-layer foils (compare Figs. 9.13 and
9.14). If the aim is to reduce noise in the frequency range between 400 and 4 000 Hz,
for example in bottling plants, swimming pools or gyms, these two-layered MPA
foils offer an abrasion-resistant, UV-stable, and even chlorine-resistant system that
meets most fire-prevention standards.
9.3 MPA Surface Structures
113

coefficient s for diffuse
incidence on a two-layered
foil MPA according to
Fig. 9.11 with d = 100 and
130 mm; measurement (),
calculation ()

incidence on a foil MPA
according to Fig. 9.11 with
d = 100 mm; measurement
(), calculation ()
9.3
MPA Surface Structures
All the hitherto discussed microperforated elements are air-in-air resonators whose
depth according to Eqs. (9.4) and (9.7) determines not only the resonance but according to Eq. (9.8) also the bandwidth of their maximum effectiveness. At the end of this
chapter on a recently available medium- and high-frequency absorber, MPA applications are briefly discussed in which usually very thin microperforated structures
114

incidence on a foil MPA
according to Fig. 9.11 with
d = 30 mm; measurement
(), calculation ()
made of plastic or metal foils without a clearly defined cavity behind them according
to Fig. 9.1c are designed as alternative sound absorbers. The inherent damping in the
small holes remains effective even if the mass-spring mechanism cannot be excited
as described in Sect. 9.1.
If instead plane microperforated structures are simply suspended in parallel, e.g.
perpendicular from a ceiling, these show remarkable sound absorption toward high
frequencies in a diffuse field. This absorption, on the other hand, is of course influenced by all the geometric parameters of the assembly, in particular by the distance
B (Fig. 9.15). Interestingly, absorption is even higher than if the same assembly is
made of fleece or fabric, see Fuchs et al. (2000).
Considerable additional absorption can also be attained in a room by, for example,
microperforating large, round or rectangular air ducts. Figure 9.16 shows a typical
absorption characteristic of a duct segment with a diameter of D = 375 mm and
3.5 m2 duct cladding of t = 0.5 mm thick steel sheet metal with b = 0.5 mm holes
spaced longitudinally and laterally by a = 5 mm ( 0.01). If the holes are flowed
through in a slightly pressurized duct, which is not necessarily undesirable for room
ventilation, absorption in fact even increases somewhat. Moreover, according to
Hettler (2001), Leistner and Hettler (2004a, 2004b), the noise, for example from a
fan, carried with the flow can also be damped a few dB per m especially at medium
and low frequencies. Apparently in these exterior and interior damping mechanisms,
the air in the ductbe it at rest or in motionacts as a concentrically compressible
cushion, in that in the one case waves impinging from the outside and in the other
the approximately plane propagating waves inside excite this again substantially
modified Helmholtz resonator to co-vibrate and thus absorb.
Not only ducts and other cavities can be made from microperforated sheet metals
or foils in the attempt to absorb as much sound as possible in their shells. Moreover, it
also seems very attractive and advantageous to fill such flat or voluminous spatial
structures with a microperforated material similar as in silencer splitters, which
conventionally employ porous/fibrous material according to Chap. 4. Instead of very
9.3 MPA Surface Structures
115
Fig. 9.15 Absorption coefficient s of MPA foils mounted or suspended freely in parallel in front
of a sound-reflective surface in a reverberation room (with frame) measured with B = 170 (),
330 (), 525 mm ()
Fig. 9.16 Equivalent
absorption area A of a 3 m
long microperforated
ventilation duct 375 in
diameter, measured by Hettler
(2001) at a distance of 0.6 m
from the floor of a
reverberation room
closely disposed pores and fibers in the m range, extremely thin microperforated
foils folded, rolled or crushed into the hollow space may provide a multiplicity
of small holes or ducts in a more or less even distribution between the cavities of a
random size.
116
Fig. 9.17 Schematic sketch and measured absorption coefficient 0 for normal incidence on a
silencer package of about 20 layers of microperforated foil 1 with a perforated sheet-metal cover 2;
folded regularly as sketched (bold curve), irregularly (thin curve), fibrous/porous absorber of the
same thickness according to Fig. 4.2 ( )
Ever since Lord Rayleigh (1877) first set up his model for sound absorption, it
is known that airborne sound waves are damped very well on fibers and in pores
with dimensions that are by no means very small but rather lie in the one-tenth
millimeter range. Therefore, silencers intended for use entailing extreme mechanical
and chemical exposure can be filled with stainless steel or aluminum shavings instead
of mineral wool or soft foam. However, as described in Chap. 7, there are machine
and system conditions, in particular concerning combustion motors and oil burners,
in which no damping material is sustainably resistant to the noise and vibration
impacts. Here completely perforated silencers as shown schematically in Fig. 9.17
may offer advantages: the large interior and exterior microperforated coherent surface
structures (e.g. made of stainless steel) are able to better withstand hard knocks and
permanent vibrations than loose, relatively brittle fibers or hard foams according to
Chap. 4. Moreover, their almost closed smooth surfaces soil less and let liquids drip
off. Figure 9.17 also shows the absorption coefficient measured on two prototypes
with a depth of 100 mm. Of course, just as good or even better noise-control results
can also be attained with a completely regular two-, three- or even multiple-layered
absorber. The variants proposed here are, however, probably easier to produce.
From the preceding, it becomes clear that microperforated elements possess an
enormous development potential regarding sound absorption at medium and high
frequencies. Fuchs and Zha (2006) propagate still another design concept for microperforated structures whichmounted singly and completely freely in a roomare
able to develop an own sound-absorbing effect. With their impedance (related to
0 c0 ) formed solely by the air mass m and the flow resistance r in the holes
W
= r + j m ,
0 c0
(9.11)
9.4 Conclusions
117

coefficient s related to SA of
a conventional MPA as in
Fig. 9.9 () and a MPA
designed according to
Eq. (9.12) () measured in a
reverberation room, both
mounted d = 400 mm above
the floor and the latter
standing upright (). For
comparison: unperforated,
0.5 mm thick sheet metal with
d = 400 mm ()
the absorption capacity of a, compared to the wave length, large such structure can
be estimated according to Eq. (3.7):
=
4r
=
(1 + r )2 + (m )2
2+
1
r
4

2 .
+ r 1 + m
r
(9.12)
If r is made close to 1 and the ratio

m
Km
= 0.0537(0.0234)f r02
<1
r
Kr
(9.13)
without (or with) thermal conduction in the material as small as possible via r0
and Km /Kr , it is still possible to obtain high absorption even at medium and high
frequencies. For example, r0 = 0.1 mm and t = 0.2 mm yields at 1 000 or 500 Hz for
m /r a value of 0.813 (0.403) or 0.452 (0.216).
Correspondingly high absorption coefficients can be attained, according to
Eq. (9.12), with r 1 for 0.01 (0.02). In reality, part of the sound energy
absorbed in this manner may continue to propagate in the room behind this thin
microperforated structure. On the other hand, contrary to the conventional absorber
as a shell in front of a rigid rear wall according to Fig. 9.1c, respectively 9.3, this
absorber offers both sides of its surface SA , to the sound field in the room, thus enhancing its efficiency. Precise calculation of its absorption is no longer as simple as
of a conventional MPA with an enclosed air cushion. But its superiority at medium
and high frequencies is very clear from the measurements made on a prototype with
a special, relatively narrow slit perforation (Fig. 9.18).
9.4
Conclusions
On the market are meanwhile, in addition to plastic foils (Microsorber) and sheetmetal cassettes (Perfora), a whole series of microperforated elements for interiors
(see e.g. Fig. 10.11), but also for use in motor vehicles. Some manufacturers apply
118
Table 9.1 Characteristic properties of microperforated sound absorbers MPA

MPA replace the friction on thin fibers and in fine pores, which are more or less homogeneously
distributed spatially, with friction in narrow perforations concentrated on an area of about 1 %
of otherwise impermeable flat structures
MPA have holes of arbitrary shape with half of their lateral dimension (r0 ) lying in the order of
magnitude of the laminar boundary layer thickness in the respective medium
MPAs acoustic effectiveness is determined solely by their geometric parameters r0 , hole length t,
perforation ratio and thermal conductivity of the material into which the holes are pierced
MPA permitdue to the end effects at the small holessound damping even in infinitesimally thin
layers of acoustically impermeable materials
MPA can be coupled just as diversely as fibrous/porous absorbers with cavities in front of or behind
the microperforated structure
MPA are on the market in numerous variants made of plastic, metal, wood or glass
MPA in various configurations find manifold applications in room acoustics and noise control
MPA with their sturdy construction and (almost) closed surface can replace fibrous/porous absorbers
under mechanically/chemically demanding conditions
MPA can be realized in building furnishing elements with primarily other functions
additional fibrous/porous material either (if the holes are not small enough) to improve the damping effect or to try to circumvent patent rights. On the other hand,
large perforated covers and claddings are also often sold under the unprotected term
microperforated. Therefore in conclusion, Table 9.1 presents a list of property
characteristics of MPA as first described by Maa (1975, 1987, 2006).
References
CD-ROM (1999) Akustisches Design bei optischer Transparenz. Fraunhofer IBP, Stuttgart
Stuttgart
London
Fuchs HV (2000) Helmholtz resonators revisited. Acustica 86(3):581583
Fuchs HV, Zha X (1993) Transparente Schallabsorber verbessern die Raumakustik des glsernen
Plenarsaals im Bundestag. Glasforum 43(6):3742
Fuchs HV, Zha X (1994) Transparente Schallabsorber im Plenarsaal des Bundestages. Bauphysik
16(3):6980
Fuchs HV, Zha X (1995) Einsatz mikro-perforierter Platten als Schallabsorber mit inhrenter
Dmpfung. Acustica 81(2):107116
Fuchs HV, Zha X (1997) Acrylic-glass sound absorbers in the plenum of the Deutscher Bundestag.
Appl Acoust 51(2):211217
Fuchs HV, Zha X (1999) Bessere Kommunikation durch transparente Raumakustik. Gesundh Ing
120(4):159168
Fuchs HV, Zha X (2006) Micro-perforated structures as sound absorbersa review and outlook.
Acustica 92(1):139146
Fuchs HV, Husler C, Zha X (1997) Kleine Lscher, groe Wirkung. Trockenbau Akust 14(8):3437
Fuchs HV, Zha X, Wenski H, Mauritz U (1998) Die Welle, Gtersloh: berzeugende Lrmminderung in einem Freizeitbad. Arch Badewes 51(11):542549
Fuchs HV, Drotleff H, Zapletan H (2000) Mikroperforierte Folien als Schallabsorber. Archit
Innenarchit Tech Ausbau 108(5):114117
References
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Hessinger J, Sa B (2009) Schalldmmung von Fenstern und Tren. In: Fouad NA (ed) BauphysikKalender 9, Chap. B2. Ernst & Sohn, Berlin
Hettler S (2001) Mikroperforierte Luftkanle. Diploma thesis at Fraunhofer IBP, Stuttgart
Kang J, Fuchs HV (1999) Predicting the absorption of open weave textiles and micro-perforated
membranes backed by an air space. J Sound Vib 220:905920
Kurtze G (1977) Wirtschaftliche Gestaltung von Schallschluckdecken. VDI Z 119(24):11931197
Leistner P, Fuchs HV (2001) Schlitzfrmige Schallabsorber. Bauphysik 23(6):333337
Leistner P, Hettler S (2004a) Schallabsorption mikroperforierter Lftungskanle. Luftung Klima
Heiz Sanit Gebaudetech HLH 55(2):3236
Leistner P, Hettler S (2004b) Sound absorption of microperforated duct systems. HVAC R Res
10(3):265274
Lord Rayleigh (1877) Theory of sound. Macmillan, London
Maa D-Y (1975) Theory and design of microperforated panel sound absorbing constructions. Sci
Sin 18(1):5571 (in Chinese)
Maa D-Y (1987) Microperforated panel wideband absorbers. Noise Control Engine J 29:7784
Maa D-Y (2006) Practical absorption limits of MPP absorber. Chin J Acoust 25(4):289296
Rschevkin SN (1959) Gestaltung von Resonanzschallschluckern und deren Verwendung fr die
Nachhallregelung und Schallabsorption. Hochfrequenztech Elektroakust 67:128135
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Veliszhanina KA (1951) Z Techn Phys UDSSR 21:1087
Chapter 10
Integrated and Integrating Sound Absorbers
The first three chapters of this compendium on applied acoustics describe the acute
need for sound damping measures for machines, plants and buildings, pointing out
the special low-frequency problem. The following Chaps. 49 present an up-todate overview of different effects and designs of state-of-the-art as well as some
novel marketable airborne sound absorbers, focusing on classifying and describing
the physical damping mechanisms, which differ greatly in detail. Table 10.1 displays
once more the most important ten absorber families and their characteristic frequency
ranges, in which their absorption is able to develop particularly well. However, this
does not mean that, for example, reactive membrane absorbers or panel absorbers
with correspondingly little mass cannot be designed as silencer splitters in ducts for
frequencies at about 500 Hz (see Figs. 13.25 and 13.26) or even in the kHz range (see
Figs. 13.38 and 13.39) and passive materials with correspondingly larger depths as
bass traps e.g. in music studios or class rooms for frequencies down to far below
100 Hz, see Everest (1994) or Sect. 10.3.
In practice, the aim is to achieve a given goal under the respective installation,
operational or use conditions by selecting a suited effective and inexpensive absorber;
preferable is in many cases a combination of different absorbers. The wider the palette
from which an experienced advisor or planner is able to select the better he/she is
able to meet the customers expectations and demands.
In noise control for machines and plants, the elements that influence noise generation or sound propagation usually have to be integrated in very confined areas in the
aggregate, see for example the slotted panel absorber behind the combustion chamber of a heating boiler in Fig. 13.57. Often considerable additional volume, weight
and costs are accepted in order to meet the emission values at least in acceptance
tests and when the machine is new, even if the effect of noise-reducing measures
diminishes shortly later. In the, in comparison, comfortable starting situation for
damping large office and assembly rooms, on the other hand, every square meter
for placing absorptive elements is often vehemently fought for although with suited
materials the reverberation-regulating measures will normally outlast the lifetime of
the building. As a consequence, there is a pressing need to integrate sound-absorbing
measures in plants and rooms in such a manner that they can sustainably fulfill their
task inconspicuously while taking up as little space as possible.
121
122
10 Integrated and Integrating Sound Absorbers
Table 10.1 Typical design parameters of sound absorbers on the market

Principle
Size
Frequency
range in Hz
Examples (in Figures)
Passive absorbers
Panel absorbers
Compound panel absorbers
Same with sealed edges
Edge absorbers
Helmholtz resonators
Slotted panel absorbers
Membrane absorbers
Active silencers
Microperforated absorbers
Broadband compact absorbers
50100 mm
50100 mm
50100 mm
> 500250
200100
50050
12550
25063
500125
500125
50030
10050
2,000100
> 8031
4.24.4
5.10
5.16 and 10.4
10.8 and 10.9

6.5
6.46.6 and 6.8
6.10, 6.11, 13.26 and 13.32
8.4 and 8.10
9.49.17
10.4 and 10.15
400 500 mm
100200 mm
50100 mm
100400 mm
1,0002,000 cm3
25800 mm
100400 mm
However, in view of the plethora of conventional and alternative absorbers offered, one cannot always rely on the manufacturers specifications to estimate the
reduction in noise-level or reverberation times in a room. Surprises can crop up
even when conventionally treating high and medium frequencies, which usually receive priority, in implementing the laboratory results of absorption coefficients of
acoustical elements, for example in predicting reverberations in acoustically highly
demanding rooms. One reason is that the sound field in a reverberation room is rarely
the same as that in a real system (e.g. machine encapsulations, flow ducts) or rooms
(e.g. factory floors, offices, concert halls). It takes experience to be able to come up
with designs that can be relied on in each individual case. Even the most sophisticated room-acoustical simulation programs, according to the careful comparison by
Bork (2005), have some difficulties in calculating in advance the sound fields at low
frequencies (see Chap. 2).
More than in ensuring a certain sound insulation, for example between adjacent
rooms, sound damping in a room depends heavily on the respective position and
interaction in the sound field of all the participating elements. When there are complaints about window, door or silencer-splitter sound insulation, the advisor, planner,
or manufacturer can usually refer to the properties of these elements measured in a
test stand, for example DIN EN ISO 140 (1997) or DIN EN ISO 7235 (2002). In
building construction noise-control according to DIN 4109 (1989), the actual noise
situation in a to-be-protected furnished room, perhaps with the exception of noise
from fixtures and plumbing (see Fuchs 1985), is rarely evaluated in terms of to-beexpected noise exposures in dB(A) sound levels (see Moll and Moll 2011). This,
of course, is different when evaluating the acoustic quality of rooms according to
DIN 18 041 (2004). What counts here is the subjectively perceivable and according
to DIN EN ISO 3382 (2000) easily measurable actual reverberation time in the room
with all its furnishings, see Fuchs (2003).
It is essential to qualify sound absorbers according to a standardized method like
DIN EN ISO 354 (2001). All those concerned, however, need to put more effort to
reflect about the inevitable interaction of the same absorbers with the to-be-treated
10.1 Sound Absorbers as Constructive Elements
123
room. Too often s values measured in a reverberation room are simply multiplied
by the absorber area SA to be introduced into the room and used as equivalent
absorption area A in calculations according to Eqs. (3.9) and (3.10), respectively
(3.12) and (3.13), to predict reverberation times, respectively sound levels. What
may sometimes already go awry at high frequencies turns into a real design problem,
respectively a real verification dilemma, at the so important low frequencies.
A competent acoustic consultant wants to come up with customized solutions
adapted to the specific requirements and environment of demanding assignments.
Clients no longer want an expert opinion with attached option lists of proposed more
or less suited materials and elements and their specific parameters but rather an acoustical package that is completely integrated in the overall concept, for example, for a
service center, acoustic test stand or its exhaust system that not only solves the acoustical problem but fits into the closely calculated project. Chapters 1113 offer practical
suggestions and a few new approaches, providing concrete examples and results.
If, however, the aim is an innovative acoustical measure that is completely
integrated in its environment and adapted to the specific application, in order to
introduce it successfully into practice, it is essential to find a competent industrial
partner who has a strong position in the respective market and who is willing to
invest in the new technology, see also Fuchs (2002). In the foreword, the arduous
path from research and development via trials and demonstrations to production and
marketing is described. The following examples may demonstrate how successful
this strategy can be.
10.1
Sound Absorbers as Constructive Elements
For example, in order to eliminate the noise of a 3 MW fan of an automotive wind

tunnel in the measuring area, it is, according to Fuchs et al. (1992), Potthoff et al.
(1994), not particularly expedient to press the air through narrow silencer packages
stuffed with fibrous material as shown in Fig. 12.13 in a conventional manner. Instead
the medium and high frequency components can be absorbed in coated foam profiles
which are integrated in the turning vanes according to Fig. 10.1 in a streamlined
manner. Low frequencies are also absorbed without major pressure loss in membrane
absorbers according to Sect. 6.3, which with their smooth metallic surfaces optimally
guide the flow along the walls and partitions about the four corners of the two 180
turns. Since the completion of this pilot project, bending silencers of this or a similar
construction have become a standard recommendation in silencer design, in order
also to utilize at above 1,000 Hz a turning bonus of more than 15 dB.
As in the example of the wind tunnel, where sturdy sound absorbers guide the air
flow around corners with velocities over 200 km/h, machine housings and encapsulations in adverse mechanical or chemical conditions can even be assembled from
self-supporting absorber elements if their surfaces are only made resistant enough
and cleanable.
124
Fig. 10.1 Silencers

integrated in the corners of a
wind tunnel, see Sect. 12.4;
distribution of the air
guidance in separate ducts
with about the same insertion
loss and comparable pressure
drop (1), wall cladding made
of membrane absorbers
according to Sect. 6.3 (2),
splitters with the
membrane-absorbers placed
back-to-back (3), turning
blades with foam profiles (4)
10.2
Broadband Compact Absorbers
Often it is no longer possible to install conventional suspended acoustical ceilings

and wall cladding in open-plan offices with a thermally activated ceiling demanding
a flexible design of the workplaces and the greatest overall optical transparency.
Instead, what is desired today are acoustical measures that are completely integrated
in the architectonic and ergonomic concept and in the interior furnishing as in Fuchs
and Renz (2006). With their attractive, smooth surfaces, they allow the operator
or user a great deal of creativity in decorating and require no additional space nor
occupy valuable surfaces.
Under such economic constraints, it is obvious, for example, to integrate the
compound panel absorbers described in Sect. 5.3 completely in the prefabricated
partitions, which apart from separating workplaces already fulfill many other functions such as cable routing and mains connection for state-of-the-art information
technology and lighting while ensuring overall transparency, see Fig. 10.2. Compact
absorbers can also be concealed in cavities in ceilings or floors if the openings to
the room are sound-permeable at least for low and medium frequencies.
For example, in order to convert a factory hall with a lot of glass and stucco,
which is listed as a national monument, into an open-plan office or a multipurpose
hall, suited sound absorbers can be inconspicuously placed in the elevated joist floor,
behind a gigantic projection area, but also on the to-be-preserved crane rails, indeed
even in front of the large windows as shown in Sect. 11.14.3 a and by Drotleff et al.
(2000), see Fig. 10.3. All one has to do is to refrain from the classical 2050 mm
thick fiber mat behind a usually conspicuously perforated cover as acoustical wall
cladding. If one explains to architects, builders and users that with early planning the
urgently needed damping can be integrated in non-supporting walls and furnishings
10.2 Broadband Compact Absorbers
125
Fig. 10.2 Prefabricated glass partitions with fully integrated compact absorbers retain the openness and transparency of the office but lower the noise-level at the workplaces, see Sect. 11.14.5.
(Courtesy of Renz)
Fig. 10.3 Concealed compact absorbers installed in a factory hall converted into a training center,
see Sect. 11.14.3; reverberation time before () and after conversion ()
126
Fig. 10.4 Absorption coefficient s measured according to DIN EN ISO 354 (2001) like in
Sect. 5.3 of 100 mm thick CPA ( , top right) and BCA (, bottom right); calculation for 100 mm
fibrous/porous absorber ()
or that these can themselves be turned into useful stable elements, it might be possible
to gradually overcome the prevailing aversion to acoustical measures in steel-hard,
glass-clear environments.
However, doubters of the significance of acoustics for demanding office and assembly rooms will not be convinced until practically the entire human hearing range
from below 50 Hz to far into the kHz range can be completely absorbed on one and
the same cladding with minimal construction depth, see Fuchs et al. (2001, 2005).
Section 5.3 describes a broadband low-frequency absorber, which combines the free
vibrations of a floating steel plate with the damping of an open-edge soft foam
plate. The permanent-elastic connection between the vibrating plate and the damping layer already plays an important role in this compound panel absorber CPA. If as
in Fig. 10.4, a second fibrous or porous layer is attached in front of the steel plate in
a similar manner, the latter will develop not only the absorption at high frequencies
as described in Sect. 4.1 or 4.2. Apparently in this configuration in which the plate,
which is softly embedded from all sides, can vibrate freely, the damping potential of
this combined reactive-passive broadband compact absorber BCA is optimal.
The results in Fig. 10.4 impressively show that with an only 100 mm thick BCA
with an embedded 1 mm thick steel plate it is possible to practically cover the entire
relevant human hearing range. However, it is no longer as simple to quantify the
influence of even thicker resonant plates (up to 2.5 mm) in reverberation rooms
conditioned according to Sect. 5.3 as it is by measuring the resounding times at the
eigenresonances of a room according to Chap. 2. Moreover, the moderate peaks
in the two measuring curves in Fig. 10.4 below 250 Hz have more to do with the
specific measuring room than with the resonance mechanisms in these multi-layered
absorber modules.
BCA were integrated in probably the fastest and quietest automotive wind tunnel,
for example, as wall cladding on the intake and as a silencer that is effective on two
10.3 Sound Absorbers in Edges and Corners
127
Fig. 10.5 Integration of BCA

modules in the wall cladding
(bottom) and silencer splitters
(top) of a wind tunnel, see
Sect. 12.7.2; 300 mm BCA
(1a), 250 mm BCA (1b),
foam plugs for cavity
damping (2), foam profiles
for optimizing flow guidance
and damping (3), 3, 2 mm
steel plate (4a, 4b), concrete
wall or ceiling (5)
sides in the turning devices (here in combination with open-pore soft-foam inlet and
outlet caps), see Fig. 10.5 and Brandsttt et al. (2002).
10.3
Sound Absorbers in Edges and Corners
In the discussion on the effectiveness of various absorbers in the previous chapters,

it was repeatedly pointed out that effectiveness always depends on the position of
the absorber in the room. It is obvious that the effectiveness of passive absorbers
according to Chap. 4 can only fully develop if their depth d corresponds to at least
one quarter of the sound wave length . When installing them conventionally in front
of a fully reflecting wall or ceiling, it suffices to mount only a fleece as shown in
Figs. 9.1 and 9.2, respectively a curtain with a suited flow resistance at a distance of
d = /4. The reason for this is that in this type of absorbers the velocity-dependent
friction on their fibers or in their pores becomes zero in front of the wall, however
the interference resulting from the wave, for example running normally back and
forth in front of the wall, leads to a first sound particle velocity maximum at /4, see
Mser (2007, Fig. 6.10 there).
If a passive absorber is not placed in a large surface but rather only in an edge or
corner of a room, it is able to benefit a lot from the tremendous increase in sound
energy density there, particularly so at the lower eigenfrequencies of the room.
Chapter 2 describes in detail how with any excitation of a room the sound energy
concentrates in the corners and edges, see e.g. Fig. 2.2. Therefore, installing so-called
edge absorbers has proven successful to damp the rumbling of, in particular, small
and medium-size rooms. In the simplest form, these absorbers comprising a large
amount of fibrous or porous materials, for example stacked in the corners of the room,
can absorb the sound energy very efficiently. More rarely, passive edge absorbers are
installed at the upper edge of the wall under the ceiling like a frieze in professional
128
Fig. 10.6 Mineral-wool edge absorbers behind plaster board; left: conventionally facing a tuition
room (cf. Fig. 11.100) according to Fig. 10.9a, right: facing a wall or/and ceiling of a conference
room (cf. Fig. 11.108) according to Fig. 10.9b, 10.9c. (After Fuchs et al. 2011)
audio studios and listening rooms, which of course makes their installation a bit more
expensive. Fundamentally reactive absorbers such as CPA according to Sect. 5.3 and
BCA according to Sect. 10.2 are particularly well suited as edge or corner absorbers,
because if designed for low frequencies, these require much less depth. They have
been available in a fully prefabricated compact form for 10 years and can be placed
where maximum sound pressure is instead of where maximum sound particle velocity
occurs, i.e. directly in front of the reflecting surfaces. Everest (1994, Fig. 9.4 there)
under Control of Modal Resonances especially in listening rooms describes socalled bass traps, for example as Helmholtz resonators and cylindrical /4 resonators
standing upright in the corners of a room, calling them corner killers.
In the search for simple, inexpensive absorbers for communication rooms according to Table 11.2, in addition to attractive slim CPA and BCA modules, compact
edge absorbers measuring transversely between about 300 and 600 mm with only
a mineral wool filling behind plaster-board panels and perforated metal sheet have
proved quite successful in recent years, see Fig. 10.6. They
can be made completely in situ, even by laymen,
are hardly noticeable installed horizontally like girders on the ceiling or vertically
at the wall like coffers covering cables or plumbing,
can be realized even with the tightest budget, e.g. in schools or kindergartens.
Following the recommendations of DIN 18 041 (2004) one may be tempted to apply in
a 9.3 6.9 3.2 = 204 m3 classroom, in addition to an acoustic ceiling, a cladding
with 30 mm thick mineral fiber panels at a distance of 20 mm on the upper parts of
its rear wall (1 200 mm wide) and 800 mm wide on one of its side walls. The spectra
in Fig. 10.7 shows that in a broad high and medium frequency range the resulting
129
Fig. 10.7 Reverberation time

in a classroom with a
suspended acoustic ceiling
(according to Niermann et al.
2009). a Unoccupied (bold),
b occupied (dotted),
c unoccupied with additional
absorptive cladding at the
upper corners of the rear and
one side wall (dashed lines)
reverberation time does not come up to the recommended limits of Tsoll = 0.77 s for
the unoccupied and 0.57 s for the occupied room. A steep ascend toward the low
frequencies, however, is very typical for even such a hardly practicable and almost
priceless installation.
Much more to the purpose would be, according to Sect. 11.4, an acoustical treatment closely following that of the reverberation spectrum in Fig. 10.7 in order to
equalize the typical room response as well as possible. This could, however, conventionally only be achieved with an unrealistically thick surface cladding. Figure 10.8c
shows the absorption coefficient as measured in a small reverberation room for a
400 mm thick fibrous absorber (12 m2 in a plaster-board frame) reaching the expected
maximum possible value of 1 down to 63 Hz.
If the same absorber (in this comparative investigation: mineral fibers with
25 kg/m3 ) is placed as a 400 500 mm thick strip (covered again with a 9.5 mm
thick plaster-board on its narrow side and an equally thick, about 20 % perforated
Fig. 10.8 Averaged and smoothed absorption coefficient of 400 500 mm thick corner absorbers
with a mineral-wool filling measured in comparison to a surface cladding with the same fibrous
material. a Broad side covered (dashed), b narrow side covered (dotted), c edges covered (bold)
130
Fig. 10.9 Equivalent absorption area of an edge absorber similar to that in Fig. 10.8 with its absorptive surface directly facing a ceiling or wall of the room. a As in Fig. 10.8 (bold), b facing a
wall at a distance d = 200 mm (dashed), c as b with d = 100 mm (dotted)
plaster-board on its wider side) along one 6.48 m long lower edge between two corners of the same room, one measures roughly the same absorption coefficient (related
to SA = 3.24 m2 ) at frequencies above 1 kHz. Toward the lower frequencies, however, the absorption rises for 125 Hz to a value of twice and for 63 Hz even of six
times that at high frequencies in this configuration, see Fig. 10.8b. If the covers are
changed according to Fig. 10.8a, a very similar absorption is found if related to the
correspondingly smaller SA = 2.59 m2 . As far as its effect on the reverberation characteristic of a room is concerned, a corner absorber according to Fig. 10.8b could be
about 25 % more efficient than that of Fig. 10.8a, obviously since its sound absorptive open surface reaches further into the corner. It should be pointed out, however,
that all these results below around 250 Hz scatter considerably. Therefore at least
two source and six receiving positions were chosen for each configuration and the
results, measured conventionally in third-octave bands, always underwent the same
smoothing routine according to Fuchs et al. (2011).
Even an only rough comparison of the characteristics in Figs. 10.7 and 10.8
indicates that these edge absorbers may provide a very suitable means for the equalization of the reverberation, especially in medium-sized rooms. Their introduction
into a number of classrooms and cafeterias according to Sect. 11.14.3 has already
proven their acoustical efficiency and practicability. In a subsequent development
step it was found that, somewhat surprising, the newly revived edge absorbers
according to Fig. 10.8a do not lose any of their excellent absorption capability at
the low frequencies when mounted such that their open surface does not face the
room but one of the rooms wall or ceiling, see Fig. 10.9. Figure 10.6 (right) shows
a view of a vertical rectangle of the innovative edge absorber design before the final
surface finish. The relatively narrow gap (d) leaves an open surface S0 visible from
any point in the room which is small compared to its absorptive surface and almost
negligible compared to its absorption area A,
S0 SA A.
(10.1)
131
Fig. 10.10 Multi-functional integration possibilities of optimized edge absorbers (for a description
refer to the listing in the main text)
This in many respects optimized, seemingly covered edge absorber CEA brings
about several decisive functional advantages over all other conventional passive
absorbers:
It is no longer visually realized by the users of the room as a sound absorber but
rather as part of a concrete structure or a coffer hiding house installations.
The small gap (d) may become an attractive part of the architectural design
concept.
Its well protected acoustically open surface may be covered by a simple fiber
fleece with a low flow resistance or a thin plastic foil with a small weight.
The CEA may itself serve as a (by the way: sound-proof) coffer integrating house
installation pipes and ducts, see Fig. 10.10a.
It may hide in its gap all kinds of wiring and pipes according to Fig. 10.10b.
Within its gap indirect lighting systems may be integrated as indicated in
Fig. 10.10c.
The CEA with all its interiors may be wrapped up by a thin, chemically resistant
metallic or plastic foil as in Fig. 10.10d.
It may also, as a constructive part of a furnishing concept, serve as a seating bench
(Fig. 10.10e) in the bottom corners of a room.
The gap of an CEA may provide space and camouflage for a curtain or sun shade
in front of a glass faade as schematically shown in Fig. 10.10f.
Its main virtue, however, remains the extraordinarily large absorption efficiency at
the low frequencies. For an edge absorber that does not act via its plane surface an
effective absorption cross-section per unit length is a more suitable characteristic
parameter than a specific absorption coefficient, similar as per occupant or per seat
in a room for such compact absorbers, see e.g. Kuttruff (1994) (Sect. 23.3.2 there)
and for a single Helmholtz resonator, see Mechel (1994, 19.2.2.4 there, yielding e.g.
A 104 f2 near its resonance with A in m2 and f in Hz). According to Fuchs et al.
(2011, Figs. 6 and 7 there) the edge absorber reaches A 2.5 m2 /m, i.e. about the
132
Fig. 10.11 Luminescent blue

sound-absorbing furniture
made of microperforated
acrylic glass in a modern
office complex
same value per Helmholtz resonator, both estimated at f = 63 Hz, and dropping to
1.25 m2 at 125 Hz. More on integrating edge absorbers may be found in Fuchs et al.
(2011, 2012, 2013).
10.4
Sound Absorbing Furniture
In conventional sound absorbers as described in Chap. 2 the porous/fibrous surface

facing the sound field is as large and acoustically permeable as possible to enable the
sound waves to penetrate the respective damping material unimpeded. For example,
in acoustic ceilings or plasters, floor coverings and wall claddings, the equivalent
absorption area A increases linearly proportional to the absorber area SA . If there
is no available space on the ceiling or the walls for installing absorbers in cramped
modern offices, the obvious thing to do is place them on the front or side surfaces
of, usually, a limited number of cabinets and shelves.
In an open-plan office of a large IT company, a part of the acoustically necessary
measures were integrated as wall and door elements in the furniture in the form of microperforated, colored and luminescent, acrylic glass plates as described in Sect. 9.1,
thus simultaneously contributing to the rooms attractive illumination (Fig. 10.11). If
the front side of cabinets is designed sound permeable enough according to Eq. (4.12)
by a sufficiently large perforation, the absorber can also be placed inside in front of
the rear wall. Figure 10.12 shows an open file-cabinet carousel designed all round
absorptive.
However, before the invention of the CEA according to Sect. 10.3, it was commonly assumed that the performance of such an absorber must drop decisively if
large parts of its surface facing the sound field are covered or concealed by a soundimpermeable layer, for example a heavy wooden panel or a large object, for example
a cabinet as sketched in Fig. 10.13. If the edges of the absorber remain open, only
10.4 Sound Absorbing Furniture

Fig. 10.12 All-round
sound-absorbing file-cabinet
carousel. (Courtesy of Renz)
Fig. 10.13 BCA modules

behind a sound-impermeable
cabinet
133
134
Fig. 10.14 Position of six specimens according to Fig. 10.13 in a reverberation room; in the center
of the room (a), respectively at the edges of the room (b)
Fig. 10.15 Absorption area A measured in a reverberation room (according to DIN EN ISO 354
2001) for six 1.5 1.2 m sideboards with BCA modules placed behind the rear walls and on the
side walls as well as perforated rolling doors (a) as shown in the photograph (b); specimens in the
center of the room (), respectively at the edges of the room (). (Courtesy of Renz)
a minimal absorption at medium frequencies would be expected as a consequence

of the diffraction effect mentioned in connection with the CPA in Sect. 5.3. Measurements in a reverberation room conditioned as described in Sect. 5.3 (Fig. 10.14),
however, show that absorption above about 500 Hz decreases if the specimens are
disposed directly in front of two walls, but in the much more important frequency
range below, the absorption determined in the standard manner even rises somewhat.
Figure 10.15 demonstrates that high broadband damping can be attained if this concept is fully exploited by installing additional BCA modules at the side walls and
perforating the roll-doors as shown in the photograph.
10.5 Thermally Activated Acoustic Elements
135
The fact that the course of the measuring curves in Fig. 10.10 below 500 Hz
is irregular indicates that at low frequencies the outcome is still dependent on the
sound-field distribution and thus also on the position of the specimen in the room
although this effect has been already greatly reduced by the basic damping of the
room as described in Sect. 5.3. However, an improvement of the absorption effect of
the specimens remains discernible between 63 and 500 Hz even if these surprising
results once again point out that the absorption coefficient of the sound absorbers
in closed rooms is dependent on their position in the room (see Chap. 2). Much
more important, however, is the experience that sound absorbers can retain their
effectiveness in the entire relevant frequency range between 63 and 5,000 Hz even if
they are installed in narrow intermediate spaces between cabinets and a rigid wall. If
sound absorbers are completely integrated in this manner, the furniture can ensure,
in addition to its functional and visual value, acoustic conditioningindependent of
the respective position, thereby occasionally eliminating the need of acoustic ceilings
and plasters, soft floor coverings and wall claddings.

The increasing density of workplaces in offices and service centers on an ever smaller
area SG and in less volume V lowers investment and operational costs attractively
for developers, investors and managers. With surface parameters
KS =
SG
n
(10.2)
of less than 10 (sometimes only 5) m2 per workplace (n) and volume parameters
KV =
V
n
(10.3)
of less than 30 (partially only 15) m3 per workplace crowd users but also their
emissions to such an extent that all sensory influences regarding comfort and performance have to be optimized by the rooms outfit. Non-glaring, adjustable light at
computer workplaces is no longer considered a luxury. For this reason in creating a
multi-functional acoustic element, lamps with an especially wide radiating reflector
technology were integrated in the sound screens discussed in Sect. 10.2 in addition
to the cabling, see Fig. 10.16.
The equipment and lighting in such crowded workplaces leads not only to an
increase in the emitted sound power (more than proportional to n!) but also to an increase (roughly proportional to n) in the energy density of the different heat sources.
If according to Fuchs and Renz (2008) for each workplace the expected heat development from the lighting is WL = 150 W and WA = 350 W from the various tools,
WM = 100 W from human heat emissions and finally WG = 50 W/m2 net area from
136
Fig. 10.16 Broadband

radiating lamp integrated in a
sound absorber element.
(Courtesy of Renz)
heat irradiation (annual average) through the exterior of the building, one must expect
a specific thermal parameter
KW =
WL + W A + W M
WL + W A + W M
n + WG =
+ WG (10.4)
SG
KS
of a total of about 170/110 W/m2 net area, respectively 60/40 W/m3 room volume (given KS = 5/10 m2 per workplace). Such heat loads can only be removed
by conventional means at the expense or a considerable decrease in other comfort
criteria.
Concrete cooling ceilings, in which a centrally provided coolant circulates, with
a cooling performance of only about 30 W/m2 area are unable to meet future comfort
standards alone. Although compact, individually positioned air conditioners that
can be installed near the workplace like an air-conditioning unit are able to reach
several kilowatts per device with correspondingly high air transport and powerful
heat exchangers, they however by no means meet the other sensory requirements of
demanding assembly rooms. Drafts and noises are an inevitable side effect. Attempts
have already been made to accommodate the increased need for heat and sound
absorption in a single element: Fig. 10.17 shows for example a special broadband
compact absorber with a cooling element placed in front of it. Early planning however
is a prerequisite for this combination which is not easily adaptable to subsequent
structural changes.
Alternatively a novel cooling element was integrated in the versatile installable
prefabricated glass partition described in Sect. 10.2 in such a manner that the latter
yields not only good room acoustics but also a good room climate without requiring
additional space or volume or impairing the attractive overall appearance. From the
outside, the air-conditioning absorber differs only by having an easy to operate
control unit (Fig. 10.18a) enabling the user to adjust the air-conditioning and heating
137
Fig. 10.17 Thermally activated broadband compact absorber under a concrete ceiling; view (a),
section (b). (Courtesy of Renz)
Fig. 10.18 Thermally activated sound absorber, respectively sound-absorbing air conditioner; front
view (a), view of the interior (b). (Courtesy of Renz)
functions of this multi-sensory element individually to his workplace and his personal
needs. Concealed inside this air convector (Fig. 10.18b) are
a sound-proof transverse-flow fan which draws up the warm air from the floor
over the breadth of the wall element and transmits it into the cavity.
an air filter to clean the air,
a meandering cooling element fixed to the rear side of a perforated sheet metal
with connections for the central coolant cycle,
138
Fig. 10.19 Prefabricated

glass partitions integrating
acoustics, lighting and
air-conditioning, e.g. for
open-plan offices. (Courtesy
of Renz)
an air duct in which the air is continually cooled from below in upward direction
and from which the air can enter the room through the perforated sheet metal but
primarily through an air outlet under the ceiling,
behind it on the rear side a compound panel absorber according to Sect. 5.3 and on
the front side, as needed, a porous/fibrous material with a suited flow resistance.
If required, a fiber fleece can be mounted on the perforated sheet metal. The conditioned air leaves the compound device via the front, the two sides and the upper outlet.
Special guiding elements ensure that the flow velocity in front of the absorber near the
respective workplace remains pleasantly low (below 0.1 m/s). Figure 10.19 shows
how seeing, hearing and feeling can be simultaneously optimized in crowded offices. Similar systems, however, are fundamentally also suited for transparent, easily
accessible encapsulations of loud machines and equipment e.g. in factory halls.
10.6 Anechoic Claddings

The compound panel absorbers and broadband compact absorbers described in
Sects. 5.3 and 10.2 were originally developed for designing sound fields in demanding listening rooms of professional audio studios and video studios but also as
aids for creating a suited acoustical environment for multi-channel reproductions as
favored by engaged music lovers, see Fuchs et al. (1997). In view of their absorption
properties demonstrated in Figs. 10.4 and 10.20, it seemed obvious to create, based
on these results, a novel anechoic cladding for acoustical measuring rooms and test
environments carrying vaguely on Bedells (1936) early attempts with layered plane
absorbers.
At low frequencies, for which an anechoic room no longer is large compared to
the wavelength, a very uneven sound field develops as described in Chap. 2. The
novel BCA cladding accommodates these circumstances in that, unlike conventional
cladding with wedge absorbers and contrary to a requirement e.g. in ISO 37 45 (2003),
the rear-side resonators are not evenly distributed on all the bounding surfaces, but
10.6 Anechoic Claddings
139

coefficient s of the six BCA
modules with a 1 mm steel
plate in melamine resin,
measured according to DIN
EN ISO 354 (2001) as shown
in Fig. 5.14, related to the
entire test surface, with
100/150 mm foam according
to Fig. 10.22 (), CPA + ASA
with 100/520 mm foam
according to Fig. 10.25 ()
Fig. 10.21 Inhomogeneous

anechoic cladding of
differently tuned BCA
modules. (According to
Fig. 10.22; Zha et al. 1998)
rather those with the thickest resonant panels are preferably placed in the edges of
the room, from where they are able to most effectively damp the room modes, refer
to Sect. 10.3. In some areas, for example in front of doors, heavy resonant sheet
metals are not needed (see Fig. 10.21). Ducts, pipes and other installations needed in
the room can be suitably integrated between the BCA modules, whose dimensions
should preferably be more than 1 m2 and which are always spaced apart. Lamps can
also be sunk in an optically attractive manner, for example in the ceiling cladding
(see Fig. 10.22b, 10.22c).
In acoustic test cells, for example for engines and motor vehicles, diverse devices
need to be installed in the ceiling and walls for user comfort and safety. Figure 10.23
illustrates how they can be very functionally and attractively integrated flush with
140
Fig. 10.22 BCA cladding of

12.5 mm thick steel plates
between 100, respectively
150 mm open-pore soft foam
panels with open joints (a),
adapters for cables, ducts, etc.
(b) and integrated lamps (c).
(According to Zha et al. 1998)
the cladding without any noticeable reduction in their respective absorption effect.
If a drive wind is to be simulated in a wheel test stand for passenger cars in order to
draw off the intensive heat developed by the engine out of the room, the cladding of
the semi-free-field room with self-supported BCA modules also offers the possibility
of simultaneously integrating the inlet and outlet ducts in the cladding in a soundabsorbing manner. For details see Fig. 10.24 and Chap. 12.
In its simplest form, the absorption coefficient of the BCA cladding does not necessarily have to be 99 % as required for normal sound incidence by the cited standards,
see Sect. 12.5. However, there are instances in which the tests are run with narrowband emitting sources, where it may be useful to combine the BCA cladding with a
porous absorber that has a suitably structured front. If sound entry into the porous
Fig. 10.23 Installations integrated in the anechoic cladding of free-field rooms according to
Fig. 10.22. (Courtesy of Faist)
10.7 Absorbing Chimney Inlays
141
Fig. 10.24 Drive-wind simulation and air ventilation systems integrated in the cladding of a wheel
test stand for passenger cars (see Chap. 12)
layer (e.g. made of melamine resin foam) is facilitated by special structuring, the absorption coefficient of conventional wedge absorbers, respectively their effectiveness
at high and low frequencies is attained or even exceeded with less thickness. This is
possible because the asymmetric structured absorbers ASA according to Fig. 10.25
and Chap. 12 interacts with the sound field not only passively according to Chap. 4
but, due to their specific material properties, also in a slightly reactive manner.

New or only slightly soiled, pipelines and chimney stacks are ideal sound wave
conductors: their sound transmission lossapart from that at their annular resonance
frequencyis high. Along a cylindrical duct length of many meters there is only
minimal noise reduction even if the walls of the pipe are not very thick. Contrary to
the plane boundary surfaces of rectangular ducts, in lateral direction the wall material
of the pipe is acoustically so rigid that it hardly draws any sound energy from the
inner sound field.
In industry, chimney stacks are often used, comprising a thin inlay made of a
high-grade material (stainless steel) which is supported by an outer pipe which carries
the static and dynamic loads. The outer pipe is made of inexpensive general-purpose
construction steel. Usually mineral wool is placed between the inner pipe and the
outer pipe for heat insulation. In the test stand according to Fig. 13.18, damping
according to DIN EN ISO 7235 (2002) with no flow may be determined for a 4 m
long chimney stack of this type, comprising a 0.4 mm thick stainless steel inner pipe
with a diameter of 350 mm, 30 mm thick thermal insulation and a 500 mm outer pipe
and compared in Table 10.2 with the data in VDI 2081 (2001, Table 5 there). Only
around the annular resonance frequency fR according to Stber et al. (1994, Eq. (32)
there) of the inner pipe, which lies in an octave band near 4 kHz, some noteworthy
damping is measured (0.8 dB for a length of 4 m). The rest is within the measuring
accuracy.
142
Fig. 10.25 Schematic of compound panel absorbers CPA, broadband compact absorbers BCA,
and asymmetric structured absorbers ASA as anechoic cladding
Table 10.2 Insertion loss of a 4 m long cylindrical stainless steel pipe
Octave band in Hz
Damping measured in dB
Damping in dB after VDI 2081
(2001)
63
0.20
0.05
125
0.2
0.1
250
0.3
0.1
500
0.50
0.15
1k
0.4
0.2
2k
0.3
0.2
4k
0.8
0.2
8k
0.3
0.2
From an immission protection aspect, it is particularly the frequency components

below 500 Hz that can be disturbing in the vicinity of chimney stacks, see Sect. 13.7.4.
Consequently, as early as 1996, the conventional procedure of installing silencers
in pipelines in front of the chimney stack, but often leaving long stretches of the
chimney stack acoustically unutilized, was given up for economic reason in favor
of a real innovation: If the interior elements guiding the flow and the sound in the
143
Fig. 10.26 Example of a panel absorber assembly in an angular stack silencer. (According to
Eckoldt and Hemsing 1997)
chimney stack are no longer round, but rather (multi-)angular, the sound can excite
the plane bounding surface elements to co-vibrate. If these vibrations are suitably
damped, energy can be drawn from the sound field in the chimney stack. The angular
stack silencers according to Fig. 10.26 can be acoustically adjusted by the parameters
thickness of the resonant (preferably stainless steel) plate,
flow resistance, elasticity module and thickness of the damping layer between the
resonant plate and the outer pipe,
lateral and longitudinal dimensions of the resonant plates and
coffering of the damping layer in axial direction
in such a manner that a broadband insertion loss which is adjusted to the frequency
spectrum of the respective noise source (fan) can be attained beginning from even
as low as 31.5 Hz, if required. Comprehensive measurements of the absorption coefficient in a straight rigid duct with a 0.65 1.7 m cross section provide the design
data. Using the -values gained in the frequency range of 30300 Hz, the anticipated
damping can be calculated using Pienings formula, Eq. (3.23). Meanwhile a computer program made designing the angular stack silencers faster and easier. On the
one hand, the absorption coefficient of the individual panel absorbers is calculated
from the impedances WP of their eigenvibrations according to Eq. (5.8)
WP =
1
;
1
m n Wmn
m, n = 1, 3, 5, . . .
(10.5)
On the other hand, a transfer impedance WT takes into account the stiffness of the air
volume according to Eq. (5.2) and the termination impedance behind the air volume.
Wave resistance, thickness of the absorber and propagation constant in the absorber
are taken into account as in Sect. 6.2, Eq. (6.7). With W = WP + WT for normal
144
Fig. 10.27 Insertion loss De of the first chimney incorporating an angular stack silencer at a fiber
board factory in Amorbach, also see Sect. 13.8.4 d and Fig. 13.47
incidence the absorption coefficient can be calculated according to Eq. (3.7). The
schematic sectional drawing in Fig. 10.26 shows an arrangement tuned to 50200 Hz
of an angular stack silencer comprising two panels with a sheet metal thickness of
0.8 mm, two with 1 mm and four panels with a thickness of 0.6 mm. With the aid of
Pienings formula adapted to the angular stack silencer a damping can be estimated
according to
D=
1.5 l
S
ni i Ui ;
i = 1, 2, 3 . . .
(10.6)
The diagram in Fig. 10.27 shows the measured damping of the first chimney stack
with an integrated silencer according to Eckoldt and Hemsing (1997), Fuchs et al.
(1999). The advantages of integrating the silencer in the chimney stack (or also the
exhaust pipe) are obvious: no additional space is required, low-frequency noise can be
damped with small thicknesses. As a result there is only minimal additional pressure
loss, i.e. less energy costs. Assembly times and costs are also reduced, because the
silencer and the chimney stack are installed at the same time. Soiling of the plane
surfaces of the angular stack silencer is no problem: (1) adhesion to the vibrating
sheet metals remains minimal, (2) cleaning is possible with a water or steam jet and
(3) moderate soiling increases only the mass of the resonant panels, thereby shifting
the absorption maximum to the low frequencies, which can be taken into account in
the design. A drawback is that it is more difficult to replace damaged parts in silencers
integrated in chimney stacks than if splitters can be simply removed in conventional
silencers. Careful construction and craftsmanship can take this into consideration as
experiences with numerous executed chimneys stacks bearing integrated silencers
10.9
Conclusions
145
Fig. 10.28 A beltway sound

barrier of concrete compound
absorbers. (Courtesy of
Liaver)
with diameters ranging from 1.4 to 3.5 m have shown, see the application examples
in Chap. 13.
10.8
Porous Glass Absorber Modules in Sound Barriers
Road noise abatement measures demand very robust absorbers. On railway tracks,
in particular of high-speed stretches, quite narrow but extraordinarily sturdy prefabricated elements in which porous glass elements according to Sect. 4.3 and Gdeke
and Fuchs (1998) were already combined with concrete vessels in the factory to form
an inseparable unit proved quite satisfactory. The 55 mm thick absorber panels allow
realizing concrete walls with substantially less wall thickness. The thus reduced own
weight facilitates on-site installation considerably. Such massive compound construction elements address traffic safety concerns, which always have absolute top
priority. With an absorption coefficient of 1 above 315 Hz and a sound transmission
loss of 44 dB, these sound barriers surpass the strictest requirements of the Deutsche
Bahn (ZTV-Lsw 88) by far. Figure 10.28 shows, as an example, such a sound barrier
on a beltway around the city of Leimen. Another application of the same glass-foam
is shown in Fig. 10.29: The trough and tunnel walls of an ICE railway track near
Nrnberg have been lined with prefabricated, highly absorbent panels in a similar
manner as described in the examples in Sect. 11.14.9 b, c.
10.9
Conclusions
Noise control and acoustical comfort are generally not considered by engineers and
architects as indispensably high virtues of their products and buildings. They are
therefore seldom prepared to deliberately spoil resources, waste weight, volume,
space or surfaces for that poorly understood and considered as not really essential
146
Fig. 10.29 Trough walls a and tunnel walls b lined with glass-foam panels directly affixed to the
concrete structures. (Courtesy of Liaver)
purpose. In this unsatisfactory situation a practically minded acoustic engineer is well

advised not to only rely on the standard regulations and just employ the conventional
design concepts, but look out for novel strategies as proposed herein. Experiences
with attractive alternative materials have shown that the acceptance of noise abatement and room-acoustic measures may be considerably raised if one can suggest
their intelligent integration, as far as ever possible, into already existing construction
and building components. As a sometimes fascinating alternative one may likewise
insinuate sound absorbing elements which are able to fulfill also other than just
acoustical tasks of one kind or another. Yet whatever solution of a real problem is
envisaged: one must keep a close eye on the costs, flexibility, appearance, durability
and compatibility of any acoustic measure. Another important prerequisite for success is that an acoustician can convincingly explain the pertinent intrinsic long-term
effects a proposed procedure will have, especially whenas is the case in architectural acousticsnorms and standards are non-existent or, even worse, misleading
as that discussed in Sect. 11.6. The preceding ten chapters display the various materials, components and tools available for efficiently absorbing airborne sound in
a broad range of practically relevant frequencies. The following chapters elaborate
the fundamentals of three important branches of applied acoustics and describe how
to solve acute problems in them by means of alternative approaches and advanced
design concepts. A large number of application examples may demonstrate how one
can convert new technologies into practical design and construction projects in an
uncomplicated and straightforward manner.
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28(5):305320
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Chapter 11
Sound Absorbers in Room Acoustics
The section on the principles of acoustics and noise control (Chaps. 110) provide
an overview of the materials and elements that can help planning and consulting
engineers and architects to design current state-of-the-art noise control and room
acoustic measures. Special emphasis is on damping at low frequencies and using
fiber-free absorbers with smooth closed surfaces, innovative tools and devices to
solve acute acoustical problems.
Chapters 1113 present practical examples of conventional and innovative acoustic elements employed in three selected fields of application. Furthermore, a detailed,
easy-to-use calculation program for designing and building silencers (Chap. 13)
provides consultants and planners the necessary support to comply with the, of
course, always frequency-dependent emission or immission regulations of generally
very strict standards and guidelines. The purpose of the advanced simulation program for freefield rooms (Chap. 12) in conjunction with an innovative design and
cladding concept is also to scrupulously stay within the very narrow tolerances set
by international standards, again naturally frequency-dependent and, in this specific
application, accurate down to fractions of a dB.
This chapter focuses on the use of innovative sound absorbers in room acoustics
for an unusually broad range of frequencies. To this day, however, there are no really binding national or international standards for this very broad problem area, not
even for the most important design parameters: damping and reverberation of the
room. The reason for this is that, contrary to other fields of application, for instance
building industrial plants (noise control) or test stands (acoustic conditioning), in
room acoustics the acoustic experts competency is generally underrated, the architect traditionally ranks first followed by the building contractor and the client, in that
order. One explanation may be the fact that traditional electrical engineering and civil
engineering curricula devote little attention to the audio-physiological and soundaesthetic aspects of acoustics; the same applies to architecture and building physics
trainings. Indeed even tonmeisters and audio engineers in their studies learn all sorts
of methods of digital signal processing but hardly how sound develops in a room. As
a consequence, personal taste, tradition and convention including vague memories
of acoustics experiences predominantly influence attempts to implement suited room
acoustic measures. Therefore, it is small wonder that the reverberation times of halls
149
150
11 Sound Absorbers in Room Acoustics
renown for their acoustics greatly deviate from textbook recommendations according
to e.g. Fasold et al. (1987, Chap. 10 there). Indeed some consultants think they must
convince their clients that it is impossible to provide optimum acoustics for both
music and the spoken word, see e.g. Stephenson (2008). Also according to Vorlnder
and Witew (2009), it is not possible to develop a prototype of multipurpose halls
that is able to meet all requirements.
In view of the fact that up to about 20 years ago, there were no universally applicable sound absorbers for low-frequencies available on the market and that they
are now available, easy to assemble and at reasonable prices, there is apparently a
tremendous gap to fill. After at least this hurdle has been overcome, the present chapter tries to provide a broad foundation for a responsible and reflective architectural
acoustic design. At any rate according to Grning (2003), publisher of a popular
technical journal, it is high time that clients, investors, planners and contractors
have an open ear for acoustical issues. . . , because acoustics has become one of the
most important aspects of building in our time. No one should any longer argue as
Ruhe (2003) once did that at low frequencies all (architectural acoustical) calculations have little meaning because of a lack of sufficiently documented absorbers for
the lower octaves (12563 Hz).
11.1
On the Perception of Acoustics
In a time when every car, shaver or crisp is given, sparing no effort or costs, the
appropriate sound design, the general negligence of room acoustics seems quite
illogical and outdated. A person perceives the acoustical quality of a room on three
different levels:
1. aesthetically represented by the architecture: upon entering a huge Gothic cathedral one anticipates resounding reverberations as the embodiment of sublime,
divine power. The cathedral is able to vibrate soothingly to the awestruck listener not only when resounding with Gregorian chants. No less will a flourishing
companys exquisite glass-enclosed marble-floor foyer convey the desired noble
impression if accompanied by imposing acoustics.
2. ergonomically as communication enhancing or hindering in the work or recreation sectors: long sojourns in orchestra pits and rehearsal rooms, conference
rooms and classrooms or open-plan offices and restaurants can turn into torture
if despite its optically attractive ambiance, the room has not or only poorly been
acoustically conditioned.
3. functionally relating to how well the sound waves of single voices or of large
groups are transmitted among each other or into an auditorium: in lecture, theater,
opera or concert environments, the room acoustician is challenged to undertake
a whole series of measures in addition to noise insulating and noise damping, for
example effective suppression of the disturbing standing waves and the muddy
rumbling due to interference effects in the low-frequency range.
11.2 Objective Criteria for the Acoustic Quality of Rooms
151
When musicians and laypeople rave about the worldwide incomparable acoustics of
the Musikvereinssaal in Vienna, this is not only because of the acoustical impression
but also the irrational impression of every performance in this magnificent concert
hall. As, of course, everyone knows, the optically dominant overall impression of
a building and unreliable comparison with other halls, that for some unfathomable
reason is remembered, play a decisive role in the subjective assessment. According
to Witew (2006), there are apparently no generally accepted objective criteria for
good room acoustics. Instead many think that good room acoustics is more or less
a matter of luck, magic, a secret, definitely incalculable. If negative criticism, for
example by a respected celebrity, has to be subsequently rectified, it is sometimes
even assumed that the performers or the building materials of the hall attuned to each
other. On the other hand, if active or passive users emphatically complain about
major acoustic shortcomings, improvements are usually confined only to measures
that help to better transmit the sound from the sources to the receivers. Less attention
is paid to proper room damping in building and restoration measures, which is a
definite precondition for any audible or even physically experienced success and for
a functionally overall satisfactory outcome.
This chapter, therefore, clearly contradicts the solely visual concept which
Schricker (2001) very subjectively and emotionally propagates with hundreds of
wonderful pictures without presenting a single objective result. According to him,
a room already assumes quality if visual aesthetics are supplemented by aesthetic
acoustics, which neither could be measured nor calculated. In the following, felt
room acoustics according to aspect (1) is intentionally not dealt with, because it often
conceals the acoustic qualities required in rooms for speech or music.
11.2
Objective Criteria for the Acoustic Quality of Rooms
For the majority of rooms used for work, teaching, communication, sports and recreation, much too little attention is paid to acoustics. Actually in view of a sustainable
real estate performance, especially real estate glut, especially in commercial and
office spaces, real estate should be bought, leased and used solely according to how
suited it is for the specific acoustic purpose, how loud it is in it and how comfortable
the user feels in it. Unfortunately, this is not the case as is demonstrated by the number of client complaints when buildings are turned over to them and the subsequent
expensive repairs. At any rate, one does not have to be an idealist or a special-interest
advocate to call for greater awareness and make the mentioned ergonomic aspects
(2) an obligatory discipline required for all those involved in building, especially
acoustic engineers.
On the other hand, there are many experts working on the functional aspects (3),
the so to speak free discipline in acoustics, despite the fact that they usually have
not been commissioned, simply because offers to submit tenders are rare and the
few granted are usually carried out by large planning or consultant firms. However,
this does not deter some experts from continuing to elaborate ever more expensive
simulation programs and sophisticated room acoustics criteria instead of attending
152
to the acute quotidian problems of most building projects. This chapter focuses on
these problems and deals only with a few examples of concert halls and operas in
Sect. 11.11 and 11.14.6. In order to rule out any misunderstandings, in this approach
there is fundamentally no contradiction between the ergonomic (2) and functional
aspects (3), if at all then to the aesthetic aspects (1) of Sect. 11.1.
First, certain acoustic parameters are discussed, but only those that can be objectively measured with relatively little effort and that rationally describe the suitability
of a room for a specific purpose or purposes. Of primary concern are, of course, reverberation time and its frequency dependence, as all experts concede in rare agreement
on the various quality criteria of a room, see e.g. Vorlnder and Witew (2009). Subsequently audio-physiological phenomena are qualitatively described which have,
especially at low frequencies, not been sufficiently studied scientifically and perhaps
therefore not given adequate consideration in room-acoustic planning (Sects. 11.3
and 11.4). Following this a relatively new German norm, DIN 18041 (2004), is
examined with its long overdue regulations and set standards, but also certain shortcomings (see Sect. 11.6). The norm still leaves the impartial reader in a seemingly
unsolvable dilemma, which however the room-acoustic design concepts of Sect. 11.7
are able to remedy.
11.2.1
Room Size
In general, the physically perceivablemean loudness level L of a room with an assumed constant source with a sound power level LW according to Eqs. (3.103.12)
is expressed by
L = LW 10 lg V + 10 lg T + 14 dB
(11.1)
with the room volume V being entered in this equation in m3 and the reverberation
time T in s. One would think that a weak sound source would be heard well everywhere in a closed room, if T is just big enough and no other disturbing source impairs
its audibility. However, experience gained e.g. with large cathedrals has shown that
large volumes can only be irradiated with sound with good results (even with electroacoustical amplification) if the respective reverberation time is held within certain
limits. If, for example, concerts with a large choir and orchestra are held in the Cathedral to Speyer, which has a reverberation time (see Fig. 11.1) rising up to 16 s at
low frequencies, its acoustic quality, according to its cathedral organist and conductor Krmer (2001), was already much improved by acoustically decoupling a side
aisle (during a renovation) with a heavy weak-absorbing construction foil, thereby
reducing its effective volume and reverberance.
It may seem at little far-fetched to think that, according to Eq. (11.1), the noise
exposure of operators working with loud machines might be reduced by letting
them work in as large as possible factory shops. Instead, the point is to reduce the
reverberation time as much as possible in the room, whose size and conditions are
usually not alterable.
153
Fig. 11.1 Reverberation time

of the Cathedral to Speyer,
measured in the nave in
third-octaves (- - -)
respectively octaves.
(According to Krmer 2001)
It might suffice to concentrate on the noise spectrum radiated by loud sources in

a factory shop. Performing, recording and reproducing speech and music, which are
always pulsed, requires setting reverberation time as broadband as possible down to
63 Hz, as described in Sect. 11.4. According to Eqs. (3.10) and (3.11),
T = 0.16
V
,
AS + A E + 4 V m
(11.2)
which is especially difficult in large rooms and at low frequencies with corresponding
little air absorption (m in Table 3.2) if predominantly sound reflective materials are
employed as is common in modern buildings (AS ) and furnishings (AE ). On the other
hand, Sect. 11.14.3 a shows how in converting a factory which is a national monument
into a modern training center, the reverberation time can be lowered broadband from
almost 8 to below 1.5 s without impairing the architectural concept, see Fig. 10.3.
Usually concert halls and opera houses are built just large enough to accommodate
the necessary furnishings and anticipated audience size n. Considering that the size of
the audience contributes significantly to the sound absorption in a room, in particular
at medium and high frequencies, and stage scenery can have a similar effect (AE ),
one is often confronted with the opposite problem: in this case good acoustic quality
of a room demands as few as possible absorbing surfaces (AS ) in order not to let the
reverberation time drop below a certain minimum value (see Sect. 11.6). If at all, at
low frequencies (about below 250 Hz), these acoustically very demanding rooms too
may lack sufficient absorption. Long before a possible consultation of an acoustic
expert, the decision for a characteristic volume parameter
Kn =
V
n
(11.3)
has often already decided whether a room is able to attain the proper acoustics for a
specific use, see e.g. Fasold and Veres (2003, Table 4.19 there). Notably if absorption
is predominantly due to the areas occupied by audience and performers with AP =
154
0.5 0.65 m2 per person, reverberation time at medium and high frequencies is
limited upward to
T = (0.25 0.33)
V
= (0.25 0.33)Kn .
n
(11.4)
For the acoustic expert designing such halls is left the realm of low frequencies,
whose significance should never be underestimated, which may even be the key to
success, see Sects. 11.4 and 11.14.7.
Under the usual building restrictions, it is rarely possible to add further reverberation rooms to a concert or multi-purpose hall in order to in this manner, with a given
unalterable absorption A, to increase the volume and thus according to Eq. (11.2) the
reverberation time for certain performances. Nonetheless, examples have recently
been built in Birmingham (the Symphony Hall), in Lucerne (the Great Hall in the
Cultural and Congress Center) and in Budapest (the National Concert Hall in the
Palace of the Arts). In the Birmingham example, more than 10,000 m3 were added
to the existing 25,000 m3 volume of the auditorium as a reverberation room for
no other purpose than for then variable acoustics. Although this permitted increasing and smoothing the reverberation time at high frequencies according to Beranek
(2004), such extravagance for acoustics will most likely remain the exception.
When trying to improve the acoustics of existing halls one should always check if
it is possible to enlarge the usually too small volume by removing e.g. light partition
walls between the hall and no longer used storage rooms or intermediate ceilings
between the hall and large hollow spaces containing sometimes obsolete heating
and ventilation systems. In some cases new design possibilities are thus yielded, as
the Groes Haus of the Staatstheater Mainz (see Sect. 11.14.7) and the rehearsal
stage of the Staatstheater Stuttgart (Sect. 11.14.6 d) demonstrate.
11.2.2
Large-scale Structure of a Room
Just as a room may be too large or too small for the intended purpose (Sect. 11.2.1)
a poor basic structure of a room can make an acousticians job extremely difficult,
sometimes even almost hopeless. Spherical or cylindrical boundaries invariably lead
to disturbing sound concentration, misdirection and echo effects. Although elliptical and parabolic surfaces can sometimes guide sound to certain otherwise poorly
supplied areas of a room, concave large surfaces usually present the most problems for the acoustician whereas plane or convex surfaces tend to be in favor of his
design concept. For the difficulties arising from fundamentally unfavorable primary
structures of a room or parts of it refer to the comprehensive accounts by Cremer
and Mller (1978, 1982a), Fasold et al. (1987), Fasold and Veres 2003) and Kuttruff
(2000). Generally, these problems call for sound guiding, scattering and/or damping
measures.
A room left sound-reflective or an unfavorable distribution of absorption in the
room will of course aggravate this problem. In large rooms it occurs more broadband
155
but its dramatic impact is comparable to the mode effects occurring narrowband
in small rooms (see Chap. 2). Both phenomena escalate if rooms, for good reasons
(e.g. heat conservation), are built very compact, in other words with a large volume
V to surface Sges ratio. Correspondingly large in such rooms is the mean free wave
path between two reflections of the sound waves wandering in them according to
Cremer and Mller (1978, 1982a, Part 2, 7 there), Vorlnder (2008, p. 60 there):
lm = 4
V
.
Sges
(11.5)
For large acoustically untreated rooms of solid built structuresfor example medieval churches with all the furnishings that collected over centuries removedthe
minimal absorption present with = 0.06 0.12 at medium frequencies can be set
proportional to its surface Sges ,
Ages (0.06 0.12)Sges ,
(11.6)
thus yielding a reverberation time

T (1.36 2.72)
V
= (0.34 0.68)lm
Sges
(11.7)
that increases steadily with volume. A strong increase towards the low frequencies is unavoidable unless large thin-paned window surfaces act as low-frequency
transmitters, see Meyer (2003, Sect. 4.2 there).
To save building and energy costs, sometimes also to draw actors and audience as
close as possible together, a compact, spherical or fan-shaped large-scale structure,
like in classical amphitheaters or modern sports stadiums, seems an obvious choice.
Yet if the seemingly optimally designed auditorium is enclosed by vertically projecting walls and a closed roof or even by a dome, such structures lead to acoustical
problems. In comparison, a simple rectangular room (shoe box) already offers
from the outset a much better sound-field distribution, especially if it is excited from
a narrow side. The spatial (at low frequencies: also the spectral) concentration of
the sound energy tends to grow the more symmetrical a ground plan and the more
compact a room is designed.
11.2.3
Small-scale Structure of a Room
The sound concentration problem in a room (broadband) and in spectrum (at low
frequencies) can be approached in the classical manner by dividing large surfaces of
an unfavorable large-scale structure into easier to orient partial surfaces. An optimal
diffusivity at medium and high frequencies may be found and highly esteemed e.g.
in a Baroque structure as in the Cuvillies Theater in Munich, see Cremer and Mller
(1982b, 82, Fig. 98 there). However, the current trend in contemporary architecture to use exposed concrete and glass extensively in walls and faades often is an
156
obstacle to resolving unfavorable large-scale structures by subdivision, folding and

askew positioning to turn them into more favorable small-scale structures, whose dimensions notably should be in the order of magnitude of the acoustic wave length in
order to be effective. In this context the extremely expensive substructures installed
at the cylindrical walls of the Haus des Lehrers may serve as a deterrent example,
see Fasold et al. (1987, Sect. 10.3.2.1, Figs. 113122 there).
Today optically transparent microperforated acoustical elements according to
Chap. 9 offer solutions to massive room acoustic problems like those in the plenary
room of the former Deutscher Bundestag in Bonn (cylindrical partition walls) as
discussed in Sect. 11.14.1 (b) or in the Schlterhof of the Deutsches Historisches
Museum in Berlin (spherical dome), see Fuchs and Zha (1994), Fuchs and Wack
(2004) and Sect. 11.14.1 (d). Apart from such innovative solutions, arranging and
adjusting tribunes and parapets in the auditorium (see e.g. Sect. 11.14.7) can be
employed to direct, scatter and absorb sound.
11.2.4
Early Reflections
Reflections from surfaces in the vicinity of sound sources can be significant especially
in large elongated rooms for performance and recording of speech or music. In
the case, for example, of a choir or an orchestra early reflections can ensure that
the performers are able to hear each other well and thus contribute optimally to
the ensemble. For the hearing impression at great distance in the auditorium, these
reflections may also have a beneficial effect but unfortunately not always.
At medium and high frequencies these early reflections, the collective effects
of which one may according to Burkowitz (2009) call co-verberation (Mithall),
actually ensure, if they occur within the first 50 ms following the direct sound, a
pleasant full sound. If this is missing like in some amphitheaters and most open-air
buildings, the performance sounds slightly thin, strawy, flat and mat; it strays in
all directions, is not bundled and not directed at the auditorium. For this reason
according to Fasold et al. (1987), large reflecting floor surfaces in front of and high
walls behind the orchestra are significant in antic theaters. Almost without exception,
in modern concert halls sails or clouds above the stage also provide useful early
reflections.
At low frequencies, however, a large, especially parallel wall or ceiling/floor
surfaces can lead to the interference effects described in detail in Chap. 2, which are
able to not only distort the sound on the stage but also to generate a muddy sound
sensation, see Sect. 11.11. In the extreme case if the orchestra pit is partly roofed,
these rumbling effects escalate to an acoustic hubbub, under which the ears of the
musicians suffer just as much as the balance between the stage part and the orchestra
part of an opera performance, see Sect. 11.10. Thus it should not be assumed that
excitation of the room resonances is advantageously able to raise the bass section of
a composition. However it is quite possible to transmit single voices or instruments,
in particular if radiating with little directivity at low frequencies, better in a certain
direction by placing a reflecting surface directly behind them, see Eq. (2.1) with
DI = 10 lg = 3 dB.
11.2.5
157
Reverberation in a Room
After W.C. Sabines pioneer work at the turn of the nineteenth century, the reverberation time in room acoustics was considered the objectively measurable criterion of
quality until the 1930s. However, although it was recognized that it could not be the
only quality measure and new criteria were continuously added, it remained the only
parameter for which textbooks gave set values. The reason for this is that even today
the reverberation time is the only criterion that is relatively simple to calculate in
advance in planning, though not always precisely, from plans and data on materials.
No responsible consultant will therefore forgo estimating its values. Practitioners
to this day agree with this assessment of Cremer and Mller (1978, 1982a, Part 3,
19 there). By the way, even then, estimations down to 63 Hz octave were considered important although there was hardly any reliable information regarding the
resulting absorption coefficients. At least most reverberation rooms were not large
enough to determine them (refer however to the examples of reverberation rooms
in Chap. 2 and Sects. 5.3 and 11.14.10).
After the fundamental determination of the volume, the large- and small-scale
structure of a room, with the wide variety of sound absorbers available for the entire
frequency range, there is no more important target parameter in room acoustics than
reverberation, which describes the reflections arriving at the listener from the room
later than roughly 50100 ms after the direct sound. The most detailed prescriptions
for adequately controlling this prominent quality criterion may be deduced e.g. from
DIN 18041 (2004) (see Sect. 11.6), provided that not only its single-number value
according to Fig. 1 there, but also its spectral characteristic (Figs. 2 and 3 there) are
taken seriously. Vague terms like liveliness, resonance, richness, dry, full
or warm acoustics, subjective or objective resounding times will be avoided
in what follows here as they seldom help in practice. Instead three clear definitions
are introduced that can be readily applied to the different reverberation processes in
one or several coupled rooms.
Reverberation Time T60 Using instruments generally available to acousticians, the
reverberation time T or T60 is usually measured in a medium-sized rectangular room
in s, which passes until the sound pressure level of a stationary artificial noise situation diminishes just 60 dB after the source is switched off (see the schematic
representation in Fig. 11.2 left). As there is no room in which a truly uniform sound
field develops, each decay process is likewise somewhat site-dependent. For this
reason in accordance with DIN EN ISO 3382 (2000), results obtained at multiple
measuring points in a room are averaged.
Reverberation Time T30 Due to the prevailing noise level and the often necessary
consideration of users and neighbors, a dynamic range of 60 dB is quite seldom
realizable using customary measuring devices. Therefore according to Fig. 11.2
right, frequently the decay between 5 and 35 dB below the starting level is taken
for extrapolating to the time for the 60 dB drop in level (as T30 ).
158
Fig. 11.2 Reverberation processes in a room; left: schematic, right: realistic with reverberation
time T and early decay time (EDT). (According to Fasold and Veres 2003)
Reverberation Time T10 Between T30 and T60 , in large or strongly structured and
coupled rooms (e.g. stage tower or orchestra pit and auditorium of an opera house, see
Sect. 11.14.7) systematic differences in numerical values may occur, which can be of
great practical significance pertaining to absorbing measures in the different rooms
involved. Therefore, in crucial situations, it is explicitly recommended to follow the
course of the level decay closely over a period of time and not rely on automatic
evaluations of modern measuring systems. The previously customary evaluation by
hand using a level recorder and a template helped to prevent faulty diagnoses. If the
aim is to differ between early reflections (close to the source) and later ones, entering
an early reverberation, e.g. T20 , T15 , or T10 (the latter also named early decay time
EDT) over the first 20, 15 or 10 dB of the level decay proved useful.
This differentiated view of reverberation in a room not only permits detailed assessment of the diverse coupled sound-field areas but also to substantiate, in particular
in small rooms and at low frequencies, different mode fields, whichdependent on
the location and frequencydecay quite differently. Here might be the key to a better understanding of the absorption coefficient at low frequencies as determined in a
reverberation room (see Chap. 2 and Sects. 5.3 and 11.14.10).
Suited for calculating the to-be-expected reverberation time is Sabines formula
(3.10) if the equivalent absorption area respectively absorption coefficient is entered frequency-dependent in Eq. (3.11) respectively (3.9) and the mean absorption
coefficient
A
=
(11.8)
Sges
is estimated beforehand. Recommended for < 0.3 is Eyrings (1930) formula e.g.
in the form
V
Eyr = 0.163
(11.9)
Sges [ ln (1 )]
as a more exact prognosis than Sabines formula, see Fig. 11.3. Other reverberation
formulae in Cremer and Mller (1978, 1982a) and Kraak (1984a), may be of use e.g.
159
Fig. 11.3 The relationship

between the mean absorption
coefficient and
reverberation time TEyr for
different values V/Sges .
(According to Fasold and
Veres 2003)
if the absorption in the room is very unevenly distributed. The differences between
the diverse predictions are however generally less than the inaccuracies occurring
in an indiscriminate transfer of values measured in reverberation rooms or found in
sound absorption tables into the respective room via Eq. (3.9) respectively (3.11)
not only but especially at low frequencies, see Chap. 2. In critical cases, one should
always stay on the safe side depending on whether reverberation should be small (e.g.
for noise control and speech intelligibility) or large (e.g. for concert appreciation).
11.2.6
Bass Ratio
An increase in reverberation time at low frequencies (also named bass rise) should,
according to Barron (1993), Beranek (1996), Fasold et al. (1987), Fasold and Veres
(2003) and many other experts, give music warmth and compensate for less sensitivity
of the ear at low frequencies according to Fig. 11.32. Therefore the ratio
BR =
T125 + T250
T500 + T1000
(11.10)
with the reverberation times at 125 and 250, respectively 500 and 1,000 Hz (in an
occupied hall) was initially conceived as a quality criterion. Accordingly this bass
ratio BR should assume values between 1.1 and 1.5 for rooms with a generally high
(1.1), respectively low (1.5) mean reverberation time. However, Beranek (2004) in his
elaborate investigation of orthogonal acoustical attributes that relate to the acoustical
quality of concert halls . . . found unexpectedly that it is immediately apparent that
BR does not correlate strongly with the rating categories. The tremendous relevance
of the bass-frequency content in relation to the mid-frequency sound of any kind is
discussed, in a qualitative rather than quantitative manner, in Sect. 11.4 (in view of
the detrimental masking effects in human hearing) and in Sect. 11.11.2 (in connection
with the precious bass-base of musical instruments and unavailing efforts with bassboost measures in concert halls).
160
Fig. 11.4 Determination of a

speech interference level
(SIL) from a noise spectrum.
(According to Levitt and
Webster 1991)
11.2.7
Noise Level in a Room
Depending on a rooms use, noise penetrating from the outside (e.g. traffic, industry
or construction works) can be disturbing not only when conducting acoustic measurements such as determining reverberation times. Noise from installations in the
building, especially ventilation and air conditioning systems, can affect music clarity
and speech intelligibility by limiting the dynamic range according to Eq. (11.39).
There is little point in perfecting room acoustics if the performers and the audience
are perspiring, because the air conditioning is too loud and has to be turned off during
the performance.
Moreover, it seems completely insufficient to quantify the noise, for instance
according to Fig. 11.4 using a so-called speech interference level SIL, which only
takes into account the noise level values at the octaves 5004,000 Hz (averaged
linearly!), but ignores the low frequency components completely. Indeed, in the
computer age one should no longer base room-acoustic quality and interference
criteria on single-number ratings, be it reverberation times, levels or differences in
level. It is outmoded to only evaluate the sound insulation of structural elements (e.g.
walls, windows or doors) with reference curves according to Fig. 11.5, which ignore
their no less important properties at frequencies below 100 Hz and essentially weigh
the insulation only from 500 Hz on up. Although the spectrum adjustment parameters
C and Ctr introduced in DIN EN ISO 717 (1996) point in the right direction, they still
stick to the single numbers instead of finally using spectral characterization as has
long been the case in industrial noise control, e.g. for the insertion loss of silencers
in ducts where it has become routine (see Chap. 13). Bear in mind that according
to Fasold and Veres (2003) for speech and music the relevant frequency range of
638,000 Hz, respectively 1616 kHz suffices and according to Kautsch et al. (2009)
161
Fig. 11.5 Reference curves for weighting the sound transmission loss RW according to DIN EN
ISO 717 (1996) in third-octaves (left), respectively in octaves (right)
Fig. 11.6 Relevant frequency ranges for hearing (top) and corresponding wavelength range
(bottom). (According to Fasold and Veres 2003)
that in future room and architectural acoustics will also have to deal with a wider
frequency range, see Figs. 11.6 and 11.7.
In order to estimate the mean sound level L of a room according to Eqs. (3.11) and
(3.12) from the sound power level LW of a source (or multiple sources) in the sense of
the to-be-attained or to-be-endured loudness, with a mean absorption coefficient of
all room surfaces Sges and all furnishings (E , SE ) as well as of the damping constants
m according to the Table 3.2 and the free path length lm according to Eq. (11.5), the
162
63 Hz
Room acoustics
50 Hz
Extended room acoustics

100 Hz
Architectural acoustics
16 Hz
Infrasound
1 Hz
10 Hz
8000 Hz
5000 Hz
3150 Hz
16000 Hz
Ultrasound
Hearing range
1000 Hz
100 Hz
Frequency [Hz]
10000 Hz
100000 Hz
Fig. 11.7 Relevant frequency ranges for architectural and room acoustics. (According to Kautsch
et al. 2009)
following equation can be helpful

SE
L = LW 10lg Sges + E
+ m lm + 6 dB.
Sges
(11.11)
For assessing the noise situation, for example in factories and open-plan offices, it is
possible to calculate it, also quite well frequency dependent, with SE /Sges = lm /lE also
with a mean free path length lE between the absorbing (and scattering) furnishings
(machines, shelves, niches, furniture, screens) or its inverse value, the diffusor density
qE = 1/1E . The result, however, can only be as accurate as the entered values for ,
E and lE , respectively qE , see Gruhl and Kurze (2006, Tables 13.213.4 there).
11.2.8
Level Distribution in a Room
Even if room acoustics are not disturbed from the inside or the outside, there is often
the phenomenon, in particular regarding speech, that theater audiences sitting in
the middle of the stalls or below the balconies perceive the sound-pressure level as
too low. Moreover, the often observed poor articulation of the actors, often causing
the audience to become restless, aggravated by an insufficient provision of early
reflections (see Sects. 11.2.4 and 11.2.9) from the proscenium, side walls and ceiling,
undermines the ability of people, especially those with impaired hearing (about 20 %
of the German theater-goers!), to fully enjoy the performance. Consequently, in order
to assess the acoustical situation, the distribution of the loudness level in the theater
must be determined from at least three transmission points on the stage (in view of
modern staging: also from the auditorium) at least for 500 and 1,000 Hz.
Level differences up to 5 dB between the loudest and quietest seats are considered
good. However, more than 8 dB in an audience area such as in the stalls section in
the example described by Hunecke et al. (1996) is already referred to as a hole
in loudness. Generally a level distribution Lx relative to a seat with good listening
163
condition (L0 ) in the vicinity of a test sound source with a uniform radiation is given
as
L = Lx L0 .
(11.12)
Alternatively, Lx can also be judged as relative to the sound power level LW of a

test source directly or can be related to the to-be-expected sound pressure level at a
certain distance x0 in m (e.g. 5 or 10 m) from a test source uniformly radiating into
an ideal freefield :
G = Lx LW + 20 lg x0 + 11 dB.
(11.13)
This parameter loudness G characterizes the sound transmission from a certain source
(e.g. a speaker) with all interferences from its near and far surroundings to an arbitrary
seat. In view of musicians being able to hear each other, e.g. enabling a good balance
in an orchestra shell, G has of course to be evaluated frequency dependent. Thus G
can also be employed as an indication that a transmission is too loud especially
of bass excitations of a room, e.g. for an ensemble under the large overhang in the
orchestra pit of the Aalto Theater in Essen, see Sect. 11.14.6 c. According to Beranek
(1996), at medium frequencies (500 and 1,000 Hz), G values should lie between 4
and 6 dB at a distance of 10 m from the source in a concert hall rated as excellent.
11.2.9
Impulse Response of a Room
In assessing the reverberation of a room (see Sect. 11.2.5), it is essential to differentiate between early and later sound arrivals after termination of its emission.
For the sake of simplicity, often blanks are shot to excite particularly small rooms
at medium frequencies. For detailed room-acoustical studies it is obvious not only
to evaluate suitably averaged level decays but to include in the evaluation single or
temporally staggered groups of reflections after excitation of the room by a very short
rectangular impulse. Such an impulse response is shown in Fig. 11.8. If resolution is
fine enough, the following can be differentiated in it:
a. the direct sound arriving as undisturbed as possible with maximum amplitude at
the various listening positions or seats,
b. the early reflections (< 100 ms) beneficial for the intelligibility of speech and
clarity of music,
c. the more or less uniformly decaying reverberation process (> 100 ms), in which
individual responses from certain reflecting surfaces are no longer identifiable,
which however plays a decisive role for the room impression (roomliness).
d. distinct single peaks protruding from the reverberation which may be perceived
as echos with a time delay of > 50 ms.
Of course, these reflectograms and all the room acoustic criteria to be derived from
them are greatly dependent on the
164
Fig. 11.8 Recording of the

impulse response of a room.
(According to Fasold and
Veres 2003)
Fig. 11.9 Acrylic glass

model of a planned
egg-shaped concert hall for
the Ataturk Cultural Center in
Ankara, scale 1:20. (See
Gertis 1998, p. 118 there)
source location,
receiving point,
directivity of the source,
frequency.
Such elaborate studies are generally limited to research and planning of especially
representative buildings, because the required measurements or calculations are very
time consuming to gain and present. Moreover, money and time are rarely available
to even build a model of the planned room (e.g. scale 1:10 or 1:20) to obtain an exact
picture of the to-be-expected trouble spots of the sound field. A good model like
the one shown in Fig. 11.9 of the large concert hall of the Ataturk Cultural Center
in Ankara with its very risky large-scale (egg-like) structure is, however, not only
able to call the architects attention to acoustical problems, but in the process of
building it according to the drawings, the model builder can also point out concealed
discrepancies in the plans before it is too late.
Increasing use is made of simulation programs (see Bork 2005) with easy-touse software enabling the architect and the client to see the acoustic effects of their
165
ideas early, as was the case with the Groes Haus of the Staatstheater in Mainz, see
Sect. 11.14.7 and Fuchs et al. (2003b), Zha et al. (2004). In most cases the acoustic
expert (should someone listen to him) has to rely on his knowledge gained from real
projects and his ability to explain it. Experience has shown that the most important
factor for success is a continuous communication with those involved in the building
process and with potential users. Setting too high criteria tends to intimidate and
discourage rather than instill confidence.
11.2.10
Clarity
Reflections from boundaries of a room which reach the listener within a time interval
of 80 ms after the direct sound (cf. Fig. 11.8) are generally thought to benefit the
acoustic transparency of a music performance, whereas reflections that arrive later
and contribute to the overall reverberation reduce this characteristic feature of the
sound developing in a closed space. For quantifying this aspect, clarity C80 , which
relates the sound energy E80 reaching the listener in the first 80 ms to the remaining
energy, is defined from the impulse response as
C80 = 10 lg
E80
,
Eges E80
(11.14)
where Eges is the entire energy of an impulse from a source (e.g. on a podium)
reaching a listener (e.g. in the back of the second balcony). According to Meyer
(2009, p. 198 there), in concert halls desirable are C80 values between + 4 and
2 dB, still tolerable at seats further away (usually cheaper ones) even 5 dB
always anticipated, as usual, at medium frequencies. Some authors differentiate
between music, for example by Hayden and Mozart (C80 1.6 dB) or by Brahms
and Wagner (C80 4.6 dB) and sacred music (C80 5 dB). Normally the values
at 0.5, 1 and 2 kHz are measured or estimated and averaged to yield a single-number
rating parameter C80,(3) see Beranek (2004, p. 525 for definition and Table 4.3 for
preferred values there). It is worth noting, however, that the lower frequencies are
at least equally, probably even more important for music to sound either clearly
or muddy. Or as Burkowitz (2011, pp. 278279 there) puts it in a resumee of
a live-long experience as a tonmeister: It is the direct sound which carries the
message to the listener! The reflected sound only suitsit and lets the sound flow. . .
Recognizing the musical structure and architecture in the contra- and sub-contra
ranges is just as important as doing it for the formants.
11.2.11
Definition
In speech performance, as well as in accentuated music, the border between reflections that benefit, respectively hinder acoustic transparency lies closer to just
166
50 ms. Consequently, for such performances an additional room acoustical criterion

definition was introduced according to
C50 = 10 lg
E50
.
Eges E50
(11.15)
Usually measured or calculated between 500 and 4,000 Hz, C50 according to Meyer
(1995, p. 156 there) should, if possible, attain values above 0 dB. Ahnert and
Tennhardt (2008) consider C50 2 dB as the lowest limit for good speech intelligibility. Section 11.12, however, describes a prominent hall providing excellent
conditions for both speech and music, in which much lower single-number values
of C50 and C80 are measured. Beranek (2004, pp. 24, 527 there) doubts the necessity
for the two criteria since in normal concert halls they are so highly correlated (inversely) with the reverberation time that they cannot be used as an additional way to
estimate the acoustical quality of a concert hall. This statement points, once again,
to the relevance of the bass base for definition (or clarity) which is to be discussed
in Sects. 11.11.2 and 11.13.3.
11.2.12
Center Time
Clarity and definition are, of course, not the only criteria by which one attempted to
quantify the acoustical quality of a room. If only a measure for the transparency of
the sound events in a room is sought, the center time ts according to Krer (1972)
may be resorted to:

ts =
tE(t) dt
Eges
(11.16)
For anechoic rooms, broadband ts would be expected to be very small. In studios or

practice rooms, however, of interest for ts as well as for C80 and C50 are the size and
the frequency dependence of these criteria to be able to infer speech intelligibility
more selectively (Sect. 11.3). Yet it seems to be rather an illusion to assume that these
criteria or still more sophisticated evaluations of impulse responses would become
routine in practice even for acoustically demanding rooms. Consequently, experiences with these special room acoustic criteria that can be generalized as well as more
precise optimum or limit values for them are lacking. This is quite different with the
commonly used reverberation time, including its respective frequency dependence
(see Sect. 11.11.2). Nevertheless, two more of the diverse possible parameters that
describe room acoustics will be briefly mentioned:
11.2.13
167
Lateral Sound
The above criteria do not suffice if not only a rooms influence on loudness and acoustic transparency of the sound incidents occurring in it are to be described but also its
impact on tonal sensation in the sense of spatial impression, of being involved in a
three-dimensional sound experience, shortly named envelopment. Noise levels and
reverberation times can often be defined largely independent of the location of the
source and the receiver. In contrast to this, all the other above-defined parameters are
strongly site-dependent and therefore correspondingly time consuming to determine.
Acoustic experts employ sophisticated measuring devices and methods which require
artificial models of sources and receivers to describe something like spaciousness.
This expensive arsenal meanwhile includes special artificial heads which permit
indispensable binaural reception and processing of sound signals and an artificial
mouth for simulating speakers with the respective sophisticated software. However,
only the lateral energy fraction LF, respectively its logarithmic parameter, the lateral
strength
80ms

SS = 10 lg
E dt
5
80ms

(11.17)
E0 dt
is discussed here. E0 is the impulse response recorded by a microphone with a spherical characteristic, in which all the sound components of the first 80 ms important
for directivity sensations are integrated. E on the other hand, is the room response
for the same source/receiver configuration recorded by a figure-of eight microphone
directed laterally to the axis of the room. The direct sound component being cut away,
the second contains only reflections e.g. between 5 and 80 ms coming from the side
surfaces near the source. According to Fasold and Veres (2003) for concert halls the
optimum of this parameter should lie between 4 and 6 dB. For the sake of completion, another room acoustic parameter, the interaural cross-correlation coefficient
IACC which can only be measured using an artificial head, is mentioned here, refer
to Beranek et al. (2004), Ahnert and Tennhardt (2008) or Vorlnder (2008).
11.2.14 Articulation Loss

According to Peutz (1971), the articulation loss of consonantsAlcons can be calculated
in % as a measure of speech intelligibility by means of an empirically determined
formula,
2
Eges E35
s
ALcons = 0.65
T
T,
(11.18)
= 0.65
rH
E35
168
Fig. 11.10 Location of the

important frequency and level
ranges in the auditory
sensation area (according to
Knudsen 1932) and the arrow
indicating masking;
a threshold of hearing,
b threshold of pain,
rectangles from left to right:
male, respectively female
fundamental tones, vowels,
voiced consonants, and
voiceless consonants
where rH is the diffuse-field distance according to Eq. (3.14), T the reverberation time
in s according to Eq. (3.10) and E35 the energy arriving at an audience seat at a distance
of s from a source during the first 35 ms after the direct sound. According to Ahnert
and Tennhardt (2008), this parameter is estimated for the 1 kHz, preferably also for
the 2 kHz octaves with values < 3 % for ideal and > 20 % for inadequate intelligibility.
Lazarus et al. (2007) describe new approximations to this target parameter. Here, as in
the case of SIL (see Sect. 11.2.7), it is striking that apparently one usually confines to
the properties of the room at high frequencies as if the frequencies below 500 Hz had
no influence on speech intelligibility neither with regard to background noise nor with
regard to room reverberation. How this notion came about and what is questionable
about it is discussed in Sects. 11.3 and 11.4. Such a discussion seems necessary in
order to better understand the situation in the hall described in Sect. 11.12, where
speech intelligibility is excellent even with ALcons values presumably far above 20 %.
11.3
Speech Intelligibility
Figure 11.10 shows, within the auditory sensation area between the human audibility
threshold and the threshold of pain, the characteristic components in the frequency
range between 63 and 8,000 Hz which are relevant to speech, see also Figs. 11.6 and
11.3 Speech Intelligibility
169
Fig. 11.11 Medium spectral

distribution of normal
speech; male (bold), female
(thin curve). (After Fasold
and Veres 2003)
11.7. The lighter vowels and consonants which are decisive for intelligibility are concentrated at about 5008,000 Hz. Far below follows the range of fundamental tones,
which, less important for clarity of language, are excited by the vibrations of the
vocal chords. Adult male voices, according to Webster et al. (1991, Fig. 16.1 there),
at a low level of vocal effort (casual) emit a spectrum that almost continuously
increases towards the low frequencies which contribute little to intelligibility but can
excite the resonances of small and medium-sized rooms according to Chap. 2. For
normal and higher effort the maximum emission is shifted up to the kHz range,
see also Fig. 11.11. In their scientific studies on speech at a level of 65 dB, Lazarus
et al. (2007, Fig. 7.2.1-1 there) assume a maximum octave level at 400 Hz and an
only about 10 dB lower level at 63 Hz. This decrease may be partly compensated
by an increase in reverberation of small rooms. Singers especially train the medium
frequency range of vowels to strengthen their voices, for example to audibly prevail
over an orchestra, which usually produces a spectrum which drops by about 30 dB
between 400 and 4,000 Hz according to Meyer (1995, Fig. 51 there), Meyer (2009,
Fig. 3.30 there). Unfortunately, this occurs only at the expense of a sound being
pleasing to the ear, and definitely at the expense of intelligibility. If the orchestra,
notably with drums beating (low frequencies) and trumpets sounding (high), play
full force even the strongest voices reach their limits, which is why subtitles are so
helpful even for opera performances in the native language of singers and listeners.
However even in normal conversation decisive are the sound components in the
kHz range. With a SIL according to Sect. 11.2.7 of 52 dB as in the example of
Fig. 11.4, a speaker should be according to DIN 33 410 (1981) easy to understand
at a distance of 1 m. Actually, experience has shown he raises his voice as if the
listener were not 1 m but 23 m away. If SIL is 60 dB, usual in office and conference
situations, some people react with a very loud voice although they are not talking to
anyone in the room but to someone on the telephone. This interaction between noise
170
Fig. 11.12 Interrelationship

between SIL, speech
intelligibility and voice effort
as a function of distance.
(According to DIN 33 410
1981)
and necessary or involuntary raising of the voice is shown in Fig. 11.12, see also
Levitt and Webster (1991, Fig. 16.8 there). The straight lines represent the drop in
level of 6 dB per doubling the distance from a voice in a free field.
In closed rooms with their diverse responses, every additional voice and every
raise of the voice entails an increase in the general sound level. Before going into
more detail in Sect. 11.7 on the, as a result, escalating dilemma, the influences on
speech intelligibility described in the pertinent literature will be briefly examined, focusing this time on fundamental understanding rather than on quantitative evaluation.
As the author views these phenomena more from a technical than a physiological
vantage point, a later Sect. 11.7 will deal with a concrete room acoustical concept
especially for any size rooms used for intensive communication, which deviates from
the conventional concepts and is based on only relatively simple building measures.
First the known factors which somehow cumulatively influence syllable intelligibility V in % are written according to Reichardt (1968, 1969) as a simple
productjust as if they did not influence each other:
V = 96 kft kfh k T /P L kE/C .
(11.19)
For people with normal hearing in their native language (German), a logical consequence is much higher word intelligibility VW (for V = 50 %, e.g. VW = 80 %)
according to Fig. 11.13. As a test person with a command of the language still understands a sentence although he does not hear every single word properly, syllable
intelligibility combines with a still higher sentence intelligibility VS (e.g. 50 and
97 % in Fig. 11.13). For all the factors in Eq. (11.18) that impair maximum syllable
intelligibility of 96 % briefly discussed here, it is assumed that there is only one
source and a single receiver.
171
Fig. 11.13 Sentence,

respectively word
intelligibility as a function of
syllable intelligibility.
(According to Reichardt
1968, 1979)
100
80
60
Sentence intelligibility
Word intelligibility
40
20
0
0
Fig. 11.14 Influence of

definition on speech
intelligibility. (According to
Ahnert and Steffen 1993)
20
40
60
80
Syllable intelligibility in %
100
1,0
0,9
Kc
0,8
0,7
0,6
0,5
15
11.3.1
10
5
0
Definition in dB
10
Late Reflections
For speech performances from a single source in a large room, sound reflected back
from surfaces at a distance of more than 8 m, in particular such that are adjacent to
strongly absorbing surfaces, can according to Niese (1956) reduce intelligibility by
an echo factor
kE
= 1 0.25
EE
E50 + EE
(11.20)
where E50 is the useful energy that reaches the receiver within the first 50 ms after
arrival of the direct sound and EE the subsequently arriving echo energy. On the
other hand, if a multiplicity of speakers is distributed in small to medium-sized
rooms, strong echoes are rarely a problem. In Ahnert and Steffen (1993, p. 46 there)
instead there is a sort of useful energy factor kC yielded according to Fig. 11.14 from
definition C50 as in Eq. (11.15).
172
Fig. 11.15 Influence of the

reverberation time on speech
intelligibility. (After Knudsen
1932)
11.3.2
Reverberation
Early reflections according to Sect. 11.2.4 can, in any case at higher frequencies,
support and enhance speech and music transmission in a room. Reverberation can
in particular influence the musical sensations in an auditorium positively if its frequency characteristic is suitably designed, see Sect. 11.11. In contrast to this, general
experience shows that speech intelligibility is consistently raised if all late and hardly
helpful reflections are reduced as much as possible. The tendency shown in Fig. 11.15
applies to all sizes and types of uses of closed rooms. Instead of the reverberation
factor kT which relates to T60 or also T10 , a so-called site factor (Platz-Faktor) kPL
according to Krer (1972),
kP L = 1 ts2 105 ,
(11.21)
can also be derived from the center time tS according to Sect. 11.2.12 and used in a
qualitative assessment according to Eq. (11.19).
The blurring threshold, above which directly succeeding syllables are received
separately and thus can affect intelligibility, according to Fasold and Veres (2003)
lies between about 50 and 100 ms. If the reverberation time is 1 s, in this time
span an initial sound level has already dropped between 3 and 6 dB. Therefore,
if it were just a matter of this type of room response to a speech signal, a shorter
reverberation time would hardly be deemed necessary for small rooms (note however
Sect. 11.6). DIN 18 041 (2004) rightfully calls for the shortest reverberation times
for rooms used for intensive communicationthe shorter, the smaller the room (cf.
Fig. 11.30). Knudsen (1932) also comes to the conclusion that short reverberation
times are favorable for large to very large rooms in order to obtain the same syllable
intelligibility with the same excitation, see Fig. 11.16, even if a large room is unable
to attain the VS values of a small room. Figure 11.17 confirms another general
experience: in a large room, an assumed sole speaker has to raise his voice or resort
to electro-acoustical amplification to make himself better understoodregardless
of the respective reverberation time. Consequently, only if this rise in transmission
performance is not possible, can the softer-speaking speaker profit a little from a
somewhat longer reverberation time although only up to T 1.5 s at maximum.
It is however pointed out that in these qualitative estimations generally meant is the
reverberation time at medium frequencies, which usually increases at low frequencies
in large as well as in small rooms. If, on the other hand, one manages to strongly
173
Fig. 11.16 Syllable

intelligibility V as a function
of the reverberation time T for
various room sizes (after
Knudsen 1932); 675 (top),
5,400 (intermediate),
21,600 m3 (bottom curve)
Fig. 11.17 Syllable

of the reverberation time T in
a 113,000 m3 lecture hall
(after Knudsen 1932); with
electroacoustical
amplification (a), very loud
(b), loud (c), normal (d) soft
(e), very soft speaker (f)
reduce reverberation at low frequencies, there are very attractive other possibilities of
generating clarity and definition for music and speechdespite reverberation times
at high frequencies by far exceeding those usually recommended, see Sects. 11.11
and 11.12.
11.3.3
Signal-to-Noise Ratio
The probably most important influence on speech intelligibility is, after echoes and
reverberation, the difference
L = L LS
(11.22)
174
Fig. 11.18 Influence of a

noise level LS on speech
intelligibility depending on
the wanted level L. (After
Fletcher 1953)
Fig. 11.19 Syllable

of the reverberation time T for
different signal-to-noise ratios
according to Eq. (11.22);
L > + 30 dB (a), + 3 dB (b),
0 dB (c), 3 dB (d)
between the wanted level L and the simultaneously effective noise level LS . Only
if L can be set distinctly higher (e.g. 6 dB, at least however 3 dB) than LS , is good
speech intelligibility attained, see Fig. 11.18.
When several people are talking at the same time, a so-called cocktail party
effect aids intelligibility in the group: the ability of a healthy binaural listener to
pick an individual voice out of the confusion of voices with corresponding acoustic
focusing (perking ones ears). In an ill-conditioned room, however, this ability
of human beings is very much restricted by the rise in noise level generated by
the communication in it, which increases with every additional participant thereby
setting in motion a spiral of loudness (see Sect. 11.4).
According to Fig. 11.19 speech intelligibility drops at a reverberation time of 1 s
to about 40 %, at 2 s to 25 %, if the wanted level is disturbed by the same disturbance
level (L = 0). If the noise level increases, the interlocutors try to draw closer to each
other according to Fig. 11.20 or seek a less disturbing environment to continue their
conversation.
175
Fig. 11.20 Preferred

talker-to-listener distance for
everyday language dependent
on the noise level in a room.
(After Levitt and Webster
1991)
1
0,8
Kfh
Kft, Kfh
Fig. 11.21 Influence on

speech intelligibility of a
frequency band limitation
downward (kft ) resp. upward
(kfh ). (According to Fletcher
1953)
0,6
0,4
0,2
0
11.3.4
Kft
1
2
3
Frequency f
kHz
Frequency Limitation
It is common knowledge in sound reinforcement technology that in speech transmission the low frequencies may be cut off up to the kHz range. It is not until between 1
and 2 kHz that speech intelligibility drops steeply according to the frequency factor
kf,t in Fig. 11.21. Whereas, the corresponding curve for kf,h continues to rise when
the upper frequency limit is shifted far into the kHz range due to the fact that consonants, which are so important for speech intelligibility, are transmitted in this range.
Even if speakers articulate well, this actually useful energy is only radiated 1030 dB
weaker than the low-frequency components, which are almost useless for intelligibility, see Fig. 11.10. In electro-acoustical reinforcement systems, for example in
churches, which have a strongly increasing reverberation time at low frequencies approximately as in Fig. 11.1, the tendency is to simply cut off low frequencieswith
the disadvantage that the speakers voice loses in substance and power.
11.3.5
Masking by Low-frequency Components
Seen superficially, the significance of high relative to low frequency components

of speech suggests that disturbing noises at high frequencies need to be especially
176
combated, low-frequency components, on the other hand, may be ignored. As this is

easier to do using conventional means, low frequencies unfortunately often dominate
even in elaborately isolated and damped rooms. However, this can have very negative
consequences due to another hitherto too little regarded effect: low, even very low
frequencies are able to mask high frequencies much better than vice versa.
When there is a loud tone or noise, a softer one in the same frequency range is
not perceived until its level reaches a value of about 20 dB below the louder one.
This apparently raised masking threshold is remarkably frequency dependent: if the
noise level is low and its frequency high, this masking effect, as anticipated, drops
sharply into the individual hearing threshold, almost symmetrically to the interfering
frequency (see Feldtkeller and Zwicker 1956). However, according to Slawin (1960),
strong frequency f1 tones generate, due to complicated non-linear mechanisms of
sound perception, additional harmonic tones
fH = (n + 1)f1 ;
n = 1, 2, 3 . . .
(11.23)
Multiple strong tones, for example at f1 and f2 , affect that in addition to harmonic
tones combination tones are heard:
fK = nf1 mf2 ;
m = 1, 2, 3 . . .
(11.24)
These additional tones occur in the ear and are therefore, according to Slawin (1960),
referred to as subjective, because they are not actually contained in the respective
tone mix that reaches the ear. The number and loudness of the subjective tones increase more than proportionally with the level of the actually interfering tones. At low
tones with levels above 80 dB, the subjective harmonic tones at high frequencies
are perceived even louder than the fundamental tone. Although this harmonic shift
of perception to higher frequencies occurs only in the ear, it calls to mind that when
playing the lower strings on a contrabass its harmonic tones are radiated much more
strongly than its fundamental tone. Nevertheless, a trained ear is able to differentiate
between the sound of a contrabass and that of a cello. If, on the other hand, strong
tones or noises occur the mentioned non-linearity only leads to a dissonant and extremely destructive broadband interference at frequencies even far above those of
the actual disturbance.
If strong low-frequency disturbances interfere with high-frequency sound, the
subjective sound can mask the high-frequency sound as strongly as the sound in
the vicinity of the disturbing frequency. According to Fig. 11.22 very asymmetrical
masking thresholds are created in this manner. Frequency components below the
disturbance, on the other hand, are relatively little masked. Apparently the lower
the disturbing frequency, the stronger is this asymmetry. For 200 Hz interfering
with 60 dB, a tone with the same frequency can be heard at 40 dB, but one with
400 Hz is not perceived until its level reaches 50 dB, as Fig. 11.23 shows. If the same
disturbing tone is raised to 80 dB, i.e. to a weighted level of 69 dB(A) far below the
ear-damaging threshold, maximum masking shifts so far that a tone of 1,000 Hz is
not heard until it reaches also approximately 80 dB. All hitherto knowledge indicates
that even lower disturbing frequencies probably strongly mask the entire kHz range
177
Fig. 11.22 The effect on the

masking threshold of a
disturbing tone at 800 Hz with
different loudness levels
(L in dB). (According to
Slawin 1960)
Fig. 11.23 The effect on the

masking threshold of a
disturbing tone at 200 Hz for
different levels in dB.
(According to Slawin 1960)
that is so crucial for intelligibility. According to Slawin (1960) noises have an even
greater masking effect than tones. For this reason any excitation at low frequencies
can have a distructive effect on any kind of communication (be it speech or music).
178
Fig. 11.24 Hearing threshold

shift L due to a disturbing
tone of varying level LS at
1,200 Hz. (From Reichardt
1968; Fletcher 1953)
An attempt to explain physiologically this amazingly strong masking of the high

by low frequencies is that the former excite the human basilar membrane only directly
at the entrance of the cochlea, whereas the low frequencies according to v. Bksy
(1960) release wandering waves, which propagate and ascend steeply to the tip of
the cochlea and excite the hair cells there. But on their way up the latter also set into
motion the entire membrane including the high-frequency-conditioned hair cells.
According to Hellbrck and Ellermeier (2004, Chap. 3 there) immediately upon
reaching its maximum, the displacement amplitude of the cochlea drops steeply,
100 dB per octave: low-frequency tones with a high sound level are thus able to
impair recognition of a higher sound frequency of a lower level. Inversely, however,
higher sound frequencies can hardly influence adjacent lower frequency ranges, even
if they have a high level.
Reichardt (1968, Sect. 42.4 there) discusses the physiologically very interesting
phenomena in Figs. 11.22 and 11.23 also with reference to the threshold shift according to Fletcher (1953; see Fig. 11.24) and comes to the conclusion that with
increasing loudness, low frequencies stand out more and extinguish the high tones
which are so important for intelligibility but also notes that threshold shifts in
that order are only observed if the two tones, the masking and the masked tone,
are conveyed to the same ear. If they are conveyed separately to the two ears, the
masking effect is much less pronounced. This may explain why people who hear
only with one ear apparently suffer particularly from this impediment in intensive
communication. They are usually the first ones to leave, for example, a reception for
a large crowd in an acoustically unfavorable environment, because they are unable
to bear the torture even with the best hearing aid.
Raus (2004) attempts to reproduce this masking quantitatively and demonstrate
its influence on speech intelligibility were not successful. Nonetheless, the results
obtained with synthesized tones support practical experience gained in numerous
cases: if a room was not damped or only at medium and high frequencies, its reverberation time increases at low frequencies (even below 250 or 125 Hz considered by
many acoustic experts as the limit if only speech is of concern) and intelligibility suffers. In laboratory tests with logatoms, Rau (2004) discovered that if there
179

time T in a T-lab from
Chap. 2; empty laboratory
(2), damping maximum
below 250 Hz (CPA) (),
broadband (BCA) () above
250 Hz (PE-fibers) ()
is strong disturbance due to a simultaneous superposition of pink noise between

20 Hz and 20 kHz, syllable intelligibility always remains best, if the room according to Fig. 11.25 is damped with absorbers with maximum effectiveness not above
250 Hz but rather between 50 and 500 Hz, equally for a group of 20- to 50- year-olds,
over 50-year-olds, non-native speakers and with people with impaired hearing (see
Fig. 11.26).
Nearly all the test persons perceived especially the test environment with damping below 250 Hz as the most pleasant. Acoustic comfort was rated good, syllable
intelligibility subjectively high, whereas all the test persons rated strong damping
above 250 Hz as definitely irritating. Surprising was that intelligibility was subjectively rated worse than actually was measured. Thus if a test person were asked to
communicate in the described environment, he would (according to the Lombard
effect described in Sects. 3.4 and 11.4 and Lazarus et al. 2007) probably raise his
180
Fig. 11.26 Syllable intelligibility in a room according to Fig. 11.25 with the damping given there
(from left to right) disturbed by pink noise (2020,000 Hz): a 20- to 50-year-olds, b over 50-yearolds, c non-native speakers, d persons with impaired hearing
voice more in the second case (damping above 250 Hz) more than in the first case to
make himself understood.
Due to the usual sound absorption above 250 Hz, the sound level in the so
important kHz range drops. With reverberation time (see Niermann and SprengerPieper 2009) increasing steadily at low frequencies, particularly the low-frequency
sound components decisive for masking and thus for speech intelligibility predominate. Especially in small rooms, eigenresonances according Chap. 2 are
also excited, which amplify sound at low frequencies inharmoniously and in this
manner
falsify the sound impression,
provoke unnecessary, useless loudness,
heavily promote masking of the usually more useful high frequency components.
11.4
Noise Development in Rooms for Communication
Classical concepts and criteria for reducing noise at places of work, dwelling and
recreation generally focus on noises penetrating the to-be-protected room from the
11.4 Noise Development in Rooms for Communication
181
outside (e.g. traffic, industry, or neighborhood noises) or noise generated in the room
itself (e.g. by installations or aplliances). All conventional airborne-sound insulation
measures in walls, ceilings, windows and doors were primarily developed for this
purpose. For example, soft floor-coverings were intended to reduce tapping noise
and special duct silencers for noise from ventilation and air conditioning systems.
Moreover, airborne-sound absorption measures in rooms (acoustic ceilings or plasters, drapes or sails, wall or ceiling cladding) were primarily conceived for these
external noises.
Of course, for conversation first any background noise in the room has to be
attenuated. Even if the noise level amounts to more than 30 dB(A), the limiting level
commonly aimed at in architectural acoustics, it can certainly never be responsible
for the high levels of up to over 80 dB(A), for example, in kindergartens, schools,
and call centers. Quite the contrary, such high levels are generated by the users
themselves in acoustically ill-conditioned rooms.
A single voice with a sound power LW probably feels according to Eq. (11.1)
supported by a somewhat reverberant room and can be quite well heard and understood by all the others. If however several voices or instruments speak or play
simultaneously, the sound level rises continuously according to:
L = LW + 10 lg n 10 lg V + 10 lg T + 14 dB
(11.25)
For all, the hearing threshold is raised uniformly over the whole frequency spectrum.
In larger rooms of similar construction and with the same furnishings, the respective
sound energy spreads over a larger volume thus reducing the noise level. This effect
generally does not really amount to much, because the simultaneously increasing free
path length according to Eq. (11.7) tends to raise the reverberation time. In typical flat
rooms, such as e.g. classrooms or open-plan offices, the weak positive volume-effect
reduces to room height h in m, because with a constant surface parameter
KS =
V
hn
(11.26)
in m2 per person, the number of sources usually increases proportionally to the

ground area. Thus with an occupancy density of K1
S , the mean sound level in the
room rises according to
L = LW 10 lg KS 10 lg h + 10 lg T + 14 dB.
(11.27)
Unfortunately for players and singers (see Sect. 11.14.6) in low-roofed orchestra
pits and rehearsal rooms as well as agents in open-plan offices (Sect. 11.14.5) with
low ceilings the consequence is a harrowing noise level. The maxim is to raise room
height, but at the same time limit reverberation.
The noise pollution in communication rooms already becomes apparent if it is
quite conventionally assumed according to VDI 2569 (1990) and DIN 18041 (2004)
that for the intelligibility of a communication partners playing or speech it is important that his voice does not drown at a certain distance in the general noise level
182
Table 11.1 Permissible room level L in dB(A) for different types of speech intelligibility (signal/noise ratio L from + 12 to 6 dB) depending on the manner of speaking, resp. the sound
power level LW in dB(A) and the distance of 0.52 m from an interlocutor according to VDI 2569
(1990) and Eq. (11.28)
Speaking
manner
Relaxed
Normal
Raised
Loud
Sound
power
(LW )
62
68
74
80
Speech intelligibility
Very good (12 dB)
Good (6 dB)
Satisfactory (0 dB)
Poor (6 dB)
0.5
2m
0.5
2m
0.5
2m
0.5
2m
48
54
60
66
42
48
54
60
36
42
48
54
54
60
66
72
48
54
60
66
42
48
54
60
60
66
72
78
54
60
66
72
48
54
60
66
66
72
78
84
60
66
72
78
54
60
66
72
of the room. Table 11.1 shows, for example, the maximum permissible noise level
for desired speech intelligibility if the interlocutor articulates with varying power.
If however the basis is VDI 2569 1990s hard-to-fulfill requirement of T = 0.5 s and
an average office-room height of h = 3.2 m, the respective limit levels in Table 11.1
according to
L = LW 10 lg KS + 6 dB
(11.28)
for satisfactory speech intelligibility at a distance of 1 m with occupancy according to KS = 10 with (simultaneous) normally speaking persons (LW = 68 dB(A)) is
not exceeded until the interlocutor raises his voice. Even a single loud voice with
LW = 80 dB(A) according to
L = LW + 10 lg 20 lg r 11 dB
(11.29)
with an assumed orientation of 10 lg = 3 dB to the addressed person would only be

poorly understood at a distance of 1 m and not at all at over 2 m.
If, on the other hand, all were able to communicate in a relaxed manner, a single
person would, according to Table 11.1, be well understood at a distance of 1 m if he
just raised his voice. Experience however has shown that even a few raised or even
loud voices in a room (e.g. one boisterous person on the phone or someone with
impaired hearing, poorly able to understand or to articulate) inevitably forces all the
other users to also raise their voices to the same degree as their own hearing threshold
is shifted by the loud surroundings. As a consequence, a loudness spiral according
to Fig. 11.27 is set in motion, which leads to being unable to hear ones own word,
respectively unable to control ones playingwith the deplorably loud situations in
so many small or large rooms used for intensive communication, however, is far too
often mainly due to acoustically poor conditioning of these rooms.
According to Sect. 11.4, a noise masks useful sound the most in the same frequency range, for example a male voice another male voice. Not until the second voice
in the level reaches the first voice, is it even perceived as such. It does not become
intelligible until it lies distinctly above the first voice (see Table 11.1). It seems therefore obvious to first concentrate damping in the room on the frequency range above
11.4 Noise Development in Rooms for Communication
183
Fig. 11.27 Model of how an unnecessarily high sound level comes about in acoustically
ill-conditioned rooms used for intensive communication
500 or 1,000 Hz, which is most important for speech. It is, however, also known that
masking of high frequency components by low ones is fundamentally greater than
vice versa. As a less known or understood consequence, speech intelligibility which
is usually determined in the kHz range, is even more strongly impaired by extremely
low frequencies (at any rate below 150 Hz down to 63 Hz). Many acoustic experts
have difficulty understanding that according to Fuchs (2003) small to medium-sized
rooms should directly affect the articulation of occupants communicating in them.
Therefore, it has taken some time for counteracting building measures to prevail.
The traditional view regarding room acoustical phenomena is based on sound
sources with a certain given sound power, frequency and directivity characteristic,
which are largely independent of the room, and a room which transmits the emitted
sound waves according to its characteristic transmission function to a given receiver
as shown in Fig. 11.28a, which too is independent of the roomexactly like the
usual electro-acoustical measurement chain from a loudspeaker via a microphone
and a signal analyzer. According to this simple notion there is not much difference
if, instead of one, multiple receivers are listening in a quiet auditorium as shown in
Fig. 11.28b. At most the receivers absorption (AP ), as is commonly thought, may
need to be considered. However, comprehensive study of room acoustics, especially
in rooms that are intensively used for communication, shows that this linear model
does not adequately describe the real situation with live actors.
The widespread notion is justified to define a room, and the mentioned measurement chain can correctly determine its most important acoustic parameters (see
Sect. 11.2). An experienced acoustic expert entering an unfamiliar room may be
able to judge the acoustic quality of the room by clapping his hands as shown in
Fig. 11.28a. But even someone greeting the new day whole-heartedly singing in his
bathroom perceives himself (and his surroundings) only quite distortedly, because he
184
Fig. 11.28 Source(s) and receiver(s) interacting with a room
(and probably his neighbors) do not hear the individual resonances of his own voice
but rather the resonances of the, for the most part, undamped room as described in
Chap. 2. The right arrow in Fig. 11.28a indicates this feedback between transmitter,
receiver and room.
In acoustically well-designed lecture halls and theaters, the room actually functions like, if not quite a linear, but still usable or even pleasant transmitter between
the respective single speaker and the audience as shown in Fig. 11.28b. Also in
acoustically neutralized studios for listening to and processing of single (as well
as multiple) voices simultaneously as shown in Fig. 11.28c, good monitors transmit
what was recorded electronically without any distortion equally undistorted at least
to a near-field position, usually the tonmeisters position, to which the room was
acoustically trimmed. Likewise in the far field of the singers and musicians in acoustically satisfying operas and concert halls, the sound incidents are transmitted from
the stage into the auditorium as is described in acoustics textbooks and is indicated
in Fig. 11.28d.
However, the situation is quite different if rooms were not previously conditioned
to function ideally for all sources and all receivers. By no means are acoustics or
11.5 Current Trends in Architecture

Table 11.2 Rooms used
intensively for
communication with very
high acoustic demands
185
Instruction/discussion
Work/recreation
Kindergartens
Classrooms
Gymnasiums
Lecture halls
Conference rooms
Seminar rooms
Music rooms
Cafeterias
Museums
Open-plan offices
Service centers
Counter halls
Lawyers and doctors offices
Sick- and operating rooms
Reception lobbies
Kitchens
Restaurants
Station and fair halls
acoustic experts paid due attention in all art temples. As a result, attendees sometimes
are unable to follow what is happening on the stage and actors, particularly musicians,
have difficulty hearing themselves or each other and controlling their playing. As a result each participant involuntarily speaks, respectively plays, somewhat louder and if
he/she is hard of hearing much louder than adequate to obtain a satisfactory acoustical
interaction (here: musicians playing in an ensemble or conversation in a group).
Ignoring room acoustical requirements and the inevitably resulting intolerable
working and recreational conditions culminate in numerous rooms and halls listed
in Table 11.2. The predictable consequences of the previously mentioned masking
effects are often catastrophic acoustical conditions in classrooms and offices as well
as restaurants or where ever people gather, telephone simultaneously or converse
animatedly. This unconscious attempt to break through the masking phenomena by
speaking or playing louder is a typical example of the so-called Lombard effect, see
Sect. 3.4, Lombard (1911) and Lazarus et al. (2007, Sect. 5.3 there). The outcome
is a jumble of sounds in which one can hardly hear ones own voice or instrument
properly if there is no teacher, moderator or conductor to take charge. The consequence is that in an acoustically ill-conditioned room only one person can play or
speak at one time or all have to work under considerable noise, making it difficult to
concentrate.
The reason for this is that the room interacts with all talking, be it at the sources or at
the receivers and almost always only detrimentally as the double arrows in Fig. 11.28e
symbolizing the feedback between the room and the users show. Moreover, a distant interlocutor participating in a telephone or video conference unfortunately also
witnesses the acoustical confusion. Even a TV audience at home may experience
poor studio acoustics when a discussion in a talk show runs out of control when
everyone speaks at the same time. Few talk masters know that a recording studio can
be designed to transmit more than just one voice distinctly.
11.5
Current Trends in Architecture
Of the five senseshearing, seeing, smelling and feelingthe first is the most important for communication, and its organ, the ears, are especially developed. Although
the other senses, for instance seeing, can support communication and comprehension,
186
they however can never supersede hearing in rooms used for intensive communication. The current trend in contemporary architecture, its enamor with transparency
and openness, is pushing the very limits to where hearing is impeded. Indeed, beautiful high, wide, glass facades are an anathema to acoustics even in railway stations
or museums. As no less unacceptable are viewed partition walls or screens that could
hinder transparency.
Also the second trend, its predilection for bare sound-reflecting surfaces (concrete
and masonry), see e.g. Fuchs et al. (2005a), is continuing unabatedly. Should an
acoustic expert dare to propose acoustic measures for large wall or ceiling surfaces
or even the underside of stairs, he is immediately put in his place: Its exposed
concrete !end of discussion! The same applies to precious natural stone or wooden
floorsa sacrilege to cover them with a soft carpet!
Aggravating the situation is a third trend, the attempt to obtain the desired thermal comfort in new, renovated or converted rooms by activating thermal potential
of all massive building elements instead of installing expensive ventilating and airconditioning systems. The present abhorrence in architecture of any form of cladding
thwarts any attempts to integrate sound damping and inevitably combined thermal insulation, be it for cost or environmental reasons or even the expediency of integrating
heating and cooling coils in ceilings.
The situation would be half so bad if investors, developers, operators or users
were not all trying to cut costs wherever possible. In the end, it often happens that
only the users themselves absorb sound with little more than 0.50.65 m2 equivalent
absorption area per person.
All these trends culminate in an apparently unavoidable increase in room reverberation as well as a disastrous increase in perceivable technical and human sound
sources. In view of the widespread reverence for impressive architecture and almost
total disregard of functional acoustics, it is high time that acoustic experts take up
the challenge of this seemingly unstoppable development and offer suited tools, materials and elements for practical acoustical solutions. As the following sections will
demonstrate, striving for transparency in architecture and acoustical comfort need
not contradict each other. In fact, the two may even compliment each otherboth
perceivable transparency and clarity combined in one room. Acoustic experts can no
longer only rely on carpets, drapes, acoustic ceilings and plasters to do their job. A
recently passed room acoustic standard has approached the problem, although partly
in a rather conventional way.
11.6
Room Acoustic Standards (DIN 18 041)
Where the building budget is trimmed to the bare minimum, architects, contractors
and investors have little patience for integrating room acoustic measures in furnishings. The repercussions of the widespread ignorance of the fundamental acoustical
requirements of rooms used for intensive communication is often the reason that
finished building projects that do not meet the specifications for the intended use are
11.6 Room Acoustic Standards (DIN 18 041)
187
refused final approval. As a consequence, expensive improvement measures become

necessary only after lengthy debates about vague room acoustical targets which
may or may not be found in any of the planning materials at hand. Often there is
a rude awakening on opening day when the communication rooms are presented to
a crowd of users or the public. Under pressure, the omnipotent architect now may
remember his acoustic expert, whom he had hardly let get a word in edgewise during
previous discussions, to now let him or his insurance at least share the blame and
often tremendous costs. If the dispute ends up in court, the judge has to rely on expert
opinions or form his own opinion at ear-spitting viewings of the premises.
A binding standard such as the DIN 4109 (1989) for architectural acoustics is unfortunately lacking for room acoustics in particular, despite the growing frequency
and graveness of complaints particularly regarding communication and service centers. Although sometimes an attempt is made to blame too loud communication on
poor noise control, for example traffic noise, yet in most cases the culprit is poor
functional acoustics, that is the unsuitability of a room for the intended purpose,
in particular for speech communication. Actually modern architecture and materials including interior furnishings provoke poor room acoustics, see Sect. 11.5. This
applies no less to the conservation of national monuments where all efforts focus
on painstakingly restoring large-scale and micro-structures, the naked structures,
according to original plans and drawings but discard the (sound-reflecting and scattering) interior furnishings and (sound-absorbing) claddings to whose interaction an
auditorium once owed its famous acoustics. Just compare old congress halls with
their ornate velvet curtains and seating with present-day Spartan conference venues
(Fig. 11.29). However, today demands for speech intelligibility are much higher
(Sect. 11.3) than a century ago, especially in view of the growing number of people with impaired hearing (in Germany 20 %) and non-native citizens, for example
at conferences or in schools (frequently 50 % if not even more than 90 %) not to
forget that declamation and frontal classroom teaching has given way to interactive
communication.
New room acoustic standards are urgently needed to fill this dangerous gap. In fact
Germanys DIN 18041 from 2004 sees in the exchange of information for people
to understand each other an enormous challenge for room acoustic design. In order
to make acute needs and measures to fulfill them clearer and not increase the present
insecurity, unfortunately prevailing even among experts, the standard should clarify
and update certain issues. If two of three fundamental modifications of the old 1968
version relate explicitly to the frequency dependency of reverberation times and
the also very frequency-dependent impairment of hearing, the standard should not
perpetuate the prejudice that room acoustical problems are best solved by damping
high and medium frequencies if only speech is concerned.
If the standard does not even require that communication-intensive rooms such
as restaurants, multi-person and open-plan offices, lawyers and doctors offices or
operating rooms (Group B rooms with transmissions over short distances) adhere
to a nominal mean value Tsoll of the reverberation time according to Fig. 11.30 (top),
let alone to a set tolerance spectrum (bottom), someone seeking advice how to solve
a speech communication problem in his surroundings or of a client is hopelessly
188
Fig. 11.29 Painstakingly

restored assembly rooms
(here: Aula in the
Bundesministerium fr
Wirtschaft und Arbeit in
Berlin) (Federal Ministry of
Economics and Labor) should
also fulfill high room acoustic
standards (also see
Fig. 11.88).
confused. Better would be instead to classify all acoustically demanding rooms

according to their intended purpose:
a) Music presentation (top curve)
Tsoll = 0.45 lg V + 0.07
(11.30)
11.6 Room Acoustic Standards (DIN 18 041)
189
Fig. 11.30 Recommended reverberation time Tsoll (averaged between 500 and 1,000 Hz) in occupied rooms; for musical presentation (a), speech presentation (b), intensive communication (c) as a
function of room volume V (top) and tolerance range T/Tsoll , as a function of frequency for speech
(bottom left) and music (right). (According to DIN 18041 2004)
b) Speech presentation (middle curve, if generally only one voice emits in the room)
Tsoll = 0.37 lg V 0.14
(11.31)
c) Speech or musical communication (bottom curve, if multiple sources, speakers or

musicians, emit and receive simultaneously on a regular basis)
Tsoll = 0.32 lg V 0.17
(11.32)
and to unequivocally put in category (c) all the rooms in Table 11.2 explicitly
mentioned in this norm as well as rooms with similar high speech intelligibility
requirements and of course to take as a basis for all these rooms the frequencydependent reverberation-time tolerance band (between 63 and 8,000 Hz according
to Fig. 11.30 bottom left), as sufficiently and repeatedly described in the pertinent
literature on this subject.
In a communication- and interaction-based service society, lower requirements
(e.g. middle curve b in Fig. 11.30 top) should apply to offices for one to two persons
190
Fig. 11.31 Reference curves

for the weighted absorption
coefficient w and for the
allocation to absorption
classes AE. (According to
DIN EN ISO 11 654 1997)
and rooms in which usually only one person talks (thus there is no communication
but only speech representation). If a bistro or call center manager thinks he can expect
his guests or workers to put up with adverse room-acoustical conditions because the
food or the pay is so extraordinary then he will find a way to convince his architect
to agree to lower requirements. At any rate, it should not be expected that issuing a
new standard is the same as passing a law. However both should be conclusive, and
a standard should reflect state-of-the-art knowledge and technology.
Unfortunately, the new DIN 18041 (2004) underpins the current trend among
acoustic consultants to execute room acoustic designas has long been customary
in architectural acousticsat most based on the single-number rating of the reverberation time Tsoll according to Fig. 11.30 and to estimate the additionally required
absorber surface according to
SA,erf = 0.16
V T0 TSoll
(w) T0 TSoll
(11.33)
with the aid of a weighted absorption coefficient w . Although in architectural acoustics the tendency is slowly toward spectral characterization, see Kautsch et al. (2009,
Sect. 2.5 there), in room acoustics a more recent trend is to change from spectral to
single-number ratings. According to DIN EN ISO 11 654 (1997), at best 18 values
between 63 and 4,000 Hz measured according to DIN EN ISO 354 (2001) in onethird-octaves are first converted into numerically averaged octave values as so-called
practical absorption coefficients p . Only the results for the octaves between 250
and 4,000 Hz are then inserted into a diagram as in Fig. 11.31. Subsequently the
reference curve (bold in Fig. 11.31) is shifted downward in steps of 0.05 until the
sum of shortfalls of these five octave values does not exceed 0.1. Thus values above
the respective reference curve are not weightedas if they lay on the curve. The
value of the shifted reference curve at 500, 1,000 and 2,000 Hz is then defined as
w as if demand were always only for uniform damping at these frequencies, as if
11.7 Room Acoustics for Speech Communication
191
absorption at 250 Hz is always worth 2065 % less and as if there were no need at
all for damping at even lower frequencies.
By form indicators L for low (250 Hz), M for medium (500 and 1,000 Hz) and H
for high (2,000 and 4,000 Hz) it is possible to indicate the respective frequency range
only if the shifted reference curve is exceeded there by more than a value of 0.25.
Classification of absorbers between A and E shown in Fig. 11.31 deludes a quality
relating only to medium frequencies. However, with regard to speech intelligibility
(see Sects. 11.311.5 and 11.7) it is the range below 250 Hz that is decisive for the
acoustic quality of a room although the VDI 3755 (2000) unfortunately maintains:
The frequency relevant for room acoustics ranges from 250 to 1,000 Hz. Clarification is badly neededpreferably by presenting convincing demonstration examples
as it is tried in Sect. 11.14.
It is stressed once more that the standards would miss their mark, in view of the
great number of spaces according to Table 11.2, if they prevented rooms used for
intensive communication from receiving at least the same treatment as rooms used
for music, not despite the fact that they are only used for speech communication,
but because using a room for speech is even so much more demanding. After all, no
responsible acoustic expert would ever only work with single-number criteria if the
object were a theater or an opera house. Instead the reverberation time of a room T0
in its initial state, the required reverberation time Tsoll and the absorption coefficient
of the proposed absorption surfaces should, always frequency-dependent down to
63 Hz, form the basis for the calculation of the desired area SA,erf according to Eq.
(11.33).
It is vital that such an important standard as DIN 18 041 (2004) includes the entire
relevant frequency range from 63 to 4,000 or 8,000 Hz in the text as in the graphs, but
also adds the absorption coefficients for 63 Hz in the sound absorber parameters in
Tables B.1 and B.2 there. Tables 7 and 8 in Fasold et al. (1987) or Table 4.5 in Fasold
and Veres (2003), in which about 30 different resonance absorbers are characterized
down to 63 Hz, could serve as models. Practical application will occur only if the
unquestionably high requirements of the standard also contain corresponding listings
of suited materials and elementslike in DIN 4109 (1989) for the noise control in
buildings.
11.7
Room Acoustics for Speech Communication
Speech and conversation are indispensable in daily life not only for the exchange
of information but also to convey the emotional state of the speakers. According to
Lazarus et al. (2007), hearing acts as a social organ because speech communication
more than facial expression or body language is able to affect acceptance, rejection
and exclusion. Language is the most important vehicle for integrating people in their
surroundings and conveying information, knowledge and culture. Where communication is disturbed by other acoustic stimuli, human interaction suffers. On the
other hand, good speech quality ensures and supports work, for example in schools,
192
Fig. 11.32 Curves of equal loudness level LN for pure tones in a free field. (After Fasold et al.
1987)
at conferences and in offices, permitting high performance with minimal efforts as

well as great pleasure with maximum relaxation in recreation. The growing demand
for information, locally as well as globally, makes the acoustic design of rooms
intensively used for communication all the more important. Indeed in this day and
age of information and communication, awards should not be given for architecture
that disregards essential acoustical requirements. Unfortunately, every function of a
room is granted more influence on the shape of the room, the selection of materials
and furnishings than enabling people to hear each other without strain.
Curves of equal loudness (Fig. 11.32) indicating less sensitivity at low and greater
sensitivity at high frequencies underpin the widespread underestimation of the significance of low frequencies. Moreover it is often argued that the human voice radiates
little energy below 250 Hz (female), respectively 125 Hz (male) (see Fig. 11.11).
Having learned that essentially frequency components above 500 or 1,000 Hz contribute to speech intelligibility (see Fig. 11.20), it was assumed acoustic measures had
to primarily concentrate on the kHz range. According to Kraak (1984, p. 277 there),
the mean value of a permanent shift of the hearing threshold at 1,000, 2,000, and
4,000 Hz correlates even better than the same mean value at 500, 1,000 and 2,000 Hz
with the loss in speech intelligibility in people with impaired hearing. However, as
consonants, which are more or less articulated by speakers, are emitted on average
with 2040 dB less energy than vowel and fundamental tone components of speech
(see Fig. 11.10), it is obvious to keep all external noises especially in the frequency
range that is so important for speech intelligibility as low as possible by applying
measures at the sources or on their transmission paths. At last, according to Reichardt
(1968, Chap. 52 there) speech has to arrive at the receiver at least 1015 dB louder
193
Fig. 11.33 Hearing

thresholds of people with
normal hearing, resp. of
people with moderate hearing
loss. (After Ruhe 1998)
than any disturbing sound in order for him to be able to understand at least 80 % of
the syllables.
Thus, the louder the background noise the louder is spoken as Table 11.1 shows although the other speakers talking at the same time may represent the sources. Groups
discussions in classrooms or conference rooms or call center workers telephoning
can raise the level quickly to over 80 dB(A) even if a single speaker starts talking
normally at 60 dB(A) at a distance of 1 m. Such a surge in level not only forces
the speaker to make more of an effort, but diminishes intelligibility as well.
Required is room acoustic treatment, obviously of course again especially above
500 Hz as the about 20 % hard-of-hearing have to be considered, who according to
Fig. 11.33 have to live with a permanent shift of their hearing threshold especially
in this frequency range, which is so important for speech intelligibility. Moreover
it is customary, even necessary particularly in acoustically poorly conditioned surroundings, when using electro-acoustic amplification for speech performances to
radiate low-frequency components below 100 even below 250 Hz only reduced over
the sound reinforcement system. However, noise that reduces speech intelligibility
in a room is not radiated only by the sound reinforcement system but rather, when
large groups gather, predominantly by talking (e.g. multi-voice mumbling) and
user noise (moving chairs, clearing ones throat, etc.). Figure 11.21 provides a valuable hint, regarding further propagation of all sound components below 500 Hz by
reflections in the room, to damp room reflections at low frequencies at least as intensively as at medium or high frequencies. This not only improves intelligibility but
also allows the direct sound in the vicinity of each speaker or loudspeaker to resound
less falsified.
Of course, it makes sense to damp a roomquite conventionallyat high frequencies. But it should not be expected that this solves the problem at its roots: in
this frequency range just the furniture and the occupants alone already damp considerably. Nevertheless, a usually untreated assembly room remains unsuited for
communication even with, for example, full occupancy with one person per square
meter. A strongly absorbing full-scale conventional so-called acoustic ceiling with
194

radius rH as a function of the
volume V for different
reverberation times of a room
0.6 could at most damp the room to the same extent. In view of the many rooms
which in spite of this measure plus additional wall-to-wall carpeting and full occupancy are nonetheless poorly suited for communication, it becomes evident that
the usual general focus on medium and high frequencies may miss the point. If the
moderate requirements of DIN 18041 (2004) shown in Fig. 11.30 were to be fulfilled
by conventional means, large sections of the bounding surfaces of the room (up to
multiple times its area!) would have to be covered with porous/fibrous material, see
Table 6 of that standard and Fuchs and Zha et al. (2003a, Figs. 47 there). In contrast to this, the following sections show that even an essentially smaller absorber
surface (corresponding to less than 50 or even 20 % of the ground area) can render
a room, independent of its occupancy, suited for any communication use just by
properly damping the range below 500 Hz down to about 63 Hz, see e.g. the example
11.14.3 (b) of a medium-sized lecture hall.
Usually a room is regarded only by its influence on a single source which is defined
by its sound power level LW . Assuming uniform distribution of the sound energy in
the room, a medium sound pressure level according to Eq. (11.1) corresponding to
the overall absorption in the room sets in. Its direct sound according to Eq. (11.29)
dominates only within a narrowly bounded near field. The distance where both
levels are of the same size, defines the so-called diffuse-field radius or diffuse-field
distance rH according to Eq. (3.14) for = 1 and P1 = Ptotal which in this representation
like the reverberation time T is only a property of the roomindependent of the
source(s). Figure 11.34 shows, for example, for rH > 1 m in e.g. a 200 m3 room that
the reverberation time should be only a little above 0.5 s. In other words: in order
to be able to understand a single speaker well (without major disturbance by the
reverberation of what he says), the listener tends to draw closer up to a distance of 1 m.
195
Theoretically, communication at a lecture or a conference constitutes that usually

only one person speaks at a time and all the others listen. Multiple voices emit
simultaneously regularly only in music ensembles. Actually there are almost always
multiple sound sources. Their average sound level according to Eqs. (3.103.12)
formed by the reverberation of the room represents, more than if there were only one
source, a noise level for each single speaker/listener combination.
Given n distributed sources of the same sound power P (e.g., students in a classroom, agents in a service center or participants of a conference) and a direct field of
only one source with sound power P1 (e.g., the teacher or chairman) preferably transmitting before a reflecting wall ( = 2), from an edge of a room ( = 4), or a corner of
a room ( = 8), the yielded corresponding diffuse-field distance in m dependent on
the volume of the room V in m3 amounts to

P1 V
P1 A
= 0.14
.
(11.34)
rH = 0.057
nP T
nP
Thus if one had to ensure uniformly good irradiation of the room by P1 , when
increasing the number n either P1 would have to be correspondingly increased or T
(in s) reduced accordingly. In rooms with almost uniform distribution and equally
loud sources (e.g., restaurants or call centers) it can be approximated that = 1 and
P1 = P yielding

A
rH = 0.5
.
(11.35)
10n
In order to be able to converse with a dinner partner or with a co-worker at a distance
of 0.5 m without raising ones voice, at least 10 m2 equivalent absorption area would
have to be installed for each user in the room, preferably more. This would be totally
unrealistic in such crowded rooms (often less than 5 m2 area per user).
Note that according to Fasold et al. (1987, Table 9 there) each user represents
only 0.51 m2 absorption area. Keep in mind that this and all conventional sound
absorbers, including upholstery, only absorb at high frequencies, thus the diffusefield distance usually decreases at low frequencies. Moreover, often very annoying
standing waves (e.g., between ceilings and floors), which too are detrimental to intelligibility, are excited at low frequencies. Therefore, it seems almost hopeless to attain
even minimal speech intelligibility in such rooms used for intensive communication.
Consequently, inevitably all users raise their voices with each new guest, co-worker
or student joining the communication and the loudness spiral shown in Fig. 11.27
climbs higher and higher until hardly anyone understands anything.
These widespread, according to Mser (2007, p. 234 there), acoustical catastrophes might be acceptable in bars or discotheques, but in classrooms or at
international banquets these conceded acoustical failures are scandalous. Until recently, this dilemma was, at best, a source of general amusement, also at the social
gatherings of the annual meetings of the Deutsche Arbeitsgemeinschaft fr Akustik
DAGA (German Society of Acoustics) as if it were naturally given. Now, however,
new knowledge and novel building elements offer a solution using simple measures
196
while at the same time providing more acoustical comfort particularly in rooms
used for intensive communication. This approach, following an initiative in Fuchs
(2008a), is based on three pronounced principles:
11.7.1
Create acoustical transparency!
Up to now, attempts to solve the dilemma consist of treating these rooms with as much
damping material as possible, preferably cladding the entire ceiling and sections of
the walls with thin fibrous or porous layers, which at best absorb the high frequency
components in which the essential speech and music information is concentrated.
Moreover in some cases, sounds are played at various places into the room to mask the
sound level of the respective co-users. Both measures actually follow the principle:
if it is not possible to efficiently lower the sound level, then at least reduce the
intelligibility of the information content.
Contrary to this, the principle presented here is not masking but rather transmitting
all acoustical information as clearly and unadulterated as possible from the respective source to each receiver focused on it (in the room or on the telephone). Thus the
aim is quite the opposite of masking and screening users from each other. If absolute
confidentiality and isolation are desired, e.g. multi-person office designs will then
have to return from open-plan to building separate-cell offices. If promoting multiple
teacher-student communications are not deemed worthwhile, education systems will
then have to return to frontal teaching. Not until every spoken word can be clearly
understood in the entire room is an individual able to adjust his voice to the situation
(a face-to-face conversation or addressing a gathering). Namely, only the greatest
possible acoustical transparency of a room creates the conditions that allow a voice to
develop the necessary dynamics that permit differentiated communication. Not until
there is no longer any physically perceived necessity to speak louder gets intimacy in
a group a chance. In an acoustically well conditioned, for many completely unaccustomed environment the automatically developing murmuring of the users prevents
much better than any artificial sound masking the involuntary listening of other
peoples conversations across a room or being distracted or even disturbed by them.
Steinke and Hoeg (1984) gives the target parameters for acoustic transparency
although in a different context as:
Clarity, definition: the ability to differentiate temporally and tonally the components of complex sound incidents,
Register transparency: the ability to differentiate between simultaneously emitting sound sources,
Temporal transparency: the ability to recognize single rapidly succeeding pulsed
tones or sounds.
According to the first principle, these subjective criteria can be attained in any (even
optically transparent) room solely with absorbing measures, however not, as generally customary, ones that predominantly absorb the high-frequency components that
197
are so vital for communication. But rather absorbers have to be employed that are
adjusted to the frequency range that according to Sect. 11.3 is completely worthless
for or even detrimental to communication. Not until the room is rid of this ballast
that only acoustically disturbs communication, can designing the room acoustically
and dividing it into different acoustical zones be considered.
11.7.2
Damp the room modes!
The room interferes most with all sound processes by the, at first glance, unavoidable excitation of its own resonances at low frequencies (see Chap. 2). In small to
medium-sized, especially flat rooms, the modes forming between the ceiling and
the floor usually dominate, e.g. for a height of 3.5 m, at 50 and 100 Hz. Everyone is
familiar with this tremendous, completely unnatural amplification at low frequencies
in stairwells and bathrooms. However, although unnoticeable to the untrained ear,
it develops its destructive effect on any communication everywhere in every room
unless damped in a sufficiently broadband manner between about 50 and 250 Hz.
Most effective for this purpose are sound traps and corner killers according
to Everest (1994, Fig. 19-4 there), compound panel absorbers CPA according to
Sect. 5.3, broadband compact absorbers BCA according to Sect. 10.2 and covered
edge absorbers CEO according to Sect. 10.3. In open-plan offices, for example,
it is not necessary to cover the entire ceiling area. Instead Fig. 11.35 shows an
exemplary solution executed in a large IT company, where CPA and BCA modules,
at an early stage of this development, were installed on only 10 % of the (thermally
activated) ceiling and on another 5 % of the sound-reflective inner walls (Fig. 11.36).
The reverberation time in Fig. 11.35 measured after this quite inconspicuous roomacoustic measure (after surface finishing adapted to the respective surroundings) also
corresponds to the third principle:
11.7.3
Tailor the reverberation spectrum!
Corresponding to the volume V of an untreated room, its reverberation time T tends

to increase according to Eqs. (3.10) and (3.11) as the equivalent absorption area A
of the boundaries of the room cannot increase correspondingly. At high frequencies,
however, sound damping on the propagation paths between two reflections (m) counteracts this trend. Moreover, the reverberation time also often increases markedly in
medium-sized and small rooms at low frequencies, because the existent absorption
(AS ), but also conventionally installed absorption (AE ) in the room usually drops at
low frequencies, turning even flat rooms, for example open-plan offices or restaurants, into rumbling acoustical torture chambers for sensitive persons, particularly
for persons who understand poorly or whose hearing is impaired.
198
Fig. 11.35 Transparent open-plan office with a minimized sample installation comprising CPA and
BCA modules; floor plan with ceiling mirror indicated (top), reverberation time (bottom)
Not only low-frequency room modes can be damped with the above-mentioned
acoustic elements. Optimum adjustment to the specific room and its furnishings
now enables forcing the spectrum of the reverberation time to become completely
flat, featuring a uniform room response over the entire frequency range of interest
from 63 Hz to 8 kHz, see e.g. Fig. 11.35. The room thus becomes (almost) a linear
transmission element between each source and receiver as symbolized in Fig. 11.28d.
No more need for lame excuses that after all no information is lost below 500 Hz
and that the ear becomes less sensitive toward low frequencies anyway, to make an
increasing reverberation time acceptable if not desirable.
11.8 Room Acoustics for Open-plan Offices
199
Fig. 11.36 CPA and BCA

modules (without surface
finish) in a sample room
according to Fig. 11.35,
covering approximately 10 %
of the ceiling area (top) and
5 % of the walls
11.8
Room Acoustics for Open-plan Offices
In the preceding general discussion on the influence of rooms on communication

focus was on, in addition to the functional aspects of room acoustics, the ergonomic
and social relevance. In the following, four large areas of work will be examined
in which many people sometimes have to communicate quite animatedly and are at
times exposed to sound levels far above 75 dB(A), for which they are largely causal
themselves.
German office workers used to require on average an area of 30 m2 (including
common areas such as conference rooms, lobbies, corridors and coffee kitchens)
according to Beul (2006), data from Cushman & Wakefield, about twice as much as
the European average. In Switzerland it is 20 m2 , in Austria only 12 m2 , see Fuchs
et al. 2006, Fig. 1 there). Room distribution was hierarchical: the best and largest
room for the executive and his managers (each with a representative reception
room). The wide middle-class people also did not want to give up their own think
cell. As companies and government administrations are increasingly forced to cut
costs wherever possible, it is obvious that not only the number of employees but also
the amount of space they require comes into consideration. According to surveys
200
Fig. 11.37 The average office space required by staff in Europe is only 8 m2 office space; in the
characteristic example shown here, see Sect. 11.14.5 d: less than 6 m2
Fig. 11.38 Many rooms used for intensive communication (figures valid for Germany) are waiting
to be acoustically upgraded
40 % intend to extend their open-plan-office areas in the near future, another 20 %

desire more flexibility in designing their work areas. Thus the number of multi-person
offices which presently amount to more than 20 % in Europe will increase further.
Widespread resistance to this trend is not simply a matter of losing prestige but
rather the justified fear of forfeiting acoustical comfort and privacy combined with
the fear of increased noise exposures. Up to now giving up single-person offices
actually only paid off if motivation and concentration of the occupants were not
taken into consideration. For room-acoustic experts this is a real challenge, because
experience has shown that appealing to staff to exercise speaking discipline in a work
environment as shown in Fig. 11.37 does not resolve the existing acoustic problem.
What is urgently needed are room-acoustical measures in huge numbers of rooms
according to Fig. 11.38.
The acoustic problem of increasing communication in confined spaces in the
modern working world, especially highly concentrated telephoning in large office
201
and service centers is actually much graver than Sects. 11.4 and 11.7 indicate. In
reality, real estate investors and managers want to raise profitability by rigorously
maximizing communicative performance and surface efficiency. In the offing are
surface parameters K2 according to Eq. (11.26) even far below 10 m2 , down to 5 m2
per work place. Nothing is more desirable and calming for a call-center operator than
if all the workers in a room are phoning at the same time.
The acoustic ceilings usually made of porous or fibrous damping material, once
standard in such offices, is a luxurious exception today, because concrete ceilings
should remain free for more installations and be easily accessible. The required
additional storey height has been forfeited long ago. Furthermore, all massive structural elements are thermally activated in order to also save on expensive heating and
air-conditioning. In view of the fact that basic damping is lacking almost everywhere,
conventional partition walls between workplaces according to Fig. 11.36 or 3.7 do
not really help anymore even if made absorbing on both sides with fibrous/porous
material. The VDI 2569 (1990) postulated ratio
Ages
Ages
=
= 0.3 0.35 m1
V
SG h
(11.36)
corresponding to a reverberation time of 0.5 s was probably rarely realized even years
ago but nowadays could hardly be reached with conventional means. Assuming a
usual room height of h = 3.2 m, this standard would require that the entire ground
or ceiling area SG be rendered absorbing with an average absorption coefficient of
100 %. Taking a realistic value of = 0.7, this would require covering additional
absorbing wall surfaces corresponding to 40 % of the areaphysically impossible
with present-day glass faades in open-plan offices.
Despite the drawbacks connected with such workplaces, the trend continues
unchecked in modern office-building construction and conversions. Returning to
the old office cells is out of the question considering the obvious advantages of
open-plan offices. However, the advantages cannot be fully exploited until the noise
problem, which has grown so strikingly, is finally solved. Up to now it restricts any
sustainable increase in the value of existent buildings or in user productivity.
VDI 2569 (1990) is largely confined to sound insulating measures against possible
external noises, as if the problems involved with user-generated noise described in
the preceding did not exist. Section 8.3 there (on sound-absorbing measures) contains
illuminating statements such as: The fear that an office may be damped too much
because of too high absorption seems unfounded in light of todays experience. or:
For reasons of speech intelligibility, ceilings in large conference rooms should not
be covered with sound-absorbing cladding. The necessary absorption, if needed at all,
should be applied to the walls. This indifference is also found in the current DIN
18 041 (2004)s recommendations concerning multi-person or open-plan offices,
which enable purpose-adapted speech communication over little distance . . . For
this purpose it is however not necessary to observe a set reverberation value.
In view of these extremely unfavorable structural conditions and traditional notions, it seems quite illusory to resolve the problem of speech intelligibility and the
closely linked noise disturbance as if it were really possible to observe the regulations
202
Table 11.3 What Sound
Level for What Work?

Requirements of the
Arbeitsstttenverordnung
Predominantly manual work
Unacceptable
Acceptable
Target
Background
noise level
in dB(A)
Average
rated
level
in dB(A)
55
50
45
6570
6065
5560
e.g. in lobbies, counter halls, post offices, restaurants, etc.

Predominantly mental work
Still acceptable
40
5055
Acceptable
35
4550
Target
30
4045
e.g. in call centers, drafting offices, conference and seminar rooms,
etc.
of the Arbeitsstttenverordnung (1975) (workplace ordinance) shown in Table 11.3,

notably 3545 dB(A) for work requiring particular concentration. In most relatively
flat rooms with an area of more than 1,000 m2 and a volume of 3,000 m3 , the inevitable noise problem can of course not simply be described according to Eq. (3.12)
by a mean sound level L and solved according to Eq. (3.13) by increasing the absorption area. As the assumption that the entire sound energy in the room is uniformly
distributed does not always hold true, it is obvious to at first describe these large new
rooms similarly to more familiar factories with their machine pools.
In accordance with DIN EN ISO 11 690 (1997) and DIN 3760 (1996), an attempt
was made to describe a room using so-called sound propagation curves SAK, that
is the drop in level from a uniformly radiating source on an unimpeded path, under
circumstances on multiple paths (in a factory, e.g. transport paths). Two parameters
can be derived from the difference of the measured (under circumstances averaged)
pressure Ls at a certain distance s from the source and the sources power level LW :
Ds = Ls LW .
(11.37)
The drop in level per doubling the distance DL2 (in free field this would be according to Eq. (11.29) for = 1 just 6 dB). Here values DL2 > 4 dB are considered
good.
The rise in level DLf compared to the level yielded in an ideal free field (without
reflections from the floor or other obstacles in the room) at the respective distance
from the source according to Eq. (11.29). Here values DLf < 8 dB are considered
good.
Fundamentally both depend on the distance from the source. For this reason the
distance is divided into a near section (1 s 5 m), a middle section (5 < s 16 m)
and a far section (16 < s 64 m). Figure 11.39 shows a measurement result and a
calculated prognosis for planning absorbing measures and a thinly drawn-in freefield
reference curve with the resulting DLf = 12.8 dB before and DL2 = 2.1 dB before and
4.3 dB after reconstruction (in each case for the middle section), averaged between
125 and 4,000 Hz. According to traditional thinking and similar to the parameters
203
Fig. 11.39 Sound

propagation curves (SAK)
before (2) and after ()
acoustic reconstruction of a
factory (after Lips 1998).
Compare: free-field (straight
line)
defined in Sects. 11.2.811.2.14, these measurements and calculations are evaluated

only at 500, 1,000 and 2,000 Hz and corresponding single-number ratings considered
sufficient.
Adhering to the same philosophy, for a long time it was thought (see e.g., Hongisto
et al. 2004, 2006) that by erecting sound screens combined with ceiling absorbers
placed above them, as in Fig. 3.8 and Virjonen et al. (2009, Fig. 2 there), sound
transmission could at least be reduced toward positions at further distance. If this
was insufficient, an average pressure level of about 48 dB(A) should be set at all the
positions by transmitting music or sounds into the room over a network of loudspeakers spaced 34 m apart in order to in this way limit the intelligibility of disturbing
talks. Today, however, large-surface absorption on the ceiling is no longer much in
demand due to endeavors to save costs and space and to thermally activate concrete
elements as an inexpensive cooling method, see Sect. 11.5. Acoustic activation of
elevated floors with a transparent/absorbing floor covering is also no option. Not only
the high installation and maintenance costs speak against sound reinforcement. Thus,
good advice seems expensive and, according to Fischer (2005), in these litigious
times the day will come when a court will pass a decisive sentence, with reference
to DIN 18 041 (2004), in which a difficult to correct planning error is recognized
whenever office areas are acoustically unusable. Unfortunately, acoustics scientists
and engineers seem to be at variance with this issue, see Sect. 11.14.5 g.
On the other hand, the working world is rapidly changing from a manufacturing
to a service one with a steadily growing share of telework with high-grade IT
technology. Productivity at workplaces requiring enormously demanding cognitive
and communicative work suffers even more from noise pollution than those in factories. Although noise levels below 80 dB(A) do not damage hearing permanently,
according to the scale in Fig. 11.40, however, negative effects on the vegetative nervous system already set in at 70 dB(A), which for example entitles metal workers
204
Fig. 11.40 The effect of

noise on human beings
to a noise bonus on top of their wages. Also or rather especially in the attractive,
new, open, flexible, communication-oriented office worlds, according to Bauer and
Kern (2002) decline in performance can be observed if noise levels rise between 50
and 80 dB(A). The old Arbeitsstttenverordnung (1975) sets 55 dB(A) as the limit
value for predominantly mental work. DIN EN ISO 11 690 (1997) recommends
4555 dB(A) for regular office work and 3545 dB(A) for work requiring particular
concentration. Unfortunately, loud printers, copiers, fans, or air conditioning already
exceed these targets. The average rated sound pressure level contains all sounds occurring at a workplace during a work shift, including voices in the room, but not
speaking from the same workplace with a neighbor or on the telephone. According
to Table 11.3, it lies typically at about 15 dB(A) above any background noise without
users.
Humans are quite able to overhear certain noises, differing greatly from person
to person, if they do not perk their ears to hear something (e.g. in a conversation, on
the telephone or consciously listening to music). This works best with uniform murmuring with low than with pulsed sounds with high information content. Fortunate
seem to be people who need background noise to work and to feel well. Although it
remains open if these people are not wasting subliminal energy in order to be able to
205
concentrate. In any case, undisputed is that a conversation in a noisy environment is

only possible up to an increase in voice loudness of 20 dB(A), see DIN 18 041 (2004,
Table D.1 there). Finally, one should bear in mind that future computer systems will
communicate with their users orally (thus with interfering own and foreign noise).
One day not so far in the future, one will try to rationalize away these new
knowledge-based workplaces as well. To increase productivity, the ergonomic
conditions
setting plausible work contents,
providing efficient work materials,
creating optimum work conditions,
will play an important role. The first two conditions are not new and are not disregarded without penalty. As to the second, here employers and employees swamp
each other with offers of and demands for ergonomic desks, chairs and keyboards.
On the other hand, greater efforts must be made to inform and make people more
aware that the working environment, as has been proven, influences the motivation
and productivity of all actors no less. It is not enough to create flexible workplaces,
arrange attractive meeting points and provide comfortable headsets. Neither is it
sufficient to postulate everywhere collaboration (teamwork), insight in and transparency of work processes (transparency) and the exchange of information at all
levels (communication) as supreme targets.
Actually many service centers have succeeded only in cramming more and more
workplaces in ever smaller space (6 m2 per workplace are locally considered optimal).
This intensive compression and the removal of room dividing elements between
the already rapidly shrinking workplaces, combined with the pervasive fear of ever
more restrictions and reductions, do not really foster cooperation. Quite the contrary, disappearing job security and individualism promotes aggression and reduces
mutual consideration unless unavoidable changes dictated by greater efficiency are
compensated by a better working environment. To prevent new work from remaining
stuck in simple rationalization and mere throwing off ballast, it is necessary to
adapt
architecture, light, color (optics),
building materials, climate/air and furniture (haptics),
foreign noise, loudness and speech intelligibility (acoustics)
better to the new office world than was needed or possible for small offices. In
optics and haptics, these challenges and opportunities were taken up with impressive results. When it comes to lighting, climate and pleasant colors or comfortable
furniture, specialists know what to recommend investors, contractors and users of
modern open-plan offices. In acoustics, however, the new office world led nearly
everywhere to definitely worsening the situation, in some cases even to catastrophic
work conditions.
Therefore, it can be observed how sensitive people try to draw closer to interlocutors, cover their free ear when telephoning or to protect their ears with highly
206
insulating headsetsquite the opposite of what the new barrier-free, transparent

office world intended. According to Lazarus et al. (2002), this leads to
avoidable errors in transmitting information,

greater tension in communication,
early tiring,
demotivation despite high demands on performance,
more overall absenteeism and illness records
at hundreds and thousands of workplaces just in IT firms with corresponding

diminished productivity and competitiveness.
In this field there is neither enough room nor money available for conventional
noise-reduction measures (e.g. acoustic ceilings and plasters, carpets, and drapes
or sound screens and splitters). Attractive little dividers as shown in Fig. 3.7 may
prevent files from getting mixed up but by no means hinder sound transmission
between adjacent workplaces. Nor are lightweight (also binaural) headsets with
intelligent digital signal processors or acoustic shock protection a viable solution
for room acoustic problems. A feasible alternative which according to Fuchs (2003b,
2005) and, Fuchs et al. (2001a, 2006) can also enhance conventional noise-control
measures, has been recently developed to the application stage in a large IT company.
Part of a new strategy for the new office world, it has proven successful within only
a few years in more than 100,000 m2 of office space (see examples in Sect. 11.14.5).
The newly created economic, ecological and social qualities will have a positive
impact on the entire new work sector.
Due to the large number of vacancies in office real estate (locally in times
1020 % in German cities), according to Beul (2006) the owners of 5.8 million
m2 of unoccupied space are losing 900 million annually just in Berlin, Dsseldorf, Frankfurt, Hamburg, Cologne and Munich. The quality of the buildings with
vacancies is deteriorating steadily. Thus it would seem obvious to refurbish these
buildings in such a way that they can not only compete with new buildings but even
surpass them in terms of their ergonomic standards. For example, the owner of a
complex built in 1969 in Munich which the Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft FhG had leased
for years as its headquarters was unable to find a new tenant when the FhG moved
to its new headquarters, see Sect. 11.14.1 e. So it was decided to invest 22 million
to renovate the building with 13,000 m2 office space. Now renovated, the object
comprises three different types of commercial offices on six floors. The idea was to
appeal to a variety of user groups. The result according to Beul (2006) was that more
than half of the offices were already leased before the reconstruction was finished.
However, a far-sighted investor should no longer stick to the old tried acoustic
measures as propagated e.g. in the Bro-Atlas by Eisele and Staniek (2005), in
which acoustics is presented as noise control according to DIN 4109 1989) recommending only carpets, drapes, and acoustic plaster. In a renovation project costing
approximately 1,700 /m2 , implementing the innovative room acoustical concept
with CPA, BCA and CEA modules will probably cost less than 3 % of the total
amount.
11.9 Room Acoustics for Classrooms
11.9
207
Room Acoustics for Classrooms
Although in the scale of rooms requiring room acoustic measures shown in Fig. 11.38,
classrooms and training rooms rank far below the great mass of commercial offices,
all them more or less plagued by the pandemic telephonitis, they still rank clearly
ahead of other objects used for intensive communication. It has been known for
years that schoolteachers and kindergarten educators suffer considerably from noise
pollution at their work places with noise levels between 60 and 85 dB(A) prevailing
in classrooms and play corners and sometimes even 100 dB(A) in gyms, stairwells,
and workshops. Typical noise areas are recess rooms, hallways and auditoriums and
now, as a result of introducing all-day schools, cafeterias and lunchrooms.
The consequence for teachers is that they continuously have to raise their voices.
The increased nervous strain, also due to the other factors (large classes, high proportion of non-native-speaking students, bureaucracy), leads to fatigue and absenteeism
for illness. The resulting burn-out and early retirement are tragic and senselessly expensive for the taxpayer. With all the other justified complaints of this occupational
group, this one is simply overheard by the authorities.
The public is even less aware of the no less dramatic effect of miserable room
acoustic conditions on children and students. According to Eberle et al. (2007), children and students spend most of the time listening, because 75 % of the curriculum
is transmitted orally: Children have to listen to their teacher explaining something,
to their classmates in discussions and especially closely when taking dictation or
doing mental arithmetic. Listening in reverberant, loud conditions requires blending
out background noises and continually filling in incomplete information. Adults are
able to do this quite well, but not children, the less the younger they are. . . Due to
the great effort made to take in information, little capacity is left for retaining and
processing it.
In this context reference is made to Hellbrck (2007) and the irrelevant sound effect ISE: interfering speech and sound that is similarly temporally segmented, be it the
mother tongue, foreign or spoken in reverse speech, impair retaining verbal material
in the short-term memory. The resulting tension and effort to focus attention including
employment and depletion of cognitive resources leads to errors and overhearing
important peripheral incidents. Loudness facilitates negative reaction tendencies
and thus diminishes performance. Overburdening the verbal short-term memory, of
course, plays a big role in open-plan offices (Sect. 11.8), nonetheless Hellbrck
(2007), stresses: Considering that the short-term memory of pre-school and elementary school children is not fully developed and that these children have difficulty
in differentiating between relevant and irrelevant information and that their attention
therefore wanders, optimum building and room acoustical conditions particularly in
elementary schools would be most desirable.
Bearing in mind that in many study and play groups the proportion of non-native
speakers with a migrant background is over 90 % and that children frequently
have illnesses that temporarily impair hearing, it is evident how important a room
acoustic concept like that described in Sect. 11.7 is particularly here. In comparison
training noise-avoiding teaching, setting up noise-level indicators and the noise
208
lights recommended by Tiesler (2005) or, according to Eberle et al. (2007), agreeing
on certain hand signals, a brief song and game and when one person talks all
others listen, are only helpless and in the long run useless attempts to survive when
it gets too loud. Nor are the primitive self-help attempts of concerned parents
under the guidance of Schmitz (2007) employing 3 mm hard-fiber boards and 40 mm
rockwool able to cope with the problem. With the same effort, parents could surely
have accomplished much more had they approached the problem differently.
For Schmitz (2007), conventional acoustic ceilings are a combination of porous
and resonant absorbers that absorb in nearly all relevant frequency ranges. However, he does concede: The principally poor low-frequency absorption of such
ceilings always remains. Usually the result is that even after installation of an acoustic ceiling there is still a more or less marked increase in reverberation time at low
frequencies (cf. Niermann and Sprenger-Pieper 2009). Indisputably the massive
conventional damping of classrooms in the architecturally and acoustically brutal
concrete and glass fortresses built in the boom years of school construction improved acoustic comfort and lowered the noise levels during instruction according
to Schnwlder et al. (2004) by more than the to-be-expected 3 dB according to Eq.
(3.13), notably by 68 dB. However, such large-scale cladding of ceilings and walls
is not always feasible and does not tackle the root of the problem. Moreover, once
sub-optimal measures have been invested in, there is little willingness to consider
further up-to-date measures as exemplified in Sect. 11.14.3.
Meanwhile PISA studies draw attention to considerable deficits not only in German schools. And no politician misses an opportunity to loudly proclaim that
promoting better teaching and learning is an investment in the future. The sustainable effect of the economic program recently passed by the German Bundestag,
also to the aid of the building industry, could hardly more benefit teachers (raising
their productivity) and students (improving their learning processes) when invested
here. Unfortunately, reality is quite a different matter when funds just suffice to secure the deteriorating substance of rundown buildings. Once again the complaints of
noise-plagued users are lost in the din. A most recently launched initiative with the
Berlin senate may be of help.
Kirchner (2010) found out that the upper limit (Tsoll + 0.2 s) set by DIN 18041
(2004) and other international standards for schools is surpassed in 83 % of the
200 classrooms he investigated in Berlin. No questionfor the 63 Hz octave hardly
any of these workplaces fulfills this requirement. His own weak excuse for this
completely unsatisfactory, though very common situation is that a slight ascend of
the reverberation time toward the low frequencies be acceptable and did not impair
the room-acoustical quality for speech and his statement that special absorbers
which could introduce low frequency damping into the classroom would in most
cases not be financially feasible, in fact, both reflect the conviction of many of
his colleagues, but are nonetheless too tolerant, respectively too pessimistic. After
all, in Sects. 11.14.2 and 11.14.3 a number of demonstration examples of sports
and education centers are presented which fulfill all demands of noise control and
functional acoustics according to Fuchs (2011) without straining the budgets for a
full-scale overhaul or renovation of a room.
11.10 Room Acoustics for Musicians Workplaces
11.10
209
Room Acoustics for Musicians Workplaces
The preceding two sections primarily deal with the ergonomic aspects (2) of the
perception of acoustics defined in Sect. 11.1. The economic and social aspects of
noise-protection could also have been added to both sections. Whereas in rooms
where music is performed, rehearsed, taught or practiced the functional aspects (3)
dominate when having to deal with the actors exposure to noiseeven when they
only play classical music.
In February 2008, with the passing of new regulations that replaced the accident
prevention regulations UVV Lrm (noise) of 1997, tighter limit values for noise
exposure went into effect, also for musicians workplaces. Unlike in other commercial and service sectors, here employers and employees face a seemingly unsolvable
dilemma: first, in view of the musicians and the audiences desired, respectively
expected, sound experience, reducing sound emissions the required 510 dB at the
source itself seems obviously senseless and counterproductive. Second, most musicians understandably refuse to wear personal ear protection when performing or
rehearsing with an orchestra. Organizational or conventional sound-shielding and
damping measures offer no lasting solution to the problem. The fundamental room
acoustic concept described in Sect. 11.7 that designs the surrounding spaces broadband absorbing is therefore carefully adapted to the musicians very special needs.
The goal is greater acoustic transparency which permits better ensemble playing with
less physical effort andwith thus made possible restrained intonation by all and responsible directing particularly during rehearsalsenables reducing the noise level
as required without diminishing the quality of the performance, see Fuchs (2008b).
11.10.1
Noise-exposure of Musicians
It is common knowledge that especially young people damage their ears at rock concerts, in discotheques or with walkmans. Entertainers know better than their fans
and protect their ears at live concerts and recording sessions with personal ear protection. Here custom-molded otoplastics, prefabricated ear plugs and sound-insulated
headsets have proven successful. However, classically playing orchestra musicians
(without electro-acoustic amplification) are intermittently exposed to sound levels
far above 110 dB(A), for minutes above 100, an average of 90 over the working day
and still an average of above 85 during the working weekunfortunately with rising
tendency.
A current study by the Schweizerische Unfallversicherungsanstalt SUVA (Swiss
Accident Insurance Company) with 43 musicians from the Tonhalle-Orchester Zrich
and the symphony orchestras of Basel and Lucerne determined equivalent mean levels
Leq during work, practicing and teaching, accruing to alarming levels in a 40 hwork week Leq,40h , see Table 11.4. The corresponding highest 8 h day levels would
be even somewhat higher. For all the instrument groups, most significant was the
periods of performing and rehearsing. For the brass instruments and percussions,
210
Fig. 11.41 Horizontal

radiation characteristic
(0 to 3 dB) of a trumpet at
various frequencies. (After
Meyer 1995, 2009)
the most exposed groups, practicing and teaching (in that order) also contribute to
the accrued level. Whereas for the string instruments and woodwinds, the less
exposed groups, teaching contributes with Leq between 75 and 84 dB(A) little to
the relevant LEX . Apparently these groups suffer especially from exposure to the
louder instruments. Due to trumpets and trombones radiating in a certain direction
especially when playing the high tones dominating in forte (Fig. 11.41), the seating
arrangement of the musicians also plays a crucial role in their sound exposure.
Additional noise-exposure in recreation and inevitable age-related hearing loss
(according to ISO 1999 (1990) among 50-year-old males on average between 3 and
6 kHz already between 20 and 30 dB) are omitted here, but it should be noted
that these factors by no means mitigate the problem but rather can aggravate it considerably. Knowing that levels above 85 dB(A) can impair hearing permanently, the
situation must be termed alarming for all musicians. The consequence is an increase
in job-related illnesses (ranging from temporary buzzing to permanent whistling
(tinnitus), acoustical trauma) and ultimate loss of hearing more than once make it
difficult if not impossible for musicians to continue to work in their occupation. Experience with industrial and commercial workplaces has shown that above 90 dB(A)
impaired hearing that is recognized as an occupational disease already sets in after
211
Table 11.4 Mean level Leq for orchestra musicians during different activities and the resulting
exposure level LEX in dB(A) for a 40 h week. (After Hohmann 2007)
Instrument
LEX total
Leq working
Leq practicing
Leq teaching
Trombone
Trumpet
Tuba
Horn
Clarinet
Flute
Percussions
Fagot
Harp
Violin
Viola
Cello
Oboe
Recorder
Contrabass
95
94
92
92
92
91
91
89
89
89
89
86
86
86
85
96
92
91
92
91
91
89
90
91
90
89
87
88
86
87
96
93
93
93
92
91
93
87
87
90
90
84
85
86
81
90
91
91
89
87
85
89
83
81
84
83
79
83
80
75
10 years and above 85 dB(A) after 15 years. Impairment is officially considered an

occupational disease if a shift in the hearing threshold of 40 dB occurs around 3
kHz, which of course limits the communication ability considerably.
Although some investigations indicate that musicians, despite their high noise
exposure, suffer a hearing loss less than ISO 1999 (1990) would let assume, see
Obeling and Poulsen (1999), Khari et al. (2001a, 2001b) Strasser et al. (2005)
studied the short-term and reversible physiological effects of noise exposure (from
loudspeakers) on ten normal-hearing test persons with Leq = 94 dB(A) for an exposure
period of 1 h corresponding to the still permissible LEX,8h = 85 dB(A) according to
the new EU guideline (see Sect. 11.10.2) for
a.
b.
c.
d.
percussion-dominated heavy metal (22.7 dB; 127 min.),

pulsed industrial noise (22 dB; 130 min.),
uniform white noise (18.8 dB; 97 min.) and
classical orchestra music by Hndel, Vivaldi and Smetana (11.4 dB; 55 min.).
They discovered that in each case the resulting temporary hearing threshold shift as
well as the interval until recovery of the original hearing ability decreased in the above
order (according to the respective figures in the parentheses), however quite unevenly
among the different test persons. From this they concluded the aural consequences
(physiological costs) from exposure to classical music were significantly less.
Fleischers (2008) studies on permanent hearing damage from diverse, especially
pulsed noises also indicate that assessment of musicians exposure to noise needs to
be more differentiated. However, it should be noted that unnecessarily high mean
levels particularly in small to medium-sized rooms make the demanding mental and
sensory work of musicians much more difficult to the detriment of the artistic results.
During the baroque and classical periods, noise exposure for musicians was
probably generally about 10 dB(A) lower and therefore not harmful to their health,
because
212
a. performances generally were held in rooms that were relatively damped by the
furnishings,
b. electro-acoustic aids had not yet spoiled and desensitized the ears of performers
and the audience,
c. the musical instruments had not been trimmed to the highest degree of brilliance,
radiance and loudness for todays generally much larger halls.
The conductor Erich Leinsdorf seems to have been aware quite early of the upward
loudness spiral to which all instruments (have to) contribute in order to make themselves heard in, respectively with modern large orchestras: According to Hohmann
(2007) during the rehearsal of a symphony by S. Prokofjev, the maestro explained to
his horn players: Prokofjev did not know that one day the horn players would be able
to play such loud fortissimo tones as you just have. Again please!and play these ff
and fff meno forte! Unfortunately, many of his successors do everything they can
to make their ensemble sound more powerfulat the expense of their musicians
health. H.v. Karajan is told to have suggested to his drummer as he was putting on
ear protection that he had chosen the wrong profession if he could not take the sound
levels. It must be noted that conductors due to their prominent position above the
noise carpet in the orchestra are somewhat less affected by this problem, as the
SUVA noise-level tables show http://www.suva.ch/waswo/86496. They can demand
that the trombones play piu forte! without risking damage to their ears like the viola
players do who usually sit directly in front of the brass.
11.10.2
The EU Guideline 2003/10/EG
The noise exposure problem of performing or teaching musicians is by no means

new, see Fuchs et al. (1991), but it was the new EU Guidelines Lrm 2003 that
finally drew broad public attention to it and set stricter regulations for employers
and employees of these especially valuable workplaces similar to those that have
long been in practice in industry, where according to Liedtke (2007) have resulted
in reducing noise exposure and noise-related early retirement considerably:
If exposure levels are above 80 dB(A) averaged over an 8-hour day (LEX,8h ), ear
protection must be provided at the workplace.
Above 85 dB(A) wearing personal ear protection becomes compulsory essentially
and a noise-reduction plan must be drawn up.
87 dB(A) are a strict value (under circumstance evaluated with ear protection)
not to be exceeded in any circumstances.
Only if LEX,8h were never exceeded, the correspondingly lower LEX,40h would be
considered for noise exposure evaluation. By February 2008, all the member countries had to turn these guidelines into national law. In Germany this occurred with
the Verordnung Lrm (2007), which replaced the old UVV Lrm (1997) and set
85 dB(A) universally as the upper limit.
213
An interim regulation (This ordinance is not to be applied to the field of music and the entertainment sector until the 15th of February 2008) indicates how
difficult application is in this particular sector. Therefore under guidance of the Bundesanstalt fr Arbeitsschutz und Arbeitmedizin (BauA), acoustic experts, engineers,
occupational medicine specialists, ENT specialists and health insurance representatives including the Deutsche Orchestervereinigung DOV drew up guidelines, see
Bork et al. (2009). This is the first time that a sector was explicitly recognized as
singular, calling attention to the significance and the need of noise protection also
among musicians and making all the involved more keenly aware of a very dangerous
situation. Employers should consult the comprehensive studies by Hohmann (2007)
and Richter et al. (2007) for determining and assessing risks. Where this has not yet
occurred, concrete measures should be taken immediately:
Informing and instructing employees,
Monitoring health by physical examinations,
Drafting noise-level reduction plans to avoid and reduce noise exposure.
11.10.3
Measures for Noise-Level Reduction
With todays knowledge it is not a question of if but rather to state where and how
noise generated by musicians themselves can be reduced. Bork et al. (2009) deals
with where by focusing on orchestra pits, rehearsal, practice, singing and teaching
rooms as well as recording studios and open-air stages. For how the following
measures are listed in order of their importance:
1. Structural measures
1.1 room-acoustical improvements
1.2 sound-absorbing cladding of the boundaries of the room
1.3 sound-shielding partition elements
2. Organizational measures
2.1 strict observance of breaks
2.2 even temporal distribution of rehearsals and performances
2.3 keeping loud and quieter instruments locally apart
3. Personal ear protection
3.1 custom-molded silicon otoplastics (Fig. 11.42a)
3.2 premolded silicon ear plugs (Fig. 11.42b)
3.3 commercial disposable foam ear plugs (Fig. 11.42c)
3.4 cotton ear plugs custom-molded on an as needed basis (Fig. 11.42d).
Items 3.23.4 must be rated as completely insufficient and impracticable for musicians, even if product 3.2 according to Richter et al. (2007) can be equipped with
a filter which tries to block the high and low frequencies components to the same
degree. Instead the guidelines recommend that the employer provides each affected
employee with high-tech 3.1 type devices (preferably with replaceable membrane
filters for selectively 9, 15 or 25 dB(A) insertion loss) personally customized by a
214
Fig. 11.42 Commercial ear protection as custom-molded otoplastics (a), premolded ear plugs
(b), disposable ear plugs (c) and cotton ear plugs. (After Richter et al. 2007)
Fig. 11.43 Air-borne sound insertion loss of a custom-molded otoplastic () and a premolded ear
plug ()
qualified ENT doctor, audiologist or hearing aid expert and to have them inspected
regularly. Figure 11.43 shows the insulating effect promised by commercially available ear protection. Although the third complex of measures is listed in the guidelines,
most likely however this is due to practices at workplaces near loud machines and
installations. These measures involve considerable investment and operational costs
as industry and commerce refers to these expenses which are normally not foreseen
in orchestra and theater budgets. Before trying to increase the respective budgets
accordingly, it would be wise to seriously examine the feasibility of these measures
and their acceptance by musicians, who normally do not work with electro-acoustical
aids.
For wind-instrument players, using otoplastics poses the problem of pressure
compensation. Moreover, audiologists point out an occlusion probleman effect that due to the sound output via the jawbones makes voices and tones sound
loud and hollow if the acoustic ducts are closed for air-borne sound. More important is that the ear protection measures, which three out of four musicians are
215
familiar with, will actually only seldom be used. In especially critical work phases
rehearsals/performances/practicing, even the most sophisticated type 3.1 is only employed often to very often by 8.4/7.2/4.7 % of those asked. Hohmann (2007) and
Richter et al. (2007) provide quite reasonable explanations:
Intonation cannot be controlled while playing,

loudness of own instrument is misjudged,
diffuse feeling of isolation,
difficulty to play together within a register and with the orchestra,
exact solo entry impossible,
general uncertainty,
falsification of the overall tonal sensation,
thus a general impairment of the artistic endeavor. Richters et al. (2007) proposal
to mark the use of ear protection in the full and all single scores and activate it only
intermittently is hardly conform with the professional ethos of musicians. A general
regulation making wearing ear plugs compulsory can also be ruled out, because it
would be too great an intrusion on an individuals artistic profile. On the other hand,
only a few sporadically playing with ear protection is also obviously not a long-term
solution.
The organizational measure 2.3 may be beneficial in large rooms. However particularly in the critical, often crowded small rooms (see above), positioning the orchestra
and rotating seating arrangements will probably not actually measurably alleviate
the problem. At best these can be considered as an ad hoc measure, an emergency
solution, when the health of single persons is at risk.
A bit more can be expected from optimizing scheduling (not only from an acoustical aspect) the various activities (2.2). If the immission time TE of an assumed
unavoidable equivalent mean level Leq is halved in a given evaluation period TB (e.g.
an 8-hour day), the corresponding exposure level LEX decreases according to
LEX = Leq 10 lg
TB
TE
(11.38)
indeed by 3 dB provided that during the free time there is no further noise exposure
of comparable loudness. However, the 10 dB to be required according to Table 11.4
cannot be attained with this measure. Moreover, breaks that really deserve the name
should be spent in rooms with a sufficiently low noise level (about < 40 dB(A) and
not in a mostly noisy cafeteria).
All person-related and organizational measures combined cannot produce for everyone the actually required reduction in exposure level of 510 dB(A) according to
Table 11.4. Sound-directing measures 1.3, for example as described in Fig. 11.44a
after Wogram (2007), are ablewhere there is enough room for it and the musicians
accept itto lower the peak levels somewhat for the musicians shielded by it but
without reducing the average surrounding sound level. Structural measure 1.3 may be
the last resort if maximum possible emissions of the loudest instruments are continued to be insisted on unchecked. Some musicians like Wogram (2007) are convinced
that certain tone timbres of e.g. of a trombone can only light up when the instrument
is played with a maximal air pressure and sound power.
216
Fig. 11.44 Sound screens (after Wogram 2007) (a, b) and Sect. 11.14.6 (c)
11.10.4
Reducing Emissions by Room Acoustical Measures
If the person-related and organizational measures according to the listing in

Sect. 11.10.3 alone are unable to ensure compliance with the as of February 2008
binding noise protection regulation without interfering artistically, a way must be
found to reduce the sound immission in general, see Fuchs (2007a). Musicians, often sitting crowded together, absorb about as well or even better than any full-surface
acoustic ceiling. Even if, for example, thick carpets are placed on the floor of an
orchestra pit or conventionally functioning acoustical claddings, curtains and diffusors are mounted on walls of a rehearsal room, as described in Sect. 11.14.6 c
respectively d the sound level remains deafening, so loud that it represents a health
hazard. Sound above 250 or 500 Hz generally dominate in the resulting spectra.
If the equivalent absorption area A1 already existent in a room were doubled
by mounting conventional cladding with sound absorbers (A2 ) of porous/fibrous
material for this frequency range on all still available ceiling and wall surfaces,
measure 1.2 in Sect. 11.10.3 is at best able to reduce the exposure level according to
Eq. (3.13) by 3 dB, but never sufficiently to attain the 510 dB required according
to Table 11.4.
How can musicians and their employers resolve this seemingly hopeless dilemma
in which the one group risks damaging their ears and the other coming into conflict
with the Verordnung Lrm 2007? There must be a way to reduce the sound emissions at the sources in a room (e.g., for the duration of a symphony movement or an
opera scene) by distinctly more than 3, preferably close to 10 dB(A). The challenge
is that this has to be accomplished with an orchestras precious, superb instruments
(e.g. Stradivaris which were, during the nineteenth century, trimmed to amplify their
tonal volume) and without the orchestras expressiveness suffering. Nothing else has
the least chance of being accepted by the modern music industry.
Actually one would think that there is fundamentally nothing standing in the way
for an initiative to return to playing with less stress and power, because
217
good instruments and correspondingly qualified musicians must be readily able

to play with variable loudness with no harm to expressiveness,
the conductor has it in his hands and the brasses in their mouth to let a
symphony or an opera sound magnificent at a mean level that is tolerable for all,
musicians and the audiences ears with their variable sensitivity are automatically
able to adjust to the respective loudness level of the performance as a whole.
According to Meyer (1995, 2009), a professional trombonist has a dynamic range
of 3035 dB, a horn player 3540 dB although with some restrictions regarding
the attainable timbre. Playing with a certain restraint (so far often not possible in
acoustically poorly conditioned rooms), not constantly forcing maximum exertion,
may lead to better results for many instruments, especially singing voiceswith
less effort and less rapid tiring without detriment to the enjoyment of the audience.
Cultivated listeners will not miss the bombastic sound in front of powerful loudspeaker boxes at home. In every electro-acoustic performance, the dynamic range,
the difference
L = Lmax Lmin
(11.39)
between the loudest (Lmax ) and the quietest (Lmin ) sounds is limited and artificially
manipulated by interfering noise in the reproduction room and a loudness transformation already carried out in producing the recording. On the other hand, sensitive,
restrained playing that is easy on the players ears can even intensify the dynamic
range and brilliance desired by the composer and the musicians, because the loudness reserves still present in the high-quality instruments can then come into their
own in the brief fortissimo passages, the climatic highlights of a composition, which
according to Eq. (11.38) hardly play a dominant role in the averaged exposure level.
Such an emission reduction at the sources (only as an average!) would not only
facilitate and enhance the ensemble play in modern orchestra pits; it would also finally
help improve the problematic balance between the orchestra and the stage. With
this in mind, the soprano A. Kampe is full of praise for the conductor C. Abbado:
He always pays particular attention to the balance between the voices. His ideal
is an ensemble that is translucent like a vocal fabric. In an interview with Otten
(2009), she challenges orchestra musicians: Simply play less loudly! And playing
or singing less loudly enables one to generate much greater intensity. Being able to
hear each other and to produce something together is my way. In rehearsal, practice
and teaching rooms the result is relief for the ears which are now able to adjust better
and concentrate on the so crucial filing away at details. Why then has loudness
escalated despite the fact that all professionals are quite familiar with these problems
and interrelationships?
On the surface, it may be that some ambitious musicians and conductors confuse
loudness with brilliance and precision. However, a closer look at the acoustical
conditions in the affected rooms brings to light a much deeper problem: parallel to
the loudness spiral in the development of musical instruments over the centuries, a
second problem developed relating to the structural modifications of such rooms:
218
Fig. 11.45 Almost completely enclosed orchestra pit in the Festpielhaus Bayreuth. (After Meyer
1995, 2009)
An ever-growing number of musicians have been crowded onto a continuously

shrinking space.
Owing to todays conventional building materials, rooms have been left practically
undamped (sound-reflective), at least for the low frequencies.
Orchestra pits have beenprobably with the intention of improving the balance
with the singers on the stagepushed under the stage or partly roofed.
The ultimate consequence was almost complete enclosure of the orchestra pit in
the Festspielhaus in Bayreuth (Fig. 11.45): for R. Wagners music definitely to the
benefit of the singers, but so much more to the detriment of the orchestra under
the stage. Or in the words of the New Scientist of the 23rd of February 2002 with
reference to a publication by Zha et al. (2002): Its the pitsWhile the fat lady
sings, the orchestra is suffering!. This concentration of sound sources on a constantly dwindling space and the increasing room reverberation time alone already
lead according to Eq. (11.1) to a certain escalation of loudness. Actuallyand this
has long also been overlooked by acoustic expertsthe sound power LW emitted by
the individual users does not remain constant. Rarely being properly conditioned,
rooms employed in this manner inevitably suffer from the development of a loudness spiral according to Fig. 11.27, which adds to the before mentioned loudness
spiral due to the earlier and still continuing reinforcement of all musical instruments.
Todays many extraordinarily successful authentic performances of old music
played on original instruments may help to return to the more ear-friendly playing,
at least of classical music.
Room reverberation can have a positive effect on the development of sound if
there is just one single source (see Sect. 11.3.2). However, if there are multiple
sources, it mostly has a destructive effect, in many cases even with catastrophic
results: In particular the excitation of a room at low frequencies masks, according
219
to Sect. 11.4, the perception of the important medium and high frequencies that are
so important for the ensemble play. When a musician is unable to hear himself and
the others, he automatically, almost inevitably intonates unnecessarily louder. Even
a sensitive conductor standing above the sound quagmire has a hard time attaining
the proper balance and loudness. This so long unnoticed problem can be tackled at
its root by taking from the room the undue influence it exercises on music. Proper
damping of the room according to Sects. 11.4 and 11.7 reduces not only reverberation
time but, according to Eq. (11.1), as a physical consequence also the sound level
as any acoustic expert knows. The maximum attainable 3 dB(A) being inadequate
(see above), the measures physiological effects on the sources and listeners is much
more significant, in quality as well as in quantity: If high-grade absorbers, which
are effective down to low frequencies, however at least down to 63 Hz, for example
as described in Sects. 5.3, 10.2 and 10.3, are suitably positioned in the room, they
ensure (for many surprisingly) that
all voices and instruments in the room can be heard crystal clear (transparency is
generated),
relaxed ensemble play becomes possible (balance can be adjusted),
differences in loudness can be better articulated (thus extending the dynamic
range).
Although little academic research has been done on the quite intricate audiophysiological mechanisms which have led to this global problem and which play
an equally complicated role in solving it, in view of the continued suffering and
urgency to find a viable solution, Sect. 11.14.6 gives a number of refurbishing examples following the concept described in Sect. 11.7. The unfortunate predicament of
musicians was the reason for initiating a series of research projects at the Fraunhofer
IBP as described in Fuchs et al. (1991). It all started in a music school, continuing
with the recording of a percussion concert in Schloss Solitude in Stuttgart and culminating in building the Groes Haus of the Staatstheater Mainz, see Sect. 11.14.7
and Fuchs et al. (2004b). The experience led to developing a concept for systematic
damping of the bass range which has become state of the art today. Meanwhile it is
able to offer relief of a few, yet decisive dBs to musicians in many an ensemble.
In fact rooms conditioned in this manner definitely allow a greater expressiveness.
Maximum power and brilliance, which entail a full sound spectrum ranging to the
highest frequencies, is of course retainedonly the in acoustically ill- conditioned
rooms programmed compulsion to continually play louder than the score actually
calls for is overcome to allow the players to better hear and control themselvesto the
benefit of the musical adventure. If all the musicians play with a certain restraint and
the conductor exercises responsibility not only will it be easier to achieve optimum
results but the players average sound exposure will be reduced distinctly more than
achievable with conventional damping measures (i.e. not by 3 but by the required 5
10 dB(A)). Combined with reasonable, not necessarily decisive organizational and
sound-screening measures, it will in any case be possible to meet the current guidelines strict limiting exposure level described in Sect. 11.10.12. Earplugs would
only be needed to be resorted to under exceptional circumstances when working in
220
a poorly conditioned environment, with inconsiderate colleagues or an irresponsible

conductor and when a peak performance is not attainable anyway.
Consequently, the reason for employers to implement the described structural
measures is two-fold: first of all to protect their employees from ear-damaging sound
and second to improve work conditions at a workplace which demands outstanding
artistic achievement. For completely different acoustic reasons, it has of course never
harmed a room for demanding music performances to eliminate the low-frequency
fog which influences sound transmission between the sources to the microphones
and to the auditorium negatively, see Sect. 11.11.
11.11 Acoustics for Performance, Recording and Reproduction

of Speech and Music
The preceding three sections concentrate on the so-called ergonomic aspects (1) of
room acoustics as mentioned in Sect. 11.1. The telephonitis rampant in the new
office world (Sect. 11.8) can only be contained room acoustically by combining sound
insulation or shielding and damping. The, in many schools, unbearable acoustical
conditions (Sect. 1.10) are the result of many years of neglect at all levels. If funds
were available for more than just upkeep, they should be spent on as broadband as
possible absorption measures. Similar sound absorbers that are effective down to the
lowest frequencies can also lower noise levels at all musician workplaces, which are
also the result of the instruments increased radiation power (Sect. 11.10).
In designing auditoria (i.e. rooms for performance, recording and reproduction
of speech and music), the aspects (3) of room acoustics referred to in Sect. 11.1
as functional should clearly dominate. Especially theaters, operas and concert halls
have challenged acoustic experts and planners from time immemorial. Contrary to
noise control and acoustic comfort in other work, dwelling and recreation sectors,
here most important for all concerned is acoustics in colloquial speech, because
the success or failure of public buildings attracts so much attention. In a special issue
on this topic, the journal editors Ruhnke and Mertens (2009) wrote in an editorial:
For musicians and their audience, gathering in a concert hall with good acoustics
is a feast, in one with mediocre or even poor acoustics it is punishment. . . There
are only few concert halls and even less opera houses in the entire world that are
said to have excellent acoustics. . . When new such spaces are to be designed today,
their acoustic quality is of utmost priority. Greeks and Romans were aware of this
when they built their theatres. The editors do not consider acoustics as a mystery
but for them it remains somehow a miracle: most advanced computer technology,
innovative acoustical models of concert halls, refined measurements and calculations
and all the efforts of experts do not guarantee that a new auditorium will sound good
upon completion, on the stage, in the stalls and in the cheap seats and they do
not hesitate to mention preferences as well as disasters and allude to corresponding
marketing consequences.
11.11 Acoustics for Performance, Recording and Reproduction of Speech and Music
221
As far as air-borne and structure-borne sound insulation to control noise from

the inside or the outside is concerned, architectural acoustics experts adhere to the
accepted regulations and guidelines (e.g. in DIN 4109 1989). Only noise from airconditioning systems (e.g. according to VDI 2081 2001) still presents occasional
problems; these however are mostly due to poor planning or improper installation, see
Chap. 13. The last, though very effective resort here is turning off the air-conditioning
system during a performance or recording session and turning it back on in the
intermission.
DIN 18041 (2004) provides general information for designing small and mediumsized auditoria for speech and music with regard to reverberation time, but some of
this information is inadequate even for rooms that are only used for intense communication and recreation, see Sect. 11.6. For large auditoria there are, however, no
unequivocal building-physical specifications let alone specific standards. Even after a
century of intensive excellent scientific research as in no other field of acoustics, many
aspiring to join the discussion are still puzzling and philosophizing about such subjective quality criteria as fullness, size, volume, depth, warmth, color,
nearness, presence, resonance, brilliance, force, intimacy and envelopment (to mention just a few of the countless catchwords). Yet largely lacking are
established recommendations that can straightforwardly be applied in practice, and
they are also not to be found in DIN EN ISO 3382 (2000).
A current assessment by Witew (2006) of these sincere efforts, which became
even more intense during the last 50 years, found that generally still missing is a
relationship between subjective perception and objective measuring parameters
as well as that the evaluations of diverse surveys are often rather contradictory. One
survey, for example, on the overall impression apparently divided the audience into
two groups, of which one preferred loud performances and the other especially
clear acoustics. Significantly, a high statistical correlation could only be established
between the overall optical and acoustical impressions. A typical example is when
the architect and the acoustician of a large restoration project of a renown school
of music were asked why no sound absorbers had been installed in the tuition and
rehearsal rooms, they both answered that the users when asked uttered diverging
opinions and they, therefore, decided to leave the ceilings and walls sound-reflective
and only provide curtains for variable acoustics.
11.11.1
Minimum Room-acoustical Requirements
In this for all participants unsatisfactory situation, the acoustician, even if commissioned as usual only in the capacity of an architectural acoustics expert according
to HOAI (2002), would be well advised to follow a few basic geometric principles
as early as possible in planning the large-scale structures according to Sect. 11.2.2
of large auditoria at least with regard to the especially important criteria loudness,
reverberance and echo-freeness:
222
1. Ensuring good sight lines between performers and audience,

2. Creating useful early reflections in the direction of the performers and in the
direction of the auditorium,
3. Avoiding detrimental late reflections.
All he needs, for a start, is a ruler and a protractor. The success or failure of these
simple measures (1) to (3) can be easily determined later by objective measurement
of the sound level distribution above the seat areas and the impulse response in the
room and derived from that the clarity, respectively definition and lateral-fraction
level (see Sects. 11.2.811.2.13). Computer simulations, as described by Vorlnder
(2009), and models can help convince architects and building contractors in the early
planning phase but require funds, which the budget usually does not provide.
Should an acoustician be able to influence the design of the small-scale structures
and the furnishings, he should ensure in a later phase that
4. large plane or even concave boundary surfaces of the rooms are subdivided into
smaller structures,
5. the sound-reflective structural materials dominating in modern architecture are
partially covered with suited sound-absorbing cladding.
In order to achieve the greatest possible diffusivity according to the basic principle
(4), the dimensions of all sub-structures should vary if possible between about 0.5
and 5 m corresponding to the wavelengths in the most relevant frequency range.
According to conventional notions, the reverberation time at medium frequencies
according to Fig. 11.30, respectively Eqs. (11.2911.31), resulting from measures
(5) should increase but slightly with the room volume.
Up to this point neither special room acoustical design concepts nor new structural
measures or products are required. Nevertheless, the acoustician may be proud if
all those responsible have adhered to his principle design criteria (1) to (5) and
those responsible for execution of the details, hopefully timely tendered, actually
carry them out accordingly. Usually concentrating any measurements concerning
the above-mentioned objective criteria only on the medium frequencies, for example
at 500 Hz or averaged between 500 and 1,000 or 2,000 Hz, these normally are not a
source for subsequent criticism based on the prevailing teachings and habits.
However, if the good preconditions described above are met, which unfortunately
is rarely the case in less representative auditoria and work places, it is possible to
consider a more ambitious room-acoustical design that really fulfills the needs of
the performing, listening and recording users of the rooms. It should concentrate
much more than generally has been previously the case on criterion (5) and plan the
reverberation time RT more carefully with regard to its frequency characteristic. RT
represents surely the most important, simple and quickly measurable, well reproducible and comparable parameter for room-acoustic quality. Moreover, RT is well
understood by building contractors, architects and users alike. It is easily subjectively
perceivable (though certainly not by merely clapping hands) and can be influenced
(at least sometimes) without major reconstructions. The following will show that
this is not an impermissible restriction but rather a necessary concentration on the
223
oldest (according to Beranek 2004 already defined by Sabine 1898) and generally
accepted room acoustic criterion. In the authors experience gained in working on a
large variety of building and renovation projects of different sizes and for different
types of use, the requirements for speech and music do not differ as much as one
would think from reading the relevant literature, standard textbooks and valid norms.
11.11.2
Bass Foundation and Reverberation Time
Section 11.4 as well as 11.711.10 investigate the always destructive influence of lowfrequency reflections in a room on speech intelligibility and musical clarity and thus
on noise control. At first it remains open if the derived and often proven successful
room-acoustical concept would be as successful in the applications discussed in this
section considering that, in parts, contradicts the recommendations of DIN 18041
(2004) especially regarding music, see Fig. 11.30.
In characterizing the reverberance of a room, it is customary to relate more to
the range between 500 and 1,000 or 2,000 Hz and less to the three octaves below.
Everest (1994, Figs. 716 there) considers a bass rise of 80 % at 63 Hz, even for
voice studios! However, v. Bksy (1931) recommends a frequency-independent
reverberation time as most favorablealso for music performances. Furthermore,
v. Bksy (1938) demonstrates that decisive for the distance impression of the human
ear so important in direct and indirect listening are the low-frequency initial transient
and final decay processes of the sound sources. Moreover, Skudrzyk (1954, p. 675
there) demands that the reverberation time at low frequencies should not be much
greater than at medium and high tones. Skudrzyk (1962) explains his stand very
convincingly in relation to stereophonic recording and reproduction: It does not
matter whether the bass drums can be located on the right and the trumpets on the
left, but rather that they can be heard spatially in different positions, . . . that the
overall sound impression of the reproduction also has spatial breadth and depth and
that one perceives, corresponding to the particularity of the piece, the sound leaping
vivaciously and spatially from instrument to instrument.That the musical gain of
spatial transmission . . . is so great that all other factors recede into the background
may be assumed as common knowledge.
The experiments of Trendelenburg and Thienhaus (1936) with the Schnittge organ in the Eosander Chapel in Berlin make the especially marked initial transients
responsible for the personal note of some of the organ pipes, so that each single
one can be recognized, localized and distinguished. Quite lucidly, Skudrzyk (1962)
points out what happens if loudness is kept too low in a reproduction: Then the lowfrequency initial transients are the first to drop below the hearing threshold (cf. the
curves of equal loudness in Fig. 11.32). The music sounds higher, however loses
that is the essential thingat the same time its spatiality completely. Skudrzyk
(1962) also observes in the poor loudspeakers of his generation strong initial transient distortions, especially in the critical region of low-frequencies. They are thus
unable to convey the depth of a room; the original expansion of the music ensemble
224
shrinks to the immediate surroundings of the loudspeaker membrane, the source of

the (then) predominant component of low-frequency transients. For the same reason, he attributes to the superiority of the, at that time, upcoming magnetophone the
fact that owing to the absence of movable parts it is free of low-frequency initial
transient and decay distortions.
Skudrzyk (1962) shows clearly with his experiences with the first electroacoustical musical instruments how important spatial hearing and the conveyance
of an impression of direction and distance is for the quality of the sound performances: Mock spatiality was not attained until artificial compensation processes
were added. For example, in the case of the American Hammond organ, the loudspeakers were placed in a reverberation room connected to a small auditorium via
an open door in order to impress its transient and decay processes on the electric
music. Rooms used for demanding performance, recording and reproduction of
music and speech should definitely not have such a characterizing (i.e. distorting)
influence. For Skudrzyk (1962), the secret of good room acoustics lies in attaining
this spatial hearing without falsification and without destroying the resonance of
the room with too intensive damping: reverberance leads to diminishing both the
impression of direction and distance. One will therefore, contrary to the traditional
approach, have to try to weaken the low frequencies of the reverberance in order
to prevent them from masking the low-frequency transient processes of the musical
instruments and in this way impair spatiality.
As examples of excellent room acoustics despite relatively long reverberation
times lying distinctly higher than those according to Fig. 11.30 already recommended at that time, Skudrzyk (1962) names the Gewandhaus in Leipzig and the
Synchronhalle of the Wien-Film-Gesellschaft. In both concert halls, wooden paneling ensures . . . that in the reverberation the low frequencies are weakened rather
than increased. . . so that the individual instruments come to their own despite the relative great reverberation time and can be distinguished from the orchestra sound. . .
As a consequence, it becomes clear that low-frequency processes demand special
attention.
For building suited resonance absorbers for frequencies between 50 and 200
300 Hz, Skudrzyk (1962) is already thinking in the direction of groups of panel
absorbers whichfor example tuned to 50, 70 and 100 Hzshould lie side by side on
a suited frame substructure. With his assumption that the panels may also resonate
and damp at numerous overtones, this far-sighted acoustician already anticipated
something like membrane absorbers and compound panel absorbers, which actually
were developed exactly for this purpose and became marketable 2030 years later
(see Sects. 5.3 and 6.3).
Also Blutner (1984) is positive about intensive damping at low frequencies with
wooden paneling and other resonating absorbers even if as a result the reverberation
time drops at low frequencies. Moreover, he points out another important aspect for
music performances: Masking plays a significant role particularly in polyphonic
music. The asymmetry of the masking curve in the case of a high low-frequency
masking level (e.g., trombones blowing fortissimo) leads to completely covering the
high voices (e.g. oboes, flutes). In Kuttruff (1994, p. 617 there) one can also find
similar explanations as those detailed in Sect. 11.4: Toward the low frequencies,
225
reverberation time should become shorter, because otherwise the high components
of the speech spectrum which are most important for speech intelligibility will be
masked. This can be attained by applying suitably dimensioned resonance absorbers.
Winkler and Reichardt (1984) recommend the tolerance range (down to 63 Hz)
reproduced in Fig. 11.30 bottom left uniformly for classrooms, seminar rooms and
congress as well as lecture halls, theaters and, with some restrictions, also for multipurpose rooms because: At frequencies of < 250 Hz a drop is desirable, Usually
a frequency-independent reverberation time is optimal, Special sound absorbers
are required to correct the frequency spectrum at low frequencies. Only in view of
the, in his day still required, large surfaces in a room due to the low effectiveness
of such absorbers, Cremer and Mller (1978, 1982a, Part 1, 23 there) dampen
corresponding demands and expectations: Fortunately, our diminishing ability to
hear lower frequencies limits these room requirements.
Recently Fuchs (2007b) and Burkowitz and Fuchs (2009) have supported the
preceding arguments with their years of experience with hearing impressions and
recordings made with the diverse rapidly new developing recording methods. For
them, the frequency range from about 16 to 250 Hz has singular significance, well
knowing that from 63 Hz downward an audio-correct reproduction becomes progressively more difficult. In these four octaves, the foundation of all coherent sounds
manifests itself including those transition processes and background noises of the
natural musical instruments and singing voices that contribute substantially to the
sound experience. Although the transition from pure hearing to physically feeling
already sets in above the limit of 16 Hz according to Fig. 11.6, tones can develop a
saturated, enveloping, sonorous overall impression already at 40 Hz if the room does
not ruin this experience from the start with own, always very unharmonious resonances. Therefore, it is so important, apart from all the recording and transmission
skills, what happens with the sound field in front of the microphones.
Burkowitz (2011, p. 278 there) may be cited about higher listening: A relatively
new insight suggests that recognizing the musical structure and architecture in the
contra- and sub-contra ranges is just as important as doing it for the formants . . . It is
important to know that a slim hall (with little reverberation in the bass range) helps
to read the fundamental structures which are so essential in the bass range for all
compositions of value. A space with great bass-reverb, however, will rather hamper
the desired transparency in the low ranges, although unassuming concert goers may
be happy with the voluminous but unstructured bass-clouds they can have in such
halls.
At 16 Hz usually lies the lowest noted tone, the sub-contra C of the longest (and
rare) organ pipe. Of the other musical instruments only the contra-bass, contra-fagot,
bass-tuba, harp, grand piano and big drums with their varyingly strong fundamental
tones reach down to the contra octave. Less well known and regarded is, however, that
all wind and string instruments, especially the pluck and percussion instruments such
as harp, piano, drums, timpani, tuba, bongo, gong, xylophone, marimba, vibraphone
do not only emit their musically defined tones but when starting to strike, blow, bow
or changing the pitch, reversing bowing, vibrato, etc. also emit in addition aperiodic,
under circumstances, quite broadband sound incidents. In many cases, the spectrum
226
Fig. 11.46 Temporal

evolution of a sound spectrum
for a grand piano (played note
C6 1,047 Hz). (After
Meyer 1995, 2009)
of these, although weak, but for the typical color of the respective sound source
and the impression of its physical weightiness very important components reach
even into the infrasound range.
Figure 11.46 shows, as an example of the temporal evolution of the sound spectrum
in the near field, thus without strong room influence, of a grand piano upon striking a
key. Apart from the fundamental tone at 1,047 Hz, which upon looking, respectively
listening, closely develops gradually (after about 50 ms) from a noise-like spectrum,
some, partly only weakly developed, harmonic tones at about 2,094, 3,141 and
4,188 Hz can also be detected. Below the fundamental, equally long resounding
components are detectable down to very low frequencies, which although weakly
perceivable due to the sensitivity of the human ear, may greatly interfere at some
distance from the source with reflections from the room and thus can influence the
listeners hearing impression which always wants to concentrate on the direct sound
field. Especially excitation of individual room resonances can have a very strong
negative effect on the desired and cultivated low-frequency reception.
If different tones are blown on a clarinet, relatively energetic sound components
distinctly occur below 125 Hz (Fig. 11.47). How good musicians are able to intentionally influence these sub-tones artistically can be seen, for example, in Fig. 11.48
showing a string pizzicato. Plucked without vibrato, at 247 Hz the fundamental tone
sounds much longer than its harmonics. However, with vibrato a large part of the
vibration energy feeds the low tones, which then resound longer than the other partial
tones as long as the vibrating pressure of the left finger on the respective string holds.
Of course, harmonic and intermediate tones, noises and low-frequency sub-tones
develop particularly diversely with percussion instruments. Figure 11.49 shows, for
example, the evolution of the sound spectrum of the timpani tuned to A corresponding
to 110 Hz: the intermediate tones, e.g. the first ring mode (R), do not decay until
after 0.5 s; the sub-tones remain strong beside the principal mode (H), the fifth (Q)
and octave (O) even after 1 s.
227
Fig. 11.47 Mean sound

spectra when blowing
E3 , Ab4 , Ab5 (from top to
bottom) on a clarinet. (After
Meyer 1995, 2009)
Here the focus is on the room-acoustic and sound aesthetic aspects of the bass
foundation, which actually contribute more to the creation of proximity to reality than any electro-acoustically painfully forced extension of the high-tone range,
which most people over 50 are unable to hear anyway. Unfortunately, it has to be
assumed that the listening habits of uncritical music listeners have been spoiled by
the millions of indiscriminately produced recordings and loudspeakers that are improperly installed in their housings or in poorly conditioned surroundings. Generally
the maxim is: generating a differentiated bass foundation as a basis for the entire
sound cosmos, regardless of style, requires slim room acoustics. The widespread
increase in reverberation time toward low frequencies, which DIN 18041 (2004) unfortunately tolerates or even favors (see Fig. 11.30, bottom right), is regrettable. An
authentic reproduction quality of a performance is only possible if structural measures ensure that the bass range is performed, transmitted and recorded with clarity
and unimpeded. The lower end of the sound spectrum, which forms the indispensable
material for a transparent bass foundation, if its reverberation is too strong, leads
to an unstructured rumbling which can mask and fog up the sound architecture
erected above it.
Considering that in addition to concert halls and opera houses that are decried
for their acoustics, there are also countless concert halls and opera houses that are
highly lauded for their acoustics, all of which possess most different reverberationtime characteristics, it is of course difficult for the approach propagated here to gain
attention or even acceptance. As sound perception is not intellectual but solely sensory, persuasion is only possible by experiencing the specific sound and acoustical
comfort in correspondingly conditioned roomsa tedious, troublesome process. Of
assistance may be the following two Sect. 11.12 and 11.13 which describe model examples of room acoustics, which for numerous users and admirers prove the validity
228
Fig. 11.48 Evolution of the
sound spectrum when
plucking B3 on a violin
without (top), resp. with
vibrato (bottom). (After
Meyer 1995, 2009)
Fig. 11.49 Time evolution of

a timpani spectrum of pitch
A. (After Meyer 1995, 2009)
229
of the theses presented here, without the author or other acousticians with their powerful modern tools having influenced the corresponding architectures in any manner.
However, in referring to a large number of contemporary building and, in particular,
successful restoration projects, Sect. 11.14 describes the practical application of the
room-acoustical concepts treated abstractly in the previous sections. These compile
the experience from two very disparate fields of applied acoustics: noise control and
sound engineering.
It may, nevertheless, be worthwhile to also compile here the main arguments of so
many solid and respectable experts who adhere to quite an opposite philosophy and
opinion concerning the desirable reverberation of a room at the low frequencies
with seemingly very logical reasons, refer e.g. to Meyer (2009):
All human voices and musical instruments, including a full orchestra sound,
radiate a sound spectrum that drops toward low frequencies. Therefore somewhat stronger reflections from the room boundaries should be beneficial for its
low-frequency part and hence for the fullness and warmth of the sound.
According to Fig. 11.32, the human ear is less sensitive, respectively the hearing
threshold is higher, toward low frequencies, in fact the more, the less loud the
performance. For this reason, it should be expedient, particularly in large rooms,
to support the low-frequency sound by means of a stronger reverberance.
Curves of equal loudness move closer and closer together toward low frequencies.
In order for low frequencies to remain audible equally long, the sound level decay
should be delayed for these by providing a longer reverberation time for the low
than for the high frequencies.
Beranek (1996) once concluded: If the surfaces of the walls or ceilings or seats
absorb the low frequencies, the full orchestra may sound deficient in basses and cellos
. . . A hall lacks warmth when the reverberation times are lower at low frequencies
(75350 Hz) than at mid-frequencies (3501,400 Hz). Barron (1993, pp. 21, 31
there) underlined this generally accepted statement: The relative loudness of the
bass can with advantage be enhanced by an extended low-frequency reverberation
time . . . The implication for a concert hall, in which a long bass reverberation time
is sought, is that all walls, ceilings and suspended elements need to be sufficiently
massive to minimize low-frequency absorption.
While others relate the acoustic fame of the Altes Gewandhaus in Leipzig to its
wooden surfaces, Barron (1993, p. 68 there) criticizes this: The idea that wooden
panelling enhances tone by resonating was a major misconception. In reality the
panelling acts as a low-frequency absorber, limiting the bass reverberation time.
Some panel absorption is desirable but today one generally allows for a modest
rise in low-frequency reverberation time. The same philosophy shows up in his
criticism (p. 140 there) of the Town Hall in Watford: The occupied mid-frequency
value below 1.5 s is too short for orchestral purposes and the rise in reverberation
time in the bass (approaching 2 s) is too modest to be useful acoustically . . . One
would not nowadays install so much timber panelling which limits the reverberation
time rise in the bass.
230
In the Royal Festival Hall in London, using an assisted resonance system ARS
with 172 loudspeakers distributed about the hall, covering the frequency range from
58 to 700 Hz, the reverberation time was increased electro-acoustically at 63, 125 and
250 Hz from 1.4 to above 2 s, thus far above the value of 1.5 s at 1,000 and 2,000 Hz,
see Kuttruff (1975, Fig. 22.13 there). Barron (1993, p. 146, Fig. 5.23 there), however,
concludes: The effect of ARS on the reverberation time is very clear, particularly at
low frequencies. But at least as important . . . is the loudness of the sound and in this
respect the changes due to the system are less impressive . . . The mean increase in
the 125 Hz octave was found to be only 1.4 dB . . . This probably explains why the
system has not fully quelled the criticisms of dryness in the acoustics, which he
characterizes (p. 172 there) as clinical clarity and inadequate warmth and others
experience as a clear sound in a large hall. According to Beranek (2004) this is one
of the many measures that were not crowned with success in this much acclaimed
but also much criticized concert hall.
In this context one may refer to the discussions about the bass rise in Sect. 11.2.6.
In a second attempt to prove its positive relevance, Beranek (2004) considered the
difference of the strengths (G500 + G1000 ) and (G125 + G250 ) but he had to resume:
When this was tried for 38 concert halls, the conclusion was that it also was not
a useful measure. A third attempt made by Bradley and Soulodre (1997) concentrated on the quantity of G125 , which however again failed according to Beranek
(2004), see also Sect. 11.2.6.
11.12
Churches as (Coincidental?) Models
It can be assumed that composers, if given the choice, would prefer to have
their works performed (and nowadays recorded as well) in rooms which render
all the details and finesse of their composition acoustically transparent. However, essential for promoting an acoustical concept that clearly contradicts the
usual and the standard are venues preferred and acclaimed by speakers, singers,
and different music ensembles for performances as well as recordings that can
serve as models. Such a place undoubtedly is the Jesus Christus Kirche in BerlinDahlem.
Having outgrown its almost 800 year old village church, the Protestant congregation in Berlin-Dahlem decided to build a second church with three times the capacity
of the old one (maximum 1,200 persons). According to Bachmann (1932), it was
to be of severe simplicity inside and outside with no allusion to its village roots or
the magnificent villas being built about it. Erected was a single, large church hall
(about 22 m high, 38 m long and 18 m wide): simple, clear and rectangular, as shown
in Fig. 11.50, interior, and Fig. 11.51, ground plan.
11.12 Churches as (Coincidental?) Models

Fig. 11.50 View of the
original interior of the Jesus
Christus Kirche facing the
altar. (After Horn 1932)
Fig. 11.51 Ground plan of the Jesus Christus Kirche. (After Bachmann 1932)
231
232
11.12.1 A New Structure with Acoustical Risks

The raised chancel with its 10 m high wooden cross projecting in front of a portallike rear wall draws the eyes upward. The rear wall and the side walls with their
eighteen 5.3 1.3 m windows rising to the top (12.5 m) of the 3 m wide side aisles
have (advantageous for acoustic diffusivity) a coarsely structured surface. The five
steps and the floor of the chancel are made of shelly marl, the wood parquet floor
of the nave lies on a hard underground. Together with the smooth plastered masonry
(SM = 1,280 m2 ), all told about SH = 2,000 m2 boundary surfaces must be considered as only poorly sound-absorptive for high and medium frequencies (absorption
coefficient H 0.05 according to Fasold et al. 1987, Table 12 there). Both the
original pews and the benches and chairs presently in use are not upholstered, thus
non-absorptive.
Even today such a multi-purpose hall for language and music performance
structured like this could embarrass an experienced acoustician. Following the recommendations of DIN 18041 (2004) according to Fig. 11.30, top, would call for a
reverberation time, averaged from 500 to 1,000 Hz, between 1.3 (speech) and 1.8
s (music). According to Table 2 of the same standard, much more than n = 1,000
visitors and suitably upholstered seats would be required to attain acoustics suited
for music and speech performance with a volume parameter Kn according to Eq.
(11.3) of less than 8 m3 per person without comprehensive additional absorption
measures. However, even if one took into account the present wooden paneling of
the slanted (SD = 680 m2 ), horizontal and vertical (SK = 282 m2 ) surfaces and the
gallery (SE = 330 m2 ), the windows (SF = 124 m2 ), the organ (SO = 80 m2 ) and the
pews (SS = 225 m2 ) with 0.1 according to Fasold et al. (1987, Table 7, Ex. 1.1
1.24 and Table 10 there), thus estimating an equivalent absorption area of all told
A = 270 m2 , in this frequency range a reverberation time of T = 5 s would have to be
expected. Even 300, respectively 500 visitors, which according to Fasold et al. (1987,
Table 9 there) would provide barely more than 120, respectively 200 m2 additional
absorption, yielding a reverberation time of at least 3.5, respectively 3 s, but by no
means the desired below 2 s range demanded by the current standards.
It is, therefore, easy to understand that, according to Leiberg (1991) the acoustic expert J. Biehle entrusted with the acoustics in 1930 approached the churchs
acoustics with the greatest reservations: Calculations showed that the room will at
first be totally unsuited for speech and even for music purposes. The cubic content
can possibly be reduced, in the simplest manner by greatly lowering the ceiling. . .
The difficulties of the problem to be solved here lie in the circumstance that the ratio
of the volume of the church interior to the number of seats is unfavorable.
That J. Biehle, similar to most acousticians today, concentrated on the higher
frequencies becomes clear from his written expert opinions: As a flat ceiling contradicted the architects artistic intentions, my goal was to design the surfaces of
the gable roof as damping as possible . . . to add intermediate ribs . . . I decided to
increase the number of lamellas. This measure was by no means enough . . . If 500
people attend, acoustic quality is questionable even if the speaker has had speech
233
Fig. 11.52 The wooden roof

constructed on a steel
substructure (after Bachmann
1932); 1: truss-beam, 2: slate,
3: roof boarding, 4: rafter, 5:
purlin, 6: torfotekt board,
7: lamella
training; with 300, a number considered as an average, speech intelligibility can

no longer be expected . . . recommended is to move the pulpit to the corner of the
hall . . . For me personally, the structure is a constant worry because of its unusual
design . . . I am quite anxious about the final results.
The purpose of the 1530 cm wide lamellas under the inner skin of the roof shown
in Fig. 11.52 was obviously an attempt to reduce reverberation in the range between
500 and 1,000 Hz. Whether the approximately 2 cm wide slits in the wooden paneling
have an acoustical purpose or were only provided for ventilation purposes remains
in the dark. The not more closely described all told about 50 cm deep cavity between
the inner and the outer roof boarding behind it was provided, probably as some
thermal insulation, with a coarse fibrous material, a sort of wood-fiber board (only
approx. 5 cm thick!) lying loosely on so-called torfotekt boards. In some places,
moisture seeping in, most likely during the war, damaged this insulation considerably
as shown in Fig. 11.53.
11.12.2
Excellent Acoustics as an Unexpected Result
Despite all the dire expectations and anxiety, all those responsible including the users
were immediately enthusiastic about the new churchs acoustics. Originally banned
to a corner as a precaution, the pulpit was not placed beside the altar until 1990
(see Fig. 11.54) without any detriment to speech intelligibility (even without any
electro-acoustic support).
234
Fig. 11.53 View from the

passage above one of the side
aisles into the cavity of the
roof, from Fuchs and
Burkowitz (2009). (Courtesy
of P.K. Burkowitz)
Fig. 11.54 Present church

interior, view of the altar.
(Courtesy of H. Sander)
The roof was but slightly damaged and all the windows were destroyed during the
war. In 1949, the section under the gallery was separated to form a winter church,
the roof was repaired from the outside and the windows were closed up scantily with
masonry and bottle glass. At about this time the music department of the Radio in
the American Sector RIAS (in 1945 the four allies, France, Great Britain, Russia
235
Fig. 11.55 Large orchestra and choir during an early recording session lead by H. v. Karajan in the
church. (From Burkowitz 2006)
and the USA had divided Berlin into four respectively occupied sectors) was looking
for a suited recording studio for the just founded RIAS Symphony Orchestra. Temporarily used for this purpose was the only still standing, but acoustically miserable
movie theater of the Titania Palast with its contourless rumbling bass. H. Opitz, a
tonmeister (sound engineer) who already had worked for the Reichsrundfunk (German radio broadcasting station in the third Reich) called their attention to the church
in Dahlem. After very convincing trial recordings, he and P.K. Burkowitz produced
RIAS recordings there for years, including all of J.S. Bachs cantatas.
Despite its makeshift appearance, not much later the church and its excellent
acoustics were discovered by the Berlin Philharmonic under W. Furtwngler. The
first recordings by the Deutsche Grammophon Gesellschaft DGG were no less superb
and according to Leiberg (1991): from then on performances from chamber music
to symphony orchestra sounded nowhere better. Worldwide famed recordings by
H. von Karajan, C. Abado, S. Rattle followed, just to name a few. Celebrated soloists
also did and still do appreciate it for concerts and recordings, for example E. Gilels
with Beethovens sonatas. So much in demand as a recording studio (Fig. 11.55),
the church needs to be converted back to its original purpose as a house of worship
on Sunday mornings. The church organist, R. Wirth, according to Dekara et al.
(2006) raves about her instrument, a 1971 Hammer organ: Its particular character
combined with the excellent acoustics compliments the church of words, because
it sounds exactly what the spoken word aspires to: clear and melodious. Organs of
other churches may have their charm with their romantic, soft sound blurred by long
236
Reverberation time in s
63
125
250
500
1k
Frequency in Hz
2k
4k
8k
Fig. 11.56 Reverberation time measured in the Jesus Christus Kirche between 1952 and 1963 with
varying seating and occupation with music ensembles. (From Burkowitz 2006)
reverberation. Our organ impresses the audience not by masses of stirring sound but
rather enables them to listen, it reaches not only their hearts but their minds, permits
them to follow lines, and makes music transparent.
11.12.3
Reverberation Accentuating High-Pitch Sound
The superb room acoustic quality of the Jesus Christus Kirche was certainly something that J. Biehle did not foresee or even plan. Otherwise he would not have made
his reservations public. Early documentations by Bachmann (1932) and Horn (1932)
already mention the good room acoustics: The churchs relatively high ceiling . . .
raised strong reservations. Due to extensive subdivisions by lamellas of the partly
open ceiling with a cavity behind it, the acoustic quality is very good. For example,
there is no need for a canopy as a sound lid above the pulpit.
It was not until the music scene so to say took over the church that any acoustic
measurements at all were conducted. As nothing special compared to other large
auditoria was determined, the measurements usually concentrated on its reverberation time, notably over the entire frequency range from 63 Hz to 8 kHz. The most
recent measurements shown in Fig. 11.56 reveal a maximum of 3 s at 1 kHz in the
unoccupied hall. Even if a few musicians are playing and an audience is listening in
it, the church has in this frequency range reverberation times far above the 1.3 s for
speech and 1.8 s for music recommended in DIN 18041 (2004). All the measurements
237
pertain only to the reduced volume of about 7,900 m3 of the original 8,400 m3 due to
the separation of the small entrance hall. It is however pointed out that the musicians
positive assessment of the acoustics is independent of the number of musicians or
size of the audience.
Assuming for all the other bounding surfaces and the plain wooden seats and
benches again the above estimated absorption coefficient yields from a reverberation
time below 3 s for the large roof surfaces an D > 0.6 at 1 kHz. At low frequencies the
absorption coefficient of the ceiling rises even up to over 0.9 if at 100 Hz 0.05
continues to be assumed for the sound-reflective surfaces and 0.25 for all the
other surfaces covered with wood or glass. After close inspection of the entire roof
(Fig. 11.52), this initially seeming unbelievably high absorption for an extraordinary
wide frequency range can be explained by the slits in the inner wood paneling apparently coupling acousticly a huge cavity between the two shells in the roof and in
the high passages above the side aisles which seem strongly damped.
The early commentators and users of this church were right in their assumption
that the unexpected good acoustics were due to the most likely coincidental design of
the large ceiling surfaces. Probably less significant are the wooden lamellas and their
specific spacing, which at most correspond to the kHz range meant to be decisive for
speech, but rather a more likely coincidentally formed slot absorber as described in
detail in Sect. 6.2, whose effective range compared to conventional perforated panels
or Helmholtz resonators is broader and shifted toward lower frequencies. Even when
the nave and the gallery are filled to capacity with 1,000 listeners, which is seldom
the case, the reverberation time falls still moderately from about 1.5 s at 1 kHz to
just above 1 s toward the low frequencies.
In Fuchs (2011) some other room-acoustic parameters measured in this auditorium
are reported and interpreted:
Early decay times EDT, RT20 and RT30 (Fig. 11.57) exhibit a similar characteristic as RT60 in Fig. 11.56 which was to be expected for this rather symmetrical
structure of the building. As a rational consequence, the bass ratiodetermined
according to Eq. (11.10)with a value around 0.7 lies far below that recommended for music. It is noted, however, that experts (musicians and sound
engineers alike) do not complain about a weak bass regime but, on the contrary, praise its brilliance and strength as well as the warm sound experienced
in this hall.
Clarity C80 and definition C50 (Fig. 11.58)determined according to Eqs. (11.14)
and (11.15) at medium frequenciesexhibit values of around 5 and 7 dB, i.e.
obviously far too low for any articulated music or speech according to prevailing
doctrins. Only if one determines these parameters at the lower frequencies do they
correctly reflect the unanimous impression and conviction of the many grateful
users cited above and in Fuchs (2011).
Finally the articulation loss Alcons determined according to Eq. (11.18)could
feign an intolerably high value of around 40 % at 1 kHz and at a distance of 22 m
in this room; meaning that intelligibility should be miserable. In fact, inserting
into Eq. (11.18) the same parameters as measured at 125 or 65 Hz would yield
238
4
EDT, RT20, RT30 in s
Fig. 11.57 Reverberance

parameters in the Jesus
Christus Kirche as measured
by Lindau and Weinzierl
(2010); RT30 (), RT20 (2),
EDT ()
3
Reihe1
Reihe2
Reihe3
1
0
63
250
500
1k
Frequency in Hz
2k
4k
2
1
0
C50, C80 in dB
Fig. 11.58 Transparence

parameters according to Eqs.
(11.14) and (11.15) in the
Jesus Christus Kirche;
C80 (), C50 ()
125
-1
-2
-3
-4
-5
-6
-7
-8
63
125
250
500
1k
Frequency in Hz
2k
4k
values around 12 % which could explain why communication in this space has
proven so easy and comfortable.
Reverberation spectra very similar to those in Fig. 11.56 are also found in many old
churches of music historical significance built in completely different styles with
varying structures and employing different materials. Figure 11.59 shows, for example, reverberation times measured and estimated in the well preserved Bachkirche
in Arnstadt (Fig. 11.60) with a volume of 6,900 m3 shortly after its restoration in
1999, described by Meyer (2003): Taking into consideration the 1,900 m2 of rough
wooden surfaces in Bachs days, which had somewhat higher absorption in a wide
frequency range than today, . . . yields a perfect Baroque reverberation curve, which
is also characterized by a maximum at 1,000 Hz. Meyer (2003) sees a particular
advantage in this: As people absorb predominantly in the medium and high frequencies, the reverberation maximum decreases when the nave is filled to full capacity and
a frequency neutral reverberation time forms over a wide range which with values of
about 2 s allows the sound to develop fully spatially and with distinct, clear coloring
results in a high degree of clarity and transparency of the temporal structures. This
is additionally supported by the short initial transient processes in the bass regime
239
0
63
125
250
500
1k
Frequenz in Hz
2k
4k
8k
Fig. 11.59 Reverberation times measured in the Bachkirche after its restoration in 1999
(Fig. 11.58) and calculated for two different occupation situations. (From Meyer 2003)
Fig. 11.60 View of the Bachkirche in Arnstadt. (From Meyer 2003)
due to the short reverberation time at low frequencies. Even if the galleries are also
filled to full capacity, there is only a weak rise of the reverberation curve to the range
at about 250 Hz; thus the basses are again not emphasized. Meyer (2003) draws
similar conclusions about the acoustic conditions of the Thomaskirche in Leipzig
at the time of J.S. Bach, especially before its radical restoration in 2000, which
unfortunately robbed the church to a large extent of its low-frequency absorbers.
Very fortunately, a few other baroque churches of widely differing size and
structure have been preserved and exhibit reverberation characteristics of a similar shape: Fig. 11.61 reproduces measured RT of up to over 6 s for the largest of
them, the Michel in Hamburg which, like most of the others, is well known for
240
characteristics as typically
measured in baroque
churches. (According to
Meyer 2003; Lottermoser
1983). 1 Jesus Christus
Kirche Berlin (V
= 7 900 m3 ),
2 Bachkirche Arnstadt
6 900, 3 Thomaskirche
Leipzig 18 000, 4
Kreuzkirche Dresden 30 000,
5 Frauenkirche Dresden
5 300, 6 Abteikirche Rot
30 000, 7 Michaeliskirche
Hamburg 32 000 m3

8
7
6
5
4
4
3
2
1
2
0
63
125
250
500
1k
Frequency in Hz
2k
4k
its excellent acoustics. But this and all other positive examples in Fig. 11.61 are
characterized by a steep decay toward the low frequencies. (For the only negative
example, Kreuzkirche in Dresden refer to Fuchs (2011, Part 2, Sect. 5 there).
Meyer and Cremer (1933) already dwell on good speech intelligibility as a result
of various wooden elements built into churches damping the low frequencies. After
Gehret (2008) these may have had an equally strong positive influence on the creation
and performance of polyphonic music of that time. He concludes that the extremely
light colored reverberance favors the higher harmonics developing during the initial
transients in organ pipes, thus generating the special brightness of their sound. With
the masking of the high by the low tones being avoided, the esteemed carrying
room impression gets a chance . . . The gravity and power of the bass originates from
the organ itselfthe brilliance, carrying and splendor of the medium and high pitch
sound is formed by the room.
It should be noted in this context that it was the reverberation characteristic of
Fig. 11.56 that inspired the planners of the former GDR (German Democratic Republic) radio broadcasting station in Berlin-Oberschneweide to use the Jesus Christus
Kirche as a model for acoustic specifications for the large broadcasting hall 1 in
the mid-1950s. In preparation is a comprehensive documentation by G. Herzog and
G. Steinke with statements and opinions of numerous famous conductors of various
eras, also see Steinke (2002, 2009). To this day, the singular acoustic quality of the
performances and recordings made in these two locations confirm these explanations
and conclusions.
According to Meyer (2003), the reverberation of the Jesus Christus Kirche was
the reason why H. v. Karajan also wanted a maximum at about 1,000 Hz in the new
Philharmonie in Berlin. It, however, turned out to be much weaker there. At this
point it may be concluded that it is almost impossible, in the prevailing architectural
structures and with the materials dominating in them today, to achieve a reverberation
241
spectrum steeply falling toward the bass. Under adverse geometrical conditions as
in the example in 11.14.7 all one can reachwith a tremendous amount of very
efficient bass absorbersis an approximately flat response of the room. It remains
advisable, however, to take care that the target values Tsoll according to DIN 18041
(2004; see Fig. 11.30 top) are not exceeded at the low frequencies. Higher values at
mid-frequencies should rarely create problems, may even be favored for music as
well as for speech. Lower values there cannot really be balanced by a bass rise,
no matter how diffuse the sound field may be.
11.12.4 Acoustic Revalorization of Churches

Apart from the major festivities such as Christmas and Easter, Christian houses of
worship are only crowded if special events take place there. More intensive use, for
example for lectures, plays and concerts would benefit many churches financially
as well as their destination. A prerequisite of modern performance, recording and
reproduction of speech and music, however, is a certain acoustic conditioning, see
Sect. 11.11 and Fuchs (2009a). It would be disastrous if these two, indeed quite
traditional uses for speech and music required different room reverberance as so many
acoustics experts declare. Actually the preceding prominent examples demonstrate
that a reverberation time of more than 2 s, as prevails in most churches, allows sound
to develop fully for music and at the same time a rarely encountered intelligibility
of speech without any electro-acoustic aids. Good acoustics for every purpose only
requires that enough absorption at low frequencies remains or is installed in the room.
The latter is easier said than done considering modern construction and building
materials, but suited sound absorbers have long been employed routinely for this
purpose, as the examples in Sect. 11.14 demonstrate.
Even first class orchestras, chamber music and choir ensembles are no longer able
to live only from the sales of their audio and video productions. For artistic and commercial reasons, live concerts in not too small auditoria have gained in significance.
In order to save time and costs on tours, venues are sought which meet rehearsal,
performance and (if possible simultaneously) recording requirements. Additional
sessions for practicing and adapting to the respective room, strains the budget. Good
room acoustics, on the other hand, puts the performers and the audience at ease,
improves the artistic results and enhances the sound adventure for all.
Under these circumstances, churches built for and maintained by large congregations but not used to full capacity offer an attractive setting for performances of, not
only, classical music for large audiences. This dormant potential has been discovered
by ambitious cantors and organists as well as festival directors. Indeed, one does not
hesitate to perform Romantic works, for example, by A. Bruckner or H. Berlioz
with large orchestras, choirs and soloists in huge Norman and Gothic cathedrals
although the harmonic and rhythmic structures of the music do not unadulterated
reach listeners sitting far in the rear.
242
In view of the fact thatnot only in Protestant church servicesthe preacher

should be understood well at least if the congregation is paying attention, there is
hardly a church that does not use an electro-acoustic ELA system. This tries to eliminate the regularly detrimental influence of the room response by transmitting only
the high frequency components actually containing a major part of the information
and fading out the medium and low components. As the latter, in particular the fundamental tones and vowels, contain the speakers entire expressiveness, he loses his
persuasive poweroften his voice sounds weak, sometimes as if castrated.
Consequently there are really good reasons to provide ecclesiastical rooms with
good functional acoustics. It should not happen today that an architect so convinced
of his abilities as Eiermann (1994) writes to his no less prominent acoustician L.
Cremer concerning his most famous work after its dedication in 1961 at first with
praise: . . . I feel the speaker reaches and is understood in every corner of the church
without effort, but then continues: . . . on the other hand I have the feeling that in
the case of music we have a too short reverberance . . . The room does not vibrate . . .
an organ would not resound in this room . . . Despite all satisfaction regarding acoustics, . . . something is lacking which has nothing to do with measurements but with
the subjective perception of the interaction of sound and room. In a subsequent
letter, apparently after much discussion he adds: If I may make a suggestion, I
would forget all about physics and treat the acoustic disease from a different angle,
so to say according to feeling . . . . Beware of mathematical accuracies in a science
like ours which is not exact but essentially relates to human sensations. There one
encounters it again: the widespread opinion that music calls for another reverberation
than speech and that room acoustics is more about mysticism and coincidence than
knowledge and planning.
Mentioned in this connection must be the mystery of the amazing acoustics of
the Jesus Christus Kirche built in 1931, see the preceding sections and Fuchs and
Burkowitz (2009). How did these totally unexpected, fortuitous acoustics come
about? The 36th annual congress of the Deutsche Gesellschaft fr Akustik DAGA
2010 in Berlin presented a perfect opportunity to take a closer look: a special program
of selected musical and speech presentations was organized to allow acousticians,
members of the congregation and members of the Berlin branch of the Verband der
Tonmeister VDT (Association of Sound Engineers) to experience for themselves:
what structural properties led to such unusual acoustics,

why did the long reverberance have such an unequivocally positive effect,
how trained speakers and musicians experience the room while performing,
what advantages such acoustics offer to ambitious artists, audiences and producers.
All the performers rave how the room supported and inspired them. For example,
the violinist M. Simon remarks that the resounding time of the tones is the perfectly
balanced . . . The tone starts to float and reaches every ear . . . The volume of the bass
tones becomes extraordinarily strong, thus generating a wake that captivates and will
not let one go . . . This room finally allows the tone to evolve just the way I want it
to . . . a sensation that can be conveyed to infinity!
11.13 Amphitheaters as Ancient Models
243
Siedler (2011) with a highly motivated team equipped with a professional transmission van and a variety of old and newest type of microphone assemblies took
a chance to produce a professional DVD documentation of this event intended for
specialists as well as laypersons alike. He describes his impressions to Wisse (2010)
as follows: To be honest, I wasnt really satisfied with my large collection of microphones and 34 channels. . . The audience listened attentively. Especially in this
reverent church atmosphere I had the feeling I was enveloped by emotions. What a
challenge to be able to convey such live emotions onto a recording! Reality, however,
is that we come packed with a lot of technology requiring 30-ton vans to transport it,
a hundred tracks and channels are not unusual. In many cases colleagues do the post
production and the artists request a thousand cutsnaturally with correction takes
in a complex digital architecture all coughs and the tiniest background noises are
removed. . . small wonder that the final result is a CD that sounds plastic, like a
synthesis. Apart from the immense production costs, we are eliminating the actual
natural sound aesthetics of the real event. If I, in charge of the recording, am present
there live, absorbing the real sound during the first try and then transfer, no less
live and hand perspiring, a live mixture with an analog console onto a surround or
stereo master in the transmission van under the best conditions, I experience these
emotions even without video and everyone agrees: right, thats the way it was.

All the preceding sections deal with room acoustics as a rational technical task despite
addressing the perception of the different senses, individual sensations and traditional
concepts. Although there are a number of good auditoria whose especially good or
poor acoustics remain a mystery to most users, it is, however, quite unusual for a hall,
such as the Jesus Christus Kirche (see Sect. 11.12), to have been in such demand
for decades for musical performances and recordings without its users (musicians,
tonmeisters and acoustic engineers) thoroughly investigating the building physics
background of the phenomenal room acoustics, which had been discovered quite
accidentally. Such mindless devotion brings to mind the widespread notion that
good acoustics are an inexplicable miracleincalculable, difficult to predict and
hardly to plan. No wonder that for many laypeople the wonderful acoustics of ancient
theaters are veiled in mystery.
For many tourists, the highlight of visiting ancient Greek and Romans excavations
is when the guide demonstrates the marvelous speech intelligibilitywhat a contrast
to the miserable acoustics familiar from theaters and opera houses at home! Converging in thousands to the annual Athens Epidauros Festivals in the phenomenal
Herodes Odeion (Herodeion), see Fig. 11.62, on the southern slope of the Acropolis
and in the Epidauros Amphitheater on Peloponnes, see Fig. 11.63, they are able to
experience first hand extraordinary acoustical and optical impressions in a variety of
cultural events: recitations, odes, dramas, operas or concerts. Small wonder then if,
once home, they look for similar experiences in local open-air theaters, such as
the Berlin Waldbhne.
244
Fig. 11.62 The Herodeion near the Acropolis in Athens, built in 161 AD by Tiberius Claudius
Atticus Herodes, destroyed in 267 and restored in the 1950s. (Courtesy of B. Mays, N.F. Declercq)
Fig. 11.63 The amphitheater

of Epidauros near
Asclepieion, built by
Polycleitos the Younger in the
fourth century BC. (After
Pappalardo and Borrelli 2007)
245
11.13.1 Appreciations of Ancient Theaters

Ancient Greek and Roman architects had plenty of time, notably from 400 BC
to 200 AD, to develop optimum architectonic structures to meet their high artistic
standards. Actually these demands do not differ much from todays, however without
the high-tech acoustic equipment at disposal which is usual nowadays. Nonetheless,
to many acousticians their ancient precursors know-how is a puzzle: for example
Vassilantonopoulos and Mourjopoulos (2009) recently noted: the question regarding
the knowledge and practices in acoustic science available to ancient Greek-Roman
societies remains open.
Using computer simulation to describe the effect of a partial roof, traces of which
were found in excavations at the Herodeion, with an effect probably similar to the
partial roofs of modern football stadiums, Vassilantonopoulos and Mourjopoulos
(2009) come to the remarkable conclusion that the reflections from the roof made it
lose its excellent speech intelligibility properties, but bestowed it particularly good
acoustics for music. It is true, of course, that in comparison with the semi-freefield
of open amphitheaters, partially roofed amphitheaters probably excelled due to their
longer reverberation time at medium and high frequencies. There is no question that
odeia are the earliest known buildings for musical performances for large audiences
and progenitors of later era concert halls. However, particularly in view of the
experiences described in Sect. 11.12, the authors thesis that a partial roof could not
be easily employed for speech and theatrical performances may be questioned.
The authors cited may be right that the limited knowledge of roofed odeia acoustics has not allowed experts to appreciate the distinct role that such buildings held in
antiquity and their research has touched on an interesting topic. But their disqualification of odeia not being suited for great antique dramas only reflects the traditional
mode of thinking that there is no such thing as optimum acoustics equally suited
for music and speech. Actually, the partially roofed structures have most likely enhanced the performance of both music and speecha knowledge that ancient Greek
and Roman architects exploited, but which has apparently been lost in the course of
time, see Fuchs (2009c).
11.13.2 Acoustic Properties of Half-open Enclosures

Any acoustician is able to quickly and convincingly explain the benefits of completely
unimpeded sound propagation from speakers to a steeply rising auditorium without
interference from background noises (see Sect. 11.2.7) and impeding reflections (see
Sects. 3.1 and 11.3.1) in amphitheaters, also see Declercq and Dekeyser (2007):
A weak up-current can, in addition, deflect the sound from the orchestra toward
the cavea. However, the acoustics also remain very good if there is no wind or
if it comes from another direction.
246
Clear articulation and a distinct rhythm pertinent to the poems and dramas of
Homeros, Aischylos, Sophocles and Euripides can enhance speech intelligibility.
However, other modern speech presentations with less clearly articulating actors
are also conveyed surprisingly well to the auditorium.
Special masks worn by the actors may also have had an acoustically amplifying or
focusing effect. However, even relatively weak voices can be understood perfectly
from all the seats.
Two more recent theoretical studies may provide at least just as significant physical
reasons for the special acoustic conditions in ancient Greek and Roman arenas. First
of all, there is the numerical wave theoretical description of sound which propagates
over the strongly structured rows of seats. Declercq and Dekeyser (2007) are able to
show that there is apparently a slight loss in intensity due to diffraction and scattering
of the sound waves at some distance from a central source located on the stage.
However this damping does not need to be accompanied by a loss of intelligibility,
because the ears sensitivity allows it to adjust as long as no disturbing noises impede
this adjustment. Yet much more significant appears to be another result of the same
study:
Above a characteristic frequency f , which is solely determined by the spacing
of the uniformly rising steps, absorption of sound waves from the stage is much
less than below this frequency (down to 50 Hz). Declercq and Dekeyser (2007)
see in this relative amplification of high frequencies a beneficial effect for speech
intelligibility, which is hardly dependent on the steepness or height of the cavea. For
the preserved theaters, the decisive parameter f varies between 300 Hz (Pergamon
with = 1.6 m) and 600 Hz (Aphrodisias with = 0.74 m). According to Table IV of
this study, the value f = 530 Hz for Epidauros with = 0.83 m may be considered
as representative for amphitheaters.
Declercq and Dekeyser (2007) consider this very frequency-dependent result as
an advantage, since the present calculations indicate that a high frequency band
is favored at the expense of lower frequencies . . . For frequencies beyond a certain
threshold, second-order diffracted sound plays an important role and causes sound to
be backscattered from the cavea to the audience making the audience receive sound
from the front, but also backscattered from behind. This has a positive outcome on
the reception of sound. Furthermore the authors argue that damping low frequencies
also filters out those disturbing noises, which are usually dominant. That this also
reduces the fundamental tones of the human voice (approximately between 80 and
250 Hz) is not seen as a big drawback, because the human nervous system and brain
are able to supplement them: In other words, the seat rows of the theater filter
out low frequency noise which has a positive influence on the clarity of a speaker
throughout the theater.
With their reconstruction and simulation Vassilantonopoulos and Mourjopoulos
(2009) are able to demonstrate that a hemispherical or horseshoe-shaped wooden
roof over the upper rows of seats of the cavea of the Herodeion not only serves to
shield half of the auditorium from the sun and inclement weather but in its original
form must have had a remarkably strong influence on the reverberance of the theater
247
Fig. 11.64 Longitudinal cut of the reconstruction of a Roman odeion at Aspendos. (After Barron
1993; Izenour 1977)
although it remains a half-open or half-closed room. Their calculations yield, as

expected, a low reverberation time of usually below 0.5 s for medium and low
frequencies fairly similar to the measurements in the present restored open structure.
However by simulating the half-closed structure in the same manner, the authors
obtain reverberation times (without an audience) of more than 23.5 s dependent on
frequency and on the source and reception positions. They claim, probably rightfully,
that reflections from the ceiling intensify high frequencies and deduce that this is
responsible for considerably improving the Herodeions acoustics. However, the
authors probably err in assuming that the resulting reverberation time is similar
to that of modern completely enclosed concert halls. The latter typically show at
low frequencies an increasing reverberation time, the so-called bass rise (see Sects.
11.2.6 and 11.12.2), whereas the odeia with their large open areas in the ceiling and
large windows in the walls most likely have had a distinctly decreasing reverberation
from the room at low frequencies.
Vassilantonopoulos and Mourjopoulos (2009) give no details concerning absorption in their simulation, but the decrease at low frequencies should actually be
assumed stronger than indicated in their Fig. 12. It is easy to imagine double the
equivalent absorption area at 125 Hz compared to that at 1 kHzwith an inverse
tendency for the reverberation time. The authors therefore conclude a bit hastily
that odeia were predominantly or even exclusively used for musical performances
and contests and state that such a reverberation had necessarily led to poor speech
intelligibility especially for the more distant listening positions.
Barron (1993) assumes that the velarium as depicted in a reconstruction of the
odeion at Aspendos (Fig. 11.64, taken from Izenour 1977) consisted of relatively light
canvas and served mainly as a shelter to shield the audience from the sun. He meant
that this could only mildly reflect sound waves but virtually no reverberation would
occur. Computer simulations in Gade et al. (2004), on the other hand, estimate
a reverberation maximum of 1.71.8 s at medium frequencies even without any
roofing (Fig. 11.65, left) in good agreement with the corresponding measurement of
248
Fig. 11.65 Plan and detailed computer model (after Pappalardo and Borrelli 2007; Gade et al.
2004) of the odeion in Aspendos according to Fig. 11.64 without roofing
reverberation times in this relatively well preserved building. This agreement, by the
way, could only be reached by simulating also its fine-scale structures like the steps
of the cavea, the vaulted colonnades behind them and details of the skene faade
(Fig. 11.65, right) with a total of 6,000 surfaces defined for these calculations. When
considering only 362 larger surfaces of the relatively simple large-scale structure of
this theatre the ray tracing method yields considerably lower reverberation times.
The measured data steeply decrease toward the low frequencies as one would expect.
Any roofing should, however, raise the reverberance at the higher frequencies in
particularfor the benefit of the performance of both music and speech according
to the experiences reported by Burkowitz and Fuchs (2009).
11.13.3 Audience in the round?

Ever since, concentric plans have been preferred by architects when designing buildings for performances, gatherings, and communicative uses. Greek and Roman
theatres gave room for up to many thousand spectators. The circus maximus in
Rome enabled even larger crowds to sit or stand facing each other across the huge
oval scenery. Later Shakespearean theatres, too, placed the audience preferably in the
round. Even smaller Chinese court-yard theatres favoured a concentric, in this case
mostly quadratic, stage with the audience gathering closely around it (Fig. 11.66).
What all these structures, built and used for speech, drama, dance and music, had
in common was that they were kept at least partly open to the sky for one reason or
another. This provoked, quite understandably, some fundamental questions and also
a certain precariousness among scientists which Wang (2008) in his paper on ancient
Chinese theatres cast into the following statement: The classic room acoustics is no
longer applicable to such a non-enclosed space . . . which is out of the consideration
of Sabines equation . . . In such open-top space the absence of a roof would mean
little reverberation and a non-diffused sound field . . . The sense of reverberance in a
courtyard space would differ noticeably from that of the equivalent 3D reverberation
time in an enclosed space.
249
Fig. 11.66 Typical Shakespearean (left, after Barron 1993; Izenour 1977) and traditional Chinese
court-yard theatres (right, after Wang 2004)
This is certainly true but cannot possibly degrade or even eliminate the relevance
of the rooms response. This manifests itself as something at least equivalent to what
is commonly named reverberance how ever diffuse or non-diffuse the sound field
may inevitably reverberate and decay in any space. What is badly needed, however,
is a new look on the frequency characteristics of any reverberation time measured or
calculated as was put forward by Fuchs et al. (2005b).
The circular or cylindrical geometry which clearly prevails in classical theatres in
combination with skene, orchestra, proscenium and a high broken skene frons were
revived by Palladios Teatro Olimpico in 1584 (Fig. 11.67). A few hundred years
later huge stage towers were developed from the small chambers behind the few
openings from the stage. These were to house the powerful theatre machinery and
became an indispensable part of modern opera houses. This architecture, unfortunately, still prevails in so many places despite its severe shortcomings in acoustical
and visual comfort for the performers and their audiences. How these deficiencies
could convincingly be cured (with the original cylindrical gross structure carefully
preserved) may be experienced in the new Groes Haus of the Staatstheater Mainz,
see Sect. 11.14.7. Its reconstruction in 2001 followed the new acoustical concept
which relies on a rigorous damping of the low frequencies in the roof above the
audience as well as in the stage tower.
11.13.4
Conclusions for Modern Architecture
Amphitheaters as shown in Fig. 11.68 rather completely enclosed surely granted the
many thousand spectators and listeners a certain acoustic room impression which,
of course, the partial roof could intensify. After having tried between 1800 and 1950
250
Fig. 11.67 Revival of the

classical circular form under a
closed roof in the Teatro
Olimpico in Vicenza, after
Pappalardo (2007). (Courtesy
of Archivio Arsenale)
the classical rectangular (shoe box) format for speech and music performances
but also cylindrical and horseshoe-shaped forms (especially for drama theaters and
opera houses, see Sect. 11.14.7) with their numerous optical and acoustical advantages and disadvantages including many failures, it became obvious to modern
architecture to return to the roots of architecture and attempt to revive the myth of
the traditional ancient Greek and Roman amphitheaters.
Probably the first attempt in this direction was undertaken by the architect H.
Scharoun with his acoustician L. Cremer in 1963 in building the new Philharmonie
in Berlin, see Fig. 11.69. Here the orchestra is placed almost in the center of the
21,000 m3 room, seating an audience of 2,300. Although the Berlin Philharmonic
Orchestra was familiar with the phenomenal acoustics of the Jesus Christus Kirche,
preferring it for countless recordings, no one could imagine at that time to strive
for, let alone realize, something similar in the orchestras new home. Moreover,
those responsible for building the concert hall certainly did not give much thought to
acoustics in odeiaall decisions were anyway made solely by H.v. Karajan personally. As the boss, he was of course familiar with all the particularities of acoustics.
Indeed large-surface low-frequency absorbers were installed in the form of wooden
paneling and Helmholtz resonators on the upper wall surfaces and below the ceiling
251
Fig. 11.68 An animation of

the theater Augusta Raurica
in Basel
as was the state of the art at that time. But it was by no means comparable to the
low-frequency absorption in the Jesus Christus Kirche with its strongly absorptive
large roof or in the Herodeion with its large open areas.
Even the meanwhile available compound panel absorbers described in Sect. 5.3
were unable to grant the Groes Haus of the Staatstheater in Mainz (Large House
of the State Theater) with its cylindrical large-scale structure (see Sect. 11.14.7) a
reverberation time that decreased at low frequencies, despite the fact that the ceiling
above the auditorium and several other surfaces (including the stage!) were completely covered with CPA. Although its acoustics could not compete with that of
many earlier models, the Berlin Philharmonie with its large concert hall and similarly built smaller hall for chamber music nonetheless became a model for many
now equally appreciated concert halls, see Beranek (2004).
Fig. 11.69 The Philharmonie in Berlin revives the structure of an amphitheater without being able
to imitate its acoustics
252
Fig. 11.70 The Cape Town

Stadium as one of the arenas
built for the soccer World Cup
2010 after Marg (2010).
(Courtesy of H. Nienhoff,
gmp architects)
Fig. 11.71 The Olympia

Stadion in Berlin of 1936 in
its new outfit awaiting Pope
Benedictus XVI in 2011 after
Marg (2010). (Courtesy of F.
Busan, gmp architects)
11.13.5
Enclosures of a New Scale for Big Events and Great

Emotions
In recent years, fewer single-purpose theaters and concert halls have been built, the
current trend is toward multi-purpose spaces, especially huge arenas for up to 100,000
spectators. Figure 11.70 shows such a stadium custom-built for football or soccer
games, in this case for the World Cup 2010 in South Africa. The Olympia Stadion
in Berlin (Fig. 11.71) served the Nazis for much more than just the Olympic Games
1936. Most recently, for instance, about 70,000 Christian believers celebrated here a
deeply stirring mass together with the Pope Benedictus XVI. Up to now acousticians
have worked intensively on the difficult sound reinforcement and transmission in
these stadiums but less on the room response on the natural live sound emanating
from people performing in the open air and fans singing and yelling under the large,
in some places more than 100 m high partial roofs (Fig. 11.72).
253
Fig. 11.72 The National

Stadium in Warsaw with its
umbrella-like roofing
prepared for the soccer
European Championship
2012 after Marg (2010).
(Courtesy of pmp architects)
Thanks to their amphitheater-like architecture, the aesthetic and functional acoustics (see Sect. 11.1) of these modern colossal temples is actually not bad; the
low-frequency components of the sound of the drumming, beating and shouting
of the spectators are able to escape diagonally upward. Due to the resulting acoustic
transparency, the referees occasional whistling can be heard everywhere and the
cheering in the upper rows is cheerfully amplified by the greater reverberation at
medium frequencies and gratefully received by the players. But, as recently was
demonstrated at the World Cup in Johannesburg, when many thousand spectators
blew full blast into almost monotone horns (in this case called juvuzelas), speech
intelligibility disappeared and players, coaches and referees could only resort to sign
language.
As far as the commercially decisive video transmission to many million TV and
movie screens is concerned, an analogy may be discussed to what is common practice
in audio recording and mastering: Similar to the former (up to 30 cameras show what
is happening in every corner of the huge playing-field, zooming in to show the critical
viewer details magnified and in slow motion), in the latter an even larger number of
microphones can make every single voice of a large group of musicians heard to
someone listening closely to the loudspeakers. In both cases, the sports or music
events may create fantastic and unique sensations. Yet one should be aware that such
selective transmissions can convey neither what the players or referees perceive on
the field nor what the musicians, singers perceive on the stage or conductors on the
podium. The trainers and assistants sitting on the bench and the spectators under the
roof of the stadium also see from their seats a very different spectacle. Similarly, the
audience in a concert hall enjoys a sound adventure very different from the one a
listener of a recording of the concert experiences, in which extracts of a performance
are processed to produce something new. Moreover, the many microphones in the
vicinity of the diverse sound sources (see Fig. 11.73) record a sound spectrum that
differs considerably from the sound spectrum of the same sources at a distance and,
254
Fig. 11.73 Near-field

polymicrophoning at
percussion instruments.
(According to Albrecht 2010)
no matter how sophisticated the blending may be, must result in a sound timbre
completely different from the natural one in the hall. From many CDs the violins
thus sound more like grinding scissors. Or as Burkowitz (2011) puts it: It should not
be forgotten that, for example, overplayed trombones like those in I. Stravinskys
Firebird will retain their singular timbre only if the microphone is sufficiently far
away and if the players are surrounded by supporting natural acoustics. In contrast,
an accent microphone placed ten inches before the trombones horn and therefore,
linearly attenuated perhaps by 20 dB will rather sound like a honk.
If, however, as is unfortunately often the case, the original sound has to develop in
a room poorly conditioned for the purpose, indirect listening to a well-mixed record
can be preferable to direct listening. Sophisticated mastering methods can make a
mediocre musical performance seem more dramatic and acoustically more interesting. Burkowitz (2010) and Fuchs (2010b) view the almost standard use of near-field
polymicrophoning and the discrepancy between direct and indirect hearing critically and recommend the Jesus Christus Kirche and studios modeled after it as rooms
that provide the best conditions for both, see Sect. 11.3.
11.14
Examples of Innovative Room Acoustics
There are certainly worse environmental problems than sound pollution at the workplace, at home and in recreational activities. However, for acousticians who consider
themselves scientists, engineers and technicians working for the benefit of the general public, noise control should be a primary concern. Since the introduction of
the UVV Lrm 1974 (Accident prevention regulation Noise), noise reduction at
11.14 Examples of Innovative Room Acoustics
255
workplaces in industry and trade has assumed a prominent role. The combined efforts
of trade associations, insurance companies, occupational practitioners, occupationalsafety experts, employers and employees in Germany have meanwhile succeeded in
lowering the number of new instances of early retirement due to hearing impairment
as an occupational disease from 3,500 in 1976 to only 500 in 2006. In view of the
fact that in Germany today an average of more than 3 million people are exposed
to a noise level, averaged over a working day, of more than 85 dB(A), it is evident
how important all measures to prevent harmful noise exposure still are. The innovative sound absorbers described in this book were developed and marketed as a
consequence of some acute inadequacies of conventional materials and elements.
Nonetheless there are still major deficits in noise control, for example in the food
industry owing to stricter hygienic standards, refer to Sect. 10.3.
Many lost factory jobs were replaced by new ones in the service sector. Although
noise levels harmful to hearing are rarer here, for work demanding high concentration,
objectively levels above 55 dB(A) already have a negative effect on work results and
employees health in the long run, see Table 11.3. In this age when everyone is being
deluged with information and communication, e.g. by mobile phones, in service
and administrative centers the exposure level in poorly conditioned rooms often far
exceeds 70 dB(A). Up to now this noise problem at millions of workplaces, has
received little attention. Here too structural measures are needed that not only damp
the noise level in the room but also act directly on the, in many cases, numerous
sound sources.
However, only such solutions are accepted in practice as have passed crucial
tests under normal market conditions with the usual price pressure and deadlines.
Damping low frequencies runs like a leitmotif through the following examples taken
from more than 20 years of applied R&D experience, with special emphasis on the
acoustics in representational halls for top quality cultural performances or events for
and with large crowds. Of course, it was neither possible nor desirable for all halls
to reach the same acoustical quality, but it was repeatedly possible to improve their
acoustics by applying more absorption in the bass range than was common practice
at the time. Many of the building and restoration projects were carried out in close
collaboration with the respective licensees of the mostly novel products employed.
11.14.1
Demanding Assembly Places
For simple speech without simultaneous communication between users, according

to DIN 18041 (2004, Sect. 4.3.2 there) a desired reverberation time according to
Eq. (11.31) for an occupied (+ 0.2 s respectively for an unoccupied) room (see curve
b in Fig. 11.30) can be assumed. For non-native speakers and users with impaired
hearing, the target should be 20 % lower Tsoll values.
256
Fig. 11.74 The glassenclosed cafeteria of the

Fraunhofer Center provided
with an acoustic ceiling
(small picture) undergoing
room-acoustic retrofitting
with CPA modules covering
(large picture) barely 5 % of
the rooms basic area;
reverberation time before
(), after (2), DIN 18041
(2004) (hatched)
11.14.1.1
Dining rooms
It can be disputed whether restaurants are not among the most intensively used
rooms for communication (curve c in Fig. 11.30). Classifying them according to
DIN 18041 (2004, Chap. 6 there) in Group B for which it is not necessary to
maintain a desired reverberation-time value and for whose noise control (according
to Table 6 there) only the weighted absorption coefficient w should be employed and
the absorption coefficient at 250 Hz is of minor importance, seems quite wrong.
The following example (Zha 1999, Fuchs et al. 2011b) shows the outcome of such a
limited awareness of an omnipresent problem:
After the addition of an extension to the cafeteria of the Fraunhofer Center in
Stuttgart (Fig. 11.74), a conventional acoustic ceiling comprising wooden paneling backed with approximately 40 mm thick mineral fiber with 20 mm wide slots
providing a 20 % perforation ratio was suspended from the concrete ceilingthus at
257
any rate fulfilling the subsequent requirements of DIN 18041 (2004, Table 6, line 3
there) with 0.5 to full coverage and w between 1 and 0.5. Nonetheless, for users the
noise during meals in the cafeteria, which is glazed on three sides and has a reflective stone floor, was deafening. Conducting a relaxed conversation was impossible.
In fact, on a festive occasion, a speech presented by the Fraunhofer president was
totally unintelligible despite electro-acoustic aids being employed.
Owing to this misfortune, IBP was allowed to carry out the retrofitting, in its
own house! 1 m2 large CPA modules as described in Sect. 5.3 and hardly visible
in Fig. 11.74 were screwed behind a wooden grid directly under the suspended
ceiling, barely covering more than 5 % of the rooms basic area. Users immediately
confirmed subjectively the effectiveness of this measure although objectively (in
the reverberation time, see Fig. 11.74) it is only evident below 200 Hz. Minimally
covering the original acoustic ceiling yielded a small increase in reverberation time
between 200 and 500 Hz. However, the reverberation time is almost halved at 63 Hz
and lowered from 1.2 to below 0.8 at 80 Hz. Using conventional measuring and
testing methods, which only reach down to 125 Hz, the difference between before
and after would hardly have been noticed. However, extending the measurement
and evaluation range at least down to 63 Hz makes it possible to objectively prove
the subjectively perceived difference as a result of this inconspicuous measure on
the ceiling and in this way clearly demonstrates the particular significance of low
frequencies as described in Sect. 11.4 and Fuchs et al. (2005b).
Even if the reverberation time in a factory cafeteria as shown in Fig. 11.75 increases substantially at high frequencies, it inevitably leads to complaints, because
in this frequency range often noises from various equipments in the dining area and
in the self-service area dominate and disturb intelligibility. In this case, installing
transparent microperforated foils as described in Sect. 9.2 under the concrete ceiling
to obtain a more uniform reverberation time proved successful and yielded similar results as in the previous example. In both instances, it was unnecessary to do
anything to the attractive glass faades enclosing the two cafeterias. The measures
did not interfere with the existent installations. Moreover the rooms did not require
renovation for these measures.
In view of such eye-opening experiences, it is incomprehensible why first-class
restaurants serve gourmet delights in appalling acoustical conditions. Tasteful background music cannot resolve this striking discrepancy between hearing and tasting.
If it is true thatat least for a certain privileged classthe boundaries between work,
communication and leisure should be blurred, there is an urgent need to take action
with regard to these continually neglected rooms.
The Berufsgenossenschaft Nahrungsmittel und Gastgewerbe (Legal Insurance
Company for the Food Stuff Industry and Catering Trade) feels obligated on behalf
of its numerous members to address these problems in a R&D project, see Berger
et al. (2011). Applying acoustical principles to its own restaurant in the Mannheim
headquarters seemed therefore the obvious thing to take action, see Fig. 11.76. Completely glass-enclosed, it is wonderfully modern and able to seat a maximum of 200
for lunch and more on special occasions when the entire staff convenes. Despite its
258
Fig. 11.75 Room-acoustical

retrofitting in a large factory
cafeteria using transparent
microperforated foils under a
concrete ceiling
beautiful, precious wooden paneling and tasteful furnishings, acoustical comfort, in

particular speech intelligibility, was wanting at the beginning.
In order to improve this room with a ground surface of approximately 400 m2 and
a volume of about 1,200 m3 (including a large self-service area) acoustically, first
approximately 39 m2 of 100 mm thick BCA modules according to Sect. 10.2 were
mounted in front of the walls at the bottom and at the top beside the round table in
Fig. 11.65, see Fig. 11.77a, 11.77b respectively. Then permanently installed between
the tables for six on the right and the table for four on the left were approximately
17 m2 of BCA absorber elements (2 100 mm thick) of a partition wall system
similar to that depicted in Figs. 10.2 and 10.12 that proved successful in offices, see
Fig. 11.78a. Finally, approximately 11 m2 of movable partition walls were placed
in the caf section, in Fig. 11.76 on the left, see Fig. 11.78b. For static reasons, the
latter could only be covered with an 80 mm thick passive absorber on both sides.
Not only user satisfaction attested the quite positive results in the dining area (on
the right in Fig. 11.76), but also the spectrum in Fig. 11.79: the reverberation time
259
Fig. 11.76 Ground plan of the BGN restaurant in Mannheim with three types of vertical sound
absorbers installed; BCA wall claddings (1), BCA partitions (2), conventional (3) (a, b)
Fig. 11.77 Dining area of the BGN restaurant; a BCA wall claddings (1), b BCA partitions (2)
apparently dropped distinctly in the entire relevant frequency range and halved in the
low frequency range! The also optically attractive measures, which did not destroy the
rooms transparent design, reduced the average sound pressure level by up to almost
260
Fig. 11.78 Sound screens resembling the partition wall systems described in Sect. 11.14.5; a BCA
partitions, b porous absorbers
5 dB(A) with approximately the same occupancy. Note that the partition walls unlike
those between office workplaces (see Sect. 11.8) stand relatively far apart. Although
less pronounced in the caf section due to still sparse and less effective absorber
coverage, acoustic improvement is nonetheless clearly noticeable.
11.14.1.2 Assembly halls
Political and art associations like to convene in assembly halls that permit watching
them at work while their activities are broadcast on the radio and televised directly.
However, if there is a debate, the acoustical shortcomings of the room become evident
as it was designed with primarily visual effects in mind. In this case, the room with
its untreated sound-reflective surfaces assumes a destructive role even or particularly
if a complicated electro-acoustic system is installed for communication. A perfect
example of unfortunate instance occurred in the, at that time, new Bundestag (German
Federal Parliament) in Bonn built by the architects Behnisch & Partners.
The light ceiling of the assembly hall (Fig. 11.81a) with glass louvers (outside)
which follow the sun and the light directing grids (inside) and the floor-to-ceiling
glass walls (inside and outside) ensure a high degree of optical clarity and transparency with optimum climatic and acoustical separation of the assembly room and
the foyer. Destructive reflections of the sound waves from the loudspeakers to the
partition walls and back to the microphones caused the digital electronics to break
down and the members of parliament to retreat to their old waterworks building
261

time in the dining area of
Fig. 11.76 before and after the
room-acoustic measures
depicted in Figs. 11.7611.78
Fig. 11.80 Frequency distribution curves of the A-weighted SPL in the dining area of Fig. 11.76
before and after the room-acoustic measures depicted in Figs. 11.7611.78
when the hall was opened in 1992! Placing transparent acrylic MPA facing shells as
described in Sect. 9.1 slanted before the 24 doors and glass reflectors in front of the
wall elements permitted rendering acoustically harmless the awesomely beautiful up
to 10 m high timber-glass structure of the partition walls between the assembly hall
262
Fig. 11.81 The cylindrical

glass faade between the
assembly hall (a) and the
foyer of the Bundestag was
rendered acoustically
harmless by transparent
reflectors (c) and
microperforated acrylic glass
absorbers (b). (According to
Fuchs et al. 1993c)
and the foyer (Fig. 11.81c). Including positioning the parapet elements in the visitors
tribunes at a slant, measures on the eagle wall, and laying sound-absorptive floor
covering, this retrofitting cost much money that could have been saved. Careful, in
particularly, timely planning would have spared the reputable manufacturer of the
electro-acoustics, the builder, and the parliament much ridicule!
As of 1993, the Bundestag members and even today many visitors to this impressive building can marvel at the enclosed MPA cassettes (Fig. 11.81b) on the doors
(see the CD-ROM 1999). In the following years, the facing shells and the securityglass panes had to be cleaned regularly, because visitors cannot refrain from touching
them. Some even broke due to carelessness, but there were no complaints about reflections interfering with the electro-acoustic system. This permanent demonstration
263
of innovative absorber technology at such a prominent site led in many more pleas
for assistance to the Fraunhofer IBP.
The repeatedly raised concerns that deposits from the air might clog the small
(< 1 mm!) holes are with certainty unfounded. Under even much more severe conditions, an MPA model similar to the one shown in Fig. 11.81b which was installed
directly in the vicinity of test stands for walls (with the usual dusty demolition work)
at about the same time in the IBP laboratories indicated that no soiling occurred in the
holes even after several years, though it did on the surfaces. Apparently, excitation
of the resonance-like air pulsations inside the holes under continuous sound exposure is somehow linked with a self-cleaning effect. When installing microperforated
elements in noise control systems jolting can have a similar positive cleaning effect.
Larger holes like those often found in the covering of porous or fibrous absorber
layers can, under circumstances, even soil worse. A particular problem arose during
the first retrofitting measures, described in Fasold (1994), how to freshen up the
acoustic plaster on the large eagle wall dominating the assembly hall (Fig. 11.81a)
by carefully spraying on a coating without impairing its absorption efficiency.
MPA facing shells were also successfully installed in the Landtag (State Parliament) of Sachsen-Anhalt in Magdeburg. However, in order to not be able to look
in from the park, in this case the MPA shells were made translucent and applied to
the exterior glass wall according to plans by Tennhardt (1998), see Fig. 11.82. The
assembly hall of the new Academy of Arts in Berlin will be discussed in connection
with the examples given under f below.
11.14.1.3 The Forum in the Office Innovation Center

Generally microperforated elements are employed as single- or multi-layers in front
of an enclosed air volume. Among the products developed according to this principle were transparent shades or transparent, absorptive partition walls, see example
media garden in Sect. 11.14.8 f. In addition, foil panels hung from the ceiling have
also proven successful for noise control in factories, see Fig. 5.7. Arranged similar to
conventional baffle absorbers, these panels can easily be cleaned. On the other hand,
rarely realized have been freely hanging MPA foil panels or sails according to Fuchs
et al. (2004, 2006), probably due to uncertainty in planningthe room-acoustical
design is not trivial without a well-defined layer of air on the rear side. Nonetheless,
especially this form of application offers optically attractive possibilities. Due to the
minimal weight, no complicated mounting structure is required. Great flexibility,
mobility and portability enable easy implementation at trade fairs, sports and recreational areas. Moreover, temporary conditioning for special events is no problem.
Often the aim is to create an acceptable acoustical environment by suitable, uncomplicated, inexpensive measures. The foils mounted for the closing get-together of
the 1998 Building-Physics Congress held at the IBP laboratories swept away any
doubts regarding their noise-reducing effectiveness (Fig. 11.83). The following examples will demonstrate the new possibilities of this innovation. Both projects have
in common that acoustically suited conditioning for the desired use was realized
264
Fig. 11.82 Translucent microperforated facing shells applied to the glass faade of the assembly
hall of the Landtag of Sachsen-Anhalt ensure that the members of parliament are able to understand
each other
in the last minute. Before these measures were implemented, it was possible to
experience the poor acoustics of the just finished building first hand and document
them. Both cases called for simple, inexpensive measures which would not touch
the building substance. Subsequently, however, the provisional measures became
lasting, long-term solutions.
The Office Innovation Center OIC is a demonstration center for innovative technologies and concepts for office worlds. Developments of five Fraunhofer Institutes
are tested here, and the results made available to planners. Apart from finding solutions in the areas of office room climate, illumination, and noise control, the center has
implemented concepts for office room acoustics, see Sect. 11.14.4 c. Initially, room
acoustic measures for the Forum, a 15.5 13.5 9.0 m room, were not planned. The
room was used as a presentation area for innovative products in temporary exhibitions
as well as a lecture room for about 60 persons.
The upper half of the wall structure comprises metal sandwich elements; the ceiling consists of the trapeze-shaped sheet metal structure of the roof. The damping and
transmission of the low-frequency sound of this steel structure led to relatively short
reverberation times in this frequency range as the measurement results in Fig. 11.84
(right) indicate. Between 500 and 2,000 Hz, however, a reverberation time of more
than 3.5 s was measuredmuch too high according to DIN 18041-4 for this room
measuring just 2,000 m3 .
265
Fig. 11.83 Microperforated

foil absorbers as a temporary
acoustical measure for noise
control at a get-together party
in the Fraunhofer laboratories
Fig. 11.84 Freely hanging microperforated foils (left) permanently halved reverberation time
(right) in the Forum of the OIC; before (2), after ()
266
Under these circumstances, even if electro-acoustic aids are used, speech intelligibility for lectures is difficult to achieve. Consequently, conducting conversations
and discussions during guided tours or receptions was tiring. Despite the very limited
budget for the interior, a suited measure was found for the opening of the OIC that
met the time and financial constraints without interfering with the existent wall and
ceiling structure. Using a simple mounting construction, ten sails of microperforated foil, each 1.2 m wide and approximately 13.5 m long, were hung freely in the
room. The average hanging height of the single-layer foils from the roof was 1.3 m.
This simple measure distinctly reduces the reverberation time in the frequency range
between 500 and 2,000 Hz which is so important for speech intelligibility. From
the reduced reverberation time an absorption coefficient of the installed measure of
between 40 and 50 % can be deduced. Following this the foil panels became permanent to be later supplemented with absorber elements applied to the walls. Due to the
Lombard effect (Sect. 3.4) the resulting noise reduction effect exceeds the physically
expected 3 dB according to Eq. (11.1).
11.14.1.4 The Schlterhof in Deutsches Historisches Museum (German
Historic Museum)
In the course of renovation, the Schlterhof of the Altes Zeughaus (Old Armory)
in the DHM in Berlin, the originally open courtyard became a roofed atrium with a
volume of approximately 30,800 m3 . An unsupported dome-shaped, steel and glass
structure was placed over the almost square courtyard, see Wack and Fuchs (2004,
Fig. 3 there). Although the operator wanted to use the representative room for events
such as congresses, conventions and galas (Fig. 11.85a), for costs reasons this enclosure received mention only as a roofed area with a lot of public traffic in the building
plans. Once the glass roof was completed, it was of course immediately obvious
to the consultant acousticians (W. Moll for architectural and room acoustics and W.
Ahnert for sound reinforcement) that the room acoustic conditions would not permit
the desired events and no sound reinforcement system would be able to cure that.
From the structural side, none of the bounding surfaces possess any sound absorption capacity worth mentioning. Although the intricately structured Baroque faade
ensured diffusivity at medium frequencies, it did not, however, reduce echo formation under the dome-shaped roof. Sound emanating in the area around the center
of the room was repeatedly reflected back to the source by the focusing effect of
the concave roof, its intensity decreasing much less than with plane or even convex
surfaces reflecting. The echo decay times measured when excitation occurred in the
area of the room center also confirmed this (Fig. 11.85c). At the apex of the glass
roof structure, room height is approximately 24 m. Due to the long path between
two reflections the echoes were quite perceivable, impairing speech intelligibility.
If excitation was near the walls, echo formations occurred less. The thus measured
reverberation times confirmed that due to insufficient damping the room could not
be used for speech or music purposes.
267
Fig. 11.85 A microperforated sail under the dome-shaped glass roof made the Schlterhof fit for
state receptions, concerts and talk shows; (a) view, (b) hanging, (c) reverberation time (2), resp.
echo-decay time () before; reverberation time after (), (d) resulting absorption coefficient of
the transparent sail. (Courtesy of Rigips, Kaefer)
Applying conventional absorber materials on the faade was out of the question for
architectural and conservational reasons. Sound-absorptive or diffuse-reflecting furniture were also ruled out, because in order to be effective a too large amount would
be required. Instead an approximately 710 m2 transparent sail of two-layered microperforated foil was mounted. Borne by a filigree meshed steel wire (Fig. 11.85b),
the corners of the 1.15 1.15 m foils were attached to the nodes of the net with
spacers keeping the two foils 15 cm apart. Maximum distance between the slightly
convex sail and the concave glass roof was 7 m and minimum 4 m at the edges.
This simple measure distinctly reduces reverberation time (Fig. 11.85c) and effectively suppresses echo formation under the dome-shaped roof, on the one hand
due to absorption and on the other due to the now more diffuse reflections from the
sails. Such installations are impossible to measure full-size in a reverberation room.
Moreover, considering the lacking diffusivity of the sound field under the roof of
the Schlterhof the results would be of little value. Instead the absorption coefficient of the sail can be deduced from the reverberation times in situ before and
268
Fig. 11.86 An optimal averaged reverberation characteristic (b) and high definition (c) at distances
between 2 (upper) and 8 m (lowest curve) from a central source prove excellent acoustics in the
lobby of the Fraunhofer administration center in Munich
after installation. Figure 11.85d shows a quite high broadband absorption between
250 and 8,000 Hz. A measure originally intended as temporary permits holding the
planned events without restrictions including regular concerts and state banquettes.
Only insiders are able to still simulate the now very weak reverberation problem in
the empty courtyard.
11.14.1.5
Lobby and Atrium at the Fraunhofer headquarters
The above described, originally unroofed courtyard Schlterhof which now serves
as a magnificent entrance hall to the DHM in Berlin, was provisionally retrofitted
with an acoustical treatment which could not completely cure a tremendous increase
of reverberation toward the low frequencies. That, 10 years later in this unsatisfactory
state, it is still used for demanding speech and music events indicates how modest
the pretensions of carriers, organizers, artists and guests in fact are with respect
to acoustics as long as the visual impressions of a space are strong enough. The
Fraunhofer administration center in Munich, however, was well advised to timely
and exemplarily provide sufficient low frequency absorption in its own, with 2,000 m3
admittedly much smaller foyer (Fig. 11.86). With its three large glass facades it
frequently serves as an attractive assembly hall.
In this example CPA modules according to Sect. 5.3 were inconspicuously fitted
into the corners all around behind a suspended ceiling. The reverberation time in
Fig. 11.86b exhibits the characteristic which according to Sects. 11.1011.13 yields
a comfortably high definition according to Eq. (11.15), notably increasing toward
low frequencies at a not too far distance as measured on a path normal to a glass
faade, about 9 m away from a central source, see Fig. 11.86c. These room-acoustic
conditions keep the external background noise and the internal sound level in multiperson communications amazingly low. Likewise, the Atrium in the same building
complex (Fig. 11.87) was similarly damped such that its acoustics harmonize with its
naturally green ambience. It is noted that both these model examplesvery similar as
the Jesus-Christus-Kirche (Sect. 11.12)are characterized by a mean reverberation
time which by far exceeds the values recommended by DIN 18041 (2004) for speech
as well as for music.
269
Fig. 11.87 The atrium in the Fraunhofer administration center excels by a reverberance which
encourages and supports multi-person communications
11.14.1.6
Conference rooms of the Ministry of Commerce
After the reunification of Germany, following a decade of construction and restoration

work, the former Kaiser Wilhelm Akademie became the seat of Bundesministerium fr
Wirtschaft und Arbeit BMWA (Federal Ministry of Commerce and Labor). The initial
goal was to rebuild and restore the historical complex and at the same time create
modern workplaces. According to the Ministry, the outcome was a great success.
Despite this, the acoustics in the Aula (auditorium) and in the Eichensaal (oak
hall), which were converted into an international conference center were the source
of massive criticism.
In the planning phase, the desired reverberation time of the 25 15 12 m Aula
(Fig. 11.29) was set at 2 s, which is quite high for speech purposes, due to conditions set by the Office of Conservation which allowed implementation of only a
small part of the required room-acoustical treatment of the surfaces of the room.
Initially an acoustic plaster system was applied to the ceiling, along the top edges
of the walls round the room, above the doors and above the media wall. Moreover,
a porous absorber was placed behind wooden louvers on the front and rear walls.
Lightly upholstered 90320 chairs offered some additional absorption. All these
absorbers, however, had in common a quite high absorption at high and medium
frequencies but only minimal absorption at low frequencies. The resulting reverberation time measured in the unoccupied room with 246 seats (Fig. 11.88c) lay within
the permissible tolerance range of the desired value of 2 s according to DIN 18041
(2004), but only in the octave bands of 1 kHz and above. The lower the frequency, the
more the reverberation time exceeded the acceptable range. As expected, the users
complained about poor speech intelligibility even if an electro-acoustic system was
activated. Acoustical retrofitting was required if all the announced conferences and
receptions were not to be permanently canceled.
270
Fig. 11.88 BCA modules on the ceiling (a) and CPA modules above the entrance doors (b) (both
behind cloth lining) qualified the Aula in the Federal Ministry of Commerce for international conferences; (c) reverberation times (unoccupied) before (2) and after (), (d) absorption coefficient
measured (according to DIN EN ISO 354 2001) in a reverberation room, of the replaced acoustic
plaster (2), the BCA () and of the CPA ()
The aim was to lower the reverberation time in the Aula mainly in the medium
and low frequency ranges. 15 cm thick BCA modules as described in Sect. 10.2
(Fig. 11.88a) were therefore placed on the center field of the ceiling (63 m2 ) behind
an acoustically transparent cloth lining. Six 2 1 m, respectively four 1.25 1 m,
10 cm thick CPA modules as described in Sect. 5.3 were mounted above the doors and
above the media wall, see Fig. 11.88b. Figure 11.88d shows the measured absorption
coefficient of these absorbers compared to the acoustic plaster system.
One can see that compound panel absorbers are especially suited if additional
absorption for low frequencies is desired and no additional absorption is needed for
271
Fig. 11.89 BCA modules

behind fabric lining on a side
wall (a), combined with
diverse porous absorbers
create an acoustically
pleasing ambiance for
symposia, dinners and
concerts in the Eichensaal;
(b) reverberation time
(unoccupied) before (2) and
after (). (From Leistner and
Fuchs 2004)
high frequencies. 25 cm thick broadband compact absorbers were also installed in

a cavity behind the wooden louvers of the media wall (14 m2 ) where they could not
be seen. Conventional porous absorbers (38 m2 ) were installed along the upper wall
edges around the room and under the tables. The windows could be turned into additional absorber surfaces by placing transparent absorbers made of microperforated
acrylic glass at a distance of approximately 20 cm in front of the window-panes,
see Leistner et al. (2004, Fig. 6 there). The mentioned modifications yielded the
reverberation time shown in Fig. 11.88c. Another option for additional absorption
was setting up 60 m2 of movable CPA partition walls, which could ensure that the
reverberation time is also reduced at low frequencies to a value within the tolerance
range according to DIN 18041 (2004) as indicated in Fig. 11.88.
The Eichensaal (Fig. 11.89) including the acoustically coupled antechambers
and galleries measures approximately 36 10 9 m. During planning, the desired
reverberation time, again taking into consideration the restrictions of the Office of
Conservation, was set at 1.7 s in an unoccupied state. With its large proportion of
wooden paneling and windows, including the 75300 lightly upholstered seats, the
272
hall possessed considerable absorption at low and high frequencies. In the original
restored state (Fig. 11.89b), the reverberation time measured with 75 seats exceeded
the tolerance range most at medium frequencies. A flutter echo developed in the center of the hall under the vaulted ceiling. The resulting poor speech intelligibility and
unpleasant room acoustical impression demanded follow-up treatment. The acoustically practically ineffective hard-foam panels behind the fabric lining of the side
walls were replaced with highly effective 9 cm thick BCA modules. Three-layered
drapes were hung at the front and rear sides of the room, and porous absorbers were
placed in the radiator niches and under the tables. These measures allowed attaining
the reverberation time shown in Fig. 11.89b. The flutter echo was suppressed by
installing porous absorbers directly under the ceiling and in two ventilation hoods.
The room is now used not only for conference venues but also for public chamber
music concerts
11.14.1.7
Multipurpose rooms in the Academy of Arts Berlin
Large, glass-enclosed atria, courtyards, lobbies, exhibition and ticket halls are not
only representative but also are increasingly employed for speech and musical performances as well as diverse events with high communicative requirements. Even in
a museum acoustic signal transmissions are relevant when large visitor groups gather
in front of the exhibits. Consequently, these multipurpose rooms should certainly not
be classified in Group B of DIN 18041 (2004, Chap. 6 there) as rooms that are not
particularly demanding acoustically. Otherwise, in future both courts and certified
experts will have to decide whether representative buildings actually possess the
properties demanded by the designated purpose according to the Verdingungsordnung fr Bauleistungen VOB (Contract Regulations for Building Works) and valid
guidelines or requireusually very expensiveretrofitting.
Glass walls, faades and ceilings determine the appearance of the new Academy
of Arts, which spectacularly closed one of the last building gaps at Pariser Platz in
Berlin. The exclusive use of sound-reflecting building materials presented a special
challenge for the responsible acoustician (Mller-BBM, Berlin, for room acoustics and Acoustic Design Ahnert, Berlin, for sound reinforcement). In addition to
conventional room and electro-acoustical measures, two then innovative sound absorbers from Fraunhofer IBPs workshop were inconspicuously but very effectively
implemented, helping to prevent the transparent architecture conflicting with demanding acoustics as is so often the case. From the ground floor to the ceiling roof,
open passages, walkways, stairways, hallways and ramp-like passages form a continuous single, optical and acoustical stage for manifold possible movement and
communication on many different levels.
With its architecture, music and literature departments, the Academy of Arts is
inviting to its actors and users not only architecturally but just as strongly by its
acoustics. Seeing and listening must be in harmony in all communication and interaction in a room. Even in buildings intended for prayer and contemplation (e.g.
churches and museums), oral exchange of information plays a central role. For this
273
Fig. 11.90 The transparent

architecture of the Academy
of Arts in Berlin offers few
surfaces for conventional
acoustic lining; a assembly
hall on the second floor,
b passage between the Pariser
Platz and the Behrenstrae.
(See Fuchs and Kandzia
2005)
reason, the current architectural trend toward greatest optical transparency reaches
its limits when it impedes hearing and understanding each other. Unfortunately, loud
surroundings and poor acoustics often cloud the enjoyment of architectural feats.
On the other hand, large-scale acoustic linings and ceilings including conventionally
designed voluminous acoustic baffles and splitters can unquestionably ruin an architectural concept forever. Without suited room acoustical measures, the voices of the
actors and visitors in the large assembly hall (Fig. 11.90a) or in the open gangways
extending over several floors of the Academy of Arts would inevitably be louder
than would be tolerable for any audiovisual event. This almost programmed, all too
common consequence of using predominantly sound-reflecting building materials
such as concrete, metal and glass in representative buildings can be resolved with a
new room-acoustic concept described in Sect. 11.7.
Only very few bounding surfaces were available for sound absorber claddings to
attain a frequency-independent reverberation time below 1.5 s in the about 1,700 m3
assembly hall, originally intended as a convention venue, to also be able to use it for
musical performances. The acoustician was only able to find 22 m2 on a small rear
wall and 12 m2 on the underside of the audience tribune for a conventional 3 cm thick
mineral-wool layer behind an optically attractive perforated cover, which however is
effective only at high frequencies. For medium frequencies, 131 acoustic cylinders
made of open-pore melamine resin soft foam with a diameter of 23 cm and a length
of 1.2 m were hung freely at various heights side by side from the ceiling up to
4.6 m above the floor. In such large numbers, they have a sort of sculptural effect
(Fig. 11.90a).
Combined with the about 300 lightly upholstered seats in the hall and on the
tribune, these conventional room-acoustical measures would have yielded a reverberation time that strongly increased at low frequencies with the resulting to-be-expected
negative effect on speech intelligibility and sound level according to Sect. 11.4 when
the hall was used for intensive communication. Consequently, the responsible acousticians first placed 7 mm thick veneered plywood panels at a distance of 97 mm in
front of the entire west wall of the assembly room. Measurements conducted in
a reverberation room with samples containing a loose filling of 40 mm thick mineral wool with a specific density of 50 kg m3 and a specific flow resistance of
16 kPa s m2 , however, revealed in time that the to-be-expected effectiveness of
274
Fig. 11.91 7 mm thick plywood resonator panels were replaced during the planning phase by 1 mm
steel panels in CPA modules, again 100 mm thick, in the assembly hall (a); the absorption coefficient
of wooden panels (2), respectively steel panels () measured in a reverberation room. (According
to DIN EN ISO 354 2001)
this type of conventional panel resonators was only minimal and too narrowband
(Fig. 11.91b).
Instead as a much more effective alternative, the about 150 m2 firewall between the
hall and the adjacent building of a bank was covered with also only 100 mm thick compound panel absorbers according to Sect. 5.3. Measurements with 1.5 1 0.1 m
CPA modules incorporating 1 mm thick resonator steel panels placed at a lateral distance of 0.2 m as in Fig. 5.14 on the floor of a reverberation room show in Fig. 11.80b
a much higher and more broadband absorption coefficient, which hardly changes
when a 1 mm thick genuine wood veneer is attached on the front side and elaborately finished with much the same appearance as that of the originally planned
plywood panels. The effectiveness of this densely packed CPA surface only decreases
somewhat at higher frequencies, because in this rather unique case the modules measuring about 1.7 1 0.1 m were mounted with an unusually narrow 8 mm joint,
see Fig. 11.91a. These however are already damped by the other room acoustical
measures mentioned.
275
A transparent building pervaded from all sides by light like the Academy of Arts,
naturally, calls for transparent sound absorbers. Running between the foyer behind the north faade facing the Pariser Platz and the meeting point behind the
south faade on the Behrenstrae is a spacious passage to the exhibition rooms
whose glass faade offers a view to the courtyard of the Hotel Adlon (Fig. 11.90b).
Here would have been an unpleasantly high noise level caused by the many visitors wandering between the Brandenburg Gate and the Holocaust Memorial, if 19
transparent/translucent printed 3 1 m in size microperforated absorber foils as described in Sect. 9.2 had not been hung inside at some distance in front of the faade to
improve the room acoustics. In a situation like this in which the foils are not arranged
in the classical manner in front of a fully enclosed air cushion as shown in Fig. 9.1c,
it is difficult to assess their effectiveness quantitatively, see Sect. 9.3.
Thus transparent architecture and acoustical transparency no longer need to exclude each other. With suited sound absorbers which absorb especially the medium
and low frequencies more than conventional ones, efficient room-acoustic measures
can be inconspicuously realized with minimal thickness on very small surfaces. As
this example shows, if all those involved in the construction would discuss the anticipated problems early in the planning phase, conventional and innovative measures
could be implemented saving space and cost effectively as well as avoiding annoying, expensive retrofitting to comply with minimal acoustical standards: a practice
which unfortunately has become the norm.
11.14.2
Gyms and Recreational Halls
Apart from exercise, health and fun, communication plays a big role in physical
training at universities, vocational and other schools. On the other hand, gyms are
frequently dreadfully loud. When classes, training or games are in process, one can
hardly hear ones own word. It is almost impossible to hold events in which speech
and music but also intermittent silence are so significant. Important announcements
are only able to rise above the din by using strong loudspeakers that can be heard even
at a distance in the neighborhood. The detailed requirements of DIN 1804 (2004)
for the reverberation time in gyms with volumes ranging between about 2,000 and
8,500 m3 are greatly welcomed, calculated or measured when the gym is empty, for
simple use (only one group, simple communication) or multiple use (several groups,
multiple communication) according to
Tsoll = 1.27 lg V 2.49
resp.
Tsoll = 0.95 lg V 1.74
(11.40)
1. The Vicemoos Gym

After a fire had destroyed the old gym of the Freie Waldorfschule in Schopfheim, the
teachers, students, athletes and citizens had a special request regarding the interior
of the new building: they did not want it to be as deafeningly loud as the old one
was and so many other are. The hall with 45 27 9 = 11,000 m3 can be divided
276
Fig. 11.92 The Vicemoos gym in Schopfheim (a) after reconstruction in 2004; acoustically
transparent wooden paneling in front of CPA modules in the ceiling and gable regions (b) as well
as in the lower wall region (c)
optically and acoustically by two heavy two-layered foil curtains so that three groups
can use it at the same time (physical education classes of the Freie Waldorfschule and
a local high school as well as activities of Schopfheim sports clubs), see Fig. 11.92.
Due to the bad experience with the old gym, acoustic quality was a particular
concern. Fixing the target reverberation times, therefore, extended far beyond the
recommendations of DIN 18032 (2003) considered when planning. According to
this norm, a gym with a volume of 11,000 m3 should not exceed 3 s. For the gyms
subsections a maximum reverberation time of 2.5 s is recommended specified, however, only for frequencies above 500 Hz. In DIN 1804 (2004), the relevant range is
extended to frequencies from 250 Hz to 2 kHz. For use by multiple sports classes
(sport 2) a value of about 2.1 s is set as the mean reverberation time for the undivided hall and 1.7 s for the subsections. Because, for example in ball games, there
is also strong excitation at low frequencies, in view of the classes and the users
high expectations, planning and execution was of course down to 63 Hz. However,
the acoustical measures should neither limit the use of the hall nor disturb its overall visual impression. The acoustical elements, therefore, had to be mechanically
protected and still be as invisible as possible.
277
Since in sports, playing and in class childrens voices generate high sound levels
at medium and high frequencies, both sides of the gable of the large hall above the
rebound walls were rendered absorptive with an about 20 mm thick mineral-fiber
layer described in Sect. 4.1 behind 25 mm wide horizontal wooden battens spaced
15 mm apart, see Fig. 11.92b. Similar lining was installed behind 125 mm wide,
hewn wooden battens at a distance of about 25 mm under the ceiling of the open
passages alongside the hall; thus all told about 600 m2 of conventional absorbers
were mounted.
In order to attain a transparent acoustic ambiance with good speech intelligibility
as described in Sect. 11.7, compound panel absorbers as described in Sect. 5.3 with
the standard dimensions of 1.5 1.0 0.1 m were mounted at the lower longitudinal and gable sides behind 2.5 m high rebounding walls made of 150 mm wide,
smoothly planed wooden battens (spaced 10 mm apart), see Fig. 11.81c, all told
60 m2 of CPA being installed. The most massive damping of the gym came from the
176 CPA modules concealed behind 40 mm wide wooden battens spaced 20 mm
apart in the upper region of the gable walls and in the ceiling region (Fig. 11.92a), all
told 260 m2 . Due to the required thermal insulation in the roof region, the CPA had
to be mounted at a distance. For this reason, the manufacturer provided each fully
prefabricated module with a heavy particle-board panel simulating an acoustically
rigid rear wall.
The reverberation time measured in the large hall remains in the entire relevant frequency range below the values required by DIN 18032 (2003), but also
below those recommended in DIN 18041 (2004) if the target curve is extrapolated
to V = 11,000 m3 , see Fig. 11.93d. Sections 1 and 3, each with a volume of about
3,600 m3 , also easily meet all the requirements, see Fig. 11.93a, 11.93c. Only the
middle section 2 with 3,800 m3 lies between the two requirement curves at frequencies between 250 and 2,500 Hz, see Fig. 11.93b. Here the attained ratio of absorption
area to room volume is less favorable, but for cost reasons it was not possible to install more passive absorbers above the rebound walls on the longitudinal sides and
the heavy, sound insulating curtains, if at all, absorb somewhat at low frequencies.
The users were quite pleased with the results of a model collaboration of builder,
architect and acoustician. The colorful, sturdy, durable surfaces harmonize with
the clear, pleasant acoustics which were particularly appreciated as an improvement over the previous gym particularly perceived in sports classes and at public
events, thus fulfilling the Freie Waldorfschules main desire to create with acoustical
measures, color and surface design a pleasant, positive, productive indoor working
atmosphere. The acoustics were now so good that ringing of the struts of the roof
(see Fig. 11.92a) could be perceived after strong impulse excitations (e.g. by playing
ball). After all, ears react the more sensitively, the lower the background noise level
in the room.
2. Adventure Indoor Swimming Pool Die Welle
To offset it from the severe concrete architecture of the neighboring school center, a
pagoda-like roof structure extending wavelike over the three almost same size halls
was selected for the indoor swimming pool in Gtersloh, which opened in 1992,
278
Fig. 11.93 Averaged reverberation times () and limit values (bars between 500 and 8 kHz) (according to DIN 18032 2003) for (a) section 1 (V = 3,600 m3 ), (b) section 2 (V = 3,800 m3 ), (c)
section 3 (V = 3,600 m3 ), (d) undivided hall according to Fig. 11.92
see Fig. 11.94. In addition to a training and education pool (sports area), there is a
large wave pool and an even larger fun pool (recreational area) comprising all told a
volume of about 10,000 m3 . These different sections and all the other, partly coupled
spaces have ceilings with convex upward curving surfaces running together to form a
funnel. The roof structure is made of wooden trusses on which glass cupolas or glass
bands are mounted. The areas between the trusses are covered with decorative, treated
wooden paneling. The walls are plastered, tiled or made of exposed concrete. The
partition wall between the sports and recreational areas is mostly made of glass. On
the south side, gable-high glazing provides the recreational area with plenty of light.
Not only were acoustical conditions of the pool to be tolerable for the people
working there and comply with legal standards but especially to make it a place
for visitors to relax and recreate. For this reason, during the construction, soundabsorbing lining was executed in the form of wooden straps with open joints in
front of foil-wrapped mineral wool under the horizontal, lower-lying flat-roof areas
surrounding the pool covering about 20 % of the ground area. However, during
operation, the conducted room-acoustic measures proved inadequate. The high noise
levels caused by the reflections from concrete, tiles, glass and water surfaces turned
out to be intolerable for both staff and guests (values up to 100 dB(A) on weekends
due to a reverberation time of 3 s!). Looking at other pools and market research did
not reveal any satisfying solutions, especially as no one was prepared to guarantee
the success of the proposed measures. According to the operator, the improvement
measures should comply with the following:
279
Fig. 11.94 Microperforated

transparent foil absorber
claddings in the roof reduce
the noise level in the Die
Welle. (See Fuchs et al.
2002)
Distinctly lower the previous noise level in the important frequency range from
500 to 1,000 Hz by at least 5 dB in the recreational and 3 dB in the sports areas,
concentrate the measures on the roof without destroying the overall optical
impression,
comply with strict fire hazard regulations,
guarantee UV resistance,
employ hygienic and fiberless materials,
complete the building measures in the just 28 days when the pool is closed in
summer.
In fulfilling the operators wishes, the acoustical measures had to concentrate almost
solely on the wooden ceiling areas. The challenging architectural conditions and the
given color composition in Die Welle (The Wave) led, following failed samples
using a different material, to at that time the first use of a novel foil absorber. Originally, the retrofit measures included replacing a 400 m long 40 cm thick ventilation
280
Fig. 11.95 Mounting the foil absorbers under the roof between the rafters; a assembly of the foil
absorbers on the floor, b suspension from the upper holding points, c swinging them around in front
of the wooden paneling, d stretching the foils over spacer laths in front of the paneling
pipes running openly under the roof with sound absorbing microperforated ducts as
described in Sect. 9.3 and by Leistner et al. (2004).
The absorbers maximum absorption should be broadband effective between 500
and 2,000 Hz. The layout result was a two-layered foil absorber, as shown in Fig. 9.12,
made of 0.1 mm thick polycarbonate foils with about 0.2 mm holes spaced 2 2 mm
apart. As predicted, the measured absorption coefficient is greater than 0.65 in the
required frequency range, see Fig. 9.12.
As described in detail in Fuchs et al. (1998b), the foil absorbers are installed
in front of convex ceiling areas in the recreational and sports areas. The first foil
is mounted using a lath structure at a distance of 100 mm in front of the wooden
paneling of the ceiling and the second foil at a distance of 30 mm in front of the
first so that the overall depth of the absorber amounts to 130 mm. The all told about
1,600 m2 of installed polycarbonate foil absorbers are transparent, abrasion resistant,
UV-resistant, chemically resistant, antistatic and comply with German fire hazard
requirements B1. Figure 11.95 shows how the absorbers are mounted. Visible are
281
Table 11.5 Frequency-dependent differences in the sound pressure level L in dB before and after
installation of the foil absorbers in Die Welle averaged over the measuring paths
Third-octave center
frequency in Hz
500
630
800
1000
1250
1600
2000
L
L
Adventure pool
L
Wave pool
L
Entire recreation area
L
Sports area
6.0
5.9
5.7
5.9
4.5
5.0
5.8
5.5
4.3
5.2
4.4
4.6
3.9
4.5
4.9
4.5
5.4
5.6
5.2
5.4
4.3
4.8
5.5
5.2
4.0
4.5
4.1
4.0
3.1
3.5
3.5
3.8
the wooden laths and the plastic pipes which keep the foils apart (a), the suspension
under the glass bands (b), the stainless steel tension cables on both sides (c), and
the tension jacks at the bottom of the well-ventilated foil panels. Figure 11.94 shows
how little the acoustic retrofitting alters the optical impression. The almost smooth
foils harmonize very well with the also glittering water surface.
To check the effectiveness of the acoustic measures, representative sound levels
and reverberation times were measured in the recreational and sports areas before
and after the treatment. A very constant reference sound source was employed to
measure the sound level and blanks were shot to measure the reverberation time.
The measurements revealed that after installation of the absorbers the reverberation
distance determined with the aid of the reverberation time measurements became too
great for some of the measurement paths close to the source. Therefore, in order to be
able to determine the noise reduction in the halls expressed by the difference in sound
level before and after the retrofitting, the direct sound component of the test source
had to be taken into consideration in a corresponding numerical correction. The
level differences L in Table 11.5 were determined from the corrected measurement
values. Finally, these values yielded the value Lm of 5.2 dB averaged over the
third-octave results for the measuring paths in the recreational area and 3.8 dB in
the sports area. The actually achieved noise reduction probably far exceeds this so
statically measured level difference, because in less reverberating surroundings, the
dynamic noise emissions from natural sources, especially loud childrens voices
which animate each other, decrease according to the Lombard effect described in
Sect. 3.4.
In addition to the sound level, the reverberation times were measured in the
recreational and sports areas before and after retrofitting. The results of these measurements and the reverberation times required according to Bones (1982) are plotted
in Fig. 11.96. Following installation, the values in the recreational area are on average
1.4 s and in the sports areal 1.5 s between 500 and 2,000 Hz. These values reflect the
clearly improved acoustics after installation. In the recreational area the values are
below the 1.7 s given as a guideline for indoor swimming pools (see above). In the
282

times before (dark) and after
noise reduction measures
(light dots) in the recreational
area (a) and the sports area
(b) and the standards
(according to Bones 1982) ()
sports areal the higher frequencies lie somewhat above, also due to the minimal diffusivity of the sound field here. Nonetheless the reverberation time below 1,000 Hz is
mostly shorter than required. The target values according to DIN 18041 (2004) were
more than achieved after retrofitting: based on an overall volume of 10,000 m3 , the
required reverberation time of Tsoll = 2.1 s according to Sport 2, if about 3,000 m3
for the partial volumes still Tsoll = 1.9 s in accordance with Sport 1. If in addition,
one wanted to also do something for acoustical comfort at frequencies below 400 Hz,
one could place some low-frequency absorbers as described in Sects. 5.3 or 10.3 in
front of the completely untreated massive walls between the three pools.
Guests and staffs subjective evaluation was quite positive. Reduction of the
sound level and reverberation times now make a stay in the swimming pool facility
more pleasant and more relaxing, and the staffs working conditions are improved
considerably. The transparent absorbers do not spoil the architectural appearance of
the swimming pools interior. Lowering the sound level and shortening the reverberation times made it possible for the operator to also hold musical events in the pool
under acceptable conditions.
The same microperforated foils, single-layered or double-layered, fulfilling even
higher fire hazard requirements, with UV-resistant and antistatic features (above 40 %
relative humidity), were implemented in further swimming pools, as for example
shown in Fig. 11.97.
283
Fig. 11.97 Foil absorbers also reduce the noise level in the Marienbad, two-layered foils in the
roof of the sports area (a) and additional one-layered in the recreational area (b). (From Wenski
2003)
11.14.3
Places of Learning
Section 11.9 lamented the worldwide room-acoustical problems of classrooms.

Meanwhile a number of government funded surveys have been published offering
advice on this pressing subject, see for example Schick and Klatte (2007). All the experts agree that the days when children sat and listened attentively with folded hands
and perked ears even if they did not well understand the teacher, are long gone. Today
some children do not understand simple sentences even if they were articulated well.
But if the classroom is poorly conditioned, speech intelligibility sinks particularly
when it is not spoken in the mother tongue. As a consequence, the teacher has to
strain harder and students concentration drops. As the motivation to teach and to
learn diminishes, the minds of some students inevitably begin to wander and they
start to murmur. Tiesler and Oberdrster (2006) furthermore point out: Modern,
differentiated forms of working (e.g. in partner, group or project work phases) as
are recommended in current pedagogy create completely different communication
scenarios in the classroom than traditional frontal teaching. The teacher is no longer
the presenter of knowledge. The students are encouraged to experiment, think and
discuss things on their own. Modern teaching emphasizes learning together and intentionally allows several people to talk at the same time. Even if a discussion is
disciplined, such a situation naturally generates a greater noise level . . . In poorly
conditioned classrooms, however, communication is only successful if each voice
joining in tries to speak louder to be understood, with the consequences described in
Sect. 11.4.
What is the case for every second classroom is just as true for kindergartens,
daycare centers, university and adult education centers. The problems here are not
284
diverse user noises (such as bounding balls in gyms, telephones ringing or conversations in multi-person offices or dishes clattering in cafeterias) and poor sound
insulation between differently used sections in large spaces. Needed, therefore, are
not airborne-sound insulating or shielding measures, but rather sound-damping measures, broadband reverberation reducing measures. Unlike in rooms used for musical
and speech performances, these rooms do not have to ensure optimum blending of
sounds but only the highest degree of acoustic transparency and clarity for any
type of communication.
Nonetheless, when building new schools or modernizing old ones, often even the
most modest room acoustic measures are not undertaken. For this reason, examples
are given in the following that show how to obtain optimal acoustically conditioned
rooms with attractive innovative means, for instance the very slim and robust industrially prefabricated CPA and BCA modules described in Sects. 5.3 and 10.2 as
well as a novel type of edge absorbers CEA as described in Sect. 10.3, which can be
easily and inexpensively installed on site without any major preliminary planning or
consultation required.
1. Training center in a former factory hall
In the transition from a manufacturing to a knowledge-based working world, many
firms are contemplating converting their, in some cases more than 100 years old and
often listed as national monuments factories to meet new white-collar needs. For
example, a to-be-preserved 2,400 m3 factory hall built in 1903 belonging to Bosch
company was turned into a versatile modern training center (Fig. 11.98). From
the old crane rails to the precious stucco work on the ceiling (see Fig. 10.3), the
architectonic concept was to be completely retained. Closed, smooth surfaces were
to continue to stress the original character of the factory hall. Conventional acoustical
materials concealed behind perforated lining were, therefore, out of the question as
was covering the ceiling in any manner. In view of these major restrictions, reducing
the reverberation time of the empty hall from 8 to below 1.5 s (Fig. 10.3, right)
posed a great challenge. Three different CPA configurations were employed to damp
especially the low frequencies of speech and music down to 63 Hz:
All told 58 m2 of 10 cm thick CPA modules as shown in Fig. 11.98a were mounted
on the front and rear walls of the hall. A plane, closed surface was achieved
by placing a 1.8 cm thick plaster board facing shell directly before them. Its
perforation with a perforation ratio of 20 % was covered with a fabric which
was coated with a special paint to simulate the original plaster and painting. The
transmission coefficient of this covering is up to 250 Hz over 90 %, up to 500 Hz
still over 80 %,
54 m2 of CPA were placed behind an equally acoustically transparent covering
inside the joist floor in the cavities near the walls,
finally, another 32 m2 of these low-frequency mufflers were placed on the crane
rails, see Fig. 10.3, left.
For highly effective absorption over the entire relevant frequency range, another
all told 58 m2 of BCA modules were implemented in particular behind the large
285
Fig. 11.98 Concealed broadband absorbers turned a factory into a top communication center
(according to Fuchs et al. 2001c), for which the reverberation time according to Fig. 10.3 was
reduced from almost 8 to 1.4 s
projection surface at the rear wall, Fig. 11.98b. In order to prevent, with this strong
absorption especially of the front and rear sides, echo formation and to provide
additional absorption at medium frequencies, MPA shades were provided in front of
the glass windows. The outcome was a very uniform reverberation time as shown in
Fig. 10.3 although only 20 % of the overall room surface was covered with absorbers.
The result was that the factory could be used universally, for example as an open-plan
office.
286
4

times in two similar
classrooms without (),
respectively with edge
absorbers according to
Fig. 11.100; unoccupied (),
estimated with 25 users (2),
and with additional working
utensils ()
0
63
125
250
500
1k
Frequency in Hz
2k
4k
2. Education rooms in the Hochschule fr Medien und Kommunikation

The private HMK (University of Media and Communication) in Berlin rented two
large classrooms and a seminar room, which was also to be used as library, including
a conference room and a large cafeteria in a restored historic building complex
of a former printing plant in Berlin-Kreuzberg. The distinguishing feature of the
beautiful rooms with impressively high ceilings of about 3.8 m enclosed by very
massive walls was a multiplicity of enormous concrete girders (0.4 m deep below the
concrete ceiling). Shortly after classes started, the complaints of both the students
and the professors demanded immediate retrofitting. Of course, as always in such
cases, best right away and at no cost!
The reverberation time in the various rooms rose, as is usual in such structural
circumstances, from 1.5 s at 4 kHz to 4 s at 100 Hz, see Fig. 11.99. The option
considered by the investor and landlord of the building was an acoustic ceiling,
however this would have made it impossible to attain the reverberation time of about
1 s, preferably constant down to 63 Hz, as required for this purpose with a room
volume of less than 300 m3 . At best about 1 m wide backfilling with an at least 80 mm
thick damping layer in the ceiling cavity behind an acoustically sufficiently absorptive
or transparent mineral-fiber suspended ceiling as described by Becker (2009) might
have fulfilled the needs. However, against such massive retrofitting were not only the
old factory halls very attractive architecture but also the tight budget and schedule.
The girders provided the design motif of about 400 mm deep edge absorbers
according to Sect. 10.3, making a full-surface suspended ceiling with extensive
openings and conduits for lighting, cables and channels unnecessary. Starting with a
272 m3 large classroom, about 400600 mm wide edge absorbers always adapted to
the structural situation were installed horizontally under the ceiling for a length of
about 25 m on the three windowless walls and vertically in one corner of the room, see
Fig. 11.100a. The cavity of the edge absorbers enclosed on one side by plasterboard
287
Fig. 11.100 Room-acoustical

retrofitting of a classroom of
the University of Media and
Communication with vertical
and horizontal edge absorbers
according to Sect. 10.3 and
Fuchs et al. (2011, 2012) and
Fuchs and Lamprecht (2013)
and on the other by perforated sheet-metal cassettes (backed with fiber-fleece) was
filled with mineral wool.
After carefully puttying all the wall and ceiling transitions, two coats of the same
white paint as on the walls and the ceiling were applied to the installations to ensure
that the users would not notice the measures when they came back after a short
Christmas break, see Fig. 11.100b. Compared to the reverberation time of a similarly
built room with a volume of 254 m3 , in Fig. 11.96 an enormous drop in the lowfrequency reverberation from approximately 4 s almost to somewhat above 1 s is
noticeable. If the absorption by about 25 persons is taken into consideration and the
additional to-be-expected damping by the clothing, bags and utensils that they bring
with them into the room, a reverberation time of constant 1 s is yielded, considered
almost ideal for rooms used intensively for communication. All users were satisfied
and the other mentioned rooms were immediately also retrofitted in the same manner.
3. Cafeteria of an elementary school
Financed by the students themselves, the HMK must provide the best teaching and
learning atmosphere to enable competition with other comparable institutions. Those
responsible know immediately what to do if, due to room-acoustical shortcomings
such as those described in (b), the ergonomic conditions massively negatively influence the performance of all participants. In such a case, installing noise signals
indicating the noise level, or appealing to the students when someone is talking, the
others listen or dont interrupt or put on your slippers before entering the room
as Schick and Klatte (2007) suggested with the best intentions is just not enough.
The situation is completely different in government-financed public educational
institutions: here the prevailing opinion is that it is generally unavoidable to expose
teachers and children to miserable acoustical environments. In the present transition
in Germany from half-day to full-day schools, rooms have to be created or converted
to accommodate cafeterias. In many cases, concerned parents, tired of waiting for
funds to be granted, take the initiative. But as usual the raised funds do not suffice
288
Fig. 11.101 Corner absorbers under the vaults (a) and under the ceiling (b) in a cafeteria of an
elementary school
to carry out proper room acoustical measures. What the outcome is when attempts
are made to prevent the worst by hanging textile curtains, acoustic wallpaper or
foam elements, can be read in Schmitz (2007): The reverberation curves are still
very high in the low-frequency range and drop steeply with rising frequency. The
rooms seem acoustically dead and rumbling.
Vaulted basements are known to be acoustically very difficult, because they lead to
sound concentrations, see Sect. 11.14.6 a. In the James Krss Gemeinschaftsschule
JKG such unused rooms in the ancient basement were converted with much care into
a cafeteria having an area of about 208 m2 . But already before the opening day, it
became obvious to the experienced teachers that it would be impossible to open the
beautifully plastered cafeteria with its attractive massive wooden tables and benches
to a hoard of pupils crowding in for lunch unless the supervising teachers are given
ear protection. The original goal of all the efforts to provide and furnish a room in
which people can relax and regenerate halfway through a strenuous school day got
lost in the well-meant intentions.
In this case a private foundation Rume schaffen fr besseres Verstehen und Lernen (creating rooms for better understanding and learning) of the SOS Kinderdorf
Berlin-Moabit came to the rescue of this exemplary development project, making it
an exemplary model in every way.
Of course, care was taken that the typical issue of intelligibility was tackled by
the root of the problem, the low frequencies, and this was sustainably solved without
paying a cent too much:
Installing an acoustic ceiling under the 2.62.8 m high vaults (see Fig. 11.101)
was out of the question and a thin coat of acoustic plaster or flexible foam panels
would never be able to adequately lower the strongly rising reverberation time according to Fig. 11.102. Thus, edge absorbers according to Sect. 10.3, about 400 mm
wide and 500 mm deep, were installed over a length of all told 27 m: five of them
horizontally in four vaults and on a straight front side in each instance below the ceiling and four, 500 mm wide and 400 mm deep, vertically in the corners of the room.

4

time without () and with
corner absorbers (dashed) in
the unoccupied room
according to Fig. 11.101 and
estimated with 30 users ()
289
0
63
125
250
500
1k
2k
Frequency in Hz
4k
8k
The most satisfying result is also documented by the reverberation time for the unoccupied room in Fig. 11.102. In this case the expected approximately 30 users would
ensure lowering the reverberation time at medium frequencies broadband to below
1 s with a minor rise only at 250 Hz. Another example of room-acoustic treatment
with edge absorbers is described in Sect. 11.14.4 d.
11.14.4
Communication and Multi-purpose Rooms
The author is convinced that conference rooms and training spaces demand the highest acoustical standards. After offices, it is here according to Fig. 11.38 that by far the
greatest number of diversely used rooms is waiting to be acoustically upgradeda
real challenge for consultancies and a huge future market for modern interior decoration. Just by ensuring that every single word of a speaker is clearly intelligible to him
and the listener(s), all participants in multi-person communication are able to adapt
their voices to the specific purpose (addressing an audience or a confidential conversation). A vital factor is a low noise level and a certain amount of discipline of all
concerned. Yet only in a properly conditioned room is this rewarded in that any conversation becomes easy and completely relaxed and if all talk with restraint a pleasant
sound floor builds up, ensuring the required privacy. It must be obvious to everyone
that for this type of use the target must be the reverberation time corresponding to
the lowest curve c in Fig. 11.30 with a flat and even frequency spectrum!
1. Conversation rooms
The problem of mode excitation described in Chap. 2 strongly escalates especially in
small, almost cubic or square rooms. In this case, the number of modes reduces further
in the low frequency range according to Eq. (2.2), in which all energy concentrates
290
Fig. 11.103 Light partition walls, here in a small room e.g. for video conferences, can damp only in
a narrow band () thereby amplifying the annoyance by rumbling. A reverberation time favorable
to communication was not obtained until additional CPA modules were placed on the ceiling and
walls (2)
unnaturally. If, in addition, all the walls consist of light plaster boards forming very
narrowband resonators with the enclosed air cushions as described in Sect. 5.2, the
reverberation time can, for example, dip sharply at 80 Hz. Although this may damp
a few room modes, the remaining ones dominate the speech spectrum all the more.
As a result, speech intelligibility is strikingly reduced and disturbed.
Such a room (Fig. 11.103a) measuring 5.4 5.2 2.9 = 81 m3 with its mean reverberation time of 0.6 s at 1,000 Hz (measured unoccupied) should really have been
quite satisfactory according to DIN 18041 (2004, Fig. 1 there for speech). After extensive renovation including special furniture and equipment for video conferences,
the room turned out to be a total acoustical disaster. It was not until a good number of
compound panel absorbers as described in Sect. 5.3 had been installed on the ceiling,
a large CPA module in the form of a white board mounted on one wall and an also
100 mm thick cloth-covered broadband compact absorber module as described in
Sect. 10.2 in the form of a projection screen for presentations mounted on another
wall permitting a reverberation time between 0.3 s (at medium) and 0.5 s (at low frequencies), see Fig. 11.103b, did the acoustic horror cabinet become the intended
pleasant conversation room in which 12 people are easily able to communicate in live
or transmitted conferences. It is stressed once more what is decisive is not only Tsoll
as shown in Fig. 11.30 (according to curve c: about 0.4 s), but rather a constant reverberation time or one which only weakly increases toward the low frequencies. A drop
at low frequencies as is desirable according to Sect. 11.7 is practically impossible
here under the given adverse geometric and building conditions.
For comparison, Fig. 11.104 shows an approximately 66 m3 office conventionally
furnished with a full-surface acoustic ceiling. Down to 160 Hz, the rooms reverberation time completely fulfills the DIN 18041 (2004) standards for speech and even
for instruction. The reverberation characteristic again shows the reason for the
complaints of the up to ten users: As in the example of the cafeteria (Sect. 11.14.1 a),
291
Fig. 11.104 Irregular reverberation characteristic of a meeting space only furnished with an
acoustic ceiling as described in Drotleff et al. (2004)
Fig. 11.105 Comparison of the reverberation times (with 12 users) achieved in two similar
(V 168 m3 ) seminars without (broken lines) and with adequate acoustic treatment according to
Fig. 11.106
absorption at medium and high frequencies does not suffice to make rooms suitable
for intensive communicative use.
2. Seminar rooms
At the Fraunhofer headquarters not only were the lobby and atrium halls perfectly
treated acoustically, see Sect. 11.14.1 e, but also (regrettably only a few near the governing body) office spaces. Figure 11.105a shows a large 12.4 4.7 2.9 m seminar
room between two fancy, very appealing glass surfaces on both long sides. As is typical of such a design, its acoustics is characterized by a reverberation continuously
increasing toward the low frequencies (Fig. 11.105b) and consequently by a poor
speech intelligibility for multi-person communication.
For comparison, Fig. 11.106 shows a conference room with a perforated plasterboard ceiling behind which are hidden CPA modules according to Sect. 5.3
incorporating 1, respectively 2.5 mm thick steel plates as vibrating panels. This
may be combined with a neighboring, similarly equipped room to then yield a
292
a
Glass partition
1.0
1.0
1.0
1.0
2.5
1.0
6.10
1.0
Definition C50 in dB
2.5
glass facade
Concrete wall
Northwall
Movable partition
5.10
10
8
6
4
2
0
-2
-4
-6
-8
-10
125
250
500
1k
Frequency in Hz
2k
4k
Fig. 11.106 Conference (a), respectively seminar rooms with 8 (b), respectively 16 CPA modules
in the edges behind a perforated ceiling provide high speech intelligibility and definition (c)
seminar of similar size, shape and structure but with very comfortable, conversationfriendly acoustics. The reverberation time is now almost constant at about 0.5 s, see
Fig. 11.105b, notably about the same as for the two separated conference rooms.
The corresponding definition is measured well above 0 dB over the whole relevant
frequency range, see Fig. 11.106c.
3. Media Room in the Office Innovation Center
A similarly good example to demonstrate a modern conference environment with
up-to-date presentation technology is the media room shown in Fig. 11.107. Not
only were especially low-noise devices (e.g. beamer) selected and installed, but
in particular room acoustic measures in the form of microperforated elements as
described in Sects. 9.1 and 9.2 taken under the concrete ceiling and in front of the
glass windows and CPA modules (along with cables and other wiring) mounted
behind movable fronts before massive walls according to Fuchs et al. (2001) were
integrated in the optically pleasing interior. The reverberation time in Fig. 11.107b
shows once more the desired 0.5 s in the unoccupied room for a volume in this case
of about 200 m3 . Also larger, less disciplined groups are able to easily communicate
in this room.
293
Fig. 11.107 Innovative

acoustic elements (MPA
ceiling and shades, CPA wall
modules) described in Fuchs
(1999) demonstrate a good
acoustical ambiance for
lectures and discussion in the
OIC media room
4. Conference rooms
In most previously and subsequently discussed innovative room-acoustical designs
pains were taken in order to not openly show perforated, porous or fibrous surfaces,
elements or materials to the users of communication rooms. In the examples of Sects.
11.14.3 b and c the size of the open sound-absorbing surfaces was already reduced to
an absolute minimum and their placement chosen as inconspicuous as possible, see
Figs. 11.100 and 11.101. By far the most part of the walls and ceiling of the room
were left free of any acoustically motivated installations, in contrast to several more
conventional measures.
A last step towards fully secluded room-acoustic measures is alluded to in
Sect. 10.3 with an optimized covered edge absorber turning its open surface away
from the users and, what is even more important, leaving the ceiling of a room completely untouched, see Fig. 10.9. The first test object and model project for these
seemingly closed passive absorbers with a maximal efficiency at the low frequencies happened to be a conference room in the same HMK as in Sect. 11.14.3 b:
Fig. 11.108 shows a horizontal (a) and a vertical rectangle (b) of these absorber
modules with plasterboard covers before these were painted and made almost invisible within the wall and ceiling appearance. In this case, a total edge length of 11 m
294
Fig. 11.108 Horizontal (a) and vertical rectangle (b) covered edge absorbers in a conference room
of the HMK before finishing
sufficed to cure the room with a ground surface of 14 m2 and a volume of 53 m3

from its rumbling and blurring response to any kind of communication taking place
in it.
It goes without saying that these well protected and hidden sound absorbers
recommend themselves as a very practicable room-acoustic measure for all kinds
of multi-person communication rooms. One of the next applications already in
progress is in upper-class restaurants, ordinary classrooms and the like, see also
Sect. 11.14.3 c.
5. Glass boxes
Section 11.14.5 takes up the problem of open offices without any closed partitions
or large screens between individual workstations. The rampant poor speech intelligibility and lack of privacy are here and there encountered by installing glass boxes
intended as isles of tranquility and communication with complete optical transparency, see Fig. 11.109. Actually, it is not difficult to provide the necessary sound
insulation against the loud surroundings with 8 mm thick glazing if the glass components are rendered sufficiently soundproof. However, the problem is that excitation
of a very few room modes at low frequencies escalates in completely enclosed almost
cubicle enclosures, which makes particularly male voices rumble threateningly as
described in Sect. 11.4. Sound distortion and poor intelligibility make it difficult for
a relaxed atmosphere of privacy to develop among the interlocutors. Unpleasantly
high sound levels cannot penetrate to the outside but make communication inside
very strenuous. In this exemplary project optimizing room acoustics occurred in
three steps:
1. As the glass elements already allow very low frequencies below 100 Hz to pass
somewhat, thus according to Eq. (3.4) act as absorbers for the interior noise, in
295
Fig. 11.109 In factory shops

as in multi-person offices,
glass boxes can separate loud
areas from quiet ones if
acoustics are not overlooked,
see Fuchs et al. (1996,
2001b). (Courtesy of BLc)
this case relatively small CPA modules according to Sect. 5.3 already suffice. Just
90 78 5 cm elements with 1.5, respectively 2 mm thick vibrating steel plates
and partially acoustically open edges are installed in front of the 11 stationary
wall elements in the upper and lower third, respectively. Having only a thickness
of 5 cm, the modules disappear completely in the given aluminum frames. They
can be easily mounted or dismounted, even as a retrofit kit, with four screws. In
addition to this, 94 94 8 cm CPA modules with 1 mm thick front panels are
mounted on four of the nine ceiling elements (also made of 8 mm thick security
glass), see Fig. 11.110a. The reverberation time, Fig. 11.110b, is reduced in this
manner between 315 and 630 Hz from 1.7 to 0.3 s. At 80 Hz it drops from 0.8 to
0.3 s.
2. For damping frequencies above about 630 Hz, transparent microperforated foil
absorbers MPA as described in Sect. 9.2 are placed at a distance of about 50 mm
in front of the ceiling elements not covered with CPA resonators.
3. The CPAs high efficiency allows leaving out the modules marked with a cross
without acoustically impairing the box significantly yet making it visually even
more transparent.
296
Fig. 11.110 Without any loss to optical transparency, CPA and MPA modules (a) permit reducing
the reverberation time (b) to such an extent that internal acoustic transparency is generated; top
curve: initial state, bottom curve: with 26 CPA and 6 MPA modules
The remaining increase in reverberation time in the empty box in the kHz range is
evened when the box is in use by furnishing it sparsely with a 1.2 0.6 m table and
four lightly upholstered chairs and occupancy of four persons. The small openings
at the edges of the CPA modules play an important role for sound absorption at
medium frequencies: if the slots (about 2 19 4 cm2 ) at the upper edges of the
lower and the bottom edges of the upper wall CPA are closed, the reverberation time
rises to 0.5 s at 500 Hz, see the dot-dashed line in Fig. 11.110b. If all the joints
(about 2 4 1.8 90 cm) are closed at two edges of the four ceiling elements, the
reverberation time already reaches 0.75 s (dotted line). If finally all the remaining
joints between the wall CPAs and the frames would be closed, the maximum reverberation time would be 0.9 s (broken line)yet without any negative influence on
the important absorption below 100 Hz!
Moreover, in a laboratory test the box wall covered with five or six CPA modules
indicates a minor drop in sound transmission loss at 100 Hz. The reason for this is
the strong excitation of the modules at low frequencies being also responsible for
vibrations of the rear side glass panels, which is unavoidable in order to significantly
lower the reverberation time in this important frequency range (from above 1 down
to 0.3 s!).
In conclusion, a number of construction details of the to-be-optimized box need
mentioning: Fig. 11.111 shows schematically the mounting of the CPA modules in the
aluminum frames. A fan can be mounted on the ceiling CPA, which draws the air from
the cabin via ducts cut into the foam panel. This quieted glass box was exhibited
as a prototype at the ORGATEC 2000 Fair. Compared to an earlier box described in
Fuchs et al. (2001b) which was acoustically improved with microperforated acrylicglass facing shells, the exhibited variant is distinguished by cost-effective integral
installation of the relatively broadband-absorptive compact elements.
6. Multi-purpose halls
In times of tight building budgets, vacant, poorly utilized, also historically valuable
rooms are often refurbished to use them for lectures, discussions and all sorts of
events. For these, too, the rooms should be acoustically improved with
297
Fig. 11.111 Details of the absorptive elements installed in the boxes shown in Fig. 11.109; principle
of an integrated wall CPA (left), principle of a ceiling CPA with an integrated ventilation element
(top right)
a reverberation time Tsoll , depending on the predominant use of the room,

according to curve b or c in Fig. 11.30,
an as uniform as possible frequency spectrum of the reverberation,
if any, a minimal rise below 125 Hz.
For this class of medium-sized rooms (about 2505,000 m3 ) DIN 18041 (2004,
Sect. 5.2.2 there) gives valuable advice regarding the geometric design and structuring of reflecting and distribution of absorptive surfaces. Described as especially
critical are very low rooms and rooms with concave bounding surfaces, for example under barrel vaults or domed ceilings, because disturbing sound concentrations
occur here, especially if their focal point is in or below the auditorium.
In the adult education center Inzigkofen, the rather intolerable acoustics of a room
used for lectures and music lessons, however also listed as a national monument, was
acoustically improved by installing compound panel absorbers CPA as described in
Sect. 5.3 and Fuchs and Zha (1999). As a result, the reverberation time was reduced
at 63 Hz from 5 to 1.5 s and set at 0.8 s at higher frequencies, which is the optimum
absorption for speech and chamber music in an about 1,000 m3 multi-purpose room
(Fig. 11.112). Architects and conservationists rarely accept such massive intervention
in the appearance of a room to attain functional acoustics.
Converting a 1,800 m3 hall in the Bronnbach Monastery, which has been used as
a museum for several decades, into a concert hall primarily for chamber music but
also for lectures required painstaking care. The reverberation time in the unoccupied
room was reduced from 7 to 1.5 s in accordance with curve a in Fig. 11.30, see
298
Fig. 11.112 Lecture and

music room of the adult
education center Inzigkofen
with first-generation CPA
cassettes hung from the
ceiling and in the lower
edges; reverberation time in
the initial state (), with 28
CPAs (2) and in addition 15
persons wearing summer ()
or winter clothes
Fig. 11.113c. As the ceiling and parts of the front and rear wall bore valuable wall
paintings, only relatively little surface was left below the painting on the rear wall
and between the windows of the side walls, all told 10 % of the overall surface of
the room. The front wall behind a podium on an also to-be-preserved stone floor was
left completely untreated.
Broadband compact absorbers BCA as described in Sect. 10.2 were concealed
behind an acoustically transparent plaster board lining on the rear wall (Fig. 11.113a).
CPA modules as movable sound screens and just 10 cm thick mounted CPA modules
including some metal ventilation ducts fit in as perfectly as possible between the
eight arched windows in the two side walls (Fig. 11.113b).
After refurbishment with all told only 97 m2 of very effective sound absorbers
and light upholstered seats, the reverberation time fulfills the prognosis. Clarity
C80(3) (averaged over the three frequencies 500, 1,000 and 2,000 Hz) also assumes
optimum values between + 3 and 3 dB owing to the early reflections from the front
wall, the ceiling and sections of the front side walls, see Drotleff and Zhou (2001,
Fig. 10 there). The reopening of the hall with J.S. Bachs Brandenburg Concertos
299
Fig. 11.113 BCA modules (behind a facing shell) on the rear wall (a), CPA modules on both sides
of the windows and movable BCA modules (b) reduce the reverberation time from 7 to 1.5 s (c) in
a chamber music hall at the Bronnbach Monastery
met positive reception by the musicians and audience alike. One day, however, the
podium was moved to the other side of the room probably for better access from
the large entrance doornaturally with very negative consequences due to the now
inverted acoustical alignment.
Drotleff and Zhou (2001) in collaboration with the architect M. Kaelble proceeded
even more circumspectly in the restoration of the Aula (assembly hall) of the
University of Freiburg, which Cremer and Mller (1978, 1982a, Part 1, 16 there)
discussed in detail as an exemplary case of numerous and multiple echoes if the
reflection surfaces are elliptic. In accordance with its primary use (speech), the
target for the all told 3,400 m3 two-section hall was a reverberation time of 1.2 s
(unoccupied according to curve b in Fig. 11.30), see Fig. 11.114. At a distance of
40 cm, a suspended ceiling of 5 cm thick plaster board was mounted below the elliptic
ceiling, see Cremer and Mller (1978, 1982, Part 1, Fig. 30 there), on which like on
the floor and side walls conventional acoustic lining could not be applied.
300
Fig. 11.114 Freely hung CPA baffles above the suspended ceiling and BCA modules behind shades
as well as MPA facing shells at the windows inconspicuously optimize the reverberation time of
the assembly hall of the University of Freiburg (from to 2)
Instead all told 150 m2 of CPA baffles covered on both sides with vibration
sheet metal were mounted hanging freely behind the transparent (being perforated
accordingly) elliptic suspended ceiling. In order to prevent echo formation also in
the longitudinal direction of the room, 33 m2 of BCA were installed on the front
and rear sides of the room and 30 m2 of BCA in the niches in the wall at both sides
of the organ on the gallery. These, too, were invisibly hidden behind perforated
plaster boards covered with fabric on the side facing the room. Finally another 45 m2
of microperforated transparent acrylic panels were placed as facing shells in front
of the windows in the two side walls. All these measures fit inconspicuously and
harmoniously in the architects concept and fulfill the guidelines of the Office of
Conservation.
Similar acoustic elements were also employed in the universitys Senatssaal
(senat hall) (Fig. 11.115): 15 cm thick BCA on the front wall and behind the projection
screen, 10 cm thick BCA on sections of the wall to both sides of the podium, in each
case behind a seamless, acoustically transparent facing shell. Here too optically
transparent MPA panels were mounted permanently and inconspicuously in front of
relatively large glass surfaces. After this very individual and, in particular, invisible
integrated solutions were developed and realized in collaboration with the same
architect (Kaelble 2005) for six other quite different projects ranging from lecture
halls to an indoor swimming pool and a glass-roofed foyer of a bank.
11.14.5
Open-plan Offices
If the priority is not total acoustical separation of different work sections, but rather
the acoustic design of open-plan office rooms, the focal point should then for good
reasons be, apart from optical transparency, acoustical contact between the users,
however, without leading to noise interfering with work or hindering confidential
301
Fig. 11.115 Alternative sound absorbers, similar as in Fig. 11.114, ensure good intelligibility in the
Senatssaal of the University of Freiburg; before (2) and after the restoration (), 2/3 occupied
discussion. Thus, there is an enormous need for highly effective compact absorbers
whose effect is able to develop with minimal volume on as small as possible covered
surfaces. Favorite acoustic elements are completely prefabricated and suited to disappear in niches, cavities and furniture. If the sound absorbers cannot be completely
hidden, a decorative design should at least conceal their purpose. They should be
easy to install without interrupting work and just as easy to dismantle and transport
them. Depending on the given room situation, there are three fundamentally different
types:
1. High-performance absorber modules
High-frequency Compact Absorbers If the walls or ceilings are made of relatively
light glass or metal elements, these may occasionally act like low-frequency mufflers
allowing low frequencies to partially pass to the outside. In order to then prevent
possibly undesirable increasing reverberance at medium and high frequencies in
small to medium-sized rooms, sometimes only passively acting porous/fibrous or
microperforated sound absorbers are needed. If the rooms are high enough, foam
302
Fig. 11.116 Schematic

representation of acoustic
elements for open-plan
offices; a porous/fibrous
absorbers according to
Sect. 4.1 and 4.2, b CPA
modules according to
Sect. 5.3, c BCA modules
cylinders can be vertically hung sculpture-like as e.g. in the assembly hall of the
Academy of Arts, see Sect. 11.14.1 g, or suspended from the ceiling in the form of
mineral-wool baffles or microperforated sails as e.g. in the Forum of the OIC,
see Sect. 11.14.1 c. Combined with the furniture and the users in the room, a more
uniform reverberation time can be attained in the entire relevant frequency range.
The greatest acoustic efficiency is attained if high-frequency tuned absorbers as
shown in Fig. 11.116a, preferably filled with polyester fleece, are placed in front
of sound-reflective surfaces near the workplaces. In large open-plan offices, these
measures, however, by no means suffice to obtain halfway satisfactory room acoustics
if ceilings, floors and furnishings remain sound reflective, because the need generally
here is not at high but especially at low frequencies.
Low-frequency Compact Absorbers If the walls and ceilings are made of relatively
heavy massive elements, it is only the furnishings and users themselves that absorb
at medium and high frequencies. In order to prevent reverberance rising at low
frequencies, low-frequency tuned absorbers according to Fig. 11.116b with a reactive
CPA filling are suited as sound mufflers. They are ableif placed at the right site,
preferably in the edges and corners of the room (see Sect. 10.3)combined with the
furnishings and possibly numerous users ensure a uniform reverberation time in the
entire relevant frequency range, see Figs. 11.6 and 11.7.
The effectiveness of a conventional acoustic ceiling, if this is at all accepted or
already existent, can be substantially improved by placing these bass absorbers in
303
the cavity behind the ceiling, again preferably in the edges of the room. Where the
room-facing porous/fibrous layer of the suspended ceiling does not really help, the
effectiveness of the bass mufflers hidden behind it are able to freely develop without
restriction as e.g. in the seminar rooms in the Fraunhofer center (see Sect. 11.14.4 b).
Broadband Compact Absorbers If the walls and ceiling of modern very sparsely furnished buildings with only few users are built of relatively heavy massive structures,
there is generally no absorption at low or at medium and high frequencies. In order
to prevent the, as a consequence, too strong reverberance in the room, broadband
elements cleverly employing a combined reactively and passively absorbing BCA
filling according to Fig. 11.116c are especially required as real broadband mufflers.
They are able to alone ensure a uniform reverberation time.
These modules can also be provided with an all enclosing metal covering and
placed at a distance of 510 cm below a sound-reflective concrete cooling ceiling.
Convection in the intermediate space ensures that due to the full-metal upper side
and the perforated sheet-metal bottom and edge sides hardly diminish the cooling
efficiency of the ceiling.
2. High-performance absorbers integrated in wall-module systems
The perhaps most important milestone in implementing the room-acoustical concept of Sect. 11.7 in open-plan offices are, however, preferably floor-to-ceiling,
large-surface compact absorbers that can be completely integrated in conventional
wall-module systems. At first glance, they do not differ in any way from conventional glass, wooden or metal wall-module systems. These acoustic elements can
assume attractive additional functions such as concealing cables of electric circuits
and mains connections for IT equipment.
Edge Absorbers Integrated in Light-weight Partitions In completely or partially
sound-reflective enclosed small rooms, more or less independent of the type of use
or number of users, the dominant and always very disturbing problem is excitation
of room resonances. If the room-acoustical demands are not too high, it suffices to
integrate one to three edge absorbers in one or two walls. Whether a purely reactive
CPA-based element or a combined reactive/passive BCA-based element is better
suited for the purpose depends on the rooms furnishing and type of use. As shown
in Fig. 11.117a, all that is seen of these completely integrated acoustic elements is
either a smooth, closed metal surface or an acoustically permeable perforated panel,
textile or fleece covering.
Absorbers Integrated in Glass Wall-module Systems Absorption just from the edges
is often not enough for large flat rooms with many users. In this case completely transparent, room dividing wall-module systems with highly effective compact absorbers
as shown in Fig. 11.117b integrated in the front and rear sides may be an optically
attractive solution. Depending on the furnishings in the room and the number of users
in it, the acoustic elements can contain a filling that is passively or reactively acting
or a combination of the two. The optically and acoustically optimized wall modules
can be moved very variably about a room, of course more easily than plasterboard
partitions.
304
Fig. 11.117 High-performance, completely integrated absorbers; a (preferably in the edges) of

a partition wall, b (preferably effective on both sides) in a glass wall-module system, c (floorto-ceiling or partial height) flanking glass sound screens, d view, e section. (From Fuchs et al.
2006)
Absorbers Integrated in Glass Sound Screens Sound screens that truly deserve their
name by ensuring, apart from good sound insulation, also broadband absorption
are particularly suited for open-plan offices. Such screens are most effective if they
reach from floor to ceiling and have a glass section which is flanked on both sides by
compact absorbers that are highly effective on both the front and rear sides according
to Fig. 11.117c. Such innovative screens should be positioned carefully in the room so
that they do not prevent eye contact between the workstations, and yet sound waves
do not find a direct path to the adjacent users. In many cases, it is advantageous
not to place the screen straight and as wide as possible between two acoustic hot
spots, but rather cornered in order to in this way raise its effectiveness for the direct
transmission of certain sources even more. If the sound-absorptive vertical edges
of the screen are placed offset between adjacent workstations, sound shielding and
acoustic comfort can be increased almost infinitely.
These glass wall elements can be adapted to changing requirements to permit, for
example, new group, team and work processes without any major interruptions. The
yielded noise protection reaches a degree that up to now could only be attained in
office cells fully separated by closed doors. Even initially quite skeptical users were
finally enthusiastic about the realized acoustic comfort.
However, it is difficulty to erect floor-to-ceiling screens if the ceiling is strongly
cleft, contains many suspensions or coffers e.g. for conduits for ventilation or
pipes. Here partial-height partition systems as shown in Fig. 11.117c have proven
successful. Although shielding of the workplaces placed directly next to these screens
305
Fig. 11.118 Conference

room in an open-plan office
with high-performance
absorbers integrated in glass
wall-module systems.
(Courtesy of Renz solutions)
is limited, such acoustical measures can generate a remarkable acoustic transparency

with moderate noise levels, acoustic comfort and privacy in large otherwise open-plan
offices. Important is selecting the number and geometric arrangement of the screens
carefully and specifically for the case at hand. Sometimes it may be advisable to separate workplaces and recreational areas that are particularly loud, respectively quiet
or that require special privacy by means of closed boxesnaturally with complete
optical transparency (see e.g. Figs. 11.118 and 11.109).
3. Comparison with ronventional room-acoustic measures
Following the arguments in Sects. 11.411.8, noise appears to be almost inevitable
in open-plan offices even if large surfaces in the room could be lined with conventional absorber material. After carrying out the first major refurbishments following
the novel concept described in Sects. 11.7 and 11.8 and employing the above described elements, it seemed obvious to demonstrate their striking advantages in direct
comparisonold versus new. For this purpose, on two floors of an office building,
two open-plan offices with similar ground plans, used for similar purposes, moreover
built and equipped in the same manner with a full-surface suspended mineral-fiber
ceiling, were objectively compared closely following the diverging concepts of the
two manufacturers regarding the type and number of additional room-acoustical
measures to be installed.
The conventionally designed room with a volume of V = 650 m3 , a ground area of
SG = 230 m2 and a height of h = 2.75 m utilizes 1.4 m high two-sided high-frequency
absorptive sound screens partially with 2 m high glass-topped sections as shown in
Fig. 11.119, creating in the usual manner U-shaped optical and acoustical cubicles
for all told 36 workplaces. When seated the users have no eye contact to each other,
see Fig. 11.120.
The other room shown in Fig. 11.121 with glass wall-unit systems as described
in Fuchs et al. (2006) has completely integrated floor-to-ceiling broadband compact
absorbers as shown in Fig. 11.117c. Created is a transparent open-plan office for 41
workplaces in a room with a volume of V = 870 m3 , a ground area of SG = 275 m2
and a height of h = 3.15 m, see Fig. 11.122. The seven novel sound screens contain
306
Fig. 11.119 Conventional room-acoustical design of an open-plan office for 36 workstations;

measuring paths 1 (M1 M6 ), 2 (M7 + M8 ), 3 (M9 M11 ), 4 (M12 M16 )
Fig. 11.120 Conventional non-transparent absorptive screens between workplaces as shown in

Fig. 11.119. (Courtesy of Renz solutions)
(counting both sides) all told SA = 160 m2 of absorber surface, i.e. a portion of
SA
= 0.58
SG
307
Fig. 11.121 Alternative room-acoustical design of an open-plan office for 41 workplaces with
measuring paths similar to those in Fig. 11.119
of the ground area of the room or just

SA
= 3.9 m2
n
per workstation, which in each case is less than with the conventional concept.
As Fig. 11.123 shows, both designs reduce the reverberation time at medium and
high frequencies (above 500 Hz) to almost the same degree to below 0.5 s just as
VDI 2569 (1990) requires. Halving at 250 Hz from 0.8 to 0.4 s and at 63 Hz from 1.5
to 0.75 s is impossible with conventional measures. The way these are set up, they
practically do not influence the so important frequency range below 125 Hz, as was
to be expected (Fig. 11.124).
The main advantage of the alternative design, however, apart from the optical
transparency and the uniform reverberance of the room, is the sound level reduction
from workstation to workstation according to the sound propagation curve discussed
in Sect. 11.8 and illustrated in Fig. 11.39. If an artificial sound source (a loudspeaker
radiating pink noise with always the same sound power) emits from a fixed point
and the level decay is measured along comparable paths 14 (see Figs. 11.119 and
11.121), major differences can be recognized: In an empty room (with no sound
screens), the level drops rather steadily due to ceiling absorption approximately
34 dB(A) per doubling the distance. With the different sound screens, the level
decay is more irregular as expected. With conventional screens the average drop per
doubling never exceeds 8 dB(A) (on path 1), while with the alternative screens it
reaches approximately 24 dB(A) on the same path (along the outer wall)!
The maximum insertion loss due to all the measures, which could also be interpreted as a kind of sound insulation in an open space, for the farthest workstation
with conventional measures reaches a minimum of hardly 2 dB(A) (on path 3) and
a maximum of 18 dB(A) (on path 4), whereas with the alternative measures the
corresponding values are 15 dB(A) (on path 2) and above 30 dB(A) (on path 4).
308
Fig. 11.122 Transparent absorptive wall-module systems between the workplaces according to
Fig. 11.121. (Courtesy of Renz solutions)
Fig. 11.123 Comparison of
reverberation times: initial
state with absorptive
suspended ceiling (top), with
conventional (middle),
respectively alternative sound
screens (bottom curve)
The latter value is certainly enormous compared to all that has hitherto been expected in open-plan offices according to VDI 3760 (1996), without requiring higher
investments.
4. Open-plan office with a suspended acoustic ceiling
The alternative technology, due to its flexibility, can of course also be combined
with the sometimes already present conventional technologyto the benefit of noise
control and acoustic comfort. A service center like the one in Fig. 11.37 with a volume
of V = 2,100 m3 , a ground area of SG = 50 12.5 = 625 m2 and a height h = 3.4 m with
309
Fig. 11.124 Comparing the sound level decay: initial state (2), conventional (), alternative measures (); a measuring path 1, b path 2, c path 3, d path 4. (According to Fuchs and Renz
2006)
an absorptive ceiling and a sound-reflective floor and walls with a large proportion of
windows hold approximately n = 106 persons. With a volume parameter KV = 20 m3
and an area parameter KS = 6 m2 per workstation the limit of feasible occupation
density is reached and noise transmission from a workstation to the nearest or even
to the most distant workstation conventionally becomes, for sure, very disturbing.
The partial-height glass sound screens (Fig. 11.125) with a 2 2.9 m glass section
and 3.4 0.85 = 2.9 m2 for the flanking BCA elements according to Fig. 11.117c, as
310
Fig. 11.125 Transparent

sound screens according to
Fig. 11.117c normal to the
axis of the room underneath a
conventional acoustic ceiling
in the service center of
Fig. 11.37. (Courtesy of Renz
solutions)
Fig. 11.126 Level decay

parallel (), resp. diagonal
() to the axis of the empty
room in Fig. 11.125
the preceding example demonstrates, not only greatly increases the basic absorption
in the room, especially at the low-frequencies. Level decays along the paths parallel
to the outer wall or diagonally through the room also attain respectable values, as
shown in Fig. 11.126, although in this case the high-performing screens do not reach
the ceiling.
In order to attain this acoustic result in a still completely open office, only all told
196 m2 of high-performance broadband absorbers (counting front and rear sides of
the BCA elements) according to
SA
0.3
SG
or just about
SA
< 2 m2
n
had to be installed per workstationprobably not that much to sustainably improve
the acoustic working conditions!
311
Fig. 11.127 CPA modules

according to Fig. 11.116b,
which only cover a small part
of the sound-reflective ceiling
are able to add low frequency
damping to conventional
sound screens
5. Open-plan office with conventional sound screens

The same sound screens as in (d) are also able to develop their broadband effect if
there is no absorbent ceiling which as described in Sect. 11.5 is generally the case
today. Absorber modules should then be installed in the edges of the room at or
below the ceiling corresponding to approximately 1020 % of the ground area SG ,
preferably as shown in Fig. 11.127, to obtain an effective basic absorption in the
room. If conventional low sound screens as in Fig. 11.128 already provide adequate
absorption for higher frequencies, a few CPA modules suffice against the rumbling
in the room, which is so disturbing for communication. These may be mounted with
an element size of SA = 1 1.5 m, all told 12, below the ceiling parallel (top) or
normal (bottom) to the axis of the room as shown in Fig. 11.129. In this example,
in addition eight just partial-height transparent glass sound screens similar to those
described in (d) were installed between the workstations in parallel to the before
mentioned CPA modules.
With a volume V = 650 m3 , ground area SG = 20 10.5 = 210 m2 and a height
of h = 3.3 m, this service center comfortably provides room for 30 people. With
Fig. 11.128 Glass sound screens of Fig. 11.117c in axial (a) and normal direction (b) are able to
supplement the effect of conventional lower sound screens. (Courtesy of Renz solutions)
312
Fig. 11.129 Plan of a service center with 12 bass absorber modules on the ceiling and 8 broadband absorbing glass screens between the workstations; measuring paths 1 (L3 M11 M14 ),
2 (L3 M19 M18 ), 3 (L4 M15 M18 )
time in the room shown in
Figs. 11.128 and 11.129
KV = 22 m3 and KS = 7 m2 per person, working comfort all depends on the reverberation time, which in this example is at medium and low frequencies very uniform
at adequate 0.8 s, see Fig. 11.130. Here too the very impressive level decay on
three paths, parallel (1 and 3) or diagonal (2) to the axis of the room, as shown in
Fig. 11.131, corresponds to almost 10 dB(A) per doubling of the distance, 4 dB more
than to be expected in a freefield. For this acoustic improvement, however, almost
SA
= 4 m2
n
per workstation of the innovative high-performance absorbers are installed.
313
Fig. 11.131 Level decay

along the paths 1 (2), 2 (),
3 () shown in Fig. 11.129
6. Open-plan office with no conventional measures

In (c) the advantages of an innovative room-acoustical design were pointed out compared to a more traditional design. The subsequent examples in (d) and (e) demonstrated how the alternative elements described in (a) and (b) can be advantageously
combined with conventional ones. Now that this room-acoustical concept has become
established in the office world and novel acoustic elements are able to assume, in addition to absorbing and insulating sound waves, further important functions such as
lighting, electric wiring and electronic networking and even, according to Sect. 10.5
and Fuchs and Renz (2008), air conditioning, open-plan offices can be designed
cost-effectively with complete transparency. Figure 11.132 shows the floor-to-ceiling
sound screens flanked on both sides with doubled broadband compact absorbers.
This example is a modern administration building which was leased as an atrium.
After a short time, the users complained about the high noise levels and an acoustic
ambiance that is unsuited for work requiring concentration. Placing conventional
textile-covered sound screens as shown in Fig. 11.128 between the workstations on
a trial basis did not bring any major improvement. For a building complex with
V = 741 m3 , SG = 19 13 = 247 m2 , h = 3 m, and n = 27 a model acoustical concept
was drafted with an area parameter KS = 9 m2 per user. The aim was to provide
good working conditions even for employees in the second row. As a long-term
investment, the installations were supposed to be transparent and easy to assemble
and dissemble. The room-acoustical design created acoustically well defined, but
optically completely open zones for various work groups and types of use with
six floor-to-ceiling sound screens of Fig. 11.117c forming an I, five forming an
L and three forming a T. With an absorption area SA = 147 m2 corresponding to
approximately 60 % of the ground area of this model room, a total of as much as
5 m2 per user were installednevertheless an investment that almost went unnoticed
in the overall building budget.
Even with only one of these sound screens between the emission site and the
reception site level differences of approximately 22 dB(A) and an immission level of
below 40 dB(A) from normal conversation are achievable without any closed walls
or doors. Such results eclipse the effectiveness of conventional sound screens as
described in Scholl (1992). As the basic sound level on this specific executive floor is
314
Fig. 11.132 Attractively

designed open-plan office at
the Deutsche Telekom in
Bonn. (Courtesy of Renz
solutions)
unusually low, to create sufficient privacy the sound of water waves was installed
as artificial masking, however with a level distinctly below the 48 dB(A) aimed at
for this purpose according to the following section.
7. Current quarrelling about the topic
Whenever a problem that has been around a long time seems to have been solved,
the question arises why it was not solved much earlier. In the case of noise generated
by communication in closed spaces it was and still is poor knowledge about the
speech perception and articulation in (at least in one dimension) small rooms. Especially the significance of low frequencies was and still is underestimated by most
experts. Moreover, there were no suitable sound absorbers available for adequate
broadband absorption of rooms intensively used for multi-person communication.
Consequently, many attempts were made to tackle this problem with inadequate conventional means and resisted unusual alternative approaches. Two papers by Hongisto
315
et al. (2004) and Fuchs et al. (2005) published almost simultaneously in the same journal demonstrate this severe divergence of views taking room-acoustic treatment of
offices just as a typical example. The former maintain that good open-plan acoustics
cannot be obtained unless these three factors are simultaneously considered:
(a) Room absorption to prevent reverberation
(b) Screens to cut direct sound and
(c) Artificial masking sound systems to crate speech privacy between nearby
workstations.
The authors come to the conclusion that it is very difficult to find solutions to openplan offices which are acceptable both by an acoustician and an interior designer,
which according to the presentations recalled here is not surprising for the following
reasons:
(a) Hongisto et al. (2004) understand room absorption, as unfortunately is common
worldwide among acousticians, as c = ceiling absorption coefficient (averaged
over 5004,000 Hz). Firstly, this concentration on solely the high frequencies
is questionable from an acoustical point of view. Secondly, the aimed at acoustic
ceiling is as such more or less obsolete in view of the fundamentally changed
structural and architectural conditions described in Sect. 11.5.
(b) If the classical basic room absorption from the ceiling is missing, conventional
sound screens also lose their effectiveness even at the high frequencies aimed at
by Hongisto et al. (2004). Only if sound-absorptive measures (a) are extended
to low frequencies, do screening measures regain more significance, indeed
with level reductions between workstations of even far above the only 10 dB(A)
aimed at there, as was demonstrated here in the preceding examplesan essential
presupposition for achieving the desired acoustical comfort and privacy in openplan offices.
(c) Hongisto et al. (2004) correctly point out that in introducing noise for masking
speech should not exceed a sound pressure level of 48 dB(A). However, this
greatly limits the application of such aids, because the conventional measures
(a) and (b) cannot usually prevent much higher noise levels generated by the
users themselves with telephone, mobile phones and headsets as described in
Sect. 11.4. Moreover, properly functioning noise-masking systems require
a 3 4 m grid of well-attuned loudspeakers distributed over the entire surface
of the ceiling. They certainly cause much higher investment, installation and
operational costs than the absorption and insulation measures proposed here.
Such an open and certainly useful technical discussion has unfortunately become
rare among scientists, as if everyone only experiences his/her own world. Viewing
the written discourse between Fuchs (2006) and Hongisto (2006) from a distance,
one may probably gain the impression that not only the authors follow different
philosophies in their work but that the acoustic problems of open-plan offices differ
from country to country, even in the European community. Although Hongisto et al.
(2004, 2006) recognize the development of innovative low-frequency mufflers for
industrial noise and structural acoustics, they still . . . do not see any need for better
316
low-frequency absorption in open-plan offices because . . . sounds in the offices

come from human activities, mostly lacking low-frequency sounds. They can be
effectively controlled by materials having good performance at and above 250 Hz.
This is easily achieved with normal absorption materials. With a paper by Virjonen
et al. (2009), published in the same scientific journal, the same research group tries
to strengthen their arguments: They routinely measured the reverberation time in an
office equipped with a conventional acoustic ceiling and furniture as continuously
increasing from 1 s at 1 kHz to 3 s at 125 Hz where they stopped measurement,
see Hongisto et al. (2006, Fig. 1 there). Yet they are not at all concerned about this
since even if the reverberation times at low frequencies were high, this does not
necessarily indicate the existence of low-frequency noise problems. Three years
later, only consequently following this philosophy, they derive new target values
from ISO 14257 (2001), a method determining the sound decay from one (constant!)
technical source in industrial workshops. These are solely based on A-weighted SPL:
Frequency dependent data will not be presented nor needed because the spectrum
of speech is standardized. The authors self-confidently state: It is not beneficial
to characterize the acoustical conditions using reverberation time and subsequently
conclude that reverberation time should no longer be used as a design quantity
in open-plan offices. A trivial explanation of so widely differing opinions may be
that the present author assumes a large number of simultaneously radiating human
sources with a resulting SPL of locally over 70 dB(A) whereas his colleagues believe
that the use of a single speaker in the new measurement method represents the worst
situation in the open-plan office.
It may well be that agents in a Finnish call-center are better trained to communicate
more quietly. This training, however, could be performed under much more favorable
room-acoustic conditions and with less strain. In any case, this little controversy in
opinion may demonstrate how difficult it generally is in the building sector to give up
traditional approaches in favor of alternative solutions. A serious discussion among
experts becomes difficult even when or especially if some market interests are also
involved. Innovations in this retarded sector will only come about when the numerous
sufferers of this noise problem demand sustainable improvement of their working
conditions and bodily experience themselves the possible advantages of the more
adequate measures.
11.14.6
Musicians Workplaces
The following practical examples trace the professional development in a research

team which permanently also got involved in the consulting and planning for projects
primarily, as in (a) and (c)(e), concerned with the ergonomic aspects of acoustics according to aspect (2) described in Sect. 11.1. At an early stage of this learning process,
however, e.g. while assisting in example (b), it became obvious that what so much
helps musicians in their demanding artistic tasks cannot be of harm to the respective
audience, i.e. for the sensations (3) in Sect. 11.1 tied up with the functional aspects
317
Fig. 11.133 Barrel vaults (a) with their focusing effects (b) inevitably lead to rumbling at low
frequencies. Membrane absorber modules covering just 7 % of the rooms surface (c), alleviate the
problem by halving the reverberation time from approximately 3 to 1.5 s (d)
of architectural acoustics. But it was not before the successful completion of the
manifold challenges in connection with the States Theater in Mainz (Sect. 11.14.7)
that the certainty grew that the room acoustic concept put forward in Sect. 11.7
(damping the low frequencies more than was usual in the past) is to be favored for all
uses, be it speech or music. Contrary to this approach, most acousticians try to start
their art and conception with the design of auditoria for concert, opera and theater,
thereby focusing on the receiving conditions and sensations of the audience and
much less on the working conditions of musicians, singers and speakers. As a result,
most of even the large theaters offer their employees orchestra pits and rehearsal
halls which lack any appropriate room-acoustic design supporting the artists work.
1. Percussion tuition room at the Music School Waldenbuch
During tuition in a restored medieval vaulted cellar (Fig. 11.133a), the low-frequency
resounding percussions fill the only 53 m3 room to such a degree that the instructors
and students have difficulty to differentiate sound components at high frequencies.
Laying a carpet and mounting foam panels, of course, did not solve the problem.
Measurements performed by Fuchs et al. (1991) in Fig. 11.133d show a reverberation
time continuously rising toward the low frequencies. The section in Fig. 11.133b
indicates the source of the room resonance at 70 Hz, at which according to Eq. (7.8)
318
the room height of 2.1 m just corresponds to half the wavelength. As conservation
guidelines and the rooms small size ruled out any change in its structure, the problem
could only be tackled with absorbers especially tuned to frequencies between 63 and
500 Hz.
Particularly suited seemed to be at that time, the membrane absorber according
to Sect. 6.3 which was developed in the 1980s as a silencer for heavily loaded
exhaust gas systems. The absorbers, with a thickness of 100 mm, comprising a
0.2 mm thick perforated aluminum membrane and 0.5 mm steel, respectively 0.3 mm
cover membranes, was installed under the ceiling. Comparing the reverberation times
in Fig. 11.133d shows the improvement yielded by covering only 4.5 m2 of the all
told 67 m2 surface of the room, however, still far remote from the target values of
DIN 18041 (2004) shown by curve a in Fig. 11.30. Still particularly the instructors
perceived the results as a pleasant relief during their hours-long lessons.
2. Percussion concert at Schloss Solitude in Stuttgart
Medium-sized rooms in historical buildings are predestined for live concerts because of their attractive ambiance. Although not in keeping with their history, they
are nowadays often intentionally very sparingly furnished to emphasize their genuine design with, of course, sound-reflective walls, floors and ceilings. If there are
enough listeners in the room, the reverberation time at high and medium frequencies
may sometimes be quite favorable. For sensitive musicians and listeners, however,
the reverberation often remains far too high at low frequenciesalso for recording
purposes.
This problem escalated during rehearsals for a percussion concert that was to be
held in the music hall of the Academy at Schloss Solitude in Stuttgart, a room measuring 17 12.3 3.8 = 795 m3 (Fig. 11.134) with a few windows alongside and, for
concerts, a carpet covering approximately a quarter of its ground area. At the time of
the measurement shown in Fig. 11.134a, there were a number of metal chairs in the
room, some musical instruments and, meant as an acoustical improvement measure,
nine approximately 1 2 m sound screens comprising a wooden panel covered with
5 cm thick foam with a pyramid-shaped structured surface. Small wonder the reverberation time rose steeply up to 4 s at 100 Hz. With the 70 listeners anticipated for
the intended recording, the rise would be even steeper.
Consequently, after being requested to help, based on the experience gained from
the music school in example (a), the favored ad-hoc measure here was positioning 100 mm thick membrane absorbers in portable sound screens (Fig. 11.134b).
The important reduction in reverberation time up to 500 Hz in Fig. 11.134a was
achieved with 18 m2 of differently tuned resonators that are effective only on one
side, thus covering just barely 9 % of the ground area. At the ceiling/floor resonance
around 100 Hz these free-standing modules develop an equivalent absorption area
of approximately A = 28 m2 .
The musicians and the recording crew perceived these simple, reversible acoustical measures as a major improvement, which permitted recording employing one
main microphone with a cardioid characteristic at a height of 2.5 m, which permits
good spatial resolution of the individual instruments, as well as a few supplementary
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Fig. 11.134 In a room which rumbles at low frequencies (b), membrane absorber sound screens
(c, d) can improve recording conditions, even as a portable measure, as the reverberation time
(a) before (broken line) and after (solid line) their installation shows
accent microphones placed near the instruments, whose contributions are adjusted
in such a manner that a balanced sound may be reproduced on the recording. All the
participants perceived the acoustics as pleasant, not rumbling but differentiated and
said the recording was finally very natural and transparent. According to Hunecke
et al. (1994), the robust, fully enclosed metal absorber modules are also suited for
touring bands both for live performances and recordings.
3. Orchestra pits
Orchestra musicians sometimes have problems hearing each other and consequently
their ensemble play on the podiums of concert halls if there is an insufficient quantity
of sound-reflective surfaces in their vicinity. In deep and usually more or less covered orchestra pits as shown in Fig. 11.135 the problems are quite different due to
320
Fig. 11.135 The low-frequency problem escalating in narrow orchestra pits, such as in the Groes
Haus of the Staatstheater Stuttgart, calls for a particularly slim acoustical concept
the strong reflections from the usually untreated sound-reflective bounding surfaces.
The resulting sound field is completely inhomogeneous with level differences of over
20 dB like in standing waves in front of reflecting walls. As the untreated room is
practically not excitable between its lowest eigenfrequencies, this anomalous room
response according to Fuchs and Hunecke (1993a) causes a massive sound distortion
depending on where the source and the receiver of the sound happen to be sitting or
standing. In such a resonance field, directive hearing between each other is practically impossible. If the pit rumbles at some low eigenfrequencies, the musicians
even have difficulty to hear their own instrument clearly. These are extremely unfavorable conditions for balanced ensemble play and induce the musicians to each
concentrate only on his/her part and solely rely on the conductors body language.
The conductor is the only one standing above the acoustical clouds thus retaining
an acoustic overview of the orchestra. Under such acoustic conditions, it is almost
impossible for a sound balance between the pit and the stage to set in giving the
auditorium the impression of a homogeneous music ensemble.
When building new concert halls, orchestra pits could be designed bigger (providing more than the standard 11.25 m2 per musician!) and flatter and less covered as
was customary in the past. Also in designing the stage, auditorium and particularly
the proscenium sections attempts are usually made to optimize the transmission of
the sound from the stage to the auditorium. However, in low, deeply covered pits,
the problems remain as long as efforts to attain good acoustics are restricted only to
above the pit. Under the roof of the pit the singers are hardly perceivable with their
sound levels lying typically up to 2530 dB below that of the musicians.
Where acousticians try to alleviate the problem, focus is mainly on putting a lid
on the orchestra by positioning it lower and under an overhang to the benefit of
the sound from the stage. Absorptive measures on the overhang and the walls are
321
considered superfluous or even detrimental, because they are feared to be unfavorable

for hearing each other. Naylor (1985) typically comes to the somewhat helpless
conclusion:
Audiences at opera performances seem not to be particularly concerned with good acoustics
as long as no major defects occur. A very common complaint, however, is that the orchestra is
heard much too loudly relative to the singers. It has been confirmed that musicians playing in
partially covered orchestra pits experience an acoustic environment quite different from that
generally found on concert hall platforms. Problems both acoustical and non-acoustical seem
to be more severe, and account for the high level of dissatisfaction felt amongst musicians
towards orchestra pits . . . . Whilst some improvements are undoubtedly possible in most pits,
in a situation of such compromise as an opera house it is mostly unlikely that all participants
will ever be satisfied.
The opera house of the Staatstheater Stuttgart was built in 1910 and after several
alterations in the 1950s, restored largely to its original state from 1982 to 1984 under
consultancy of Mller and Mller (1985). Figure 11.135 shows a ground plan and
a section of the orchestra pit and the stalls. The back part of the pit covered by the
stage is approximately 2 m high, the open front part is bordered at the sides by an up
to 3 m high wall with an approximately 27 m radius of curvature. The floor is a rigid
deal floor, and the massive walls are only plastered.
The above described problems arose during rehearsals and performances with
a large orchestra. As the chief music director (GMD) at the time, G. Ferro, was
very demanding of both singers and orchestra, various, unfortunately unsuccessful,
attempts were undertaken to lower the sound level in the pit and to improve the
balance between pit and stage. Thus for some productions the pit floor was covered
with a large carpet, and soft foam panels were mounted on the rear wall of the
pit under the overhang. If certain instruments (particularly the horns) were still too
loud, in the rehearsal breaks more acoustic material had to be provided and placed
somewhere in their vicinity. All these measures, of course, did not contribute to a
good working atmosphere in which first class musicians achieve their best.
When during the premiere of H. Zenders opera Don Quixote the problem of
separating single instruments in the pit arose in order to realize composed playback
effects, movable sound screens as described under (b) were resorted to once again,
as suggested by the tonmeister M. Sander involved in both projects. The screens
comprised, as shown in Fig. 11.136a, a bottom section in which the membrane
absorbers damp the low frequency components and an upper section made of acrylic
glass which shields the sound components at high frequencies without hindering
eye contact. As these absorption and reflection measures in the orchestra pit were
so successful, all those responsible agreed in 1993 to collaborate to solve the more
comprehensive problem of the acoustic working conditions in the orchestra pit once
and for all.
At first the musicians were, understandably, quite skeptical about the absorber
elements. From the use of sound screens in Don Quixote it was already known that
these elements influenced the sound field of the own instrument considerably. Some
musicians therefore feared that placing absorber elements on a large scale in their
direct vicinity would intensify other musicians sound and masking their own output.
322
Fig. 11.136 Suitable sound screens (a) can help to differentiate parts in small ensembles. If it
is large, the bounding surfaces have to be covered with suited absorbers (b). Sustainably, this is
attained with differently tuned wall and (where possible) also ceiling elements (c, d)
323
Fig. 11.137 Front wall (top) of the pit as shown in Fig. 11.135 with broadband, partly layered
absorbers and rear wall (bottom) with a checkered assembly of varyingly tuned absorbers
The first violins could hardly imagine doing without the sound-reflective front wall.
The contra-basses feared having absorbers somewhere would make it even more
difficult to be heard. The horns initially felt they perceived sound distortions when
blowing against the absorbers. Hence a two-step approach was necessary to convince
the musicians of the new concept and to relieve the pit of its severe problems.
In the summer break in 1993 movable, in some places stand-alone wall elements were temporarily installed at the front wall of the orchestra pit as shown
in Fig. 11.136b. Although these installations were anything but attractive and led to
tripping over their edges, the acoustic improvement became immediately apparent,
and the measures stayed during the rehearsals and even for the opening night of
R. Wagners Meistersinger von Nrnberg. When it was discovered in some further
attempts by the users that the previously used aids (carpets and foam panels) did
not lead to any additional improvement, the corresponding absorber modules were
permanently installed in the pit during the summer break in 1994, see Fig. 11.137. In
this process, never used heat radiators in the front wall were removed to obtain additional space in their niches for 200 mm thick membrane-absorber modules (back)
and coated soft foam (front) behind a perforated covering. The membrane absorbers
were varnished black, and the soft-foam elements covered behind the perforated
sheet metal with a non-inflammable fleece to match the wall elements with the dark
surfaces of the pit. Only the large surface behind the conductor remained white in
order to make his movements clearly visible for all.
On the rear side of the orchestra pit underneath the stage, a grid of individually
interchangeable elements of same size (Fig. 11.136c, 11.136d) was hung on the wall.
Hanging them separately permits subsequently changing the absorption characteristics of the different areas of the wall if there is a drastic change in the seating
arrangement. The concave curved front side of the pit comprises an approximately
324
Fig. 11.138 Clarity without (broken), with temporarily (thin) and permanently installed absorbers
(bold curve) at a seat under the overhang (a) resp. near the conductor (b), measured with an artificial
head (c) and a source under the overhang
50 cm thick structural brick wall. Inserting lintels created niches 1020 cm deep in
some places in which the absorbers could be mounted flush with the wall. The absorbers could not be simply hung up because the floor in the front part of the pit can
be raised to the level of the stage. Here the absorbers had to be custom-made for each
niche. Finally, a 50 cm wide strip of uncoated 10 cm thick foam was applied at the
front edge of the wooden overhanging ceiling, thus directly at the border between the
covered and open part of the pit. This foam too was protected by a perforated covering.
The strong increase in clarity in the entire frequency range documented in
Fig. 11.138 objectively confirms that the executed measures considerably improved
mutual hearing in the orchestra pit (acoustic transparency according to Sect. 11.2.10).
The conductor is also now able to follow the individual parts better and judge the
fine details of what is being played.
Already 1 year after all the participants had gotten accustomed to the quite different
acoustic working conditions, the orchestra speaker responded quite positively upon
being asked. However, he also concedes winking that working with a demanding
conductor has become more strenuous in a quite different way: slight mistakes in
rhythm or tone are now more audible and reprimanded accordingly. On the other
hand, all the musicians reservations brought up in the first discussion turned out to
325
be groundless. Even the basses were able to make themselves more audible, because
the successfully tamed acoustics did not damp as feared the frequency components
between two resonance peaks of the room but, quite the contrary, even raised them
somewhat, thus yielding a more uniform sound radiation and transmission. Thus it
was possible to reduce the acoustical drawbacks of orchestra pits with large overhangs
needed with the increasing sizes of opera orchestras since the nineteenth century
described by Meyer (1995, p. 305 there, 2009, p. 397 there):
Sinking the orchestra space, naturally also has a significant effect on the sound of the instruments, especially for the audience on the main floor. Since the low frequency contributions
are refracted better around the wall of the orchestra pit, the sound of the orchestra on the
main floor appears darker and less brilliant than in seats from which the players can be seen
directly, as would be the case in a concert hall. At the same time the tonal picture is less
transparent so that many details in the instrumental voices are lost. This phenomenon was
already criticized by Berlioz (1864) for the low-lying orchestra pits, which were new at that
time. The lower the pit, the more intensive are these effects. At the same time, a better balance between the orchestra and the singers is made possible, especially when the latter have
difficulty to prevail over a large orchestra. Weakening of the high frequency components and
the diminished clarity of the orchestra sound allow the articulation of the voices to stand out
more although the expressiveness of the instrumental voices decreases. On the other hand,
for operas by Mozart and his contemporaries as well as some nineteenth century works, the
orchestra sound should be rendered as transparent as possible by means of the acoustical
measures at hand. In this context, it may be pointed out that Mozart (1791) himself, after
attending a performance of his Zauberflte, the two acts of which he heard at different
locations of the Wiedener Freihaustheater, judged that the music sounded much better in
a box close to the orchestra than in the balcony, which pointed to his preference for a more
transparent tonal picture.
According to Meyer (1995, 2009) in the old Dresden Opera curtains were hung on the
sides for the fagots. The new Festspielhaus in Salzburg even has interchangeable
wall elements of varying absorption. That such measures are not standard in orchestra
pits may be due to the fact that conventional absorptive materials are only effective
at medium and high frequencies but are practically ineffective at frequencies below
200 Hz. Decisively responsible for the success of the present, more rigorous concept
described by Zha et al. (1997) is:
The fears of the musicians were carefully analyzed and discussed with everyone
involved. Nothing was installed that could not be corrected (in two well considered
steps).
The absorptive measures were designed broadband, in particular with regard to
the low and lowest frequencies responsible for rumbling. Following interim
results of the temporary measures, the portion of low-frequency absorbers in the
permanent installation was still increased in relation to the medium and high
frequency absorbers.
Differently tuned absorbers were evenly distributed in the open part of the pit,
especially at the front wall. The wall with medium and high frequency reflecting
membrane absorbers support the first violins in playing fortissimo passages. In
the covered part of the pit where the most critical instruments are located, the
326
Fig. 11.139 Ground plan (a) and CPA modules at the rear wall under the overhang of the orchestra
pit of the Stadttheater Flensburg (b); reverberation times (c) in the auditorium () and in the pit
(2) before (dark), resp. after (light) installation of the low-frequency absorbers
absorbers were adapted to each individual group, for example placing membrane
absorbers behind the horns.
The next cry for help came from the Stadttheater Flensburg, which has a halfcovered orchestra pit (Fig. 11.139) with an area of approximately 80 m2 . Installed
in this case were mainly CPA as described in Sect. 5.3, which had meanwhile been
developed to such an extent that they could be applied in practice as a cheaper
substitute for membrane absorbers (Fig. 11.139b). Proof of the successful outcome
is the resulting reverberation time (Fig. 11.139c), which was smoothed especially at
low frequencies. 90 % of the musicians noticed an improvement, and half of these
said the improvement was major.
The director of the theater also remarked the more restrained playing and requested
exact documentation of the acoustical status in the orchestra pit, at the conductors
position and in the auditorium with and without the retrofit measures carried out in
the orchestra pit. Although the reverberation time in the pit was distinctly improved,
327
the small number of additional absorbers, compared to the absorption already existent in the auditorium, had as anticipated no effect here, see the upper curves in
Fig. 11.139c. The director after this concluded positively: the absorbers recommended by you lead to a distinct improvement of the sound of the orchestra for the
musicians in the orchestra pit with no negative influence on the auditorium. Following your recommendations, now in Schleswig I am having a section in the rear part
of the orchestra pit lowered, the absorbers you recommended in Flensburg mounted
on the walls, and at the moment the parapet of the orchestra pit facing the auditorium
is being removed to the extent it is possible and replaced by a new, acoustically
permeable one.
The interior of the Staatsoper Mainz was gutted and modernized: the auditorium
and the stage were completely redesigned, see Sect. 11.14.7 and Zha et al. (2003).
The usual number of musicians in the orchestra pit with an area of approximately
130 m2 is about 80. The overhang covers 50 % of this area. In this building project,
it was possible for the first time to implement the acoustical concept for optimizing
the musicians working conditions completely from the beginning. Approximately
78 m2 of CPA and BCA were mounted on the walls and ceiling of the overhang (see
Fig. 11.161). Moreover, up to ten movable BCA modules were installed in order to
be able to adjust to different size ensembles.
With an area of approximately 145 m2 for 4482 musicians, the orchestra pit of
the Aalto-Theater in Essen is relatively large (Fig. 11.140a). The theaters problems
seem to have already been apparent when the theater was built (until 1988). At any
rate, conventional porous absorbers were installed under the overhang and at the rear
wall of the pit. As complaints indicated, these measures, however, were inadequate.
Although the positions of the concert master and conductor were considered good,
in the orchestra pit, however, the brass was perceived too loud and the strings
were too weak. Moreover, the mutual contact between the instrument groups in the
left and right part of the pit was criticized.
Figure 1.140b shows the usual seating arrangement. The strength G described
in Sect. 11.2.8 was measured both under and outside the overhang between measuring points 7 m apart. It is distinctly greater under the overhang than in the open
part, especially in the low frequency range (Fig. 11.140d). Moreover, below 500,
respectively 250 Hz G rises strongly toward the low frequencies leading to masking
high frequencies, which are especially important for the ensemble play. The acoustic
measures sketched in Fig. 11.140c reduce the strength by up to 6 dB, see Drotleff
et al. (2002).
The situation in the pit of the Staatstheater Koblenz was so grave that the musicians association considered shutting down the workplace until the acoustical
working conditions had been improved. Measuring just 70 m2 , of which 55 % were
covered by the overhang, this pit was the opposite of the one in Essen. Implemented in
this case, just as in other orchestra pits in Rendsburg, Duisburg, Aachen and Regensburg including the Royal Opera House Covent Garden in London and the Hippodrome
Theatre in Birmingham, was the novel acoustical concept with variations adapted to
specific local peculiarities.
328
Fig. 11.140 In the orchestra pit of the Aalto-Theater in Essen (a), inadequate acoustic measures
were replaced with broadband absorbers adjusted to the predominant seating arrangement (b) and
installed at the rear wall and under the overhang (c) which reduce the strength (d) rising toward
low-frequencies outside (), but particularly under the overhang ()
4. Orchestra rehearsal rooms

In the past, rehearsal rooms for large orchestras were designed attempting to reproduce for the musicians and singers a room impression resembling that of much
larger auditoria despite a usually much too small room volume. In rehearsal rooms,
however, the focal point is not to perform for an audience but rather on the musicians
hearing each other and communicating with the conductor without an audience.
Rehearsals are dry runs like in test stands. Consequently, the requirements of
these much smaller rooms differ fundamentally from those of auditoria. According to Vlker (1988), Tennhardt and Winkler (1995) and Beranek (2004) there has
been a certain change in attitude. Nonetheless, there are still no generally accepted
acoustical guidelines for rehearsal rooms.
The orchestra of the Staatstheater Stuttgart can look back on a history of 400 years.
Winning the Opera of the Year award several times under its theater director, K.
Zehelein, and chief music director, L. Zagrosek, who was awarded the Conductor
of the Year in 1999, the Groes Haus has proven its excellence. However, it has also
proven its ability to endure: its musicians and singers had to work in the only rehearsal
room under intolerable ergonomic conditions for a long time. With an occupancy
329
Fig. 11.141 The rehearsal stage of the Staatstheater Stuttgart with its well-meant soundabsorbing and scattering measures from the timpani (a) and over the choir podium (b) and
reverberation time (c) before retrofitting
of 100 musicians (maximum 160), the room measuring 22 16 5.9 m = 2,077 m3

provided less than 19 m3 (minimum 12 m3 ) per person. Despite earlier attempts to
improve the acoustics by installing quite unsuitable massive diffusers on the front
and side walls, in front of which textile shades could be lowered, a highly absorptive
lining on the rear wall as well as absorptive lining on the ceiling above the strings
(Fig. 11.141), the users complained about:
a deafening sound field (tremendous loudness),
undifferentiated hearing each other (lack of transparency), and
a difficulty to hear oneself (poor control).
The outcome was poor communication among the musicians and with the conductor.
A particular complaint was poor transmission from the first violins to the violas
(across the room) and along the room between the strings and the choir.
Comprehensive measurements by Zha et al. (2000) in the spring of 1998 confirm the subjective shortcomings. With almost 1 s (independent of frequency) the
reverberation time (Fig. 11.141c) seems quite acceptable for a room of that size. The
clarity as described in Sect. 11.2.10 and shown in Fig. 11.143 reveals, however, very
low values with C80(3) = 1.9 respectively + 2.4 dB measured, for example, from the
330
Fig. 11.142 With the given ground plan (left), removing the light suspended ceiling (c) enlarged
the room significantly
Fig. 11.143 Acoustic retrofitting (according to Fuchs et al. 2004) markedly increased clarity C80 ,
for example, measured from the violas to the choir (a) or from the harp to the conductor (b)
violas to the choir, respectively from the harp to the conductor. Thus in close consultation with the responsible building authorities and the various users, a new concept
was proposed for improving the working conditions in this rehearsal room and implemented in connection with a quite urgent replacement of the air conditioning system
during the summer break in 1999:
Removal of all acoustically motivated wall elements,
increasing the room volume from approximately 2,0002,800 m3 by removing the
suspended ceiling (see Fig. 11.142b, 11.142c),
installation on the front and side walls (Fig. 11.144) and the ceiling (Fig. 11.145a)
of 177 differently tuned CPA modules as low-frequency absorbers, each measuring 1.5 0.1 m,
331
Fig. 11.144 Low-frequency tuned CPA modules were mounted between bulkheads on the side
walls (top) and the wall behind the conductor (bottom). (Courtesy of Kaefer Isoliertechnik)
permanent mounting of 70 m2 of microperforated translucent foil absorbers

as medium-frequency absorbers and for aesthetic reasons in front of the CPA
modules on the walls,
Suspension of 51 aluminum-sandwich-panel reflectors measuring 2 1 m, respectively 1.6 1 m, similar to those described by Hunecke et al. (1996), hanging
5.5 m over the sound-reflective floor for distinctly guiding and distributing the
sound energy (see Fig. 11.145).
The CPA modules on the side walls were installed between existing bulkheads.
The two-layered foils were mounted at a distance of 100 and 30 mm in front of the
bass absorbers, see Fig. 11.146. The thickness of the steel panels inside the CPA was
selected so carefully that they were able to optimally develop their absorbing effect
in the different surfaces, edges and corners of the room with respect to the prevailing
source distribution. The checkered arrangement of the reflectors, as described by
332
Fig. 11.145 Ceiling densely covered with CPA modules (a). Suspended reflectors (b) guiding the
sound in the room
Fig. 11.146 The wall opposite the entrances during installation of the two-layered microperforated
foils in front of the CPA modules
Hunecke et al. (1996) for the auditorium of the adjacent theater (Kleines Haus),
was directed exactly at the different instrument groups with the aid of a laser pointer
in such a way that the previously as weak recognized transmission paths became
more pronounced.
Despite its considerable enlargement, after the massive alterations the empty
room had a somewhat shorter reverberation time of approximately 0.8 s over a wide
frequency range (Fig. 11.147a). This corresponds exactly to the desired value (in
an occupied state) according to DIN 18041 (2004) for instruction, see curve c in
Fig. 11.30.
Considering an average over all measurement constellations, clarity C80(3) varied
by 7.1 dB (1.9 to +5.2 dB) before, but only by 3.5 dB (+3.4 to +6.9 dB) after
the alterations. This essential improvement is also evident in Fig. 11.143 for sound
transmission from the violas to the choir (a) and from the harp to the conductor (b).
Figure 11.147b depicts an example of the measured impulse response which shows
a very smooth reverberation process in the room.
333

time (a) of the empty ()
rehearsal room, resp. with
100 musicians (), and the
impulse response (b) from the
first violins to the violas
More significant than any objective analysis is the subjective assessment of the
users when the acoustics are completely changed: they welcome unisono the lower
average loudness, are thus able to play more dynamically, to express fine details of
the score better and are able to hear each other and communicate better. Although
stress factors decreased, the rehearsals became more demanding, because due to the
improved acoustic transparency, an ambitious conductor is now able to exercise control more selectively. Especially the basses pizzicati sound more pronounced, and
to everyones relief a beat on the bass drum no longer makes everyone shutter. The
theater director spoke of physically felt improvements that he had not thought possible to such an extent: In short, all are enthusiastic about the totally new acoustics!
I myself attended various rehearsals, the last one a seated rehearsal of Prokofiews
Love of the Three Oranges, in which about 160 musicians played in the room you
acoustically defined.
The orchestra rehearsal room of the Staatstheater Mainz (Fig. 11.148) on which
another planning group had already worked before the reconstruction of the Groes
334
Fig. 11.148 Unfavorable ground plan (a) and unsuitable sound guidance and absorption measures
(b) causing frustration for the users of a new rehearsal room in Mainz
Haus (Sect. 11.14.7), also had a number of grave shortcomings that the house was
unable to resolve by itself. With an area of only 120 m2 and an, after all, difficult to
utilize volume of only 1,200 m3 for up to 100 musicians the room certainly would
be much too small, even with a more favorable large-scale structure. Considering
the poor arrangement of absorbing and reflecting surfaces, no wonder the musicians
complained about a tremendous loudness, difficulty in ensemble play, and the overall
tonal impression of the room. The reverberation time of over 1.5 s according to
Drotleff et al. (2004c, Fig. 4 there), though somewhat increased after removal of the
suspended ceiling and facing shells (Fig. 11.149a), and clarity C80(3) down to 3 dB
for many transmissions (Fig. 11.149b, 11.149c) demanded retrofitting.
In contrast to the previous cases, it was not possible to increase the volume (unfortunately nor were any structural changes). In order to damp the long paths to
the two pockets and reduce the reverberation, differently tuned CPA and BCA
modules were selectively mounted on all the walls and on parts of the ceiling (taking into account the predominant seating arrangement) and partially provided with
acoustically transparent wooden paneling, see Fig. 11.150. Thus an almost constant
reverberation time of 0.60.7 s could be attained in the room with about 70 musicians.
Moreover, large easily adjustable reflectors were installed (Fig. 11.150a) to improve
sound transmission between the instrument groups and the conductor raising clarity
according to Fig. 11.149b, 11.149c to (on average) above + 5 dB.
5. Other rehearsal rooms
Working conditions that are stressful for the ears and the nerves are sad daily reality
for numerous musicians not only in the previously discussed environments. More
than halls for large audiences, nearly all rehearsal, warming-up and tuition rooms
of even renowned temples of art lack any spark of really functioning acoustics
thus are toying with the health of highly qualified artists and wasting valuable
335

times (a) measured before
(), after removal of
inappropriate acoustic
measures () and after the
retrofit measures without (),
resp. with 70 musicians ();
clarity for measuring points
according to Fig. 11.148a
with the source at M2 (b),
resp. at M6 (c) before () and
after ()
productivity. Affected are instrumentalists but also singers, choirs and ballet dancers,
who are forced to work in poorly conditioned surroundings.
The choir rehearsal room in Fig. 11.151 shows, for example, a reverberation time
rising at low frequencies (up to 2 s!). Hanging heavy drapes in front of the wall and
covering the floor with a thick carpet does not really help, nor do the small spherical
Fig. 11.150 BCA modules, e.g. in the right side pocket and reflectors above the actual rehearsal
room (a) and CPA modules behind an acoustically transparent facing shell on a side wall (b)
336
Fig. 11.151 Initial poor acoustical state of the choir rehearsal room at the Staatstheater Stuttgart
with unsuitable absorbers and diffusers (a); reverberation time (b) with (), resp. without (2) drapes
diffusers on the ceiling and walls. Here, too, the idea is to try to increase the volume
parameter of the room according to Eq. (11.3) from presently 9 to at least 12 m3 per
person by opening the attic space above the room. Subsequently, properly absorbing
and reflecting elements, as previously described, are supposed to provide relief here
and in other acoustical torture chambers.
11.14.7
Groes Haus of the Staatstheater Mainz
Built in the early nineteenth century by the court architect G. Moller, the theater was
initially planned for an audience of 1,500. Numerous structural changes, particularly
the 1951 reconstruction, lead in the opinion of chroniclers to an acoustical limbo.
The new fundamental reconstruction at the beginning of the twenty-first century
demanded not only reviewing the original architectural idea but also drawing up
an acoustical concept that would satisfy the future needs of a theater that performs
drama, ballet, opera as well as concerts. Thus, in 1999 a committee organized by the
city of Mainz and the state of Rheinland-Pfalz commissioned a reassessment of all
measures for optimizing the acoustics.
a. The acoustical concept
Schler (2001), the head of the municipal building authority, summed it up: A
commissioned expert opinion came to the conclusion that the auditorium needed a
completely new concept. Despite the foreseeable consequences for the entire course
of the project, the committee, boards, city council and state parliament decided in favor of implementing the new concept. The now achieved excellent acoustical results
confirm my decision to recommend complete re-planning. The risk apparently paid
off . . . Raising the ceiling was primarily intended to distinctly improve the acoustical conditions but also offered the unique opportunity to provide a cafe-restaurant
and accommodate one of the two scene painting studios far above the auditorium.
337
Fig. 11.152 Front view of the old (a) and the new (b) Groes Haus of the Staatstheater Mainz
An intensive, constructive process of reaching agreements, in particular among the

planners, conservationists, and the city planning board was set into motion. Seen
from the outside, the realized glass cylinder appears distinctly more as a continuation of the cylindrical auditorium interior than the first considerations let hope
(Fig. 11.152). The auditorium offers the audience a never before attained quality
in comfort, acoustics and architectural design. . . The side glass reflectors in the region of the two grooves for the lighting and the sails over the orchestra pit, give the
audience at least a notion of the extent of the acoustic measures.
The ancient Greek and Roman architectural form for presenting drama, choirs and
music was the amphitheater, see Sect. 11.13. Rising steeply, concentrically around a
circular stage (orchestra) were audience tiers permitting a perfect view from every
step and every seat. Over the years, architects always returned to the classical circular
shape for assembly rooms. However, if the nowadays common and necessarily closed
building structures result in focusing reflections from cylindrical walls and domed
ceilings, room acoustical problems are programmed. A perfect example is the multipurpose Haus des Lehrers in Berlin, see Fasold et al. (1987, Sect. 10.3.2.1 there).
But also the former assembly hall of the Bundestag in Bonn with its cylindrical glass
walls created severe problems, see Sect. 11.14.1 b and Stephenson (1994).
Almost all of the nineteenth century opera houses paid tribute to this cylindrical
shape, see for example Fig. 11.153: Rising high, for technical reasons, out of the center of the circle the stage forms quasi a separate room, enclosing in many cases much
more volume than the auditorium (in this instance 12,600 compared to 6,900 m3 ).
The reverberation time reflects this distinctly, dropping about half if the scenery is
strongly absorptive compared to the empty stage and rising somewhat again when the
main curtain is closed, see Fasold et al. (1987, Sect. 10.2.2.2 there). The optical and
acoustical separation of the two spaces is intensified by the orchestra pit in between.
If a large part of the audience has to sit in sphere-, lyre-, or horseshoe-shaped tiers,
balconies and boxes which are not aligned toward the stage but toward the center, the
result is today ergonomically intolerable seating conditions and viewing conditions.
When the opera was still celebrated as a social event, as a feast for all the senses,
the spherical shape made sense not only for the activities on the stage but also in
the stalls and tiers. At any rate, the horseshoe shape of the Teatro di San Carlo,
338
Fig. 11.153 Bayerische Staatsoper in Munich as an example of a cylindrical ground plan with
a reverberation time strongly influenced by the stage; empty (), strongly absorbent (), main
curtain closed (). (After Fasold et al. 1987)
see Beranek (2004, p. 359 there), built in Naples 1737 and the subsequent circular
shape of the original Moller building became an architectural model for a number
of opera houses first in Europe and then worldwide. With due respect to the, for its
time, model edifice, the high expectations of the operators and users for the new
Groes Haus called for a modern concept that would provide optical, climatic and
acoustical comfort at every seat. Exemplary collaboration between the architects and
acousticians ranging from the early general planning phase to agreeing on minute
details in the auditorium, the proscenium area and orchestra pit, but also in the stage
tower made it possible to fulfill the needs of a multi-purpose theater.
Presented to the public for the first time in the summer of 1999, the new concept
retained Mollers cylinder as the boundary of the auditorium. Opening up the auditorium by removing a false suspended ceiling showed it to even better advantage,
see Fig. 11.152b. In planning the outer large-scale structures and inner small-scale
structures, great pains were, however, taken that all the sound paths from the stage
and pit led to the audience according to the up-to-date acoustical know-how and
experience, moreover that, depending on the use of the house, the various coupled
areas obtained their own specific sound. The optimization included innovative acoustic installations in the stage tower to ensure a certain basic absorption especially at
low frequencies. However, this also included erecting a fully enclosed concert shell
on the stage on an as-needed basis. In addition to selectively positioned reflectors
between the stage and the auditorium as well as inconspicuous low-frequency absorbers, particular value was placed in special absorption in the orchestra pit (see
Sect. 11.14.6 c), whereas all the visible bounding surfaces of the auditorium were
left sound-reflective in the room acoustically relevant frequency range. In order to
obtain optimum room influence for all the planned performances, the architectural
design pursued a clear acoustical principle: Draw as many as possible useful reflections like a filigree areal structure into the room and moreover prevent all destructive
339
reflections everywhere! The result should be an optically and audibly satisfying experience without any electro-acoustical aids or reverberation support. Even the large
foyer was given the functional acoustics appropriate for relaxed conversations during
the intervals.
b. Necessary gross adjustments
In order to be able to attain the desired acoustical conditions for drama, opera
and concert without any electro-acoustical aids, all the participants agreed on some
fundamental principles early in the planning phase:
The auditoriums relatively small volume of, originally, only 5,200 m3 is enlarged
to 6,900 m3 by raising the ceiling and opening the wall behind the second balcony
to the gallery, thereby yielding an advantageous volume parameter, depending
on use, of 7.58.3 m3 per person.
The given cylindrical shape of the auditoriums bounding walls is subdivided into
selectively reflecting partial surfaces by strongly articulated floe-like projections
into the room. All the front parapets created in this manner incline forward at
an angle between 30 and 45 ; half-height acrylic-glass partition walls are so
aligned that they ensure additional lateral reflections toward the audience in both
balconies. The incline of the stalls section was set at an angle of 7 , the first
balcony at 18 and the second balcony at 33 so that good direct transmission
from the stage to the audience is everywhere guaranteed, see Fig. 11.154.
Built-in elements, lining and coverings are designed sound-reflective to the highest
degree possible in order not to unnecessarily further increase the relatively large
absorption surface of the auditorium when fully occupied.
For concerts, the plan includes the installation of a concert shell on the stage that
acoustically separates the strongly absorptive background and rigging-loft of the
stage from the orchestra and the auditorium.
In order to avoid in the given circumstances an at low frequencies sharply rising
reverberation time, special broadband low-frequency absorbers are installed in
all three coupled areas (hall, pit and stage), thereby sustainably enhancing the
acoustic transparency and ensemble play of the musicians and singers.
Enlarging the orchestra pit from the originally planned only 100 m2 to ultimately
maximum 130 m2 serves the same purpose. This could, early in the planning,
the possibility to avoid a common shortcoming of many opera houses with ergonomically and physically intolerable working conditions in this sector, see
Sect. 11.14.6 c.
That the requirements were largely met was not only the feat of the responsible architects but also the outcome of numerous constructive discussions with the
air-conditioning and lighting experts, who typically envisage the same spaces and
surfaces for their respective installations as the acousticians.
In the architectural result, the acoustic measures are not particularly striking at
first glance. The Moller cylinder with a diameter of 28 m is still quite evident in
340
Fig. 11.154 Cross-section of the Groes Haus with theater cafe and painting studio above the
gallery and auditorium. (According to Fuchs et al. 2004)
Fig. 11.155 Ground plans of the Groes Haus; stalls with theater lobby (a), first balcony with main
foyer (b)
the parterre section (Fig. 11.155a). However, in the first balconies two almost headhigh glass parapets provide additional useful lateral reflections (Fig. 11.155b). The
motif of the steeply rising three first balconies upper projections also shows up as
projections in the stalls seating arrangement and it culminates in the second balcony,
which breaks open the original cylinder with its fan-like gallery. The outcome is
that audiences of 829 at operas, respectively 923 at concerts can be comfortably
accommodated.
341
c. Sound-guiding measures
Answers to the previously discussed basic questions regarding design and materials
can already be found during the early planning phase in computer simulations. They
also convincingly show single sound paths from the stage, the orchestra pit or podium.
Precious sound energy must neither futilely disappear in insignificant areas of the
ceiling and stage nor impinge focused on parts of the auditorium or stage. As sound
energy reaches the listener only once although in different manners, in order for all
musicians, respectively speakers, to hear each other and to uniformly deliver good
acoustics to all listeners, the sound waves must be guided with great care from all
the sources. Solely the described large-scale structures are insufficient to achieve
this. Therefore, not only was great effort put in the exact alignment of all the soundreflective structural bounding surfaces, in which the overall design, especially of the
side walls of the stage proscenium plays a significant role. But also the forwardinclined parapets of the balcony fronts provide useful reflections, see Fig. 11.156, in
particular for the front part of the stalls, respectively the orchestra pit. Moreover, an
additional four groups of large, inconspicuous reflectors suspended or mounted on
rigs, were included early in the detailed planning and had to be repeatedly defended
against countless attacks:
Proscenium Reflectors To support sound transmission from the stage to the auditorium, an approximately 1.2 12 m wide reflector was mounted reaching across
the entire proscenium like an enlarged ceiling. Figure 11.157a shows the sound
transmission from a source located in the orchestra pit, also up to the stage.
Reflectors Above the Orchestra Pit Special attention is called to the two rows of five
1.9 2.9 m reflectors each inclined up to 10 over the orchestra pit transverse to the
longitudinal axis of the room (Fig. 11.157b), because with careful adjustment, they
contribute substantially to transmitting sound from the orchestra to the auditorium
but also to balance within the orchestra and from the orchestra to the singers. The
reflectors are made of thin aluminum-sandwich panels with high internal damping.
Their light weight first proved to be a major advantage for easy mounting and adjustment during acoustical retrofitting of the Kleines Haus of the Staatstheater Stuttgart,
see Hunecke et al. (1996).
Side Reflectors In the front part of the auditorium the lateral sound tends to be
weak due to the relatively large sound reflective cylinder surface which had to be
retained here. To cope with this anticipated problem, on both sides were mounted
six 1.2 2 m reflectors as visible in Fig. 11.158. These were originally planned as
slightly convex formed shields which should have been aligned with the aid of a
laser pointer in all three directions like all the other light-weight reflectors. Instead
however, plane shields made of 2.5 cm thick security glass with a tremendous weight
of about 150 kg each had to be installed on a special request of an architect and a glass
manufacturing sponsor. Although they were then held in very stable hinges, these
reflectors could not be aligned as optimal as all the others. Since medium and high
frequency sound waves from the pit hardly find a direct path to the audience in the
front part of the stalls, a misalignment of the large side reflectors could lead to severe
342
Fig. 11.156 Sound guidance

from a source on the stage via
inclined side (top) and center
parapets (bottom) of the first
and second balconies
problems in correctly localizing individual instrumental groups because of the great

time delays involved in these indirect sound paths. It was therefore finally decided
to use the side reflectors only to support the sound transmission into the rear and
the upper parts of the auditorium by, very roughly, inclining them correspondingly.
Their so found optimal orientations were securely locked and the distances of the four
corners of each reflector from the wall exactly documented in order to ensure that
they could be exactly returned after possible major restorations or refurbishments.
Ceiling Reflectors In order to ensure that enough sound energy reaches the large
audience area in the second balcony, additional reflectors were inserted between
343
Fig. 11.157 Sound guidance from a source on the stage via the proscenium and pit reflectors
Fig. 11.158 Side reflectors at the front cylindrical wall of the auditorium
the lighting bridges (Fig. 11.159a) behind an acoustically transparent curved ceiling
structure which screens reflecting as well as absorbing elements like several other
technical installations in this large cavity under the concrete ceiling.
Reflectors Above the Control Windows In order to prevent destructive reflections
(echos) from the lower rear wall to the stage, an approximately 7.0 0.9 reflector
inclined toward the stalls section was installed here above the sound and light control
cabins, see Fig. 11.159b. All the reflecting measures were designed and the materials
selected in such a manner that they provided only little additional absorption in the
room and did not reduce its reverberation time at medium and high frequencies,
thereby preventing, on the one hand, disturbing focusing, destructive reflections and
irritating sound guidance in the hall and ensuring, on the other hand, uniformly
good sound transmission from all sources to all receivers and generating a good
envelopment for the rear part of the stalls and the two balconies. Figure 11.159b
finally shows the result of a computer simulation of the sound transmissions from a
344
Fig. 11.159 Ceiling reflectors and absorbers behind acoustically transparent suspensions between
the Z-bridges above the auditorium (a); computer simulation of the sound transmission from a
source in the center of the front part of the stage via the various reflectors into the auditorium (b)
sound source in the center of the front part of the stage via all the various reflectors
into the auditorium.
Compared to large-surface diffusers, this concept of an inconspicuous sound guidance has the advantage that it does not add unnecessarily to the inevitable absorption
from the densely seated audience in a relatively small room. Even an only partial
345
coverage of the original cylinder with diffusers as recommended, for example, by

Cox and dAntonio (2003) to attain a uniform sound distribution would have led to
an unacceptably low reverberance.
d. Sound absorbing measures
For the repeatedly mentioned reasons, in addition to the so important sound guidance, the object here is to counteract the inevitable increase in reverberation time at
low frequencies. The specific approach of Sect. 11.7 constituted part of the radical
alteration of the acoustical concept, initially proposed beforehand. It is based on the
conviction that the quality of naturally, i.e. without electro-acoustic amplification,
performed speech and music suffers if the room response strongly influences their
tonal picture. In a concert hall, stressing low frequency parts here and there may still
be considered positive, see Sect. 11.11.2. However, in a house that presents three or
four different performing arts, a down to 63 Hz almost constant reverberation time
benefits the definition of speech and the clarity of music under all other circumstances. A uniform reverberation spectrum in the room ensures not only good word
intelligibility and acoustic transparency of the performances, but also the artists
being able to hear each other optimally. Much of this is due to the phenomenon
of low frequency parts masking high ones, see Sect. 11.4. High-performance absorber elements to counteract this creates for everyone, performers and audiences,
a relaxed acoustical ambiance that avoids unnecessarily loud average sound levels
but provides best preconditions for a maximum possible dynamic range of the
acoustical events.
In the described conditions, the by far greatest influence on the reverberation has
the audience itself. The seats should absorb as little as possible when the room is
occupied. Moreover, it has been good tradition that the seating ensures roughly the
same reverberation time in the empty hall (Fig. 11.160a) as in the occupied one.
A variety of seats were carefully tested according to DIN EN ISO 354 (2001) and
Bradley (1996) in a reverberation room and the manufacturer was given the exact
absorption setting, see Fig. 11.160b. The undersides of the balconies designed as
luminous ceilings were inspected for inevitable absorption, this being minimized
and taken into account in the detailed room-acoustical design. The absorption of all
other bounding surfaces and built-in elements in the auditorium was estimated in an
early planning phase to the extent it was possible from experience and entered in the
computer simulation.
In order to achieve the high set target of a constant reverberation time, all told
approximately 1,200 m2 of predominantly low-frequency sound absorbers were permanently installed in different manners in the three more or less acoustically coupled
areas but always inconspicuously, notably:
Orchestra Pit The concept applied here systematically for the first time in a multipurpose house was born while acoustically improving the orchestra pit in the Groes
Haus of the Staatstheater Stuttgart, see Sect. 11.14.6 c and Zha et al. (1997),
and subsequently successfully applied to a larger room, its rehearsal stage, see
Sect. 11.14.6 d and Zha et al. (2000), has meanwhile been applied in numerous
346

auditorium (a); absorption
coefficient s as measured for
the occupied () or empty ()
seats (b)
other opera houses. What was originally conceived only to alleviate destructive
high sound levels (Zha et al. 2002), soon turned out to be a general principle for
improving musical communication of all the participating musicians. For this reason, the experience already gained elsewhere was systematically utilized in the first
completely new designed pit, see Fig. 11.161.
Auditorium Hall Although the all told up to approximately 100 m2 of absorbers
installed in front of the bounding surfaces of the orchestra pit are irrefutably able
to strongly influence the working conditions and manner of playing, yet they do
not influence the acoustics in the auditorium itself, positively or negatively. As in
the auditorium, in contrast to the pit, absorption above approximately 125 Hz is to
be avoided, only real bass absorbers, notably CPA with entirely all round closed
edges as described in Sect. 5.3, are employed. Figure 11.162 shows 255 m2 of CPA
mounted (concealed) on the ceiling. Another 95 m2 of CPA are just as inconspicuously placed above the open passageways behind the stalls and the first balcony (cf.
Fig. 11.154) and on the walls in front of the control room and behind the false ceiling
(Fig. 11.159a). As there is little other absorption within the frequency range of these
broadband resonance absorbers, the installed all told 350 m2 are extremely effective,
as the results discussed under (f) will demonstrate.
347
Fig. 11.161 CPA and BCA modules according to Sects. 5.3 and 10.2 mounted on the (above
unrolled) wall surfaces of the orchestra pit
Stage Tower If the main curtain is open, the stage with its huge volume of 12,600 m3
remains coupled, the open stage, depending on the scenery, would normally influence the reverberance situation dramatically and uncontrollably particularly at low
frequencies, see Fig. 11.153. To eliminate this negative influence on the room acoustics, 220 m2 of CPA modules and another 516 m2 of microperforated metal cassettes
described in Sect. 9.1 are permanently mounted on the ceiling and the walls of the
stage tower, the latter up to 60 cm from the respective sound-reflective background.
The modules were painted black to prevent light reflections, see Fig. 11.163a. This
348
Fig. 11.162 CPA modules mounted on the ceiling of the auditorium hall
always present basic absorption makes the auditorium acoustics largely independent of the scenery on the stage and ensures acoustical flexibility on the stage for
both opera and drama.
e. Concert use
Whether or not the stage has been sufficiently damped: as soon as the orchestra sits
down, all around reflective surfaces are needed for the musicians to be able to hear
each other, to improve sound transmission from the podium to the auditorium and
to close as sound-reflectively as possible the large, otherwise at any rate, strongly
absorptive stage tower against the relatively small auditorium, thereby increasing
its reverberation time significantly for concert use. In order to do different size
orchestras justice, the concert shell was conceived in two sizes. The large shell is
able to accommodate up to 100 musicians, some of them sitting on the front stage;
the small one is suited for up to 50 musicians. The concert shell comprises differently
curved elements, see Fig. 11.163c. Due to budget constraints, providing the elements
that join the proscenium and the stage and some lateral elements of the concert shell
on the front stage had to be postponed, thus making it impossible to completely realize
the original concept. The subsequent up to 4 m wide gap between the pushed-back
rear wall of the concert shell and the thus left open 1.5 m wide circumferential gap
349
Fig. 11.163 Example of installing low-frequency absorbers and erecting a concert shell on the
stage
between the proscenium and the small concert shell prevents the urgently necessary
complete decoupling of the stage and the auditorium and the thereby attainable and
very desirable raise of the reverberance.
f. Results and Conclusions
Before starting to modernize and install the additional reflectors and absorbers, a
1:20 model was built which allowed acoustically assessing the many contours of
the auditorium and the stage (Fig. 11.164). In this phase, however, only the various
audience areas were simulated in the model as sound absorbers (in the form of 4 mm
thick felt strips). As important these interim results were for the consultant in his
discussions of the concept with the planners; in the end decisive are the acoustically realized parameters. Of course, initially the objectively measurable findings
have priority. However, following the first audiences response to the experienced
acoustics after the opening performance with G.F. Hndels opera Saul according
350
Fig. 11.164 Partial view of

the 1:20 model of the Groes
Haus in Mainz
to Siegert (2002) with statements such as . . . the orchestra sounded different, so

articulate and true to style as if Baroque music had just been reinvented in Mainz,
the expectations of the adjustments and measurements which were not completed
until after the opening night ran very high.
Reverberation Time As planned, the reverberation time in the auditorium is approximately 1.4 s in the mid-frequency range. Its spectrum is very favorably uniform down
to low frequencies (63 Hz) for opera as well as concert, permitting equally good performances for any use. For opera use, the removal of a few rows of seats is well
compensated by the additional orchestra pit absorption as compared to concert use,
see Fig. 11.165a. The difference between early level decays and the reverberation
time is minimal (Fig. 11.165b). Such smooth decay features, according to Beranek
(2004), support the impression of presence or intimacy in the auditorium. Figure 11.165c shows that the basic absorption of the stage including the scenery does
not negatively influence the frequency spectrum of the reverberation time in the auditorium. For better comparison with the data of other opera houses (Table 11.6), the
reverberation time was averaged between 125 and 250 Hz (Tt ) and between 500 and
1,000 Hz (Tm ).
Level Distribution The sound guiding measures led to realizing quite minimal variations in level even in the center of the cylinder, amounting to no more than 3 dB
at the mid-frequencies for the entire auditorium. Figure 11.166 shows this by way
of example for opera use, i.e. with the connected stage tower.
Clarity Average clarity of the entire auditorium is shown in Fig. 11.167 frequencydependent for opera and concert use. On the whole, for opera use clarity is higher,
whereas for concert use it is lower, which benefits the respective performances.
Analog to the reverberation time, clarity C80 t and C80 m are also depicted (Table 11.6
again shows a comparison with other opera houses). The large concert shell on the
12,250
11,252
21,000
10,000
15,100
14,020
10,665
6,900
Number of seats
2,120
2,289
2,700
2,131
2,827
2,158
1,709
829
Opera house
London, Royal Opera House

Mailand, La Scala
Paris, Bastille
Paris, Garnier
Philadelphia, Academy of Music
Salzburg, Festspielhaus
Wien, Staatsoper
Mittelwerte
Mainz, Groes Haus
Volume in m3
1.28
1.69
1.60
1.62
1.40
1.84
1.72
1.59
1.48
1.21
1.35
1.72
1.22
1.31
1.94
1.55
1.47
1.45
1.05
1.20
1.50
1.10
1.38
1.30
1.26
1.31
1.10
1.46
1.45
1.10
1.49
1.43
1.39
1.39
Tm
Tt
Tt
Tm
T (occupied) in s
T (unoccupied) in s
2.50
1.20
0.15
1.45
0.70
1.50
0.70
0.70
1.40
C80t
4.75
2.90
1.75
4.35
1.60
0.10
2.70
2.60
2.83
C80m
C80 in dB
0.48
0.53
0.56
0.44
0.50
0.60
IACC(3) in %
Table 11.6 Overview of some acoustical parameters (calculated or estimated) of seven opera houses. (According to Beranek 1996)
0.17
0.21
0.21
0.16
0.16
LF(3) in %

351
352
Fig. 11.165 Reverberation times determined in the auditorium: a main curtain lowered, opera (),
resp. concert (); b like (a) T60 (dark), T30 (light), EDT (light/dark) for opera; c T30 for opera
without () or with coupled stage tower ()
stage not only supports the auditorium, but also improves communication between
the individual groups of instruments. Early reflections from the walls and the ceiling
of the concert shell increase C80,(3) on average by + 3 dB.
Lateral Sound For opera use, the lateral-fraction level 10 lg LF(3) according to
Sect. 11.2.13, averaged over 500, 1,000 and 2,000 Hz, attains quite acceptable values
as measured between 4 and 8 dB on all levels at 25 measuring points. For concert
use, thanks to the concert shell, this parameter appears a bit higher, except for
the central area of the stalls. The interaural cross-correlation coefficient IACC(3)
according to Beranek (1996, p. 569 there), too, compares well with other opera
houses, see Table 11.6.
Background Noise Level The A-weighted background-noise level of approximately
25 dB(A) is sufficiently low. Its averaged frequency spectrum is given in Fig. 11.168.
Conclusion The artists and audiences subjective impression and the objective
room-acoustic parameters show that the Groes Haus in Mainz with a number of
permanently installed structural and acoustical measures is well suited for all forms
of performing arts without reservations.
353
Fig. 11.166 Level

differences in dB over the
stalls (top), first tier (center),
second tier (bottom) for opera
use; source in the center of
the front third of the stage
11.14.8
Music Studios
There is hardly any other sector of acoustics that has developed so quickly over the
last decades as electro-mechanical transducers, electronic storage and digital transmission technology for audio signals. Modern artificial-head recordings permit
fairly good reproduction of the characteristic frequency response of human hearing (Fig. 11.169a). Even cheap loudspeakers have a practically linear frequency
354
Fig. 11.167 Average clarity

at 27 points in the stalls, first
and second tiers for opera (),
resp. for concert (with the
concert shell) (2)
Fig. 11.168 Averaged

background-noise level in the
auditorium of the Groes
Haus
Fig. 11.169 Transfer

functions: (a) measured at the
entrance of the auditory canal
of a human head (dotted line),
respectively of an artificial
head according to Tennhardt
and Reichardt (1984), (b) of a
commercial loudspeaker
response (Fig. 11.169b). Modern high-fidelity receivers and amplifiers transmit

between 20 and 50 Hz without any distortion of the audio signal.
355
Fig. 11.170 The room R is

always the weakest link in a
transmission chain: sound
sources Q, electro-mechanical
receivers M, electronic
storage S, electro-mechanical
transmitter L, listener E
Manufacturers of audio and video recordings and their users have, however, given
little thought to how the buyer actually receives the high-quality sound emission of
the high-end products. Usually the buyer sits in a (normally small) room rather than
outdoors or in a large hall without destructive reflections. When buying, he can take
comfort in knowing that above 20 kHz he can ignore the devices characteristics,
because he is unable to hear in this frequency range anyway. On the other hand,
it should be made clear to him that in most cases his untreated listening room
radically devalues even the best frequency response of the device at low frequencies.
Since the introduction of stereo in the 1950s and multi-channel recording in the
1980s, development in electro-acoustical technology in general has continued an
enormous pace, see Weinzierl (2008). Today, in so-called wave-field synthesis (see
Slavik and Weinzierl 2008) hundreds, on occasion even thousands of microphones
and loudspeakers are employed to transmit not only single voices but also the room
impression of an original performance as naturally as possible to arbitrary other
spaces. Thus, it is high time to care more about the, in many cases, miserable
transmission properties of the listening rooms in particular, as Fuchs and Hunecke
(1993b) have been demanding for years, see Fig. 11.170.
In this context, reference is made to Chap. 2 and Sects. 11.311.7: any introduction
of speech or music into a room inevitably also excites the room pulse-like at its eigenresonances. These always negative artifacts are unable to contribute to the desired
tonal picture, however do reduce intelligibility and clarity of what is reproduced, falsifies it if this concealed phenomenon is not counteracted by acoustic measures. This,
of course, applies especially for listeners who demand high reproduction quality professionally (e.g., tonmeisters and sound engineers) or recreationally and are willing
to invest considerably in high-end equipment. Consequently, a rooms transmission
properties are of utmost significance, also at the lowest frequencies, in music studios,
listening and mastering rooms. Likewise, all standardized measurement rooms (freefield as well as reverberation rooms) regularly require acoustical treatment especially
at low frequencies in order to minimize their influence on measurement results or at
least to obtain good repeatability and reproducibility, see Sect. 11.14.10.
356
Fig. 11.171 Room for multi-channel demonstrations (according to Fuchs and Hunecke 1993b): a
typical source positions, b reverberation, resp. decay times (top) and transfer function (bottom)
without (), resp. with () room acoustic measures, c calculated sound pressure distribution on the
bounding surfaces for the lowest five modes, d movable sound screens with membrane absorbers
(in the corners) and porous absorbers
1. Multi-channel demonstration room at a Tonmeister Association Convention

The 101 m3 room shown in Fig. 11.171 has three 1 m2 large windows, a ceiling
of suspended plasterboard panels and wall-to-wall carpeting. With 12 chairs in the
center of the room, it acoustically resembles a large living room. At the Tonmeister
357
Association Convention 1992, speakers used this room as a demonstration room for
their multi-channel productions, see e.g. Theile (1993). Therefore, all the acoustic
ad-hoc measures, just as the respective audio equipment, had to be easily installable,
variable and after this event removed again.
Between 8,000 and 80 Hz in the initial state, the reverberation time is measured
conventionally in one-third octaves according to DIN EN ISO 3382 (2000), see
Fig. 11.171b. At lower frequencies, the reverberation time can only be determined
for each room mode individually according to Oelmann and Zha (1986). To do this,
the transfer function is determined between two diagonally opposite corners of the
room from 20 to 100 Hz. The input signal of the loudspeaker in the one corner and
the output signal of the microphone in the other are conveyed to a dual-channel
spectrum analyzer. The transfer function, corrected with the loudspeaker frequency
response dropping toward low frequencies, in Fig. 11.171b (bottom) shows all the
excitable room modes. Using mathematical fit-functions also permits simultaneously
measuring the corresponding resonance frequencies and respective 3 dB bandwidth
f in the form of transfer function poles and calculating therefrom an equivalent
reverberation time according to Kurtze et al. (1975, p. 65 there), also shown in
Fig. 11.171b (top):
T =
6.9
.
2f
(11.41)
Figure 11.171c shows in black the calculated sound pressure distribution for the
five lowest modes as well as the positions of the two sub-woofers and the listeners. If the source and the receiver, as e.g. for the mode (0, 2, 0) at 55.1 Hz, both
lie in a black area, the rumbling in the room becomes particularly strong with
reverberation times above 2.5 s. Only if the low-frequency room modes are sufficiently damped, is it possible to at least approximately attain the uniform sound-field
superposition as desired for multi-channel reproduction. At the time of this project,
membrane absorbers as described in Sect. 6.3 were the best solution. Additional
sound screens similar to those in Figs. 11.134 and 11.136 but with coated open-pore
polyurethane soft foam in perforated metal baskets were installed to also treat the
medium frequencies in this relatively bare room, see Fig. 11.171d. With an attained
constant reverberation time of 0.4 s, the demonstration room meets the demands for
differentiated hearing (curve c in Fig. 11.30).
2. Outside broadcast vehicle
Everest (1994) laments about the acoustic problem in small rooms: It is a hard
fact of life that the intangibility of the acoustics link in the audio chain tends to
obscure its vital importance. Hands on experience with microphones, amplifiers and
loudspeakers lends a feeling of familiarity and comfort almost entirely lacking in our
attitude toward the acoustical environment in which the microphone and loudspeaker
function. The reproduction problem escalates in OB vehicles measuring only approximately 2550 m3 used by the audio engineer at constantly different sites and
expects to find optimum, convenient listening conditions everywhere with no fooling
around. There are strict regulations concerning the maximum dimensions of vehicles
358
Fig. 11.172 Space and weight saving acoustic design of an OB vehicle: a top view, b view of the
listening position, c reverberation time
allowed on public roads. As a consequence, vehicles are designed with side walls
that can be extended, when standing, turning a standard 16.5 2.5 m OB vehicle
into an impressive 17.5 m long and up to 5.7 m wide trailer. These special rooms are,
of course, custom-made and not commercially available.
Hunecke et al. (1994b) were able to demonstrate in an OB vehicle with a width
of barely more than 2 m wide dictated by the mixing console (Fig. 11.172) how by
installing the slim membrane absorbers of Sect. 6.3 and coated soft foam of Sect. 4.2
it is possible to succeed even under such spatial restrictions. The parquet floor was
left untreated. At medium frequencies, it is important to attain a sufficiently short and
constant reverberation time. In this instance, it was attained by lining the walls and
ceiling completely with, for the most part, 100 mm thick open-pore soft foam spraycoated with a special, colored lacquer. The thickness of this coating was selected in
such a manner that the absorption coefficient of the foam decreases slightly at very
high frequencies. As protection in front of the foam is a perforated sheet metal with
15 15 mm square perforations (56 % perforation ratio). Moreover, early reflections
should be prevented, which can cause sound distortions due to so-called combfilter effects. Installing diffusers can also scatter sound advantageously. In this case,
instead the elements, which were required at any rate, on the rear side of the listening
room and the mixing console were slanted at such an angle that destructive reflections
toward the listening position were prevented.
359
Fig. 11.173 Limit curves

(GK) for permissible noise
levels (according to DIN
15996 1996) for radio
broadcasting studios: Radio
drama GK 0, Chamber music
0, Symphonic music 0,
Speech 10 to 15, Light music
0, Listening and mastering
rooms 5 to 15, TV production
studios 10 to 20, General
mastering rooms 10 to 20,
Mastering rooms with office
function 20 to 25
For low-frequency absorption, membrane absorbers are installed at the front and
rear sides of the cabin behind the foam lining, beside the monitors and also at
the longitudinal sides. They are decisive for the reverberation time below 125 Hz.
Although the rise visible in Fig. 11.172c from below 0.1 s at high frequencies to 0.4 s
at 50 Hz is not optimal, it was possible to prevent the feared rumbling in this case
with relatively little space consumption and at low cost.
3. Multi-channel listening room
Developments in encoding audio signals such as the ISO/MPEG Standard (see Herre
et al. 1995) represent the key technology of tomorrow for multi-media audio and
video systems. The Fraunhofer IIS is working in the forefront on improvement and
real-time implementation of data reduction and compression methods. In order to
be able to judge and optimize the results under realistic reproduction conditions, the
IIS laboratory created a listening room to meet current and future demands. It had
to be integrated in an existent building with adjacent studio complexes, laboratory
rooms and workshops with correspondingly high acoustic demands.
Single number criteria, such as an A-weighted sound pressure level LA according to DIN EN 60 651 (1994) for noise or a weighted sound transmission loss Rw
according to DIN EN ISO 140 (1997) for airborne sound insulation do not suffice
here. Instead, DIN 15 996 (1996) sets limit curves (GK) in one-third octaves between
50 and 10,000 Hz, which correspond in the most important frequency range below
500 Hz to ISO 1996 2003s noise-rating NR curves (in octaves) which for different uses must not be exceeded anywhere, see Fig. 11.173. As located diagonally
on the floor above the listening room is a workshop with very loud machinery, it
was vital to decouple this very intensive structure-borne sound transmission. After
doubling the existent lightweight partition walls with 24 cm thick brick walls on top
of the existent compound floor, first a concrete slab with its mold borne on blocks of
rubber-enclosed mineral wool was installed according to the room-in-room principle.
These little cubes have proven to be very efficient, cost-effective and especially
error-tolerant structure-borne sound insulation in numerous projects. Subsequently,
360
Fig. 11.174 Strongly

insulating and absorptive
studio window. (According to
Brssau 1995)
sandstone brick walls bearing an 18 cm thick concrete ceiling were erected on this
floating foundation slab completely separated from the building.
Where accessible, the masonry surfaces were plastered and mineral-fiber mats
were inserted in the intermediate spaces between the shells for sound absorption. A
soundproof steel door with Rw = 45 dB was placed in each of the two shells. The
control-room window was provided with slanted security glass in a custom-made
frame allowing minimal tolerances onto which a microperforated acrylic glass plate
as shown in Fig. 11.174 can be screwed. All the wall apertures for wiring were
elastically closed. Acoustically critical were two holes for custom-made audio and
video cables drilled at the users insistence at the baseboard level straight through the
entire 65 cm thick wall, demanding reliable decoupling and preventing a keyhole
effect. For more details see Zha et al. (1996a).
Apart from the background noise intruding into the listening room, inherent operating noise, especially from ventilation and air conditioning, can be disturbing. In
view of the fact that up to ten listeners may have to sit in the room for several hours, it
is essential to install effective ventilation. Consequently, ventilation and lighting had
to adhere to the same strict noise guidelines (GK 15 according to Fig. 11.173) like
all other noise sources. The ventilation system was connected to an already existent
air-conditioning system. The new ventilation ducts were encased without mortar and
hung flexibly from the concrete ceiling, see Zha et al. (1996, Fig. 8 there). Four
straight, 60 cm wide and 100 cm long membrane absorber silencers as described in
Sect. 6.3 for low frequencies and a number of coated soft foam silencers for medium
361
and high frequencies as described in Zha et al. (1996, Figs. 6 and 7 there), partly
integrated in the bends before the air outlets, provide the necessary insertion loss.
Although with its approximately 100 m3 the room was near the minimum acceptable size according to the ITU-R BS 116 (1994) guidelines, its acoustical treatment
nonetheless met the users full satisfaction and has meanwhile become a reference
room for critical comparisons of rivaling data compression methods. The walls were
intentionally not slanted or subdivided like diffusers to do justice to the rooms
double function as a technical laboratory and as an attractive demonstration room
for clients. Its carefully selected inside dimensions (7.3 5.7 2.6 m) with a net
width of 5.5 m for the loudspeaker arrangement result in an interval f of the axial
modes according to Eq. (2.2) of
2 Hz < f < 20 Hz
(11.42)
good preconditions for leveling the transfer function using a lining employed here
for the first time. All told 53 m2 of compound-panel absorbers CPA according to
Sect. 5.3 in three different variants with different sheet-metal thicknesses and 15 m2
coated soft foam cover together approximately 50 % of the bounding surfaces of the
room. Great care was taken that the checkered lining was in complete symmetry with
the longitudinal axis plane (as stereo base).
It already became evident in the preliminary planning that the different surfaces
of varyingly dimensioned sheet metal and foam as shown in Fig. 11.175a would not
yield the desired sooth and restrained impression. In consensus with the architects and
users, acoustically transparent, optically attractive facing shells of square-perforated
sheet metal in the wall section and expanded-metal fields in the ceiling section were
applied, see Fig. 11.175b. The absorber modules are installed between the mounting
rails and covered with a decorative glass fiber fabric. The trough-shaped mounting
rails allow later installation of heavy devices on the walls and the ceiling without
touching the lining. Freely hanging audio cables are voided by laying a U-shaped
cable duct in the floor; its roll-grid cover permits concealing the cabling anywhere
in the room. As demonstrations demanding sophisticated lighting would not be conducted in this room, only atmospheric lighting on a low-voltage conductor rail was
selected. In order to avoid noise development, the transformers are placed outside.
The airborne sound insulation between the listening room and the acoustic laboratory with over 90 dB above 125 Hz in some areas, surpasses the high standards
of DIN 15996 (1996) regarding rooms for music production (GK 15). The room-inroom construction of the listening room reduces tapping noise transmission from the
ceiling above 100 Hz by 40, above 500 Hz even by 50 dB, see Fig. 11.176a. The noise
sources in the workshop with a maximum at 50 Hz also are only perceivable below
GK 15, see Fig. 11.176b. The ventilation system running full force, too, still remains
distinctly below the limit curve especially at the so important low frequencies.
With 0.2 s the mean reverberation time between 200 and 4,000 Hz is according
to Fig. 11.177 somewhat lower than recommended in ITU-R BS 116 (1994) for a
volume V (here just corresponding to the reference volume V0 defined there):
1/3
V
.
(11.43)
Tsoll = 0.3
V0
362
Fig. 11.175 Mounting of CPA modules on the walls (a) and ceiling (b) of a listening room behind
acoustically transparent facing shells (c). (According to Zha et al. 1996)
Much more important is, however, that its spectrum between 125 and 8,000 Hz is
quite constant, as is desirable for a reference sound field. Although from 100 Hz
downward it rises a bit, at least down to 63 Hz it remains within the tolerance field
according to ITU-R BS 116-194. The tolerance according to DIN 15996 (1996), also
plotted in Fig. 11.177, is considered too narrow even by ambitious experts if the
average reverberation time is so short.
The very smooth transfer function in Fig. 11.178, hardly varying more than 5 dB
within a half-tone interval, demonstrates the good results yielded by the all told only
12 cm thick lining on the ceiling and the walls. Its continuous rise with frequency is
due to the characteristic of the loudspeaker and not the room. In the meanwhile, this
successful collaboration created a similar listening room in the Fraunhofer IDMT,
an IIS foundation.
4. Office-format listening room
Small rooms such as the previously described one with a room response smoothed in
this manner are unfortunately not a matter of course everywhere even for professional
tonmeisters and acoustic engineers challenged by audio problems. The acoustical
concept for obtaining ITU-R BS 116 (1994) listening qualities can also be applied
363
Fig. 11.176 Noise control measures in the listening room; a Tapping noise level from the workshop
above before () and after (2), b ventilation noise at minimum (), resp. maximum setting ()
and level of the machinery at 50 Hz compared to GK 15 according to Fig. 11.173
time in the listening room
() with tolerance ranges
according to ITU-R BS 116
(1994) (solid), resp. DIN
15996 (1996) (dashed line)
364
Fig. 11.178 Transfer

function measured diagonally
from corner to corner in the
listening room of Fig. 11.175
with a few mark-downs, especially regarding architectural acoustic conditions and

background noise, in small rooms whose bounding surfaces must remain untreated
due to their specific use. Actually it is tempting to even apply it to rooms in which
music is played with valuable instruments or listened to using expensive equipment.
One can even go one step further and propagate expensively furnished office-format
rooms for work or recreation should fundamentally offer their users the greatest
comfort for all four senses, thus also listening according to Sect. 11.7 and 11.8 in
addition to viewing (lighting conditions), feeling (room temperature) and smelling
(air quality).
To draw attention to this idea, the Fraunhofer IBP equipped a 6.9 4.7 2.9 m
office as a demonstration room for the best listening and communication conditions,
see Fig. 11.179 and Fuchs et al. (1997). Its front wall is massive; all the other walls
are made of lightweight plasterboard shells similar to those in the example shown
in Fig. 11.103. The 3.4 m2 windows and 2 m2 wooden doors are standard in offices
built in the early 1980s. The sound insulation by no means meets listening-room
requirements. Moreover, not changed are a thin soft floor-covering, a 2 m2 desk and
a living-room set including a small table and seats with eight thin leather-covered
cushions.
In the initial empty state, the room has the acoustical properties shown in
Fig. 11.180. The very uneven reverberation characteristic reaches as much as 1.3 s
below 250 Hz. In the kHz range it varies between 0.6 and 0.8 s, according to curve b
in Fig. 11.30a quite suitable value for an office with V = 94 m3 . The transfer function
varies strongly at low frequencies by more than 20 dB.
A conventional acoustic ceiling, suspended here only the maximum possible
10 cm, would yield the required absorption only at frequencies above 250 Hz. Instead, 14 also only 10 cm thick CPA modules as described in Sect. 5.3 now cover all
told approximately 20 m2 , around 62 % of the ceiling. In addition, above the couch
group, approximately 3 m2 of soft-foam strips, which are coated on the room side and
do not hinder sound entering the CPA from its edges, are placed between these efficient low-frequency absorbers. The most expensive thing of this ceiling lining that is
especially effective against bass rumbling is its acoustically transparent perforated
sheet-metal cover similar to the wall lining in the listening room of Fig. 11.175c,
which lies on the grid of a conventional suspended ceiling and is covered on the rear
with a decorative fabric.
365
Fig. 11.179 Demonstrating optimum listening conditions: office in the Fraunhofer IBP (a, b),
plan with listening position (according to ITU-R BS 116 1994) (c), CPA and foam modules on
ceiling (d)
Even in the IT age, an office needs storage space for files, books and journals.
The built-in 6.4 m wide and 0.45 m deep nearly floor-to-ceiling cabinets with shelves
along the two light-weight inside walls are also utilized acoustically by providing
them with eight 2.6 m high sliding doors with special panels made of perforated
wood-core plywood (Fig. 11.181). The 24 mm round holes forming an approximately
9 % perforation ratio are covered on the side facing the room with the same fabric
as the ceiling lining, thus realizing along these boundaries approximately 17 m2 of
a broadband medium-frequency absorber that is pleasing to the eye and pleasant
to touch. The 0.6 m deep, 4.3 m wide shelves in front of the massive wall housing
the audiovisual media were only partly provided with sliding doors. In this case,
366

time (a) and transfer function
(b) of the demonstration room
before (, resp. fine) and
after (, resp. bold) acoustical
treatment
however, the doors had transparent acrylic glass microperforated panels as described
in Sect. 9.1 as medium- and low-frequency absorbers.
For demonstration purposes, a small CPA module in the form of a frieze with a
projecting vibration sheet metal covered with the same decorative material as the
drapes is mounted above the door to the secretarys office. The wall surface between
the two windows is multiply used in that a 2 1.4 m CPA in an attractive perforated
sheet metal frame serves simultaneously as a white powder-coated pin-board for
drawings and notes as well as a projection surface for visual presentations.
CPA with between 1 and 2.5 mm thick vibrating steel panels are installed on all told
approximately 23 m2 , approximately 17 % of the entire room surface. In addition
to this, thin foam cushions are stuffed into some open edges and niches like e.g.
beside and behind the acoustic monitors that can be swung into the room yielding an
optically uniform impression paired with optimum room acoustics. Realized were
only measures that could be carried out in any office at moderate cost, requiring
relatively little space and about the same amount of time as a thorough refurbishment
would.
The room is distinguished by a quite unusual acoustic transparency at a distinctly
(by more than 6 dB) reduced background-noise level compared to similarly built
neighboring rooms. Twenty or more guests are able to communicate quietly at the
same time in it without straining their vocal cordsfor most visitors quite a surprising
phenomenonwhile at the same time the mingling of the many voices ensures
367
Fig. 11.181 Perforated panel resonators in the sliding doors in front of file shelves along two
walls (a, b), CPA module as a wall panel and projection surface between the windows (c) of the
demonstration room
368
Fig. 11.182 Acoustical improvement of the working conditions in a professional mastering room;
a CPA modules on the ceiling and walls, b reverberation time before () and after (2), ITU
recommendation (shaded)
confidentiality of private talks. The specific concept of Sect. 11.7 was especially
convincing in direct comparison with an almost identical, but untreated office that
underwent similar treatment only much later.
Objectively, the good results can be documented particularly by the between 20
and 120 Hz fairly even transfer function, see Fig. 11.180b. The now very low and
uniform reverberation time reflects the subjective impression of a reference sound
field that does not falsify the sound adventures in the room: the resounding time
(measured according to Zha et al. 1996b) only rises to higher values at 63 and 50 Hz.
Note that at the listening position sketched in Fig. 11.179c the high ITU standards
for symmetry of 2-channel reproductions are met.
5. Mastering rooms
The described demonstration room with its excellent listening conditions in a standard
building environment induced a number of audio and video studio operators to costeffectively upgrade their room acoustically poorly equipped office-like masterin
grooms to the minimal standards for background noise immission, GK 2025 in
Fig. 11.173, without having to forgo the comfort of working in daylight.
In the digital mastering room of a music studio (Fig. 11.182), the CPA modules in
white-coated perforated sheet-metal frames remain visible on the ceiling and walls to
save costs. The user is able whenever he likes to rehang the wall modules according to
the respective working conditions or personal acoustical taste, the transfer function
and reverberation time (Fig. 11.182b) always readily staying within the ITU-R BS
1116 (1994) recommendations.
The audio mastering room of a video laboratory at the University of Applied
Sciences in Dessau offers a similar example (Fig. 11.183). In this case the CPA and
BCA modules are permanently installed on the ceiling and walls symmetrical to the
mid-vertical plane for a proper stereo base. Shades made of three-layered transparent foil absorbers as described in Sect. 9.2 are installed in front of the windows.
369
Fig. 11.183 CPA, BCA and MPA modules on the ceiling and the walls of an audio mastering room
in a video laboratory (according to Zha and Drotleff 2001) (a); averaged reverberation time (b)
These measures also meet ITU standards for the reverberation time, as shown in
Fig. 11.183b. The transfer function is smoothed with variations less than 5 dB above
50 Hz.
6. Production studios
Sections 11.14.6 and 11.14.7 discuss the influence of rooms with very different size
and outfit on the working conditions of artists, instrumentalists, singers and speakers
and display room-acoustic improvement measures. The preceding examples in this
Sect. 11.14.8, on the other hand, deal more with the working conditions of sound
engineers and scientists concerned with optimum recording, conservation and reproduction of high-level audio products. In the actual recording studios for audio and
video productions, the interests of all these actors converge in the desire for a room
that enhances without falsifying the creations of top sources. Similar to a conductor
in a rehearsal room who wants to hear all the members of the ensemble clearly and
differentiated, a tonmeister is happy when the recording room allows all the voices
to arrive singly and clearly over the microphone(s) to the mixing console, which is
the best prerequisite for recompiling the entire tonal picture and, for example, also
electronically simulating a certain reverberance. Although suited microphones and
their positioning including shielding between different sources also permits getting
satisfying output signals for the always necessary sound mastering, artists and technicians come up with completely attractive results only if room interferences are not
too strong.
In view of the fact that in recent years the trend has been toward less reverberance
even in rehearsal rooms, see Sect. 11.14.6 d, the way is open to also apply the present
room-acoustic concept also in small recording studios for audio and video productions. Therefore, CPA and BCA modules are mounted spaced somewhat apart on the
370
Fig. 11.184 Absorbers on the walls and ceiling of a video production studio; reverberation time
without (), resp. with an open grid cover (). (According to Zha and Drotleff 2001)
walls and ceiling of a studio adjacent to the room depicted in Fig. 11.183. In contrast
to sound mastering, in this case the modules received acoustically transparent lining
(an open suspended grid ceiling), see Fig. 11.184. In this room the reverberation
time nearly remains within the narrow limits set by DIN 15 996 (1996).
A particular challenge was the control room windows between two announcer
studios and to the mastering room in a commercial television station (Fig. 11.185).
With their large heavy panes, they present a major problem for announcers as well
as sound engineers: because they almost completely reflect the sound waves emitted
by an announcer or monitor, direct and reflected waves can interfere with each other
and falsify the sound. This effect is especially strong if all the other boundaries, as
in the present case, have been made practically non-reflective with the aid of the
above-described acoustical elements (in this case behind a perforated sheet-metal
lining). In a model set up, it was possible to demonstrate that a 3 mm thick acrylic
glass microperforated panels with 0.3 mm wide slits 16 mm apart (perforation ratio
approximately 2 %) levels the disturbing comb-filter effect with dips of up to 25 dB
in the transfer function around 500 Hz and between 125 and 1,000 Hz to less than
10 dB, see Fig. 11.185d.
For this reason, 12 mm thick absorbers as described in Sect. 9.1 were installed
in front of an outside window and in front of both control room windows in the
example in Fig. 11.185. Just 7 cm thick, transparent acrylic glass microperforated
diffusers MPD according to Hunecke and Zha (1998) were mounted in front of
the large outside window behind the audio engineer, covering the entire width and
height (approximately 2 m), see Fig. 11.186. These were installed as four 1.2 m
wide strips tuned to different frequencies between 315 and 1,600 Hz. The impulse
response from one of the loudspeakers to the listening position (Fig. 11.186c) shows,
following the direct sound raised by 17 dB, an actually very steady drop with only
weakly protruding peaks due to, according to Zha et al. (1998), other reflections
from the bounding surfaces and furniture.
371
Fig. 11.185 Transparent microperforated absorbers (a, b) and diffusers in an audio studio of a
TV broadcasting station (c) and transfer functions (d) measured in a laboratory of the loudspeaker
in a freefield a, in front of the control window without b, resp. with absorptive facing shells c.
(According to Brssau 1995)
The architectural trend toward glass enclosures (cf. Sects. 11.5, 11.14.1 and
11.14.5) does not spare large studio complexes. The consequence is, of course,
setting room-acoustical design very narrow limits. The media garden of the Mitteldeutscher Rundfunk (Central German Broadcasting Station) in Leipzig is a filigree
steel structure with a glass roof and glass faades (Fig. 11.187). The bottom part,
i.e. at the floor and walls, is covered with a terracotta cladding. The reverberation
time depicted in Fig. 11.188c of almost 4 s in a room with an area of 800 m2 and a
height of approximately 12.5 m is, according to DIN 18041 (2004), much too high
even for pure musical performances. Room-acoustic measures are essential, because
the room is also used for lectures, discussions and talk shows. As it was imperative
not to change the overall optical impression, at the explicit request of the architect
and his client solely single-layer polycarbonate microperforated foils are employed.
372
Fig. 11.186 Transparent MPD cassettes in front of the outside window of the music studio in
Fig. 11.185; impulse response at the preferred sound-mastering listening position measured with
the control room loudspeaker
Fig. 11.187 Under a sound-absorptive glass roof (a), the media garden of the Mitteldeutscher
Rundfunk in Leipzig remains flooded with light (b); additional sound screens covered on both sides
with microperforated foils are flexibly distributed as room dividers and absorbers (c)
Under the roof, all told 228 m2 of absorber foils in 1 m wide strips are permanently
affixed in front of the fifty-seven 2 2 m2 ceiling panels in aluminum frames behind
the steel construction. In the upper part of the faades all told 557 m2 of absorber
foils in the form of eighty 2.5 2 m2 shade units, 20 on each side, were movably
installed behind the steel construction, see Fig. 11.188b. Affixed adjacent to each
other on each 2.5 m long shade roll are two 1.2 m wide foils. At the bottom, the ends
of the foil are caught in a so-called catch and weighed down by a rod. The lower part
of the faades (Fig. 11.188a) has twenty-four 2 1.4 m and sixteen 2.8 2 m shade
373
Fig. 11.188 Movable microperforated foil shades in front of the bottom (a) and top (b) glass faades
of the media garden help to reduce the reverberation time (c). (See Fuchs et al. 2002)
units. Here, too, two adjacent foils are motor-driven over one roll. Finally, the fifteen
2.3 1 m sound screens with 8 mm thick acrylic glass panels are provided on both
sides with all told 60 m2 of foil absorbers at a distance of 50 mm.
As shown in Fig. 11.188c, the reverberation time could be almost halvedunder
the given circumstances a phenomenal result that delighted the users and encouraged
the licensee to further spectacular implementations in Berlins Schlterhof and the
new Academy of Arts (Sect. 11.14.1).
11.14.9
Machine Shops, Production Halls and Railroad

Enclosures
One of the oldest fields of application for sound absorbers is noise control in factory
shops containing loud machines and equipment. Consequently, there is a corresponding variety of different room-acoustic linings, ceiling sails and baffles made
of porous/fibrous material available on the market, some with quite practical means
of attachment and cleaning. Nonetheless, there are countless food-processing and
restaurant businesses that suffer from unacceptably high noise pollution, for which
however there is no suitable noise protection simultaneously sustainably able to meet
the extremely high standards of hygiene, durability and cleanliness. Even the high aspirations of Gruhl and Kurze (2006, Sect. 13.713.9 there) for claddings, shieldings
and encapsulations miss the mark. Thirty years ago, the inventors of foil absorbers
374
of Sect. 5.1 hoped to have started to resolve this problem at least for medium frequencies. Indeed, they did succeed in lowering the noise level considerably in numerous
candy factories, breweries and bottling plants (see, e.g. Fig. 5.7). In the form of
absorber and silencer modules, the hermetically sealed membrane absorbers and
compound panel absorbers of Sect. 5.3 and 6.3 have made inroads for damping low
frequencies in such sensitive areas as hospitals. Nevertheless, all these materials still
do not meet the needs of food-processing factories and food-handling businesses.
As a consequence, the Research Center for Applied System Safety and Industrial
Medicine currently runs a corresponding research and development project, initial
results of which are based on a new type of corner absorbers as described in Sect. 10.3
and Fuchs et al. (2011). A suitable covering of similar passive modules is presently
developed. In the following three examples, however, a still too little known porous
absorber material is applied in projects in which robustness, safety and durability
have top priority.
1. Encapsulation of a stone saw
Sometimes with careful planning it is possible to ban especially loud machines or
processes in separate, usually very small chambers. According to Eq. (11.1) the
sound level rises considerably within this encapsulation if the necessary internal
damping is not provided. Especially at low and medium frequencies, the noise source,
as described in Chap. 2, can strongly excite cavity eigenresonances. These may, even
amplified by resonances in its boundaries as described in Sect. 3.7, be transmitted to
the neighborhood.
In many cases, possible sound absorbers are only a very robust lining on the
ceiling and the walls, for example the open-pore foam gained from recycled glass
as described in Sect. 4.3. Providing in a 4.5 4.3 2.9 m massively built cabin of a
stone saw, initially only on the ceiling, 19 m2 of glass foam only 50 mm thick at a
distance of 50 mm, reduces the sound level in the room at frequencies between 125
and 250 Hz by a good 6 dB. Apparently, the room modes can be damped much more
strongly in this manner than assumed by simply increasing the absorption surface
according to Eq. (3.12) in Sect. 4.3. Applying in addition 40 m2 of the same absorber
directly to a large part of the walls with no intermediate space permits reducing the
level by 8 dB in a broadband manner above 160 Hz up into the kHz range, with
the reverberation time in the room decreasing accordingly as a result of these two
measures, see Figs. 11.189 and 11.190.
2. Railroad linings
If in small as well as in large flat rooms, it is the eigenfrequencies that annoyingly amplify noise at low frequencies and make speech intelligibility difficult, in large halls,
it is the reverberation time which usually increases tremendously at low frequencies
that makes the sound level rise and, even more important, hinders intelligibility.
Train stations are normally damped in no way which has negative consequences for
announcements over the loudspeakers, for example, when there is an emergency or
trains are delayed. For this reason, in todays Berlin Central Station, formerly the
Lehrter Bahnhof, all the surfaces between and beside the tracks and the aprons at
375
10
9
Level reduction in dB
8
7
6
5
4
3
2
1
0
100
125
160
200
250
315
400
500
630
800 1000 1250 1600 2000 2500 3150 4000 5000
Frequency in Hz
Fig. 11.189 Average noise level reduction in a small sound-reflective room by applying 50 mm
thick glass foam at 50 mm from the ceiling and covering 80 % of the wall surface directly
Reverberation time T in s
2,5
1,5
0,5
0
84
100 125 160 200 250 315 400 500 630 800 1000 1250 1600 2000 2500 3150 4000 5000
Frequency in Hz
Fig. 11.190 Reverberation time before and after () lining the approximately 55 m3 room with
glass foam
the edges of the platforms are rendered sound-absorptive with open-pore material
such as described in Sect. 4.3similar to the fixed tracks on concrete foundations
implemented in many new railway lines for some time. Figure 11.191 shows how all
376
Fig. 11.191 Fixing sintered porous glass panels directly to concrete wall surfaces in a high-speed
train tunnel. (Courtesy of Liaver)
told 5,250 m2 of porous absorber panels according to Sect. 4.3 are mounted along
the railroad in a tunneling of the Thalys high-speed train plying between Paris and
Amsterdam.
3. Regional train station Potsdamer Platz
A particular challenge was the multi-story train station under the Potsdamer Platz
in Berlin, which was reactivated after the fall of the Berlin Wall. It is part of a
multi-billion euro concept for the capitals main and regional lines to connect the
office and business centers around the Potsdamer and the Leipziger Platz by commuter trains. According to the plans of the Deutsche Bahn dB, the ceilings above
the tracks and platforms as well as the adjacent tunnel entry and exit openings were
to receive highly sound-absorptive liningall told 8,800 m2 . When trains pass the
station at up to 120 km/h, very strong wind and suction forces attack the lining. The
originally tendered mineral-wool panels would have had to be secured with special
anchoring which conflicted with the architects concept.
A suspended ceiling system according to Lenzer (2004) made of a foam glass as
described in Sect. 4.3 did also not qualify for this application. The dB was, however,
familiar with the noise-control walls of Sect. 10.8 that had proven successful along
highways and railroad tracks and that with their smooth surfaces offered aerodynamic advantages even when applied in very close proximity to fast trains. The square
625 50 mm glass-foam panels possess an absorption coefficient of 0.9 according to
DIN EN ISO 11654 (1997) (Class A according to Fig. 11.31) and meet very high fire
hazard standards. A glue system developed jointly by the glass-foam manufacturer
and another specialist partner permitted an amazingly easy, cost-effective mounting
of the absorber elements. This system offers adhesives for different surfaces such
as concrete, wood, steel, stone or plasterboard. Easy to handle, the adhesive permits precise alignment, see Fig. 11.191. With it, the glass-foam panels also adhere
instantly and accurately to the underside of the ceiling. Moreover, it is able to permanently resist strong wind and suction forces, as dB safety tests proved beforehand.
The glass-foam panels with their very fine structured, smooth surface and chamfered
edges requiring no additional covering meet not only approval of architects. Apart
377
Fig. 11.192 Fixing sintered porous glass panels directly to the concrete ceiling of the Potsdamer
Platz train station using an instantly adhering special adhesive and subsequent special coloration.
(Courtesy of Liaver)
from this the ceiling system offers very attractive surface design possibilities, for example in dBs preferred colors, see Fig. 11.192. The sprayable latex paint does not
impair the acoustical properties and, moreover, has a certain self-cleansing effect.
Already during the building phase, all the participants perceived the beneficial
noise reducing effect of this lining. Meanwhile not only passengers but also staff
and customers appreciate the acoustical comfort here which is quite extraordinary
for train stations of this sizeannouncements can be clearly understood!
11.14.10 Acoustic Measurement Rooms

Considering some previous examples, for acoustical comfort it is expedient to keep
the generally negative influence of sound-reflective surfaces to a minimum: first to
limit the noise level in the room as far as possible, secondly to prevent harmful
interferences of sound waves, thirdly to counteract poor communication (often the
result of high sound levels and strong interferences in the room), see Sect. 11.4 and
11.7. In none of the described examples, however, was any attempt made to eliminate
room influence completely. To do so, one needed only to simply resort to highly
insulating personal hearing protectionwith the disadvantage of total isolation of
the individual without any communication with people around him/her. Not only
musicians desire a certain room response, whether playing solo or in an ensemble.
Useful reflections can help them, particularly in large rooms, to communicate with
the auditorium (see Sect. 11.11 and 11.12).
On the other hand, in designing measurement rooms acoustically, in many cases
one wants to eliminate even the smallest measurable room influence on the sound field
emitted or transmitted by a test object. After all, fractions of 1 dB may be decisive for
the approval of a device although humans are only able to subjectively differentiate
level differences of more than 3 dB. This leads to the correspondingly standardized
378
freefield rooms, in which the bounding surfaces, according to conventional thinking,

should absorb at least 99 % of the impinging sound energy, see Chap. 12.5. These
rooms however demand relatively high investment not only to build and equip. Also
the to-be-conducted measurement of the sound power and the radiation characteristics of a source or the reception characteristics of a receiver regularly demand a
great amount of time. The volume of data arising in freefields must subsequently be
reduced again to conveniently averaged single-number parameters.
Most sources of noise and acoustically effective elements are, therefore, not tested
in anechoic rooms but in so-called reverberation rooms. If the dimensions of the
room are very large compared to the wave length, waves continually propagate from
a stationary source in all directions and are multiply reflected in all directions from
any sound-reflective boundarythe source fills the room very quickly with an
evenly distributed diffuse field whose intensity depends, apart from the source itself,
on the (average) absorption distributed in the room. For this reason, in reverberation
rooms for determining the
sound emission from technical sources,
sound absorption of materials and building elements,
sound transmission through building elements
the walls, ceiling and floor generally are rendered as sound-reflective as possible,
sometimes even using special coatings that prevent any unnecessary porosity and
thus absorption. Harris (1991, Chap. 2.13 there) describes the reverberation room as
a room having a long reverberation time, especially designed to make all surfaces
as sound-reflective as possible and to make the sound field within it as diffuse as
possible, Beranek and Ver (1992) state that the walls and all surfaces in the room are
made highly reflective so that reverberation times are long and the region dominated
by the direct field of sources is as small as possible, Everest (1994, Chap. 7 there)
and Mser (1994, p. 41 there) conclude: Reverberation rooms, which are used for
measuring absorption coefficients, are carefully designed for the longest practical
reverberation time to achieve the maximum accuracy.
All this is, of course, valid for high and medium frequencies and not too small
rooms. However, for low frequencies (f < 125 Hz) and small rooms (< 180 m3 ), such
a strategy goes in the wrong direction, because the corresponding sound waves
do no longer interact in a diffuse but more and more in a discrete manner. In the
case of sound-reflective surfaces, inevitably the very irregular mode field described
in Chap. 2 develops. Therefore, even for an excitation with broadband, octave or
one-third-octave noise at low frequencies it becomes difficult to determine
an average sound-pressure level as a measure of the sound power of sources or
sound transmitting elements,
a spectrum of the sound-emitting sources or building elements,
a reverberation time as a measure of the equivalent absorption area in the room
with the precision required by current norms. Below 100 Hz, even conventional
anechoic rooms behave similarly, if their lining does not start to take effect below
higher frequencies. When therefore sources, materials and elements are to be tested
379
acoustically at least down to 63 or 50 Hz, it pays to slightly, but very decisively modify
standard measurement rooms for low frequencies and thus qualify them better for
this specific purpose.
Section 5.3 already describes how, even with minimal mode density in a reverberation room, reliable absorption coefficients can be obtained that are quite comparable
to estimates from the decay times of single modes according to Chap. 2 and Zha
et al. (1996b, 1999). For this purpose, according to Fig. 5.14, six CPA modules are
installed in the two bottom edges of the 392 m3 reverberation room in both measurement series without and with the respective test object, without exceeding the
permissible absorption according to DIN EN ISO 354 (2001) for the empty room,
see Fig. 5.15.
If the emission of a source is to be measured in a reverberation room instead of in
a simulated freefield, the needed diffusivity of the sound field generated by multiple
reflections would according to Fig. 2.4 and Zha et al. (1999, Fig. 1 there) require such
large volumes for the low frequencies that the measurements at high frequencies in the
same room would at the same time become a problem because of the correspondingly
high propagation damping. If the sound power of narrow-band radiating sources is
measured according to DIN EN 23 742 (1991) in small reverberation rooms, the
standard deviation of the results up to 500 Hz usually exceeds the recommended
norm limit, see Fuchs et al. (1998a). As Fig. 11.193 shows, this is due to the fact
that also in rather large reverberation rooms with non-parallel boundaries, just as in
rectangular rooms, at low frequencies the mode fields exist. For calculating them,
all one has to do, is to introduce the average distance between opposite boundaries.
In view of the large standard deviations shown in Fig. 11.194a, a pragmatic middle
way leads to acceptable results: the reverberation room is damped in its four lower
corners each with three differently tuned CPA modules (b) to such a degree that
the strong local resonance peaks at low frequencies are reduced, thereby permitting
repeated measurements within the limits for standard deviations set by the relevant
norms. Figure 11.194c shows an example of a room qualification test for tonal
noise in which the standard deviation stays well within the required limits without
the permanently installed absorption exceeding the limit for the mean absorption
coefficient according to DIN EN 23 741 (1991) or the reverberation time in the
measurement room being too much reduced (Fig. 11.195).
Finally, if the sound transmission by building elements is also to be determined
below 100 Hz with sufficient repeatability and reproducibility in standardized test
stands (Fig. 11.196) according to DIN EN ISO 140 (1997) and Eq. (3.16), it is
advisable to install in both the source room and the receiving room just as many
suited low-frequency absorbers that, on the one hand, the sound fields (L1 and L2 )
to-be-scanned, e.g. in this case using rotating microphones, and on the other hand,
the sound level decay which determines the absorption area of the receiving room
(A2 ) can all be measured trustworthily. As an example, Fig. 11.197 shows how with a
20 % coverage of the entire boundary surfaces indicated in Fig. 11.196b, a door test
stand may be qualified for measuring the sound transmission with good repeatability
even at low frequencies without the measuring results changing substantially at the
higher frequencies.
380
Fig. 11.193 Eigenfrequencies and transfer function measured diagonally in a 392 m3 reverberation
room at the Fraunhofer IBP
With all these attempts, including those of Mathys (1993), to improve acoustic test
rooms with regard to low frequencies, it should be kept in mind that one is confronted
here with a fundamental physical problem: sound absorbers, sound sources and
partition elements, if not implemented in a freefield which generally is the exception,
may exhibit very different acoustical properties at low frequencies, depending on
where within the room or on its surfaces they are installed. Consequently, at low
frequencies the sound transmission loss or the absorption area of a window is, of
course, also dependent on where exactly the window is installed within a wall.
Thus, at low frequencies, each transfer of a laboratory result to a real building
situation is always connected with greater uncertainty than generally at higher frequencies. However, this problem has been dealt with in industrial noise control from
the beginning, for instance in considering the (always frequency dependent!) sound
propagation from sources located at varying positions. Also when dealing with airborne sound transmission between adjacent rooms, in future it will be necessary to
consider the characteristic emission, transmission and absorption on a spectral basis
with regard to the permissible immission if increasing low-frequency problems are to
be mastered, see Fuchs (2009). The more important remain norm measurements in
381
Fig. 11.194 Standard deviations in room qualification tests (according to DIN EN 23 742 1991) in
392 (), 290 (), 249 () m3 reverberation rooms (a); 12 CPA modules in the four lower corners
of the middle one (b); reduction of the standard deviation () to the norm limit value (dashed line)
by this basic damping (c)
standardized test stands in order to be able to objectively compare different products

under as similar as possible laboratory conditions, provided that these yield easily reproducible and comparable parameters of the various elements. It must, however, be
conceded that not as much progress has been made in designing suitable reverberant
rooms as in designing comfortable anechoic rooms, see Chap. 12.
382

time T (a) and mean
absorption coefficient m (b)
in the empty reverberation
room in Fig. 11.194b without
(), resp. with () basic
damping and limit
absorption. (According to
DIN EN 23 741 1991)
11.15
Review and Prospects of Room Acoustics
This chapter, probably more than all the others, features a work in progress as
anticipated in the foreword. It has its roots in the noise control business as based
on specific room-acoustic hardware measures. Experiences from hundreds of new
buildings, restorations and adjustments which called for more acoustical comfort and
functional value for speech and music suggest that one should pay a new attention
to the reverberation characteristics of the rooms. Frequent problems were identified
and solutions found at the low frequencies, especially in small, but also in large
spaces, built for various uses. Prevailing doctrines and standards that normally concentrate on acoustical designs for the medium and high frequencies may be critically
questioned. The author is convinced that only after having cleared the room from its
bass rumble and hum can computer simulations and auralizations focusing on the
higher frequencies generate valuable clues about room quality and functioning.
The practical examples presented here leave out all purely aesthetical aspects of
room acoustics. These are naturally always in the foreground whenever interested
laymen exchange their ideas and assessments. And it does, of course, make no sense
11.15 Review and Prospects of Room Acoustics
383
Fig. 11.196 Proposed basic damping of transmission test stands (according to DIN EN ISO 140
1997) (a), exemplary CPA coverage (20 %) in the source (b), resp. receiving room (c) of a door
test stand at the Fraunhofer IBP
to argue about subjective room impressions received e.g. in historical buildings with
an impressive architecture and long traditions.
Alternative concepts regarding the functional aspects of acoustics cannot be expected to be promptly and cheerfully accepted by a majority of acoustic consultants
and sound engineers. The examples selected for Sects. 11.14.611.14.10 may, hopefully, serve as a firm basis for serious discussions among those involved in this
business. The result of such a necessary communication, notably between different
acoustical disciplines, may well require more research, validation and confirmation
by experts and those taking responsibility in this field.
As far as the ergonomic aspects of acoustics are concerned, the author is absolutely
certain that further investigations or hesitations are no longer appropriate. What
is most urgently needed in this respect is a decisive move away from mediumand high- to an efficient low-frequency sound damping strategy. The technical and
material presuppositions for such an initiative have long been developed in the form
of e.g. resonance and/or edge absorbers of one kind or another. Meanwhile a large
and fast growing number of conference and tuition rooms, sports and music spaces
have been treated accordingly, see the examples selected for Sects. 11.14.111.14.5.
These have gained a broad and grateful acknowledgement by their countless users
384
Fig. 11.197 Sound transmission loss measured without (fine) and with 8 % (dashed), resp. 20 %
CPA coverage (bold curve) (a); repeatability and limit (according to DIN EN ISO 140 1997) (b) in
the test stand of Fig. 11.196b, 11.196c
who really know what their main problem was in their small- and medium-sized
working environments for communication, teaching and learning. In fact, optimizing
productivity and minimizing noise-induced failures and diseases are two mighty
motives for improving room-acoustic conditionseven much stronger than creating
attractive and comfortable performing, recording and measuring conditions in so
many other spaces.
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Chapter 12
Sound Absorbers and Silencers

in Anechoic Test Facilities
The growing significance of traffic noise as by far the greatest source of noise pollution (see Fig. 1.1) was already pointed out in the introduction. Moll (2005) closes
his review of the first edition of this book with this provocative question: Where do
most acousticians work? As owners or employees of acoustic engineering firms? In
teaching or research? In the building industry? For noise control authorities? Wrong.
The answer is: in the automobile industry. All important automobile manufacturers
employ hundreds of acoustic experts to reduce vehicle noise emissions to comply
with current norms and guidelines as well as sound designers to be able to offer
buyers a product that does not spoil but enhance his pleasure in every operating and
driving situation. Take, for example, the Japanese manufacturer Mazda who tested a
whole car load of different air intake components when developing the MX-5 roadster in order to give the driver the sound that fits the respective power chosen: softly
purring like a kitten or roaring like a lion. These technically and physically challenging developments however call for sophisticated testing facilities to minimize noise
emissions and optimize internal noises.
Fasold (2004) sees this subject as a principal challenge for acousticians: In the development of automobiles noise reduction has become a primary concern today, and,
of course, precise measurement is extremely important in comparing the noise generation of different measures and variants. The diversity of both the to-be-investigated
sources (engines, transmissions, gears, rolling as well as air-conditioning and airframe noise) and (internal and external) immission aspects makes this a very broad
and challenging field indeed.
All the components that are relevant for the sound impression and noise generation, in particular, of automobiles are acoustically tested in the early development
phase by the manufacturer and/or the numerous suppliers. The allowed pass-by noise
levels have been successively reduced by the European Union (and somewhat later
elsewhere). Fractions of a dB are fought for to meet the respective norms. Due to the
high piece numbers in a series, every single noise-reduction measure involves huge
sums of money. There is in fact no other industry that employs so many acousticians.
In contrast to fields in which acousticians are tolerated as necessary evil without
any benefit, acousticians enjoy a special esteem among car manufacturers, because
here acoustics has become an important sales factor. No car leaves a factory without
393
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12 Sound Absorbers and Silencers in Anechoic Test Facilities
careful individual acoustical control (sound quality). Important is not only reducing
the noise level to comply with guidelines but rather shaping the sound spectrum
defined as characteristic of the individual vehicle (sound design). Deviations from a
predetermined sound can indicate defects in a vehicle while driving as well as in the
workshop (acoustic monitoring) . For a comprehensive presentation of this field the
reader may refer to Genuit (2010).
The high value placed in acoustic measurements, testing and analyses of automobiles corresponds to the significance of uniform standards that ensure as close as
possible repeatability and comparability. As most measurements are carried out in
closed rooms, it must be ruled out that the latter influence the results, in other words
they must mostly meet freefield conditions. According to DIN ISO 10 844 (1997) for
pass-by noise measurements, only the plane ground on which the passing of a vehicle
is simulated has to be designed completely reflecting (r 97 %). However, DIN ISO
5128 (1984) requires for all internal noise tests of approximately 200 sources, usually originating in the engine, power train, and automobile body: The measurement
site must be conditioned in such a manner that the sound radiating from the vehicle
to the outside only contributes to the internal noise with reflections from the road
surface but not from buildings, walls or similar objects outside the vehicle.
In precision measurements one should neither rely on that the sound components, not completely absorbed by the walls and ceilings of the diverse semi-freefield
rooms, can only enter the interior through the outer skin of the test object sufficiently dammed, nor should the influence of these reflections from the vicinity of
the test objectwhich usually increases all the measured noise levelsbe corrected
numerically. In order to be able to directly compare measurement and test data in the
factory and at the suppliers, all acoustic test facilities must be adapted to the same
rigid conditions. Moreover, in view of the increasingly shorter development cycles,
the different measurement and test facilities also need to be integrated and spatially
concentrated. Automobile manufacturers have therefore installed new acoustic sections with up to more than ten separate anechoic test stands (see Sects. 12.7.3 and
12.7.4) in their development and research centers. To be able to detect all acoustic
and vibrational effects of each product innovation merely with expensive simulations
in the computer aided design CAD phase and resolve any problems at this early stage
of a development has remained an unfulfilled dream. The only recourse has been to
replicate road conditions as closely as possible under laboratory conditions. Regarding ground effects, higher frequency components present a certain problem that calls
for special attention (see Sect. 12.7.4 f). As for the anechoic quality of all the other
bounding surfaces, in the past the acoustic problem was clearly at the low frequencies
(see Chap. 2).
In keeping with the transparent workshop trend, allowing the client to see every
aspect of production, it is important that the ambiance of acoustic test stands is also
attractive and strikingly presentable. However, as the vehicles and components to
be tested in them are usually not clinically clean, test stands surfaces have to be
light, robust, and easy to protect and to clean. Many conventionally lined rooms, for
example with mineral-fiber wedges, of older research and development centers (see
Fig. 12.39) are no longer in a presentable condition. Therefore, it makes sense to
12.1 State of the Art in Anechoic Rooms
395
discuss viable alternatives that offer acoustical and building advantages and have
proven to require especially low maintenance costs for their users (scientists,
engineers and technicians).
12.1
State of the Art in Anechoic Rooms
In the 1980s Ackermann et al. (1989) were commissioned to conduct comprehensive model tests on aerodynamically and acoustically relevant components of the
acoustic wind tunnel at BMW in Munich. All optimizations from preventing lowfrequency vibrations by altering the geometry of the nozzles, plenum and intake to
assessing the insertion losses of a specially shaped mushroom silencer in the intake
and conventional splitter silencers in the return conduit to predicting the expected
self-noise spectrum of the system under the given very limited geometric conditions
were carried out cost effectively in a scale model (1:8) with very good verifications
(employing great amounts of mineral fibers in keeping with contemporary state-ofthe-art acoustics). Successfully finished in 1988, this consultancy project formed a
basis of future research and development at Fraunhofer IBP yielding a whole series of
alternative sound-absorber elements which proved useful in subsequent consultancy
and planning projects particularly for the automobile industry. Further milestones in
an innovative acoustic measurement and ergonomic concept of low-noise, anechoic
test stands largely without using fibrous materials are:
acoustically retrofitting the 1988 completed wind tunnel of the Forschungsinstitut
fr Kraftfahrwesen und Fahrzeugmotoren Stuttgart FKFS (Research Institute of
Automobile and Vehicle Engine Sciences) with the support of Mercedes-Benz and
Opel (Sect. 12.4), using membrane absorbers (Sect. 6.3) and coated polyurethane
soft foam (Sect. 4.2) instead of the previously favored concept with densely packed
splitter packages in the flow ducts and wedge-lining in the plenum of the wind
tunnel, compare Figs. 12.13 and 12.14 (Potthoff et al. 1994),
the first all around anechoic lining of an engine noise test stand at BMW in
Munich with broadband compact absorbers BCA according to Sect. 10.2 composed of melamine resin soft foam with embedded metal resonant panels inside
(Sect. 12.7.1 and Pfeiffer et al. 1997a, 1997b),
execution of fiberless noise control measures at the fan and in the flow ducts
and anechoic BCA lining of the plenum in the at the time fastest and quietest
aero-acoustic wind tunnel at Audi in Ingolstadt (Sect. 12.6.2 and Schneider et al.
1998),
integration of fiberless compact silencers and lining at the fan, in the flow ducts
and in the test section of the so far largest aero-acoustic wind tunnel AAWT at
Daimler-Chrysler in Auburn Hills (Sect. 12.7.5 and Brandsttt et al. 2002),
implementation of, for the most part prefabricated, acoustic modules in the new
Peugeot/Citroen wind tunnel and in the motor vehicle test stands at the Renault
headquarters in Paris, respectively the First Automotive Works FAW in Changchun
(Sects. 12.7.6 and 12.7.8 and Zha et al. 2009).
396
A highlight in this continuous development of a then novel acoustical design concept

is surely the pass-by test stand completed in late 2001 at the new VW Acoustic
Center in Wolfsburg (Sect. 12.7.4). Asymmetrically structured absorbers ASA (see
Sect. 12.6) were installed here for the first time in front of compound panel absorber
CPA modules according to Sect. 5.3 on the walls and the ceiling, thereby enabling to
fulfill VWs targets which were higher than the valid freefield norms. With a thickness
of only 620 mm, they ensure freefield conditions even for narrowband measurements
down to 50 Hz for distances of up to more than 9 m from a central artificial sound
source near the floor.
Since 1997 more than 200 freefield and semi-freefield spaces have meanwhile
been planned and realized for the diverse noise sources in very different sectors ranging from motor vehicles with their numerous different parts to household appliances,
from hydraulic aggregates to electronic, electric and electro-acoustic devices. Generally melamine resin foam and fibers were welcomed as abrasion-resistant damping
materials. It was only at the Mercedes Technology Center at Daimler-Chrysler in
Sindelfingen (Sect. 12.7.3), where six of all told seven acoustic test stands were provided with BCA lining, that as a fire precaution the foam was replaced with mineral
fiber layers.
The rapid progress in just 5 years from a space-consuming fiber-wedges technology of the 1940s (Meyer et al. 1940) to a space-saving compact lining was only
possible due to the close cooperation with an ambitious mid-size company as license partner. With the particularly demanding automotive industry as first clients,
who knew how to exploit the possibilities of the versatile absorber modules for new
specifications and high demands, the functions and design of a new generation of
measurement rooms were raised to an unparalleled level. All sectors of industry dealing with products that need noise control or whose sound is an important factor in
their sales pitch profit from these achievements. Listening rooms for decision-makers
who no longer have their ears glued daily to the objects being developed but want
to directly compare objects acoustically, for example with competitors products,
should likewise provide an anechoic, i.e. neutral environment (see Sect. 12.7.4 e).
12.2
Noise Sources in Motor Vehicles
The noise inside or outside a vehicle can be roughly classified into three velocity
ranges according to Table 12.1. The more successfully noise is reduced in sectors 1
(propulsion) and 2 (wheel/road), the more pronounced becomes the aerodynamically
generated noise 3, especially at greater distances and low frequencies. Consequently,
since the 1990s many automobile manufacturers have acoustically retrofitted their
at the time already aerodynamically quite efficient wind tunnels or built new ones
focusing on minimizing not only the diverse self-noises of the wind tunnel but also
on minimizing the acoustic response of the measurement rooms in the entire relevant
frequency range (down to below 50 Hz!), see Fuchs et al. (1992).
12.3 Conventional Tools and Materials for Freefield Rooms

Table 12.1 Sources of
motor-vehicle noise.
(According to Potthoff 1992)
12.3
Construction sector
1. Propulsion
Engine
Transmission
Axle
Intake tract
Exhaust system
2. Wheel/road
Carcass vibrations
Profile vibrations
Air pumping
3. Airframe
Body
Floor group
Wheels
Cantilevers
Air conditioning
397
Velocity range in km/h
< 60
40100
> 80
Conventional Tools and Materials for Freefield Rooms
Acoustically dead rooms are usually lined as uniformly as possible with homogeneous fibrous/porous damping materials according to DIN 45 635 (1984) and ISO
37 45 (2003). Attaining high absorption coefficients below 100 Hz at all would require according to Eq. (4.8), or better (4.9) thicknesses of more than 850 mm. In
order to be able to realize optimum adaptation of the flow resistance of the lining
to the characteristic impedance of air, far below 100 Hz either an untenably loose
fibrous material would have to be employed or multiple thin porous layers with large
airspaces in between had to be mounted parallel to the reflecting boundary, roughly
as described in Bedell (1936). Occasionally resorted to was an idea of Cremer and
Mller (1974, 1982a, Chap. 8 there) from the early 1960s of stringing fibrous/porous
cubes on wires hung vertically in rows, the cubes increasing in density and size the
closer to the wall, see Fig. 12.1.
Initially most anechoic rooms were made with pyramid-shaped absorbers, today
predominantly with wedge absorbers protected against damage or abrasion by a
perforated sheet-metal cage, often only by a gauze stocking as shown in Fig. 12.2.
Similar wedges were also used in the plenum of the BMW acoustic wind tunnel
finished in 1987 (Fig. 12.3).
According to the cited norms, all six (freefield room), respectively five (semifreefield room), bounding surfaces should be lined as uniformly as possible with a
thickness d based on the lowest limiting frequency according to Eq. (4.9). According
to older norm versions, the reflection factor r for normal sound incidence should
not exceed 0.1, the corresponding absorption coefficient according to Eq. (3.4) thus
exceeding the value of 0.99, see Sects. 12.4 and 12.5. In order to verify the freefield
conditions actually required by the norms is the absence of any reflecting elements in
the room. This is, however, practically impossible in real acoustic test facilities of the
automobile industry. Thus, BMW was satisfied with r < 0.2 for its wind tunnel, which
398
Fig. 12.1 Anechoic lining of

fibrous/porous cubes.
(According to Cremer and
Mller 1974, 1982a and Velis
et al. 1995)
Fig. 12.2 Anechoic lining

with mineral-fiber wedges in
gauze stockings in a freefield
room at the Fraunhofer IBP
finished in 1983 after Fuchs
and Eckoldt (1995) (also see
Fig. 12.8)
was also maintained for the selected lining by measurements above approximately
125 Hz in a 1.7 0.65 m impedance measuring tube according to Ackermann (1990,
Fig. 25 there).
More important, in order to verify the suitability of the BMW measuring cell as
a semi-freefield room, the large reflecting surfaces at the intake (Fig. 12.4) and the
nozzle of the wind tunnel were covered with the same wedge absorbers, of course only
during the verification tests, in order to reduce destructive interferences from them.
Moreover in Fig. 12.5, instead of the test object, a point source radiating uniformly ( 1 dB) in all directions was placed less than 20 mm (for f > 400 Hz),
12.3 Conventional Tools and Materials for Freefield Rooms
399
Fig. 12.3 Anechoic lining of

mineral-fiber wedges in gauze
stockings in the plenum of the
BMW acoustic wind tunnel.
(According to Ackermann
et al. 1989, 1990)
Fig. 12.4 Intake with

mushroom silencer in the
BMW acoustic wind tunnel
Fig. 12.5 Measurement

assembly according to Krner
(1987) for level decay tests
with an absorptive filling of
the nozzle in the plenum of
the BMW acoustic wind
tunnel
respectively 5 mm (f > 2 kHz) above the plane floor, which was executed soundreflective with < 0.06 according to norm. The sound level was measured radially
(draw-away) on at least eight (according to DIN 45 635 1984), respectively five
(according to ISO 37 45 2003), trails from the source starting at a distance of 0.5 m
400
Table 12.2 Tolerances for

level decay deviations in
freefield rooms for precision
class 1 (precision method)
measurements. (According to
DIN 45 635 1984, resp. ISO
37 45 2003)
Type of test room
Freefield
Freefield above
reflecting plane
(semi-freefield)
Third-octave center
frequency in Hz
Limit values for

differences in dB
630
8005 000
6 300
630
8005 000
6 300
1.5
1.0
1.5
2.5
2.0
3.0
(according to ISO 37 45 2003) toward the corners and edges of the plenum. A straight
line within the required distance from the source, best adjusted to the measurement
values with the to-be-expected decay as 20 lg s according to Eq. (2.1), then shows
the deviations which must not exceed the limit values of Table 12.2.
Not only a usable measurement volume, a possible enveloping surface or a maximum distance for measurements about the source are derived from these deviations
but also, according to Diestel (1962), an average reflection, respectively absorption
coefficient for the entire room lining may be determined. The acoustic and aeroacoustic model tests were substantiated in the executed wind tunnel, especially at
the relevant medium and low frequencies. Figure 12.6a shows, for example, a sound
pressure spectrum at an out-of-flow measurement point, Fig. 12.6b that at a point in
the center of the free jet and Fig. 12.6c in the middle of the shear layer.
Tests in the acoustically still untreated FKFS wind tunnel revealed that the necessary reduction of the self-noise of the facility at frequencies above 1 000 Hz is
less and is easier to obtain than at low frequencies. Figure 12.7 shows that in the
original state, the self-noises of the fan, tunnel elements, nozzle and intake as well
as the reverberation of the plenum rendered measurement of the flow noise radiated
from mass produced cars below 1 000 Hz impossible. Low-noise cars drowned even
above 1 000 Hz in the noise generated by the facility itself. Only inside the car was it
possible to measure down to approximately 500 Hz with an adequate signal-to-noise
ratio.
12.4
Design Concepts for Anechoic Rooms
The first acoustic tests on and inside automobiles were simply conducted outdoors
or in factory halls and laboratory rooms not particularly treated for the purpose.
However, in order to be independent of weather, special acoustic test rooms were built
to measure the various different noise sources of a vehicle. Today they are in planning
or under construction, up to 15 in number, often in sophisticated room-in-room
buildings side by side in research and development centers.
Measurement rooms can rarely remain as ideally adapted to acoustical needs as
the 1 750 m3 freefield room of Fig. 12.8: transport, power, operation, ventilation, and
cooling of powerful, voluminous machines and devices but also other measurements
of the test objects demand numerous compromises regarding the acoustic test cells
12.4 Design Concepts for Anechoic Rooms
401
Fig. 12.6 Spectra of the pressure fluctuations in the model () and in the executed version () of
the BMW acoustic wind tunnel (according to Ackermann 1990); a out-of-flow (100 km/h), b in the
center of the free jet (150 km/h), c in the middle of the shear layer (100 km/h)
Fig. 12.7 Third-octave

spectrum of the out-of-flow
sound pressure at 200 km/h in
the FKSF wind tunnel prior to
acoustic retrofitting (without
Seiferth wings at the nozzle)
(according to Potthoff 1992);
empty measurement section
(), with pickup truck 210
KB (), BMW 535 i with a
notchback (), AUDI 5 000
USA/Quattro ()
402
Fig. 12.8 Section of the large

freefield room of Fig. 12.2
with a crude volume
V = 1 750 m3 , a limiting
frequency of 80 Hz and a
resonance frequency of the
resilient foundation of 2 Hz
even in designing the walls or acoustic decoupling from the adjacent rooms and
appliances (see Sect. 12.7). It is not always necessary to measure precisely to a tenth
of a dB in the often rather crude surroundings. Thus, it is not necessary in every
instance to apply to every sound source the high acoustical standards set in the early
history of acoustics, for example by the Bell Laboratories, when the sole aim was to
test electro-acoustic transducers and devices (microphones and loudspeakers).
Due to the lack of consistency or repeatability of their operational conditions and
peripheral influences, most of the sources discussed in the many sections of DIN 45
635 (1984) do not allow nor require precision class 1 sound emission measurements.
In many cases, testing according to precision classes 2 or 3 or only measurements
outdoors, respectively in situ are considered as sufficient. In view of this, one wonders
how much sense 99 % absorption of all wall lining of anechoic rooms demanded in
DIN 45 635 (1984) and older versions of ISO 37 45 (2003) makes, see Sects. 12.4
and 12.5.
The destructive influence of reflecting but indispensable elements for operating
and analyzing test objects on freefield quality has already been discussed. More
significant for semi-freefield rooms is to note that there is hardly any sound source
(actually not even the smallest loudspeaker) whose directly radiated sound field does
not unintentionally interfere, strongly frequency- and location-dependent, with the
reflections from a floor that has been left sound reflective. The term DI = 10 lg v in
Eq. (2.1) can only theoretically be assumed as constant with 3 dB. As the distance
403
Fig. 12.9 Sketch for

explaining the sound field in
front of a plane, incompletely
absorbing wall
of the source from the floor is rather small, this interference of about equally strong
waves can make itself disturbingly noticeable in the entire measurement volume as
a deviation from the sound level theoretically decaying according to 20 lg s, see
Sects. 12.5 e and 12.7.4 f. Disregarding this strong interference, the sound field of a
point sound source according to Zha et al. (1998) can be divided into three zones:
a) the near field, in which the sound pressure level is so strong that it cannot be
influenced in any manner by the reflections from the boundaries of the room, even
not by the modes developing within the room,
b) the far field in which norm sound measurements are conducted and in particular
the influence of room modes as described for example in Chap. 2 and Sect. 12.7.4
f are held in narrow limits by means of suited absorption measures,
c) the edge field in which sound waves at the maximum distance from the source and
therefore with relatively small amplitude are especially critically superimposed
by incompletely absorbed and (geometrically) reflected waves, see Sects. 12.4,
12.5 and 12.7.4 a.
Zone (a) is generally not suited for norm measurements, because a certain minimum
distance from the source, s > 2 l (l = dimension of the source), respectively s > /2
or s > 12 / ( = wavelength) according to DIN 45 573-1, should be maintained.
In zone (b) the sound pressure level may be falsified by the various room-mode
interferences. An increase or decrease in level due to the interference of the direct
sound wave with a reflected and, depending on the lining of the room, more or less
weakened sound wave remains relatively small in not too great a distance from the
source as long as the distance of the measuring point s from the image source Q ,
whose sound power is minimized by the lining, is much greater than its distance s
from the real source Q (see Fig. 12.9).
However, the closer the measuring point moves toward the reflecting boundary
surface, the smaller the difference in distances s to the real source and s to the
image source. If it becomes just 2d
= /2 (at 80 Hz thus, for example, 2.15 m),
waves running back and forth from sources at a great distance can strongly interfere
here if the lining absorbs insufficiently. The resulting decrease or increase in level
404
Fig. 12.10 Reflection factor

r(0) () and absorption
coefficient (0) (- - -) for
normal plane sound incidence
as a function of the difference
in level D in a standing wave
field in front of a plane wall
depends on the ratio of the path difference to the wavelength. For this reason, norm
measurements should keep away from an edge zone (c) with d < /4. Figure 12.10
shows the resulting difference D of the maximum and minimum levels in the limiting
case of plane standing waves (s = s ) in front of a wall dependent on r according
to Tennhardt (1984),
r(0) =
10D/20dB 1
,
10D/20dB + 1
(12.1)
respectively on the absorption coefficient (0) according to Eq. (3.5).

If this simple model were used to limit the level difference according to DIN 45
635 (1984) and ISO 37 45 (2003) for medium frequencies to 1 dB, r(0) should
have at most a value of 0.1 (D
= 2 dB) and (0) of at least 0.99, see Table 3.1.
Such high absorption coefficients, as are demanded by the current standards, are
best attainable with suitably structured porous or fibrous absorbers, as described
in Sects. 12.6 and 12.7.4. For other angles of incidence, which always also occur
in freefield rooms, there is presently no simple measurement technology available,
especially for low frequencies and large absorber specimens. For research purposes,
however, a technique as described in Sect. 12.6 has proven useful.
Above all, the simple plane wave model should not be employed in small measurement rooms. Notably, if according to the norm a distance d = 1 m from the boundaries
of the room is maintained and s remains limited by the room, for example, to 3 m,
an amplitude ratio of the spherical waves of a real and an image point source,
pQ
s
r =
= ; s = s + 2d,
(12.2)
pQ
s
of, for example, 0.6 is yielded at a receiver position according to Fig. 12.9. In this
case, already an actual reflection factor of r = 0.17 (corresponding to = 0.97) would
lead to a level difference of 1 dB. For semi-freefield rooms the norm only requires
2 dB corresponding to a resulting amplitude ratio
rres = rr = 0.22.
(12.3)
405
In the above example r = 0.37 corresponds to a required absorption coefficient

= 0.86 which can meanwhile be easily attained broadband with alternative absorbers
according to Sect. 12.6 even far below 100 Hz.
The situation regarding the design of small freefield rooms for low frequencies is
thus not so hopeless as may seem at first glance if it is possible to realize room linings
for these low frequencies with substantially less thickness t than hitherto required according to Eq. (4.9). In reality the sound fields developing in emission measurements
in anechoic rooms, depending on the actual source and measurement positions, are
much more complex than discussed here with respect to the very conservative norm
requirements. For more exact estimations which are vital in the design process the
computer program described in Sect. 12.5 is in use. It is however already stressed
that more than 99 % of emission measurements at technical sound sources are not
conducted narrowband but rather in third-octaves with sufficient accuracy. In such
testing, the problem of two coherent sound waves interfering arises only with lower
level differences D, see Sect. 12.5 f. In designing small measurement rooms, special
care should be taken particularly in damping the room modes. However, in order
to optimally damp the room modes, it is expedient and necessary to set aside a few
habits in designing anechoic rooms:
a) For an as uniform as possible distribution of the eigenresonances of the room at
low frequencies, cubic geometries should not be selected but rather geometries
with non-integer aspect ratios even if this seems to contradict standard geometric
requirements, see Sect. 12.5 c.
b) As broadband damping of low frequencies down to 50 or even 20 Hz requires
using different resonance absorbers and modes are fundamentally distributed
irregularly in the room, optimum room lining should not be installed uniformly
and homogeneously at all the boundaries as the norms suggest.
c) It is also not always expedient to place the source as symmetrically as possible in
the center of a freefield room, because if the walls are preferably parallel, the path
differences leading to interferences in the edge zones of the direct and reflected
sound waves will occur unnecessarily concentrated on the preferably symmetric
measuring area. Positioning the source somewhat off center seems according to
Sect. 12.5 d fundamentally more advantageous, sometimes at the expense of the
size of a e.g. spherical measurement area.
Following these considerations and corresponding computer simulations according
to Sect. 12.5 for optimally designing acoustical measurement spaces, it seems advisable, not as previously was the case, to first build the room and then select the lining
and have it installed, but rather to plan the whole concept of the measurement room
including the to-be-tested sound sources and the envisaged measuring configuration
and technology. However, even if the raw geometry of the room is already fixed, it
is expedient to discuss the lining according to the principles presented here, because
the absorber modules of Sect. 12.6 offer various new possibilities of installations at
the bounding surfaces as well as of structuring these surfaces.
The norms do not allow any correction to measurement results of precision class
1 even not if, for example, the geometry of the source in the room or its lining leads
406
Table 12.3 Corrections K1 for taking into account background noise dependent on the difference
L between the sound level of the test object and the background noise
L in dB
K1 in dB
3.0
3.0
4.0
2.2
5.0
1.7
6.0
1.3
7.0
1.0
8.0
0.7
9.0
0.6
10.0
0.5
> 10
0
to a well repeatable increase or decrease in level for a certain test configuration. For
precision class 2, the (energetically) averaged sound pressure level Lp,m according
to DIN 45 635 (1984) and ISO 37 45 (2003) on a measurement area can be corrected
within certain limits in three ways:
L p = Lp,w K0 K1 K2
(12.4)
) Propagation correction
K0 takes into account the (usually minimal) influence of density, sound velocity
and moisture of the air as the transmission medium,
) Background noise correction
K1 deducts (energetically) the background noises inevitably present during measurement, however only as long as for the A-weighted level, the resulting
correction remains K1A 1.3 dB(A), that is the noise level lies at least 6 dB
below the to-be-measured level (cf. Table 12.3),
) Room response correction
K2 is the computational correction of rises in level due to reflections of the sound
waves emitted by the source from surfaces in the surrounding room.
Taking into account the respective measuring, respectively enveloping surface S, the
sound power level is derived from Eq. (12.4):
S
LW = L p + 10 lg ;
S0
S0 = 1 m2
(12.5)
The room influence ( ) can be determined, for example, by means of a reference

sound source using
K2 = LW LW r
(12.6)
with the level LW of the reference sound source in the respective test environment
and LWr according to the manufacturers data or measured with the same source
under freefield conditions. If this room correction is applied, e.g. third-octave by
third-octave, to the measured values of a test object according to Eq. (12.4), the
resulting A-level correction must not exceed K2A = 2 dB(A) in order to comply with
the strived at precision class 2.
The precision class 3 (K2A 7 dB(A)) also defined in DIN 45 635 (1984) usually
does not meet the needs in practice, because such measurements for characterizing
sound sources and for designing noise-reducing measures are connected with a great
deal of uncertainty. It is also worth mentioning that, according to ISO 37 45 (2003),
a certain measuring area is still considered suited for class 1 measurements if the
407
power level determined on a four times larger, geometrically similar enveloping

surface does not vary by more than 0.5 dB.
In normal reflecting environments, room response amounts to significantly more
than 2 dB in the emission measurement, at low frequencies often more than 10 dB. In
this situation, acoustic technicians in industry started to retrofit their test fields and
laboratories for free field measurements by mounting additional absorptive materials
on the walls, ceiling and other reflecting surfaces. As porous/fibrous mats were
employed, the air quality in the room often suffered. Fuchs et al. (1988) therefore
were commissioned to develop, test and install for a client a simple method for
measuring sound emissions, in which
symmetrically assembled foil absorbers according to Sect. 5.1 which are
absorptive on both sides were suspended as freely hanging 0.6 0.6 m2 baffles,
the baffles are joined by clamps and, for example, hang vertically from the ceiling
and form a sound screen weighing approximately 2 kg/m2 ,
between the single baffles remains a space approximately 1 cm wide on all sides,
which ensures practically unhampered air exchange with the surrounding room,
easy mounting and dismounting (e.g. via rails attached to the ceiling) becomes
possible under practically any room situation.
Figure 12.11 shows a typical fan laboratory with three test stands connected to ducts
enabling aerodynamic and acoustic measurements. In the exterior walls (6) and (7)
and the measurement cabins (4) and (5) are large glass elements, the ceiling is also
strongly reflecting. The sketched test object (9), a roof fan, is installed in a chipboard wall simulating the roof surface. The realized three-sided sound screen (8),
attached to the ceiling by the sketched hangers, forms the measurement volume of
approximately 80 m3 .
Figure 12.12 shows the room correction K2 before and after setting up the sound
screens as measured frequency dependent with a reference sound source. In this
specific case, it was possible to reduce the influence of the surrounding laboratory
from K2A = 3.8 to 2.0 dB(A). In rarer cases in which the noise spectrum of a machine
has a maximum above 2 000 Hz, it is possible to reduce the room response even more
at high frequencies in a simple manner by means of a light-weight, porous curtain. In
most cases in which the fan reaches a noise maximum at 250 Hz, further improvement
of the sound screen can be attained with special low-frequency absorbers, for example
according to Sects. 5.3, 6.3 and 10.3.
Schupp and Nahan (1995) describe a sound screen that uses 100 165 10 cm
open-pore polyurethane foam. Its rigidity and its little weight (3.2 kg/m2 ) allows erecting light-weight screen walls. The supporting structure is made only of
U-shaped aluminum sheet metal, adhesive tape and sheet-metal edges, permitting
the erection of up to 3.5 m high walls, which are also able to support a roof, thus
creating a completely closed absorptive envelope. In a relatively reverberant room,
its effect can be tested over an approximately 3 5 m sound-reflective area. For the
A-weighted sound level of a broadband reference sound source, the following room
corrections are yielded:
408
Fig. 12.11 Sound screen for class 2 envelope-surface measurements according to DIN 45 635
(1984) in an industrial laboratory: 1, 2, 3 fan test stands; 4, 5 measurement cabins; 6, 7 large glass
elements; 8 light-weight, light-and air-permeable sound screen; 9 test object; 10 measurement area
Without a screen
With a 1.7 m high screen
With a 3.5 m high screen
With a 3.5 m high screen plus absorptive roof
K2A = 8.1 dB(A)

= 2.1
= 1.3
= 1.2
The above described low-level approaches to more or less anechoic measuring conditions do certainly not comply with requirements in research and development centers.
The first wind tunnel facility that was retrofitted completely with more appropriate
alternative absorber elements described in Sect. 12.6 for aero-acoustic measurements
5
dB
4
Room correction
Fig. 12.12 Room correction

K2 for octave sound levels
before () and after ()
installation of the sound
screen in Fig. 12.11
409
3
2
1
0
63
125
250
1k
500
Frequency
2k
Hz
8k
of any kind in the precision class 1 has been in operation at FKFS at the University of
Stuttgart since 1993. Initially a conventional concept of reducing the noise generated
aerodynamically at the fan and in the flow guides was pursued (Fig. 12.13):
Silencer splitter packages in the two transverse ducts of the air guide between the
turning corners in front of and behind the axial fan,
sound absorptive lining on the pressure side of the sheet-metal turning vanes in
the corners nearest to the measuring section,
anechoic lining of the test section with fiber wedges.
What is special about the initial variant is that, for aerodynamic tests, the silencer
packages can be drawn out of the air guide into the laterally attached pressure- and
sound-proofed rucksacks in such a manner that the highest attainable velocity of
268 km/h at a maximum power input of the fan of 2 850 kW practically does not
change. For aero-acoustic tests, however, with the silencers drawn into the air guide,
due to the pressure losses in the densely packed silencer packages, the maximum
velocity in the measurement section drops to below 200 km/h. This led to the suggestion to permanently integrate two novel bending silencers in the flow ducts on
both sides of the fan and to replace the wedge absorbers with fiberless wall linings
(see Fig. 12.14):
two, respectively three free-standing silencer splitters and the respective absorbing wall claddings in front of, between and behind the two pairs of turning corners
combined with turning profiles form a permanently installed integral silencer
unit whose cross sections are subdivided by the splitters and into partial cross
sections of different width but with the same damping and approximately the same
pressure losses.
profiled, sound absorbing coating of the free-standing sheet-metal vanes of all
four turning corners on the suction as well as on the pressure side, see Fig. 4.5.
plane, smooth-surface anechoic lining of the measuring hall, see Fig. 12.15.
410
Fig. 12.13 Vertical (a) and horizontal sections (b) of the FKFS wind tunnel with initially planned
measures (according to Potthoff 1992): 1 movable silencer packages; 2 pressure- and soundproofed silencer rucksacks; 3 absorptive turning vanes; 4 mineral-fiber wedges; 5 vibration
insulation of the fan
Fig. 12.14 The FKFS wind tunnel with the realized innovative retrofit solution (according to Potthoff et al. 1994): 1 suction-side turning silencer composed of three partial flow ducts; 2 pressure-side
turning silencer composed of four ducts; 3 membrane absorbers forming the splitters and cladding
the outer duct walls (see Fig. 4.5); 4 pressure- and suction-side absorbingly profiled turning vanes
(see Fig. 4.5); 5 lining with plane compact absorbers (see Fig. 12.15)
411
Fig. 12.15 Broadband absorbers as wall linings (according to Potthoff et al. 1994; Fuchs and
Eckoldt 1995): 1 steel frame of resiliently attached C-profiles; 2 membrane absorbers; 3 coated
polyester foam panels; 4 measuring hall wall (concrete); 5 sponge rubber for compensating thermal
expansions and electrolytic separation of steel/aluminum
Comprehensive measurements and calculations proved that the structure-borne

sound transmission from the fan to the test section would not disturb the acoustic
measurements, even after carrying out all airborne sound reduction measures. In this
manner building costs were saved, offering some leeway for the initially a bit more
expensive innovative damping measures and testing them in corresponding model
rigs. The following principle requirements were compiled by Potthoff et al. (1994):
Lowering the self-noise in the measuring section should approach the level of the
noise from the free jet flow, however at least amount to 20 dB compared to the
untreated facility.
The maximum velocity following retrofitting should not be lower than 245 km/h
with the same fan; variations in the flow velocity profile should remain unchanged
as small as < 0.25 %.
All the surfaces of the components for noise reduction, in particular in the flow
ducts, should be smooth, mechanically robust, insensitive against soiling and
moisture and easy to clean.
In order to protect users and clients as well as the very dust-sensitive hot-wire
probes from abrasions from the acoustic elements, fiberless absorber technology
should be employed throughout.
The anechoic lining of the test section should be as thin as possible (though as
effective as possible down to the lowest frequencies) to prevent influences on the
aerodynamic parameters of the vehicles by a reduced test volume and to impede
as little as possible with the mobility of the traversing unit.
Retrofitting of the wind tunnel should be limited and operation should not be
interrupted for more than 4 months.
At the reference measurement point 6 m beside the axis of the jet, for f 125 Hz the
precision class 1 requirements according to Table 12.2 should be complied with. For
412
Fig. 12.16 View over the test

object in the measuring
section of the FKFS wind
tunnel to the completely lined
control room
lower frequencies, the room should be designed in the best possible manner using the
most effective, latest state-of-the-art sound absorbers. These, at that time, comprise
100 mm thick membrane absorbers according to Sect. 6.3, which attain maximum
absorption at 100 Hz. Attached in front of these resonance absorbers at a distance of
10 mm is a 150 mm thick room-side coated foam behind a perforated cover with a
56 % perforation ratio. Figure 12.15 shows on the left the aluminum sheet-metal cover
membranes of the absorber and next to it the finished element. Due to the required
cables and the steel frame, which is insulated against structure-borne sound on the
side facing the concrete wall, the distance of the perforated cover from the concrete
wall is approximately 300 mm. In front of the large gate to the vehicle preparation
room and in front of the control room window (see Fig. 12.16) absorber modules are
movable by lifting spindles. Here membrane absorbers were spared behind the foam
in some places. Installation of these thin broadband absorbers reduced the width of
the measuring hall to approximately 14.4 m.
Selected for the acceptance tests in the summer of 1993, similar to the BMW
wind tunnel (Sect. 12.3), were four diagonal measuring trails from the floor center
to the corners of the room at a height of approximately 5.5 m (length approximately
10 m) and three flat trails from the floor in the center of the jet to the lined control
room windows at a height of 1.1 m (length approximately 7.4 m), the latter at the
operators request, because this is where measurements are preferably performed.
The requirements are more than fulfilled: for f 50 Hz, measuring distances from
the center of the room up to s = 6 m, for f 25 Hz up to 4 m allow precision class 1
tests. The advantages of this specific anechoic lining are also apparent in the white
suspended ceiling of the measuring hall (Fig. 12.17):
good light reflection
minimal space consumption
413
Fig. 12.17 Anechoic suspended ceiling above the test section of the FKFS tunnel: 1 ceiling beam
with a supporting element welded onto the underside; 2 holders for frame elements 3; 4 membrane
absorbers, 100 mm thick; 5 perforated sheet-metal boxes with 10 mm thick melamine resin foam
ticking filled with 140 mm thick uncoated polyester foam; 6 perforated sheet-metal cover of the
ceiling beams, 10 mm thick foam ticking and 240 mm thick polyester foam filling
Fig. 12.18 Measuring
pass-by noise and pressure
fluctuations of the open sun
roof of a passenger car using
a microphone on the crank
arm of a traversing device.
(According to Potthoff et al.
1994)
mechanical robustness
high abrasion resistance
free choice of colors (e.g., black for smoke photographs, see Fig. 12.18).
The previously described movable or stationary sound screens for Class
2 measurements (engineering method) and diverse highly absorptive linings for
Class 1 rooms enabled introducing new concepts of testing sound emission of technical sound sources under variable practical operating conditions. Although such
complex assemblies as shown in Figs. 12.15 and 12.17 meet high construction
standards, they are obviously too expensive for universally applicable anechoic
linings. Further developments therefore aimed at creating more easily assembled
low-frequency absorbers: more cost-effective, multi-layered broadband modules and
a structured front layer for an optimal adjustment to the sound field to attain the greatest possible absorption in the previously mentioned critical edge fields (c) mentioned
414
above. However, before describing in Sect. 12.6 advantageous alternatives to conventional, only passive sound absorbers according to Sect. 12.3 and a suited method of
measuring the absorption also for oblique sound incidence, first a planning aid shall
be discussed which grants more confidence in designing anechoic rooms, especially
regarding the respective room geometry.
12.5
Computer Simulation of Anechoic Rooms
Conventional designing of acoustic freefield rooms according to ISO 3745 frequently

harbors risks, because the standard assumption of 99 % absorption for normal sound
incidence on the lining may not suffice in one instance and be unnecessarily high in
another. A simulation program according to Zhou and Zha (2004), Zha and Fuchs
(2009) using image sources to also take into account weak reflections from the
sources surroundings has proven quite useful to gain the necessary confidence in
designing anechoic test environments especially with regard to the respective room
geometry and individual source/receiver configurations. It allows providing already
early in the planning phase concrete quantitative data, for example, how far the
to-be-expected freefield will reach if the room is built and its surfaces lined in a certain manner. Timely communication with all involved parties permits, for example,
correcting critical spatial constellations from the start and avoiding surprises later on.
Ruling out all possible room influences, the sound pressure level of a point source
in such a free field, respectively (of a source embedded in the sound-reflective floor) in
a semi-freefield decays monotonously with the distance s from the source according
to Eq. (2.1) such as 20 log s, thus with 6 dB per doubling of the distance. To what
extent these ideal conditions can be realized in enclosed spaces depends, but not only
or primarily, on the absorption coefficient of their bounding surfaces. Moreover, the
size and the exact geometry of the rooms and the source including the configuration
of the respective source/receiver positions play a much more significant role than is
generally thought.
With the general requirement that for normal sound incidence the absorption coefficient be 0.99, textbooks and manuals only give a rough standard value, which
determines quite well the free field in a spherical or hemispherical room with an
assumed source in its center. In the ideal case of a plane sine wave, which is reflected with a reflection factor of 0.1 from a plane obstacle, according to Table 3.1
and Fig. 12.10, a standing-wave field with a spatially dependent level difference of
approximately 2 dB would in fact build up in front of it. Whether, however, this can
fulfill the requirements of ISO 37 45 (2003) according to Table 12.2 for rectangular
rooms always depends on the specific test conditions in an individual measuring
room with its respective geometry.
Even a layperson is now able to calculate in advance and optimize the quality
of the freefield characteristics when designing a rectangular room including all its
interiors following Zhou et al. (2004b), Zha and Fuchs (2009). A point source with
12.5 Computer Simulation of Anechoic Rooms
415
Fig. 12.19 Rectangular room

with a centrally positioned
point source and six image
sources of the first order for
the simulation of a freefield.
(According to Zhou and Zha
2004)
amplitude A0 yields the sound pressure level

A0
A0
p=
rin
exp (j ksi )
exp (j ks) +
s
si
i=1
N
(12.7)
at a distance s as a superposition of the direct field (first term) and a summation of

the fields of N image sources according to Fig. 12.19 with the wave number k, the
distances si of an arbitrary measurement point in the room from the respective image
sources i of the order n and the (complex) reflection factor r = | r | exp j of the
respective boundary.
The image source models are also employed in acoustically demanding audio
rooms (for performing and recording) and communication rooms (work and recreation), in concert halls, for example also for their auralization (see Vorlnder 2008).
These models allow simulating room- acoustic parameters and to-be-expected tonal
impressions for architects, builders, investors and users already in the early planning
phase. In most of these applications, however, as in the ray tracing method according to Krokstad et al. (1983), the phase relations in jks of the superposition of the
direct and the reflected sound waves on their propagation paths and the phase jump
at each reflection are not taken into account. Instead only the mere quantity of the
reflection factor according to
|r| = 1
(12.8)
is employed in a purely energetic approach. In particular, the subsequent multiple
reflections that constitute the diffuse field in the room are calculated with the
absorption coefficient s as measured in a reverberation room according to DIN EN
ISO 354 (2003). Whereas for early reflections, as already sufficiently described by
the image sources of lower order and which are important for free field rooms, the
phase angle and the reflection coefficient at a specific angle of incidence play a
416
Fig. 12.20 Level decay from

a point source in front of a
plane wall at a distance of 4 m
with an absorption coefficient
= 0.99, calculated for sine
tones. Tolerance bands
according to Table 12.2
2k Hz
Level decay in dB
1k Hz
500 Hz
250 Hz
10 dB
125 Hz
63 Hz
1.0
10.0
Distance in m
much greater role. Nonetheless, precursors of the current ISO 37 45 (2003) always
confined their recommendations to the absorption coefficient for normal incidence
according to ISO 10534 (2001) ( 0.99).
In contrast to this, in the present model the linear superposition of all sound
waves is simulated and calculated with an absorption coefficient as is usually
measured for conventional wedge and pyramid absorbers in an impedance tube and
for the alternative absorbers favored here (see Sect. 12.6) in a reverberation room
according to Sect. 5.3. Discussed are some of the especially important influences
on the freefield of anechoic rectangular rooms, influences which may be more the
important, the more the absorption coefficient of their lining deviates from 1:
a. Influence of the Absorption Coefficient First, the influence of the absorption
coefficient on the reflection of the sound waves of a point source in the center of a
8 8 8 m room is demonstrated if five of its six bounding surfaces are assumed
completely absorptive with an unrealistically large = 1. On a path from the source
heading frontally toward the sixth bounding surface, the sound pressure level for the
value = 0.99 assumed here actually decays with the distance from the source in the
entire relevant frequency range within the tolerance bands according to Table 12.2
prescribed in ISO 3745 (2003; Fig. 12.20). Whereas if the generally considered inadequate value = 0.86 is assumed corresponding to | r | = 0.37, the narrower limits of

Fig. 12.21 As in Fig. 12.20,
but = 0.86
417
2k Hz
Level decay in dB
1k Hz
500 Hz
250 Hz
10 dB
125 Hz
63 Hz
10.0
1.0
Distance in m
1 dB for higher frequencies are exceeded at a distance of 3 m, as Fig. 12.21 shows.

For an even smaller value = 0.7, usually yielded, for example, for conventional
absorbers below the frequency fK according to Eq. (4.9), deviations from the theoretical level decay set in with correspondingly less distance (Fig. 12.22). With the
somewhat lower norm requirements below 500 Hz, the deviations at low frequencies
are not more pronounced simply because in this arbitrary configuration the critical
edge field near the wall according to Sect. 12.4 c cannot show up within half a wave
length. In this instance, too, level deviations remain in relatively narrow limits as was
to be expected according to Sect. 12.4. The situation, however, becomes immediately
more critical if in the following, instead of one, six or five bounding surfaces are
considered incompletely absorptive:
b. Influence of a Rectangular Enclosure If the calculation results in Fig. 12.23 are
compared with those in Fig. 12.20, it becomes clear that the influence of the source
being completely surrounded by six boundaries disturbing the free field is stronger,
even if absorption is uniformly = 0.99, than that of a single boundary with much less
absorption ( = 0.86). Simple reflection does not become more critical until = 0.7,
see Fig. 12.22.
418
Fig. 12.22 As in Fig. 12.20,

but = 0.7
2k Hz
1k Hz
Level decay in dB
500 Hz
250 Hz
10 dB
125 Hz
63 Hz
10.0
1.0
Distance in m
c. Influence of Room Geometry Another representation of results from this design

program for anechoic rooms indicates the respective deviations from the ideal free
field level decay exceeding the tolerances according to ISO 37 45 (2003) by highlighting them as in Fig. 12.24 for a diagonal path from a central source into a corner
of a 6 6 6 m room with = 0.99 all around. Deviations occur, e.g. at 2 kHz already at a distance of 2.5 m from the source. Comparison with an identically lined
7 6 5 m room of nearly the same volume (Fig. 12.25) reveals that significantly
weaker deviations occur only at much greater distances, thus demonstrating the influence of the room geometry with incomplete absorption on the respective freefield
quality.
Consequently, unfavorable cubic shapes should definitely be avoided for such
measurement rooms even if this means spoiling some volume for concentrated small
sound sources. However, for more commonly encountered sources which extend in
one direction such as e.g. automobiles, it is recommendable to adapt the dimensions
of the room to the geometry of the source regarding two factors, notably practicability
and accessibility, in addition to freefield quality.
d. Influence of the Source Position The source position of a concentrated emitter
in a room influences the free field conditions in its vicinity decisively. Comparison

Fig. 12.23 Level decay from
a source positioned in the
center of a 8 8 8 m room
with = 0.99 all around on a
path heading toward one of
the walls
419
2k Hz
Level decay in dB
1k Hz
500 Hz
250 Hz
10dB
125 Hz
63 Hz
10.0
1.0
Distance in m
of Fig. 12.24 with Fig. 12.26 reveals there are substantially less level deviations if
the source is moved off center to x = 0.5, y = 0.3 and z = 2.8 m. The improvement to
the actually obvious center position is approximately comparable to optimization of
the room geometry described under (c).
e. Influence of Floor Reflections Most technical sound sources, for example household appliances or motor vehicles cannot and should not be tested in free field rooms
that are acoustically lined on all sides but rather must be tested, in compliance with
the respective norms, in so-called semi-freefield rooms with a sound-reflective floor
with < 0.06. Reflections from the floor are practically inevitable and their influences therefore also contained in every measurement result. In the acceptance tests
for the room quality according to ISO 3745 (2003), the norm logically assumes that
the test sound source should radiate like a point source, which would accordingly
to be completely embedded in the center of the floor. Where this is not made possible, corresponding interferences between the direct and the reflected sound must be
expected. Figure 12.27 thus shows deviations of up to almost 10 dB from the norm
in a 6 6 6 m semi-freefield room with = 0.99 on five sides already at distances
s > 2 m if the source (here radiating narrowband at 500 Hz) is positioned 0.2 m above
the sound-reflective floor.
420
Frequency
in Hz
20
25
31.5
40
50
63
80
100
125
160
200
250
315
400
500
630
800
1000
1250
1600
2000
2500
3150
4000
5000
6300
8000
10000
12500
16000
20000

Distance in m
7
7
7
1.00 1.25 1.50
0.9
1.1 1.0
1.0 1.0 1.0
0.8 1.0 1.0
0.6 0.8 1.0
0.4 0.6 0.9
0.5 0.5 0.7
0.2
0.3
0.3
0.5
0.8
0.3
0.1 0.3 0.1
0.9
0.9
0.3
1.4 1.4 0.5
0.4
0.7
1.1
0.5 0.2
0.5
0.6 0.5 1.4
1.0 0.1
0.3
0.0 0.3
1.2
0.4
0.6
1.0
0.8
0.4
0.3
0.9
0.4
0.9
0.4 1.0
0.5
0.6
0.1 0.2
0.9
0.5
0.8
0.2
1.0 0.2
0.4
0.9 0.2
0.3
0.4
0.2
0.6 1.1
0.5
0.7
0.1
0.1
0.1 0.3 0.2
0.1 0.5
0.3
0.6 0.9 0.8
0.1 0.7 0.4
7
1.75
0.7
0.9
1.0
1.1
1.1
1.0
0.1
1.0
0.5
0.7
0.2
0.2
1.0
0.4
1.3
0.3
0.9
0.4
0.8
1.0
0.3
1.0
1.0
0.7
0.1
0.4
1.1
1.1
0.4
0.9
0.0
7
2.00
0.6
0.7
0.9
1.1
1.2
1.2
0.2
0.9
1.1
1.1
0.0
0.5
1.2
0.9
0.8
0.3
0.1
0.2
1.0
0.3
0.6
1.0
0.0
0.7
0.9
1.1
1.2
0.4
1.5
0.4
1.0
7
2.25
0.4
0.6
0.8
1.0
1.3
1.4
0.7
0.5
1.5
0.4
1.0
1.5
0.6
0.2
0.8
0.6
1.0
0.2
0.9
0.6
0.8
1.0
1.1
2.2
0.4
0.1
1.2
0.9
1.1
1.2
0.9
7
2.50
0.2
0.4
0.6
0.9
1.2
1.5
1.1
0.3
1.5
0.8
1.4
1.0
0.1
1.4
1.4
1.9
1.4
0.1
2.1
1.4
2.8
2.1
1.8
1.0
0.3
1.0
0.9
0.2
1.5
1.4
0.4
7
2.75
0.0
0.2
0.3
0.6
1.0
1.4
1.3
1.2
1.1
1.4
0.3
0.8
1.3
0.7
0.4
0.6
2.3
0.7
1.9
0.9
0.8
1.5
0.1
1.0
0.7
0.8
1.0
0.3
1.4
0.6
0.7
7
3.00
0.2
0.1
0.1
0.3
0.7
1.1
1.2
2.2
1.3
1.0
1.5
0.1
0.8
0.3
2.6
0.2
0.8
1.2
2.0
0.3
2.2
0.2
2.9
0.1
0.4
1.2
2.0
1.8
2.8
2.6
7
3.25
7
3.50
7
3.75
7
4.00
0.4
0.3
0.1
0.0
0.3
0.6
0.7
2.6
0.8
0.4
1.4
0.2
2.6
1.9
2.2
1.5
2.1
0.7
1.0
0.8
2.7
2.8
0.0
0.3
0.9
0.5
0.5
0.4
0.2
0.1
0.1
0.1
2.2
1.5
1.0
0.8
1.3
1.3
0.6
1.4
1.5
0.1
0.4
1.7
3.1
0.8
0.4
2.1
2.2
0.9
0.7
0.6
0.6
0.5
0.1
0.2
0.6
0.6
1.4
0.4
0.4
0.3
0.6
2.1
0.3
2.6
0.8
0.8
0.8
0.8
0.8
0.8
1.3
0.3
0.9
1.5
2.1
1.5
0.3
1.4
0.3
0.7
0.7
1.8
0.1
0.4
2.7
2.2
2.3
0.5
1.9
0.9
0.5
1.1
0.7
0.2
1.3
0.4
0.4
0.7
1.3
1.6
2.0
0.6
0.7
0.7
1.2
0.7
2.2
0.7
3.1
1.7
0.8
0.7
0.8
1.7
1.5
0.1
0.2
3.0
0.9
2.1
1.8
1.3
7
4.25
1.0
0.9
0.9
1.0
1.0
1.2
1.9
0.6
0.0
0.0
2.2
4.1
2.6
0.8
2.7
0.7
1.8
1.6
0.8
0.5
0.2
0.8
1.1
0.2
1.7
2.1
0.2
1.1
2.8
1.4
0.8
7
4.50
1.1
1.0
1.0
1.1
1.3
1.5
2.4
1.3
0.9
1.5
0.9
3.1
4.4
2.9
1.1
2.9
1.5
2.0
1.6
2.7
1.3
0.8
2.2
0.4
3.0
0.6
2.3
0.5
2.2
1.8
1.0
Fig. 12.24 Spectra of deviations in dB from the theoretical free field level decay for different
distances (14.5 m) from a central source in a 6 6 6 m room with = 0.99 all around on a
diagonal path into a corner of the room. Highlighted gray: deviations in excess to the tolerances in
Table 12.2; boxed in: distances with s < /4 to the next wall
The simulation, but even more so the results in Figs. 12.8212.87 in Sect. 12.7.4 f
demonstrate that when testing technical sound sources in semi-freefield rooms, for
example a washing machine (Fig. 12.28), there are almost always reflections from
the floor and almost inevitable reflections from some sort of test equipment and other
objects, which may influence the measurement results. However, if such elements are
unavoidable, the microphone should be positioned as close as possible to the source
and as far as possible from the disturbing element. On measuring trails parallel to a
reflecting floor from a source above this floor as reported in Sect. 12.7.6 (Fig. 12.106)
one should, in fact, not expect freefield conditions.
f. Influence of the Bandwidth of the Test Signal In practice, technical sound
sources rarely emit pure tones. Nonetheless, the relationships and calculations presented here use sine signals, because the various effects can be demonstrated most
clearly in this manner. They all compare, at least qualitatively, very well with corresponding measurements conducted in rooms with real sources. Figure 12.29 shows
an example for f = 200 Hz on a diagonal path in an asymmetrically designed semifreefield room according to Zha et al. (1998) with an only 25 cm thick anechoic

Frequency
in Hz
20
25
31.5
40
50
63
80
100
125
160
200
250
315
400
500
630
800
1000
1250
1600
2000
2500
3150
4000
5000
6300
8000
10000
12500
16000
20000
Distance in m
7
7
7
1.00 1.25 1.50
1.0 1.0 0.9
1.0 1.0 1.0
0.9 1.0 1.0
0.7 0.8 1.0
0.5 0.7 0.9
0.4 0.5 0.7
0.2 0.2 0.2
0.1
0.0
0.2
0.1
0.0
0.0
0.1
0.1
0.1
0.2
0.2
0.0
0.3
0.4
0.3
0.5
0.6
0.2
0.3 0.2 1.0
0.1 0.2 0.3
0.3 0.1
0.1
0.6
0.3 0.3
0.6 0.2 0.1
0.7
0.7
0.6
0.1
0.8 0.1
0.1 0.2
0.0
0.1
0.1
0.2
0.5 0.5 0.1
0.0 0.2
0.3
0.1 0.6 0.6
0.1
0.3
0.5
0.1
0.0
0.0
0.3
0.1
0.6
0.9
0.6
0.2
0.4
0.2
0.2
0.1
0.4
0.8
7
1.75
0.7
0.9
1.0
1.1
1.0
0.9
0.3
0.2
0.1
0.3
0.3
0.6
0.9
0.5
0.3
0.8
1.0
0.4
0.3
0.4
0.7
0.3
0.9
0.9
0.3
0.1
0.4
0.0
0.1
0.2
0.1
7
2.00
0.6
0.7
0.9
1.1
1.2
1.1
0.6
0.2
0.2
0.5
0.4
0.7
0.9
0.7
0.4
0.5
0.1
0.5
0.2
1.0
0.5
0.9
0.6
0.9
0.2
0.6
0.1
0.1
0.6
0.4
0.1
7
2.25
0.4
0.5
0.7
1.0
1.2
1.2
0.9
0.0
0.2
0.6
0.1
0.3
0.3
0.2
1.0
0.2
0.4
0.1
0.2
0.1
0.2
0.4
0.5
0.2
0.1
1.2
0.3
0.6
0.2
1.4
0.5
7
2.50
0.2
0.4
0.6
0.8
1.1
1.3
1.2
0.3
0.1
0.6
0.4
0.1
0.6
0.7
0.1
1.1
0.7
0.0
0.7
0.3
0.4
0.3
0.7
0.9
0.1
1.2
0.5
1.0
0.3
0.3
0.1
421
7
2.75
0.0
0.1
0.3
0.6
0.9
1.2
1.3
0.7
0.2
0.4
0.5
0.4
0.1
0.6
0.4
0.7
0.1
0.0
0.8
1.0
0.1
0.1
0.5
0.0
0.8
0.2
0.6
0.6
0.6
1.4
1.3
7
3.00
0.2
0.1
0.1
0.3
0.6
1.0
1.3
1.0
0.5
0.1
0.2
1.1
0.9
0.2
0.8
1.1
0.8
0.7
0.5
0.5
0.9
0.1
0.9
0.8
1.9
7
3.25
0.4
0.3
0.1
0.1
0.3
0.6
1.1
1.1
0.8
0.2
0.3
0.9
0.1
0.1
1.0
0.0
1.0
0.4
0.2
1.0
0.4
0.3
1.0
1.5
0.6
0.5
1.3
0.7
0.6
0.0
1.3
0.5
0.4
1.3
0.8
0.9
0.6
7
3.50
0.5
0.4
0.3
0.2
0.0
0.2
0.6
1.0
1.0
0.5
0.6
0.1
0.6
0.5
0.2
0.2
2.2
1.0
0.8
1.0
0.7
0.2
1.4
2.0
0.6
0.4
0.1
0.5
0.4
0.3
1.3
7
3.75
0.7
0.6
0.5
0.5
0.4
0.2
0.1
0.6
0.8
0.6
0.6
1.1
0.7
1.0
0.9
0.2
0.3
0.1
0.2
0.6
0.3
0.4
1.0
0.0
2.7
1.2
0.1
1.1
1.0
1.2
0.1
7
4.00
0.8
0.8
0.7
0.7
0.7
0.6
0.4
0.0
0.3
0.6
0.3
1.0
2.9
0.4
0.0
1.1
0.4
2.0
1.6
1.0
0.2
0.4
1.4
0.6
1.0
0.3
1.2
0.3
1.0
0.3
13
7
4.25
0.9
0.9
0.9
0.9
0.9
1.0
0.9
0.6
0.3
0.2
0.1
0.3
2.2
2.3
0.7
0.8
1.3
0.2
0.7
0.1
0.1
0.3
0.4
0.0
0.3
0.8
0.7
13
0.2
0.6
0.9
7
4.50
1.0
1.0
1.0
1.1
1.2
1.3
1.3
1.1
1.0
0.3
0.6
0.3
0.3
0.8
3.0
0.0
1.7
1.0
1.5
0.5
0.9
0.9
0.5
0.5
1.0
0.5
1.3
0.7
0.5
0.4
2.0
Fig. 12.25 As in Fig. 12.24, but with the dimensions 7 6 5 m
lining of broadband compact absorbers according to Sects. 10.5 and 12.6, see Figs.
10.14 and 12.30.
The measurement results in Fig. 12.31 however also show that there is a distinct
influence of the bandwidth of the test signal: in the semi-freefield room of Fig. 12.30,
the freefield distance is reduced when third-octave noise is replaced by a sine tone at
1 kHz from more than 5 m to 4.75, at 250 Hz to 4 m and at 63 Hz to only about 3.5 m.
Thus it can be deduced that in every freefield room, the measuring volume in which
precision tests according to ISO 3745 (2003) may be conducted becomes smaller if
tonal components of a sound source are also to be accurately measuredat any rate
as long as is below the only theoretically attainable value 1. In particular there is
no reason to play one absorber technology off against another using argumentation
based on these obvious physical facts.
g. Optimization by an Inhomogeneous Lining Several influences on the freefield
conditions in anechoic rooms are discussed using concrete examples in Sect. 12.7.4.
However, some recommendations for designing and building freefield environments
that go beyond points (a) to (c) in Sect. 12.4 can be derived from the following:
Large sound sources require, of course, as large as possible freefield rooms in
order to be able to realize the far-field distances for measuring them.
422
Frequency
in Hz
20
25
31.5
40
50
63
80
100
125
160
200
250
315
400
500
630
800
1000
1250
1600
2000
2500
3150
4000
5000
6300
8000
10000
12500
16000
20000

Distance in m
7
7
1.00 1.25
-0.9
-1.0
-1.0 -1.0
-0.9 -1.0
-0.9 -1.0
-1.0 -1.1
-0.9
-1.0
0.4
0.3
1.1
0.9
-0.4
-0.5
0.7
0.9
0.9
0.9
0.1
0.3
0.1
0.7
0.0
0.5
0.0
-0.4
-0.4
-0.2
-0.3
-0.2
0.1
0.1
0.6
0.1
-0.8
-0.9
0.7
0.2
-0.2
-0.3
-0.1
0.3
-0.6
-0.4
0.2
0.2
0.2
-0.1
-0.3 -0.4
-0.2
-0.8
0.6
0.6
-0.2
-0.3
0.1
0.5
7
1.50
-0.8
-0.9
-1.0
-1.1
-1.3
-1.2
0.1
1.2
0.0
0.6
0.6
0.6
0.3
0.1
-0.2
-0.6
0.1
-0.4
0.3
-0.2
0.7
-0.9
-0.2
-0.1
0.1
0.3
-0.1
0.2
0.6
0.0
0.5
7
1.75
-0.7
-0.8
-0.9
-1.1
-1.4
-1.4
-0.2
1.1
0.3
0.7
0.3
0.6
-0.6
0.5
-0.4
-0.6
0.3
-0.5
-0.6
-0.4
0.4
-0.4
0.3
-0.5
-0.4
-0.2
0.0
-0.4
0.0
1.0
0.5
7
2.00
-0.5
-0.6
-0.8
-1.0
-1.3
-1.5
-0.7
0.8
0.5
1.0
0.2
0.1
0.1
1.0
-0.4
-0.3
-0.3
0.2
-1.0
-0.5
-0.2
0.9
-0.1
-0.8
0.9
0.9
-0.4
0.4
0.6
-0.9
1.4
7
2.25
-0.3
-0.5
-0.6
-0.9
-1.2
-1.5
-1.1
0.2
0.5
1.3
0.3
-0.3
0.3
-0.4
-0.2
-0.7
-0.3
-0.7
-0.8
-1.0
0.4
-0.6
0.4
-0.1
0.3
-0.6
0.8
-0.5
1.1
0.2
-0.3
7
2.50
-0.1
-0.3
-0.4
-0.7
-1.0
-1.4
-1.3
-0.5
0.2
1.5
0.8
-0.1
-0.7
0.9
0.0
-0.3
0.2
0.0
-0.5
-1.0
-0.2
0.6
-0.7
-0.3
-0.1
0.8
0.8
-0.6
-1.3
-1.0
0.1
7
2.75
0.0
-0.1
-0.2
-0.4
-0.7
-1.0
-1.2
-1.2
-0.4
1.3
1.2
0.4
-0.9
0.8
-0.9
0.4
-0.4
-0.9
-0.6
-0.1
1.0
-0.7
1.0
-0.6
-0.9
0.2
0.0
0.9
0.1
0.5
0.8
7
3.00
0.2
0.1
0.0
-0.1
-0.3
-0.6
-0.7
-1.5
-1.1
0.5
1.3
1.0
-0.2
-0.7
1.0
-0.9
-0.5
-0.1
-0.5
0.5
-1.0
-0.5
0.7
-0.2
0.6
-0.2
0.5
-1.4
0.4
0.0
0.1
7
3.25
0.4
0.3
0.2
0.2
0.0
-0.1
-0.1
-1.3
-1.4
-0.6
0.7
1.3
0.4
-0.4
-0.7
0.9
0.4
0.9
0.4
0.5
-0.9
0.2
-0.6
-0.8
0.3
0.3
-0.4
-0.5
1.2
0.9
0.6
7
3.50
0.6
0.5
0.4
0.4
0.4
0.4
0.6
-0.7
-1.1
-1.5
-0.4
0.8
0.9
0.0
0.0
-0.5
0.2
1.7
0.8
-0.7
1.9
-0.9
-1.0
-0.3
0.9
-1.3
1.0
1.4
-0.4
-0.3
0.5
7
3.75
0.7
0.7
0.6
0.6
0.7
0.9
1.3
0.1
-0.3
-1.3
-1.3
-0.5
0.5
0.3
0.8
-0.5
-0.6
1.3
1.0
-0.7
0.5
1.8
-0.7
0.3
0.9
1.3
-0.6
-1.3
-0.5
-0.1
1.1
7
4.00
0.8
0.8
0.8
0.8
1.0
1.2
1.8
0.9
0.6
-0.1
-0.6
-1.3
-1.1
-0.6
1.2
0.2
0.2
-0.9
1.3
-0.7
0.7
-0.9
-0.3
0.4
0.8
-1.0
-1.0
-0.9
0.1
0.4
-1.4
7
4.25
0.9
0.9
0.9
1.0
1.2
1.5
2.3
1.5
1.4
1.2
1.0
0.0
-1.1
-3.0
-0.4
0.1
1.0
0.5
-1.0
0.4
-0.9
0.0
-1.2
0.4
0.3
-0.5
-2.3
0.4
1.3
0.6
0.4
7
4.50
1.0
1.0
1.0
1.1
1.4
1.8
2.6
1.9
2.0
2.1
2.3
1.8
1.1
-1.0
-1.2
-2.8
-1.0
-0.2
0.6
1.0
0.2
-2.0
1.8
0.8
0.2
-0.2
0.7
1.1
-0.8
0.0
1.4
Fig. 12.26 As in Fig. 12.24, but with the source at x = 0.5; y = 0.3; z = 2.8 m
For similar reasons, elongated sound sources are best tested in correspondingly
formed rooms.
The thinner the thickness of the anechoic lining with the same absorption coefficient, the larger the free space between the far-field and the freefield distances
even when taking into consideration the distance of a quarter of the respective
wave length from the inner edge of the room lining, also recommended by ISO
3745 (2003).
In order to prevent interference effects from accumulating (also in the case of
broadband signals), symmetrical cubes and central positioning of the sound
sources in the room should be avoided.
Fundamentally, the aim of course is an as high as possible absorption coefficient
of the lining. Whether however = 0.99 is sufficient or excessive depends on many
spatial and geometrical parameters.
The greater the absorption of the ceiling and the walls of the room, the more
critical are the reflecting surfaces remaining in the room, for example of test
equipment or the source itself.
In view of the fact that in practice there is no such thing as a completely symmetrical
room or point source, it is obvious to adapt the lining of a room to the purpose and
measuring conditions, thus not to make it as homogeneous as possible as norms
10 dB
a
Level decay in dB
Fig. 12.27 Level decay at

500 Hz (sine signal) from a
source with x = 0; y = 0; z = 0
(a), resp. x = 0; y = 0;
z = 0.2 m (b) in a 6 6 6 m
semi-freefield room with
= 0.99 on five sides
423
M
S
10 dB
Level decay in dB
M
S
ca. 20 cm
1
Distance in m
10
Fig. 12.28 Semi-freefield

room with BCA lining
according to Fig. 10.15 for
measuring sound emission of
household appliances
according to Zha et al. (2009).
(Courtesy of Faist
Anlagenbau)
recommend. Figure 10.21 shows, for example, a lining of the right wall (with the
door) of the room according to Fig. 12.30 with BCA in which steel sheets of different thicknesses (12.5 mm) are embedded. Section 12.7.4 describes examples in
which, only in sections, asymmetrical structured absorbers according to Fig. 12.33
are placed in front of compound panel absorbers according to Sect. 5.3. However,
10 dB
Level decay in dB
10 dB
Level decay in dB
424
10
Distance in m
Fig. 12.29 Level decay at 200 Hz (sine signal) from a central source on the floor of the semifreefield room according to Fig. 12.30 with = 0.95 averaged over five surfaces on a diagonal path
to an upper corner of the room; a calculation, b measurement
Fig. 12.30 Ground plan of
the semi-freefield room
according to Zha et al. (1998)
with 250 mm thick
homogeneous BCA lining.
The circles indicate the
maximum possible freefield
hemispheres for a
conventional wedge absorber
lining designed for fK = 80,
resp. 125 Hz
the image-source model is not suited for such detail custom-designing for every
application. Only experience gained in numerous projects involving many experiments, failures and successes are of help here. As a result of these optimizations,
some realized projects particularly of semi-freefield rooms in which the lining varies
multiple times within single boundary surfaces (walls or ceilings) are included in the
examples at the end of this chapter, see for example Sects. 12.7.4 and 12.7.7.
12.6 Three Alternative Absorber Elements for Anechoic Rooms

Figure 12.32 traces the development of absorbers from classical panel resonators
to the most efficient anechoic linings to be optimally tuned to the respective soundfield requirements. The membrane absorber (a) is a combination of a Helmholtz
resonator on the inside tuned to low-frequencies and a mass-spring system (formed
1k Hz
1k Hz
250 Hz
250 Hz
63 Hz
63 Hz
425
10 dB
10 dB
Level decay in dB
10
Distance in m
1
Distance in m
Fig. 12.31 Level decay measured on a diagonal path from a central source on the floor into an
upper corner of the room (bottom right in Fig. 12.30); a sine signal, b one-third-octave signal at the
given center frequencies
by the air chambers 5 and the two membranes 6 and 7) tuned one octave higher
to create an attractive silencer element for air-conditioning systems, see Sect. 6.3.
More than 3 000 m2 of them were employed in the FKFS wind tunnel (Sect. 12.4) as
low-frequency absorbers in the silencer splitters and integrated in the various wall
and ceiling linings.
To save manufacturing costs for the following projects, the expensive honeycomb
structure 5 and the perforated membrane 6 of the membrane absorber were left
out and the cavity was completely or partially filled with an open-pore soft foam 8
(Fig. 12.32b), thereby shifting absorption to somewhat higher frequencieshowever
the costs of the metal-sheet housing 4 remained high. Therefore, in the second and
third development step, the cover membrane 7 was replaced by a 13 mm thick
steel plate 9 which was connected resiliently at certain points to the foam plate and
this compound structure (c) was then attached, without trough 4, to the wall or the
ceiling by means of simple hooks or frames. If care is taken that the edges of the
front plate 9 are not firmly clamped nor lie in rigid contact anywhere, it is able, to
both freely vibrate as a mass with the foam as an air cushion like in a sort of massspring system and in its eigenresonances. Both mechanisms are strongly damped
by the intimate connection 10 of layer 8 and plate 9. If the impinging sound waves
diffracted about the edge of plate 9, preferably measuring approximately 1 1.5 m,
are able to penetrate laterally into layer 8, the result is a very broadband-effective
low and medium frequency absorber, see Sect. 5.3.
If the aim is only to damp low frequencies, approximately below 250 or 125 Hz,
the edges of this compound panel absorber CPA are also covered soundproof. If, on
the other hand, the aim is to create a more broadband absorber, the CPA modules are
426
Fig. 12.32 Schematic visualization of the development from a simple panel resonator to anechoic
lining compounds for freefield rooms. (According to Fuchs 2001)
mounted spaced approximately 2030 cm apart. Varying the dimensions, especially

the thickness of the front plate 9 and the thickness of the rear layer 8 in Fig. 12.32c,
mounting on a wall or ceiling can be optimally adjusted to the spectral composition
and spatial distribution of the sound field in a room.
Based on the CPA modules, innovative linings were developed for anechoic
(acoustically dead) rooms in two steps to satisfy different needs. In particular,
the broadband compact absorbers BCA according to Figs. 10.20 and 12.32d have
proven quite satisfactory. Closing the intermediate spaces 12 and covering the CPA
427
Fig. 12.33 Asymmetrical structured absorber ASA composed of open-pore melamine-resin foam
with, for example, B1 = B2 = 125, D1 = 100, D2 = 150, H1 = 250, H2 = 270 (400, 530) mm
modules with a smooth homogeneous porous or fibrous layer 11, the latter preferably
approximately 150 mm thick, creates an incomparable broadband sound absorber
with higher efficiency at the low frequencies even compared to the CPA. The lower
curve in Fig. 10.20 is yielded by the CPA modules according to Fig. 5.14 with 1 mm
steel plates as described above but completely covered on the front with 150 mm
foam. Used in this case was SA = 10.9 m2 in Eq. (3.15). Apparently in this configuration where the plate is softly embedded all around in such a manner that it can
vibrate freely, the damping potential of this combined reactive-passive BCA reaches
an optimum. With a thickness of all told only approximately 250 mm, a BCA lining can be used to equip even very small free field rooms for norm precision class
1 measurements at frequencies down to 50 Hz and below.
Making the front porous layer 11 somewhat thicker (e.g. 520 mm) and facilitating
sound entry by structuring the layer in a specific manner according to Fig. 12.33 yields
an anechoic lining according to Fig. 12.32e, which meets the acoustical requirements
of freefield rooms even better. The target is not so much the absolute value of the
measured data. As is known, values greater than 1 at higher frequencies can be
explained by the arrangement of the diffusers in the reverberation room, the influence
of diffraction effects at the edge of the test object but also, as norms require, by
applying Sabines formula Eq. (3.15). In contrast to absorption coefficients measured
in an impedance tube for normal sound incidence or for sound waves impinging at
another angle, which do not exceed the value 1, according to Cremer and Mller
(1978, 1982b, Part 2, 25 there) s values far above 1 should, therefore, not be
surprising. At any rate, the results in Fig. 10.20 show that apparently the entire
relevant auditory range can be covered with only a 250 thick BCA with a 1 mm
thick steel plate. However, the influence of even thicker plates (of steel to 2.5 mm)
cannot be so unequivocally quantified in reverberation rooms conditioned according
to Fig. 5.14 as by measuring the decay times at the eigenresonances of the room
according to Figs. 5.11 and 5.12.
Without the so important CPA in the back, asymmetrical structured absorbers
ASA on a 200 200 mm ground surface can be compared in an impedance tube
with conventional mineral-fiber wedges: Fig. 12.34 shows that at frequencies above
428

incidence on varyingly
structured porous/fibrous
absorbers, measured in an
impedance tube with a
200 200 mm cross section;
ASA: 520 (bold), 650
(middle), 780 mm (upper
curve); wedges: 680 (),
1 075 mm ()
125 Hz all the variants tested meet the 99 % required in DIN 45 635 (1987) for
narrow-band measurements about the same. Below this frequency limit, for example,
a 520 mm thick ASA is substantially superior to 680 mm thick wedges. An ASA of
roughly the same thickness still reaches 99 % at 100 Hz. Moreover, a 780 mm thick
ASA is able to compete quite well with 1 075 mm thick wedges.
The advantages of the alternative technology can only become effective at low
frequencies in a room when large CPA modules are integrated behind the ASA
lining according to Fig. 10.22 to lastingly damp particularly the room modes, see
for example Sect. 12.7.4. The advantage of structured compared to thin, smooth,
porous surfaces for narrow-band measurements in a freefield is less pronounced in
reverberation-room measurements (Fig. 10.20), thus another indication that BCA
linings are recommendable regarding space consumption, handling and durability
for practically all requirements prevailing for anechoic rooms (measurements in
one-third-octaves at noise sources with no distinct tonal components).
If the aim is to also conduct narrowband tests at tonal sources in a freefield, neither measurements for approximately diffuse sound incidence in a reverberation
room nor those for normal incidence in an impedance tube are suited for comparing
different linings. There is no decisive proof of a linings suitability until comprehensive decay measurements have been conducted in a real finished room. Often the
user wants a certain measurement site or measurement path for which a preferred
incidence direction of the sound waves on the lining is typical. Zhou et al. (2004a),
Zhou and Zha 2004 therefore created a measurement method according to Fig. 12.35,
in which the test object with a reflection factor r is irradiated at an angle 2 with
a variable frequency f by a symmetrically (in relation to the angle 1 = 2 = )
radiating loudspeaker L. At the microphone M, the sound pressure pd of the direct
and pr of the reflected waves are superimposed according to

p0
p0
2f sd
2f sr
p = pd + pr =
+ r exp j
.
(12.9)
exp j
sd
c0
sr
c0
429
Fig. 12.35 Measuring configuration for the absorption coefficient at oblique sound incidence in
anechoic surroundings. (According to Zhou et al. 2004a, Zhou and Zha 2004)
The sound pressure amplitude at the microphone thus becomes, with the path difference s = sr sd and the path ratio x = sd /sr , an unequivocal function of the value of
the reflection factor r:

2f s
2
2
2
2
(12.10)
p = pd 1 + 2 |r| x cos
+ x |r| .
c0
In the limiting case that the surface of the test object is ideally absorbent,
|r| = 0;
= 1 |r|2 = 1,
(12.11)
with p2 = pd 2 , the genuine spectrum of the loudspeaker appears at the microphone.

Whereas if the surface were completely reflecting,
|r| = 1;
= 0,
(12.12)
the characteristic comb-filter effect appears in the spectrum. As Fig. 12.36 shows,
the loudspeaker selected here does not radiate uniformly. The curves measured and
calculated of a sufficiently large and heavy 22 mm thick chip-board, however, indicates the to-be-expected peaks (approximately 5 dB here) according to Eqs. (12.9)
430
Fig. 12.36 Comb-filter effect

in a measurement
configuration according to
Fig. 12.35; measurement with
no test object (black),
measurement with a 22 mm
chip-board (dashed),
calculation for s = 2.23 m,
= 27 , |r| = 1 (gray line)
and (12.10) whenever

c0
(n 1);
s
f =
n = 1, 2, 3 . . .
(12.13)
and dips down to more than 10 dB whenever s corresponds to an odd multiple of

half the sound wavelength,
f =
c0
(2n 1).
2s
(12.14)
Sound pressure level
Figure 12.37 shows an only minor deviation from the loudspeaker characteristic
when an ASA is placed on the chip-board. At frequencies that lead to sharp dips
for the chip-board, the absorption coefficients listed in the table in Fig. 12.37 can
be determined according to Eq. (12.9) from this measuring curve. With consistently
10 dB
500
1000
1500
2000
Hz
3000
Frequency
Frequency
in Hz
(27)
318
552
768
992
1204
1430
1654
1858
2082
2312
2534
2748
2978
0.997
1.000
1.000
1.000
0.998
0.996
0.993
0.995
0.999
0.998
0.998
0.996
0.998
Fig. 12.37 Determining the absorption coefficient of a 520 mm thick ASA for s = 2.23 m; = 27
according to Fig. 12.35; measurement without a test object (black), with a 22 mm chip-board
(dotted), with ASA on the same chip-board (gray line)
12.7 Examples of Innovative Acoustic Test Stands
431
Fig. 12.38 Openings and installations in walls are easily integrated in BCA linings. (Courtesy of
Faist Anlagenbau)
> 0.99, one can say this indicates an extraordinarily effective sound absorber.
Similarly high absorption coefficients are yielded at other angles 2 between 45 and
60 . This measuring method may also be suited for smaller and larger angles. If
the test object surfaces are sufficiently large, an attempt can be made to extend the
frequency range down even to below 100 Hz, and also conduct such tests on lowfrequency tuned absorbers of the CPA-type according to Sect. 5.3 and broadband
absorbers BCA according to Sect. 10.2.
12.7
Examples of Innovative Acoustic Test Stands
The newly available low-frequency membrane absorbers, compound panel absorbers

and broadband compact absorbers now compete with standard linings that had been
in use for 60 years in freefield measuring rooms. Their extended acoustic efficiency,
optically attractive surface and ability to integrate within the lining any installations
through openings in ceilings and walls (see Fig. 12.38) convinced both builders and
users. As their acoustical qualities can only be fully appreciated in a finished room
by measuring the level decay from a point source, it took a few years for the new
technology to prevail. It was the rapid acceptance of BCA linings in the laboratories of
the leading automobile manufacturers that convinced the Fraunhofer IBPs licensee
to stop offering conventional wedge-absorber installations. Meanwhile more than
200 alternatively equipped freefield rooms are proof that it is possible to pave the
way for advantageous alternatives in a relatively short time with enterprising clients
and overcome a seemingly insurmountable state of the art established by norms and
tradition.
432
Fig. 12.39 In many cases

conventional anechoic linings
in engine-noise test stands
leave little room for testing
the various sound sources
12.7.1
BMW Engine Test Cell in Munich
Eckoldt et al. (1994) discussed the fiberless technology in relation to the valid standards. The advantages of combining a porous sound absorber with a broadband
resonator to treat a broad band of frequencies and of an even surface compared to
a structured surface are best appreciated in small measurement rooms with relatively rough conditions regarding abrasion, damage and soiling. For this reason, the
engine-noise test stand (Pfeiffer et al. 1997a, 1997b; Fuchs et al. 1998) at the BMW
Research and Engineering Center FIZ with a raw volume (without lining) of only
339 m3 was so vital for an acceptance of a then new approach.
Acoustic test cells such as encountered in large numbers in many industries are
usually installed in relatively small rooms, which are closely adapted to the dimensions and shape of the respective sound sources. Anechoic rooms must regularly
accommodate, in addition to the acoustic measurement devices, extensive equipment
and installations for machine frames, holding and guide elements. These enable versatile maintenance, monitoring and test procedures to be applied to the test objects.
Furthermore, the requirements regarding robustness and cleanability of floor, wall
and ceiling surfaces are often very high.
It is obvious that under the conditions prevailing in industry, there are frequently
extreme restrictions for realizing freefield conditions. In view of the contradiction
between a sufficiently large measuring distance s from the source and the required
thickness t of the lining, often an unsatisfactory compromise has to be made between freedom of movement and acoustical quality (see Fig. 12.39) so that (for e.g.
t = 250 mm) the lower measurement frequency for conventional lining would lie at
above 300 Hz. On the other hand, in the future there is particular interest in working
on noise control and sound design at low frequencies as well (see Chap. 2). Room
lining with a thickness of only 250 mm, which allows precision measurements down
to 50 Hz, thus doubtless opens new possibilities.
According to DIN 45 635 (1984) the freefield is a sound field without any bounding surfaces or with absorptive boundary surfaces whose influence on the sound field
is negligible within the measuring area in the relevant frequency range. According
433
Fig. 12.40 BMW engine noise test stand with indicated BCA wall lining compared to wedge
absorbers for fu = 125 Hz (- - -)
to precision class 1, the measuring area should be located outside the near field
of the to-be-measured sound source and at a distance of at least u /4 from the absorbent walls, the wavelength u being that of the lower limiting frequency fu of the
room. This can also be attained by shifting the sound source relative to the measuring
point. However, in engine noise test rigs the source is stationary although usually
not in the center of the room (Fig. 12.40) in order to also leave room for the exhaust
system. The closer the source is moved to a bounding surface the more difficult, of
course, is it to comply with class 1 at sufficiently large measuring distances.
In order to compare the BCA lining system with the conventional wedge absorber
system, the volume efficiency of a cubic room with an edge length lR
R =
Vi
(lR 2t)3
= 3
Va
lR (lR 2t)3
(12.15)
may be calculated with Vi = inner volume between the absorbent surfaces and
Va = absorber volume. In Fig. 12.41, R is plotted for different raw volumes V as a
function of frequency. As expected, the measuring room equipped with BCA shows
higher R values below 315 Hz than the one with wedge absorbers, because the only
250 mm thick BCA permits realizing a larger Vi . The smaller the room size and the
measuring frequency, the more does the larger necessary thickness of the wedges
reduce the interior of the room still available for measurement.
434
Fig. 12.41 Volume efficiency

R according to Eq. (12.15)
for anechoic rooms with all
round conventional wedge
lining () and 250 mm thick
BCA lining (- - -) dependent
on the lower limiting
frequency fu and the raw
volume V = 125 (a), 250 (b),
500 (c), 1 000 m3 (d)
If, for example, a room like this with only V = 339 m3 is to be conditioned down
to 80 Hz, the result is a R of approximately 0.5 for the wedge lining and more than
4 for the BCA lining. With conventional lining for 125 Hz at best only half of the
volume given here can be utilized for measuring purposes (R
= 1). Also in large
anechoic rooms (e.g. with V = 1 000 m3 ), utilizing the BCA only down to 100 Hz,
these yielded far better results with R = 6 than wedges with R = 1.3.
Figure 12.42 shows the lower limiting frequency
fu =
3c0
lR l
(12.16)
Fig. 12.42 Limiting frequency fu dependent on the raw volume () for s = and d = t = /4 according to DIN 45 635 (1984) and ISO 37 45 (2003) for l = 0.5, 1 and 2 m; test object volume
> 0.5 % of the measuring volume (- - -)
435
Fig. 12.43 Maximum

measuring distance smax from
the source as a function of the
smallest distance dR from the
nearest wall element
according to DIN 45 635
(1984) and ISO 37 45 (2003)
for frequencies above 50 (a),
100 (b), 200 (c) and
400 Hz (d)
(with l = the edge length of a cubic, centrally positioned sound source) for the case
that t and d, according to the norm, equal /4 with s = and the additional condition
l 3 0.005li 3
(12.17)
is met. According to this ideal, raw volumes would have to be several thousand m3
in order to realize anechoic rooms down to 50 Hz. With lR 3 = 339 m3 , conventionally
the BMW facility could only have been qualified to approximately 176 Hz even if the
source were positioned as a point in the center of the room. Actually, however, due to
the off-center position, the usable volume is further so strongly limited (to effectively
only approximately 138 m3 ) that with the relatively large source (l > 0.5 m) conventional state-of-the-art lining would only suffice for fu > 220 Hz. Figure 12.43 shows
the maximum measurement distance smax from a source as a function of the smallest
distance dR from the nearest raw wall element for different measuring frequencies
according to DIN 45 635 (1984) and ISO 37 45 (2003).
The BMW test rig came into being as a joint project of the Power Train Development and R & D divisions. The facility (Fig. 12.44) has two doors, one to enter the
test stand and the other to bring in the test object. According to Pfeiffer et al. (1997a,
1997b) the mounting framework is supported by four upward-tapering, sand-filled
steel pipes which are again on a steel foundation on regulated pneumatic springs.
With respect to vibration, the setup is designed such that its eigenfrequencies are
below the lowest idling speeds of the engines to be examined. As a result, their operation and the measuring signals are not impaired by resonance effects. For cooling
the room with up to about 21 000 m3 /h, outlet vents are integrated along the entire
edge facing the engine. Additional air outlets are located directly below and to the
side of the engine directly above the grid level, see Fig. 12.40. Installed above and
to the side of the slanted wall are openings for drawing off the air. A detachable
crane moves the engine from the door to the assembly frame. A sprinkler system,
various sensors, fluorescent lamps, video cameras and smoke detectors are integrated
in the ceiling. The support structure of the grid extends over the entire room on struts
without any contact to the side walls.
436
Fig. 12.44 Vertical section of the BMW engine-noise test stand. (s. Pfeiffer et al. 1997a, 1997b)
All the wiring, cables and ducts are accommodated in the joints at the walls according to Fig. 10.22. On the room side, the joints are covered with special absorbers
creating a closed, plane absorber surface inside the test cell. All the ducts in the vicinity of the air inlet and outlet openings are lined with foam behind perforated covers.
The reflectors of the 17 fluorescent lamps are composed of the same perforated sheet
metal as the BCA and are also backed with sound absorptive foam. Both the lamps
and the crane rails lie within joints of the lining. The steel struts of the grid carrier
construction on the sides and at the bottom are covered with absorptive foam. The
grid, assembly frame for the engine, the top sides of the grid support structure, the
above-mentioned auxiliary elements including stairs with banister remained uncovered. All told about 6 m2 are left sound-reflective corresponding to around 10 % of
the total surface of the room. Figure 12.45 shows the first engine in the finished room
with its striking light smooth surfaces.
Before starting operation, a norm level decay test was run in early 1997. The
artificial sound source was placed on the assembly frame for the engine and from
its center steel wires were extended to the five upper and five lower corners of the
room. Figure 12.46 shows, as an example, the level decay on an upper trail for two
frequency bands. The deviation here even for the longest measurement distance of
4.5 m at 50 Hz is less than 1.5 dB and at 800 Hz less than 1 dB. Thus, measurements
with the highest accuracy can be conducted on this trail at least from 50 Hz upward
everywhere just as in a freefield.
The critical distances x are plotted as an example for 50 Hz in the ground plan of
the test cell in Fig. 12.47. Shown in addition are the permissible measuring radius of
a full spherical measuring area smax1 around the employed point source, derived from
437
Fig. 12.45 BMW engine

noise test stand according to
Pfeiffer et al. (1997a, 1997b)
with the first test object
Fig. 12.46 Level decay with

distance from a test sound
source on an upper trail in the
room according to Figs. 12.44
and 12.45 with no grid for
800 () and 50 Hz ()
the required minimum distance (/4) from the absorbent surfaces, and the minimum
distance from the source smin = 1 m according to the norm. Also plotted is the possible
maximum radius smax2 of a hemispherical measuring area in the upper part of the
room keeping a distance d = /4 to the lining according to DIN 45 635 (1984). The
shortest distance of the source point from the room lining of only 2.14 m determines
that smin > smax . Therefore, if the /4 interval is retained, a norm measurement is not
permissible at 50 Hz. It is not below 80 Hz (smin < smax ) that class 1 measurement
is possible in this room despite its proven higher freefield quality, simply due to
the location of the source relatively close to the lining. Class 2 measurements are
possible down to 50 Hz, see also Table 12.4.
438
Fig. 12.47 Distances (x) on

the trails in the upper half of
the room in the BMW engine
noise test stand which meet
precision class 1 for 50 Hz
Using, for example, 700 mm long wedges would substantially reduce the measuring areas for measurements from 125 Hz upwards: the permissible radius of the
spherical measuring area would be reduced from 1.45 (as executed) to 1 m (with
wedge absorbers). This means that from 125 Hz upward only small sound sources
could be measured. Large engines would reach the limits of the conventionally lined
test stand already at frequencies substantially above 125 Hz. The wedge lining indicated with dotted lines in Fig. 12.47 would hardly leave room for the test object
itself.
Although influences on the freefield from reflections at the relatively fine structured grids were detected during measurement in single frequency bands and at
greater distance from the source, they are negligible within the class 1 measuring
areas. More attention is to be paid to the support structure. When the grid is removed
for acceptance tests, the relatively wide bearing surfaces of the support structure are
also covered with foam like the other elements of the support structure so that no destructive reflections can affect the measurement results at frequencies from 1 000 Hz
upwards. In the lower half of the room, the numerous lined support elements lead,
from 800 Hz upwards, to silencing and shielding effects which greatly lower the
levels in the area beside and behind these elements. The result is that the class 1
standards for high frequencies can only be realized in a small area around the source.
The permissible measuring radii in Table 12.4 apply both with and without the grid.
This first application of the CPA/BCA technology in an extremely confined space
revealed distinct advantages:
439
Table 12.4 Permissible measuring areas for the BMW engine noise test stand according to Pfeiffer
et al. (1997a, 1997b) for a source position as in Fig. 12.47
Raw volume
Volume between the absorbers
Volume efficiency R according to Eq. (12.15)
Height of the grid above the floor lining
Height above the grid
Smallest distance of the source point from the lining
Measurements according to DIN 45 635
Precision class 1 (full sphere)
smin = 1 m; smax1 = 2.14 /4
smax1 = 11.06 m for f = 80 Hz
smax1 = 11.28 m for f = 100 Hz
smax1 = 11.45 m for f 125 Hz
339.00 m3
276.00 m3
4.40
1.44 m
3.30 m
2.14 m
Precision class 2
s > 1.5 m
for 50 Hz f 16 kHz
Fig. 12.48 Possible building

costs reductions by
employing a space-saving
(here: t = 250 mm) all round
anechoic lining for fu = 80 Hz
as a function of the raw
volume of a cubic room
dependent on the specific
building costs; 65 /m3 (),
125 /m3 (), 255 /m3 ()
a) It reduces the usually cleft absorbers spatially to an absolutely necessary

minimum,
b) it creates room for extended sources and maximum measuring distances,
c) it makes the anechoic floor treadable,
d) it permits using an exchangeable bearing to collect fluids inevitably dripping from
the engine,
e) it extends the possible frequency range for freefield measurements down to 50 Hz
(possibly even below) without significant drawbacks at higher frequencies.
Early coordination involving all planners is a prerequisite for fully exploiting the
possibilities of integrating diverse test stand installations in the modular assembly
(Fig. 10.22). Although it is not possible to charge more for this flexible, attractive
room lining, one may take into account lower building costs K due to a reduction
440
Fig. 12.49 Movable BCA modules in front of doors and windows of a semi-freefield room
in lining thickness t as compared to that of wedge absorbers according to Eq. (4.9).

Figure 12.48 shows this gain

K = lR3 (lR 2t)3 K
(12.18)
for three exemplary specific raw building costs K as a function of a cubic raw volume
1R 3 for a planned lower limiting frequency f0 = 80 Hz. In many test stands with
sophisticated installations, the wiring and ducts are laid behind a facing shell and
the acoustical lining is mounted in front of it. If this lost cavity is included in the
calculation, because the novel modular assembly permits integrating all installations
in the lining, building costs savings are even higher.
12.7.2 Audi Aero-Acoustic Wind Tunnel in Ingolstadt

Completely modular assembly of the anechoic BCA lining elements permits opening
and closing spaces that were left free for windows, doors and switchboard panels as
required with easy-to-handle elements (Fig. 12.49). The first wind tunnel plenum to
be, as evenly as possible, completely lined with BCA modules, according to Schneider et al. (1998), went into operation at the Audi Wind Tunnel Center. Figure 12.50
shows this facility with a test object, Fig. 12.51 the large control room windows
which can be acoustically neutralized for precision measurements by lowering an
absorbent apron. Here perforated sheet-metal baskets according to Fig. 10.22 hold
and protect the 250 mm thick BCA modules. The conditions for norm semi-freefield
rooms have been substantiated for one-third-octave measurements down to 63 Hz by
a neutral inspection authority.
In this project, silencer splitters composed of BCA modules are used for the first
time in one of the turning corners (Fig. 12.52). The 250 mm thick BCA modules are
separated by 2 mm steel plates and covered with perforated sheet metal. To minimize

Fig. 12.50 An anechoic
measuring hall designed with
BCA linings in the Audi wind
tunnel; (a) view of the nozzle
(right) and the control room
windows; (b) view of the
intake
Fig. 12.51 An anechoic

apron with BCA lining that
can be lowered in front of the
control room windows in the
Audi wind tunnel
441
442
Fig. 12.52 Pressure-side

turning silencer composed of
BCA modules in the Audi
wind tunnel
pressure drop and optimize insertion loss at high frequencies, front and rear profiles
of this bending silencer are adapted and filled with open-pore soft foam behind the
sheet metal (Fig. 10.5). The other two corners were provided with metallic turning
vanes profiled on both sides with coated foam as in Figs. 4.5 and 12.14, thereby
further improving the damping at medium and high frequencies and reducing the
pressure drop.
The large cross section of the flow guides permits installing additional very broadband acoustic wall and ceiling lining. In the vicinity of the intake, a suspended
structure with 300 mm thick BCA modules shown in the lower part of Fig. 10.5 was
realized in this manner. The cavity in their back is so large, because the original plan
foresaw much more voluminous fibrous linings. It is now separated with a 3 mm
thick steel plate onto which the BCA modules are mounted. Inside the cavity, absorber bulkheads provided the necessary damping to prevent lateral transmission of
airborne sound. Finally a fiberless hub silencer, as shown in Fig. 12.53, is installed
on the fan itself as an especially effective measure directly at the source.
All these then new concepts combined with a careful selection of a low-noise
fan made, according to Hucho (2000), the Audi facility the quietest wind tunnel
worldwide of its day. Figure 12.54 traces the respectable progress in noise control
in automotive wind tunnels in two steps: the first, to which thanks, in particular,
443
Fig. 12.53 Hub silencer on

the fan of the Audi wind
tunnel. (According to
Brandsttt et al. 2002, 2002)
120
dB(A)
100
Fig. 12.54 Self-noise

regarding out-of-flow
measurements in the wind
tunnels of vehicle
manufacturers. (According to
Hucho 2000; Walter et al.
2003)
80
60
Aerodynamic wind tunnels
BMW, Munich
FORD Cologne
FKFS, Stuttgart
HYUNDAI, Korea
DAIMLER CHRYSLER, Detroit
AUDI, Ingolstadt
40
20
0
50
100
150
200
kmh-1 300
Wind velocity
to Potthoff (1992), Potthoff et al. (1994) and Eckoldt et al. (1994), the FKFS wind
tunnel belongs, by good 30 dB(A) and the second, which was introduced thanks to
Schneider et al. (1998) by the Audi wind tunnel, by more than another 10 dB(A).
Apparently this established a new standard for undisturbed measurement of airframe
noise of motor vehicles, which in particular meets needs in practice (see examples
at the end of Sect. 12.3). Acoustic comfort and sound design being so vital to a
cars image, obviously it is inestimably valuable that an automobile manufacturer
has access to a wind tunnel in which even weakest noise components can be easily
analyzed. An additional advantage for the staff and sensitive test equipment is that
all the acoustic measures are fiberless.
444
12.7.3
Mercedes Technology Center in Sindelfingen
Certain disadvantages of the mineral-fiber technology represented by the BMW wind

tunnel example (Sect. 12.3) motivated Mercedes and Opel to agree to implement
membrane absorber technology combined with coated soft foam as silencers in
ducts and anechoic lining in the plenum when retrofitting the FKFS wind tunnel
(Sect. 12.4), of which they made much use. It was no problem to convince BMW to
employ the melamine-resin-based compact broadband absorbers (fire hazard class
B1) in their engine-noise acoustic test stand. Also Audi saw no particular risk in using
this technology for silencers and lining when installing time-proven fire precaution
measures in their wind tunnel (Sect. 12.7.2). The Mercedes Technology Center at
(then still) Daimler-Chrysler, however, only allowed employing building materials
classified as fire hazard class A. This challenge, too, was met in realizing the six test
facilities according to Table 12.5.
This plane, compact manner of building BCA modules does not rule out replacing
the actually preferred foam panels and adapters shown in Fig. 10.22 with corresponding mineral-wool elements if they can be packed permanently behind perforated
sheet metal and fiber fleece covers according to Fig. 12.55 similar to conventional
silencer splitters. The vibrating panel embedded in the damping material can be intimately connected with the mineral wool with the aid of pegs or pins as shown in
Fig. 12.55b, c.
In the course of merging different automobile development departments a new
development and preparation center was built in the immediate vicinity of the
largest Mercedes-Benz assembly plant in Sindelfingen. In 2000, six of the all
told seven acoustic test stands were realized with such BCA lining. The latter
surpassed all the operators expectations following approval by a neutral test institute. As at the time when tender requests were made, the space-saving lining with
asymmetrically structured absorbers had not yet passed trials at Volkswagen (see
Sect. 12.7.4), the pass-by-noise test bed was still provided with mineral-wool wedge
absorbers.
Roller test beds are very complex facilities in which sophisticated structures with
sensitive measurement and monitoring systems, media supply (gasoline, diesel, water), efficient ventilation and air-conditioning systems including exhaust systems
must be integrated by numerous contractors. Therefore, it would be expedient to
commission a general contractor with the entire undertaking starting from start to
finish, from the initial phase (project study, cost finding and budget approval to
compiling specifications including performance specification as basis for the tenders from suppliers) to granting and executing the contract in compliance with the
Verdingungsordnung fr Bauleistungen VOB (construction contract guidelines) and
finally inspection for acceptance of the test facility. Supplying acoustical components
such as vibration isolators, silencers, soundproof doors and room lining seemed then
only one of many services.
However, at both DC and VW (see Sect. 12.7.4) many contracts, particularly
regarding the acoustic design of the test cells, were granted separately. In contrast
445
Table 12.5 Anechoic rooms in the Mercedes Technology Center

Type of measuring room
1. 4-wheel roller test bed (Figs. 12.56 and 12.57)
Raw volume
Usable volume
Maximum air flow rate
2. 1-axle roller test bed with drive-wind simulation
Raw volume
Usable volume
Volume efficiency R
3. 1-axle roller test bed (Fig. 12.59)
Raw volume
Usable volume
Volume efficiency R
4. Component test stand
Raw volume
Usable volume
Volume efficiency R
5. Structure-borne noise test stand
Raw volume
Usable volume
Volume efficiency R
6. Structure analysis test stand
Raw volume
Usable volume
Volume efficiency R
7. Exterior noise measuring hall (with wedges)
Raw volume
Usable volume
Volume efficiency R
V in
m3
Qmax in
m3 /h
Anechoic surface in m2
Semi-freefield
623
539
338
6.4
20 000
Semi-freefield
630
543
348
6.2
20 000
Semi-freefield
630
543
348
6.2
20 000
Freefield
226
175
211
3.4
5 600
Semi-freefield
408
345
253
5.5
5 000
Semi-freefield
575
496
314
6.3
3 000
Semi-freefield
2 828
1 910
855
2.1
20 000
to the VW project, in which the Fraunhofer IBP was already involved in the very
early initial planning phase, the Faist/FhG team entered the DC task relatively late
in the game. On the other hand, here the team was able to substantially surpass the
demanded absorption coefficient of the lining for the acoustic test cells 16 listed
in Table 12.5, especially at low frequencies, with the BCA technology described in
Sect. 12.6. After the stricter fire hazard regulations were met by exchanging the foam
in the BCA modules, the Sindelfingen acoustic center became the first in which all
the test cells except one were provided completely with plane, nonflammable BCA
cladding.
446
Fig. 12.55 Schematic sketch

of BCA with mineral wool as
damping material; compound
with the embedded vibrating
plate by glue (a), pins (b), or
pegs (c)
The three equally large roller test beds with sound-reflective floors were designed
mainly for interior noise measurements. The 4-wheel roller test bed (Fig. 12.56) with
two double roller cylinders, a 4-wheel dynamometer and its front wind unit (with
maximum 20 000 m3 /h), similar as one of the 1-axle test beds, also constitutes a small
wind tunnel with a 250 kW fan (Fig. 12.57). The separate roller foundations are borne
on spring elements in the basement to prevent transmission of exterior structure-borne
sound (cf. Sect. 3.10). The roller cylinders are fitted with exchangeable surfaces to
simulate different road surface conditions. The air-conditioning system, which is
also used for drive wind simulation, is installed on the first floor, again carefully
isolated against vibrations. Air is introduced and removed from the room via ducts
in the edges of the rooms. The ducts use the BCA modules on the wall side and
the low-frequency permeable mineral-wool panels on the room side as cost-effective
silencers with no additional pressure loss.
The illumination to light up the vehicle is integrated in the modular assembly of
the wall lining as an anechoic component (Fig. 12.58). These special construction
elements are also employed in the other test stands of Table 12.4. For the 1-axle
roller test stand with drive-wind simulation, a conventional soundproof cabin borne
on special vibration isolators for good decoupling from the adjacent rooms was
installed in the single-shell construction of the building (Fig. 12.59).
447
Fig. 12.56 View of the interior and the layout of the 4-wheel roller test bed at the Mercedes
Technology Center
12.7.4 Volkswagen Acoustics Center in Wolfsburg

Regarding the number and diversity of acoustic measurement rooms, probably the
largest project for anechoic linings according to the innovative concept was completed at VW in 2001 (Dreyer et al. 2003a, b). The work on seven semi-anechoic
test facilities in the newly built acoustics center according to Table 12.6 was not,
as was the case with similar measuring rooms at Daimler-Chrysler (Sect. 12.7.3),
confined to just room acoustics. The commission of VW, at a very early stage, also
included to plan in detail the acoustical requirements and the execution of vibration
and noise control between the rooms as well as the ventilation and air-conditioning
systems. The installations and equipment to operate the test stands were also designed jointly as far as they influenced the freefield properties of the rooms. This
related, in particular, to the position and dimensions of any sound-reflecting elements. The respective suppliers were, however, fully responsible for complying with
noise-emission standards for the electric machines, roller drives etc. Each single test
stand was individually designed for its specific purpose, its freefield conditions optimized and accepted only after comprehensive inspection testing (see Sect. 12.7.4 f).
Here solely melamine-resin foam was used as damping material in the CPA, BCA
and ASA modules according to Fuchs et al. (2004).
448
Fig. 12.57 View and section of the test stand according to Fig. 12.56
The simultaneous and separately independent operation of seven acoustic test

stands as semi-freefield rooms within one building (Fig. 12.60) was quite special and
required two-shell room-in-room construction for five rooms. A particular challenge
449
Fig. 12.58 Section of an

acoustically anechoic,
optically reflecting
illumination element in the
test stand according to
Fig. 12.56
was the users raised specification to lower the given tolerance range according to
Table 12.2 to only 1 dB from 100 Hz upward (Table 12.7). The reason for this was
VWs own measurement concept to use the determined sound pressure levels with the
greatest accuracy for all assessments. Initially, the proposed thickness of the anechoic
lining was only 50 cm. Rectangular measurement volumes were defined within the
test rooms, in which the raised freefield conditions applied. In order to satisfy this
demand, the three relatively large roller test stands (13 in Table 12.6) were executed
using for the first time the ASA technology described in Sect. 12.6 with an actual
thickness of all told 620 mm (including the 100 mm thick wall-side CPA according
to Sect. 5.3). As a kind of camouflage and protection against soiling, large-scale,
light-weight cassettes with a white glass-fiber fleece covering are mounted in front
of the ASA. Concerning the acoustical transparency of such fabric linings refer to
Leistner and Drotleff (2004).
In all roller test stands, air-conditioning occurs via air ducts with vents integrated
in the absorber layer on the longitudinal side in the ceiling area (Fig. 12.61). Moreover, fresh air is introduced for the engine via a vent above the double doors. In the
two smaller same size wheel test stands there are in addition vertical vents in the
corners of the room. On the inside, the ducts are lined with absorptive foam and BCA
according to Sect. 10.2. Extending from the ducts are side branches running in the
joints between the CPA modules with outlets to the measuring room flush with the
lining. Electric wiring and wiring for the sensors run on the wall side and are covered
with lining. Integrated in the sound-reflective floor are retractable drive-wind inlets
and outlets as well as the exhaust gas outlet.
In the center of all roller test beds, a large area of the floor is left open in the concrete
slap for the test unit with the exchangeable rollers located below. The rollers are
operated in lower compartments each borne resiliently on a walled-in foundation and
isolated against structure-borne sound from the respective drive units. This walled-in
room is closed with small adapter elements to the floor of the measuring room. Yet
there are numerous small gaps and openings left between the measuring and the
sound-reflective lower room.
1. Exterior Noise Measuring Hall Internal and pass-by car noise is tested both
on the road and in roller test stands. Decisive for the evaluation of a vehicle ultimately are always the road tests. However, these measurements always have the
drawback that they may be strongly influenced by the surroundings. The core of
450
Fig. 12.59 1-axle roller test bed built as an integrated soundproof cabin and all around damped air
inlet (bottom) in the Mercedes Technology Center
451
Table 12.6 Semi-anechoic rooms in the VW Acoustics Center in Wolfsburg. (See Dreyer et al.
2003a, b; Babuke et al. 2004)
Type of test stand
1. Exterior noise measuring hall
(Figs. 12.6212.64)
Raw volume
Usable volume (incl. AC)
2. 4-wheel roller test bed
(Figs. 12.65 and 12.67)
Raw volume
Volume efficiency R
3. Tyre noise test bed
(Figs. 12.6612.69)
Raw volume
Volume efficiency R
4. Power-train test stand
(Fig. 12.71)
Raw volume
Volume efficiency R
5. Engine test stands 1 and 2
(Figs. 12.7012.72)
Raw volume
Volume efficiency R
6. Window test stand
(Figs. 12.73 and 12.74)
Raw volume
Volume efficiency R
V in m3
Qmax in m3 /h
Elements
BCA:
3 454
2 814
Air ducts
CPA + ASA:
Walls
4.0
40 000
690
484
2.4
32/40 000
690
484
2.4
36 000
220
173
3.7
27 000
160
124
3.5
27 000
347
284
4.5
15 000
Ceiling
BCA:
Air ducts
CPA + ASA:
Walls
Ceiling
BCA:
Air ducts
CPA + ASA:
Walls
Ceiling
BCA:
Walls
Air ducts
ASA:
Ceiling
BCA:
Walls
Air ducts
ASA:
Ceiling
BCA:
Walls
Air ducts
Ceiling
Crane track
the VW Acoustics Center is therefore the pass-by noise measuring hall with raw
dimensions 25 20 6.8 m. Fitted with a 4 175 kW 4-wheel roller test bed and
state-of-the-art measuring equipment, this measuring room enables pass-by noise
tests in a reproducible manner and, most importantly, independent of weather conditions. The test bed allows targeted source analyses to be performed without the
need to set up fully road-going vehicles. By cross-fading of the measuring signals,
the course of the sound level on a pass-by measuring section according to ISO 362
(2003) can be simulated with a stationary vehicle running on the roller test bed.
The measuring cycle of accelerated pass-by can either be conducted manually by a
452
Fig. 12.60 Ground plan of the VW Acoustics Center with 7 semi-freefield test stands TST, see
Table 12.6
Fig. 12.61 Section of an edge of the room with damped ventilation and heating ducts as well as
the structured anechoic lining of the test stand in Fig. 12.62
453
Table 12.7 Level decay deviations tolerated by VW for test stands 13 in Table 12.6. (See Fuchs
et al. 2003)
Type of measurement room
Third-octave center
frequency in Hz
Tolerance values
in dB
Freefield above reflecting floor

(semi-freefield)
5080
100
2.5
1.0
person inside the vehicle or program-controlled using an autopilot. To ensure road

conditions, the floor of the measurement room is coated with an asphalt-like layer
that meets the profile specifications of DIN ISO 10 844 (1997) regarding its texture
and reflection properties. Beside pass-by simulation, noise and vibration tests can be
run on the test stand up to a maximum speed of 300 km/h.
To cool the test object and extract the heat that develops in the measuring hall, the
normal air conditioning system, which has a maximum continuous heat extraction
power of 250 kW (40 000 m3 /h), is supported by a drive-wind fan. If required, the
corresponding inlets and outlets in the floor in front of and behind the test bed can
be extended. The purpose of the drive-wind fan is solely to cool the test object and
not to simulate noises generated by the drive wind. In order to attain an as low
as possible noise level of the directed air flow, which is cooled down to 17 C,
flows with a maximum exit velocity of 30 km/h. Components that are particularly
temperature-sensitive can be additionally cooled using separate spot coolers.
To simulate pass-by, in accordance with DIN ISO 362 (2003) microphones are
installed on a trail 20 m long at a height of 1.20 m above the floor on both sides at
a distance of 7.5 m from the longitudinal room axis. Somewhat off center in this
300 m2 area the to-be-tested vehicle is positioned on wheel rollers. Different road
conditions can be investigated by simulating different test surfaces on the driving
rollers. Figure 12.62 shows this semi-freefield room with its ground plan, rectangular
measurement volume and various measurement trails. It is executed as a singleshell construction and completely decoupled from neighboring buildings. To avoid
moisture problems, a special heating system is provided on the inner side of the
exterior walls. On the room side, the heating system has a smooth sheet-metal cover,
which forms a stable surface for mounting the absorbent wall lining (Fig. 12.61).
To ensure the required soundproofing of the doors, they are arranged in series, from
the outside in, as fire-protection, sound-protection and absorber cladding. In the
region of the ventilating ducts, the linings extend 2 m wide and 0.60 m deep from the
ceiling lining (Fig. 12.61). In one front exterior wall is a single 1 2 m door as the
emergency exit. Opposite it are a 3.5 4 m double door where the test object enters
and a door connecting to the control room.
Freefield Properties on a Rectangular Measurement Volume Above the Roller Test
Bed To measure level decay according to ISO 3745 (2003, Appendix A there) from
a central measuring position on the floor, after consultation with the users, four
measurement trails were drawn diagonally to the upper corners and one trail to the
center of one of the upper edges of the 13 8 5 m of the imaginary measurement
volume sketched in Fig. 12.62. Measuring was conducted in 0.5 m steps starting 1 m
454
Fig. 12.62 Longitudinal

section (top) and ground plan
(bottom), 7.5 m paths for the
simulated pass- by according
to (DIN ISO 362 2003),
measurement volume and
paths 15 according DIN ISO
10844 (1997) of the exterior
noise measuring hall at the
VW Acoustics Center
from the artificial source. Due to the required spherical radiation characteristic of
the source, the sound field was excited for the diverse frequency ranges by correspondingly adapted loudspeaker systems. Nonetheless, deviations were discovered
which can be clearly traced to reflections and interferences, for example, due to setting up the loudspeakers, not quite norm-conform, a bit above the sound-reflective
floor. The results are thus particularly dependent on the exact position and dimensions of the source, also see Sects. 12.7.4 f and 12.5. To reduce this influence during
455
measurement, a very limited area about the respective source location on the floor
is absorbingly covered. (VDI 2563 1990 even suggests covering a large area of the
ground for measurements outdoors).
Within the given measurement volume on trails each 9 m long (see Fig. 12.62),
the room fulfills the norm specifications for freefield measurements from a lower
limiting frequency of 40 Hz. Furthermore, the higher VW specifications according
to Table 12.7 with 1 dB for the frequency range from 100 Hz to 16 kHz and with
2.5 dB for 40 Hz to 16 kHz are also met. They are fulfilled in the kHz range on
trails 14 even beyond the measurement volume, instead of up to 9 m to over 12 m.
Norm measurements are possible at 31.5 Hz up to 8 m and at 25 Hz up to 5.5 m. This
is particularly important for measuring in close proximity to the vehicle as well as
for interior noise measurements as an extension of the current measuring standard.
Freefield Properties at the Measuring Points Along the Trail for Pass-by
Simulations For measuring simulated pass-by, the microphones are located on two
trails right and left of the vehicle, see Fig. 12.62. To verify the freefield properties
there, the sound level decay on 11 paths is determined in accordance with DIN ISO
362 (2003) in a quarter of the room, i.e. along 10 m at intervals of 1 m. The paths lead
radially from the test source through the 7.5 m reference points at a height of 1.2 m.
Third-octave measurements are taken in 0.5 m steps up to 400 Hz and in 0.25 m steps
above 400 Hz. The first measuring point on each path is 3.5 m (up to 400 Hz) and
1.5 m (above 400 Hz) from the respective reference point. The last measurement for
all paths and frequencies led up to 0.5 m beyond the 7.5 m trail (Fig. 12.63). The deviations over the whole particularly interesting frequencies between 100 and 16 kHz
remain within the narrow specified tolerance of only 1 dB according to Table 12.7
up to the 10 m point. The 2.5 dB deviation as specified in the standard is met for
50 Hz up to the 9 m and for 40 Hz up to the 8 m point on the reference trail. This
should come as no surprise because, for these low frequencies, the limit distance
of /4 from the front wall lining is exceeded, see the comments on edge fields in
Sect. 12.4 c.
The great advantage of this space-saving lining becomes evident here: conventional wall lining with wedge absorbers would require thicknesses according to
Eq. (4.9) of more than 1 m at frequencies below 100 Hz, for 50 Hz for example
1.70 m, which corresponds to a volume efficiency according to Eq. (12.15) of just
1.2 compared to 4.2 of the compact lining. The conventional lining for 50 Hz also
indicated in Fig. 12.63 shows how, with the same overall dimensions of the room,
the measuring area along the 7.5 m path would be limited, respectively how much
bigger the pass-by test stand would actually have had to be built. The photograph in
Fig. 12.64 demonstrates the optical and practical advantages of the alternative lining.
2. Roller Test Beds Although over the past 28 years, emission limits for
motor vehicles have been continuously lowered, many are still loud nonetheless. The Umweltbundesamt UBA (German Federal Environmental Office) says,
based on expert opinion of the Technischer berwachungsverein TV (Technical Inspection Association), the reason for this contradiction is that up to
now motor-vehicle type approval concentrated primarily on its propulsion noise
and did not adequately take into consideration the noise of the wheel/road
456
Fig. 12.63 Measurement of the pass-by levels outdoors according to DIN ISO 362 (2003) (top)
and in the semi-freefield room at the VW Acoustics Center (2 10 m) (bottom)
interactions. However, before measurement regulations (e.g. in VDI 2563 1990)

can take effect, manufacturers would be well advised to determine wheel/road noise
as realistically as possible in test stands. Roller noise is gaining significance especially in the premium class of automobiles. At the VW Acoustics Center, therefore,
vehicles are tested on four wheels in 4-wheel and in tyre noise test beds. The two
test stands are very similar both geometrically and in their room-acoustic properties,
but are used for different measuring tasks. To prevent structure-borne sound transmission, they were built in the room-in-room mode. Figures 12.65 and 12.66 show
views of the rooms, layouts, the rectangular measurement volumes and trails for the
457
Fig. 12.64 Interior view of

the pass-by measuring hall of
the VW Acoustics Center
acceptance tests. The doors and the various installations were executed according to
similarly high building standards as the pass-by test stand (a). The sectional drawing
in Fig. 12.67 shows, for example, the BCA modules mounted on the air-conditioning
ceiling according to Fig. 12.32d and CPA and ASA modules on the longitudinal
wall.
This 4-wheel roller test bed in a 15 9 5 m room can be accessed both from
outside and from the central access road, and offers generous amounts of space for
every conceivable type of measuring analysis. A 4 125 kW drive roller test bed is
available for carrying out tests on interior noise and vibration behavior. For vehicle
cooling this test bed is also fitted with the same cooling equipment as described
above for the pass-by hall. A scissors lift between the test bed rollers can be lowered
to allow optimum access to the vehicle underbody area. The vehicles are secured on
all three roller test beds by cables that lock into eye hooks. Each test bed has four
individually adjustable, tension-controlled cable tensioners to ensure that the vehicle
is held securely in place. If one of the four cables should come loose during a test,
the testing program is automatically interrupted and the test bed is run down.
The tyre noise test bed offers the possibility to perform structural analyses of
the cause mechanisms of both the noises and the vibrations introduced into the
vehicle body. The test bed has an analysis roller with a diameter of 3.18 m and a
supporting roller with 1 m. Figure 12.68, which is taken from the test phase at the
manufacturer, shows how large such a test bed is. Tests of the front and rear axles
are performed separately on the actual analysis roller. This means that the vehicle
has to be positioned twice. This procedure ensures that the measuring results can be
clearly assigned to the respective axle.
In order to simulate the excitation of different vibrations, the analysis roller can
be fitted with various types of surface (asphalt, coarse asphalt, cobblestones, bump
stripes). The second and third are cast copies of test surfaces from the test track in
Wolfsburg. The other two are interchangeable surfaces that can be screwed onto the
roller next to the coarse asphalt surface as required. In this way, two surfaces can
be arranged side by side on the analysis roller (Fig. 12.69). The tyre noise tests are
458
Fig. 12.65 View, layout, rectangular measurement volume and measuring paths according to ISO
37 45 (2003) of the 4-wheel roller test bed with drive-wind simulation at the VW Acoustics Center
towed tests, i.e. the vehicle is powered by the test bed. That means no wind fan or
spot coolers are required here.
Norm level decay tests were once again conducted as described in (a) on diagonal
paths through the rectangular measurement volume starting 1 m from the source,
but here in 0.25 m steps. Inside this volume indicated in Figs. 12.65 and 12.66 the
room fulfills the norm criteria above a lower limiting frequency of 50 Hz on the five
paths up to at least 4.5 m. With maximum permissible measurement distances of
5.5 m at 80 Hz and 5 m at 63 Hz, the /4 edge-field distance from the lining becomes
noticeable again. On some paths, below 100 Hz measurement distances of 5.75 m
459
Fig. 12.66 Description as in Fig. 12.65 of the tyre noise test bed at the VW Acoustics Center
(to the corner of the volume) nevertheless become possible. On paths 1 and 2, even
measurements at 25 Hz seem possible up to this distance. Moreover the stricter VW
criteria listed in Table 12.7 with 1 dB are fulfilled for the frequency range from
100 Hz to 16 kHz, which in view of the room dimensions with R = 2.4 described in
Sect. 12.7.1 and Fig. 12.42 is quite remarkable.
3. Engine and Power-train Test Stands The two engine test stands (Fig. 12.70)
are used for reproducible measurement and analysis of the operating noise emitted
by an internal combustion engine at defined load conditions, which an be estimated
according to Lips (2008, Sect. 4.4 there). In addition to determining the sound power,
that is the acoustic quality of the engine, the test bed is used to evaluate component
0.6 m
460
Ceiling with exhaust duct

Ventilation
Ventilation
CPA
5m
0.2m
CPA+ASA
CPA
Mechanical protection:
Perforated sheet-metal lining up to a height of 2.14 m
2m
CPA
Wall with exhaust vents

15 m
Fig. 12.67 Longitudinal section of the CPA and ASA elements in the test stands according to Figs.
12.65 and 12.66
Fig. 12.68 Test set up (at the
manufacturer) of the tyre
noise test bed according to
Fig. 12.66
variants and analyze certain noise phenomena, such as engine harshness. The test
results are used to develop corrective measures, which may be implemented in test
components suited for serial production. A maximum power output of 400 kW and
speeds of up to 8 000 rpm allow tests to be carried out on engines in the higher power
segment. To ensure as unimpeded as possible sound propagation, the test object is
mounted on single struts. Connection to the load machine located in the adjacent
room is realized by means of a carbon-fiber-plastic shaft. This relatively light design
means that the load on the precision-bearing cartridges of the drive shafts is kept to
a minimum.
461
Fig. 12.69 Two different test

road surfaces on an analysis
roller of the tyre noise test bed
On the power-train test stand (Fig. 12.71), the entire power train, that is the
engine and transmission, is tested and evaluated regarding vibration behavior and
sound radiation. Small transmissions of transverse mounted units are only able to
increase sound power to a small degree, whereas large transmissions for longitudinal
mounting are able to contribute quite considerably to the overall sound power emitted
from the drive train. In addition to weighting how much sound comes directly from
the engine and how much is radiated via the surface of the gear box, the analysis also
examines how much engine noise is induced into the transmission structure. Another
task is the operating vibration analysis, which is used to judge the vibration behavior
of the power train including all the adapted auxiliary units. The results indicate both
the component resonances and the dynamic weak points of the engine-transmission
block and are used to develop measures to improve the vibration behavior.
On this test stand, the test object is once again mounted on struts taking into
consideration the mounting position of the drive train in the vehicle. The load is
distributed on up to three electric motors dependent on the drive concept (frontwheel, rear-wheel, or 4-wheel drive). In order to be able to run the tests with the
original drive shafts, the substructures of the load machines are assembled in such
a manner that they can be moved hydraulically in order to be able to set different
track widths. Up to 2 110 kW are available for front-wheel and 1 220 kW for
rear-wheel drive.
These relatively small measurement cells contain, as described in Sect. 12.7.1,
numerous elements which are required for the measuring tasks. Compared to the
larger roller test beds, here the requirements specified in ISO 3745 (2003) are to
be met from 63 Hz and possibly below. These measurement rooms, too, have a
two-shell design. The BCA modules are especially advantageous in the smaller test
cells, because of the relatively high loads regarding abrasion, damage and soiling,
on the one hand, and placement of the drive shafts as close to the wall as possible to
the adjacent room with the electric motors, on the other. Also of advantage are the
air-conditioning ducts, which are completely integrated into the suspended ceiling
with slit vents on the side facing the room (cf. Figs. 12.61 and 12.71). Lined with
BCA modules, these ducts simultaneously damp the low-frequency components of
462
Fig. 12.70 View and layouts of engine test stands 1 (left) and 2 (right) with BCA linings at the VW
Acoustics Center
the sound transmitted in the ducts. On the room side, the suspended ceilings are
provided with ASA lining. Integrated in the suspended ceilings are vents and soundabsorbing lamps. The lining on the walls is uniformly executed with only 250 mm
thick BCA modules. Figure 12.72 shows the combination of air-conditioning and
absorber assembly in the ceiling area which is exemplary for all three rooms. Guiding
the air solely above the ceiling area left more space for the test object, its power train
and the necessary equipment for the demanding test procedures.
Figure 12.71 shows the power-train test stand for acoustic testing of automobile
engines with and without the transmission via three drive trains with the engine raised
463
Fig. 12.71 View (a), longitudinal section (b) and layout (c) of the power-train test stand at the VW
Acoustics Center
to an average height of 1.40 m above the sound-reflective floor. In the level-decay

test, the suitability of the overall concept of the test room was examined using an
original engine as a typical sound source. Influence on suitability therefore have the
size of the room, the dimensions and the location of the test object, installations in
the room and the absorbent lining of the bounding surfaces of the room. The test
room should ideally not contain any reflecting elements. In the power-train test stand,
however, it was not possible to run a test according to ISO 3745 (2003, Appendix
A there) along diagonal measuring paths. Instead, the test was performed according
to the enveloping surfaces method (Appendix B) at measuring positions that were
coordinated with the users.
The measurements were carried out as specified in ISO 3745 (2003) and DIN 45
635 (1987) on an inner and an outer hemisphere corresponding to the locations of
464
Fig. 12.72 View and

longitudinal section of one of
the engine test stands as
shown in Fig. 12.70 with
BCA modules as lining on the
walls and the suspended
ceiling
the subsequent measurements. The outer hemisphere was chosen so as to be geometrically similar to the inner one. Freak values in the level differences between the
two hemispheres at individual frequencies indicate reflections from the installations
or from the surfaces of unlined engine supports, from drive shaft bearings, the frame
for holding the microphones as well as other pipes and cables. If these surfaces are
covered with absorbent material as well and geometric proximity of the measurement
positions to the interfering elements is avoided, it is again possible to measure down
to 50 Hz in third-octaves according to the precision class 1. The semi-freefield room
fulfills the requirement 0.5 dB according to ISO 3745 (2003) for f 100 Hz. Due
to the installations required by operating the test object deviations up to 2 dB occur
between 50 and 80 Hz.
Engine test stands 1 and 2 are for acoustic testing automobile engines with and
without the transmission via a single power train. Figure 12.70 shows the layouts and
the measurement paths of the two mirror-inverted test stands. In one of the two short
side walls are double gates for the access of the test objects. A door in the 5.4 long
side wall connects to the control room. The drive shaft leads through a 45 slanted
corner of the room to the electric drive motor in the adjacent room. The engine is
raised by four struts to a height of 1.20 m (of the axle center of the drive shaft) above
the floor, which was again left sound-reflecting.
The level-decay test was conducted according to the norms on the measuring
paths as shown in Fig. 12.70. Trails 15 lead into the five upper corners of the
465
room. The level is measured in 0.25 m steps starting at a distance of 1 m from the
source. Deviations are detected, which can unequivocally be traced to reflections and
interferences from the above described installations essential for running the tests
which strongly influence the freefield. Nonetheless, the norm tolerances according
to precision class 1 are not exceeded in this small room at 63 Hz up to a measuring
radius of approximately 2 m, at 100 Hz up to 3 m and above even up to 3.5 m.
4. Window Test Stand Sound insulation of larger, arbitrarily shaped components
and assemblies is assessed by means of a window, respectively a ceiling test stand.
This comprises a semi-freefield receiving room and two reverberant source rooms:
source room 1 adjacent to the receiving room (window test rig for vertical components/assemblies), a second source room 2 underneath the receiving room (ceiling
test rig for horizontal test objects), Fig. 12.73. The size of the openings between the
source and the receiving rooms is variable and allows installing very large parts, even
as large as the floor pans of commercial vehicles. The receiving room is designed
as a semi-freefield room allowing e.g. acoustic near-field holography for a precise
localization of sound radiating surfaces and leakages by employing a microphone
array. Large objects are scanned with a computer-controlled scanning device, which
permits targeted and efficient measures to reduce sound transmissions.
As an acoustic test cell the receiving room is designed as a semi-freefield room.
However, if sound power or sound transmission tests need to be carried out, a reverberation booth can also be installed here. Source and receiving rooms on the
same ground floor have an exhaust gas system. The two adjacent reverberant source
rooms with a volume of 352 m3 , respectively 240 m3 are connected to the receiving
room via test windows that can be partly closed to fit the corresponding test object.
Source room 1 is connected to the receiving room by a vertical test opening with a
maximum of 10.2 m2 . The horizontal opening in source room 2 with an access door
to the basement is required for testing e.g. the acoustical properties of a vehicle floor
assembly. For this purpose, a crane track was installed on the ceiling in longitudinal
direction in the center of the receiving room.
In order to prevent flanking transmission from source room 1 to the receiving room
due to the single-shell construction, the absorbent lining of the receiving room of the
two flanking walls and the partition wall with the test opening are all supplied with
facing shells. The entire air-conditioning system is led over the ceiling and placed between the joists. The ducts are provided with an absorptive lining. The cavity created
between the air-conditioning ducts and the crane track is also damped. On the room
side a suspended ceiling of 2 mm thick smooth sheet metal simultaneously serves
as the backing for the BCA-module lining with standard dimensions of 1.4 1 m
and a thickness of 250 mm. These absorbers are attached to the walls and the ceiling
with perforated sheet-metal baskets. The part of the test window not covered by the
respective test object is also lined. Due to the sub-division of the window into 24
single elements, it was not possible to use BCA modules here. Instead the lining here
is completely executed with soft foam. The crane track, too, is lined with 250 mm
thick porous absorbers, which can be folded back if required. In Fig. 12.74a test
object is shown photographed from the receiving and source room side.
466

8m
Air-conditioning / Crane track
CPA
2.4m
Test-opening floor
5.68m
3.37m
Receiving room (234m3)

Ground floor
Source room 1 (352m3)
Test-opening wall
BCA
4.25m
5m
Source room 2 (234m3)

Basement
9.7m
ai
Tr
Tr
ai
l1
ai
Tr
4.25m
7m
3m
Trail 5
l2
3.38m
l3
ai
l4
Tr
Overall room height 4.39 m

Receiving room
Basement
BCA
7.64m
0.25m
b
Fig. 12.73 Vertical section (a) and layout (b) with measuring paths (according to ISO 37 45 2003)
of the window test stand at the VW Acoustics Center
Level decay measurements were made in 0.25 m steps as shown in Fig. 12.73b
starting 1 m from the source on diagonal paths 14 into the upper corners of the room
and on path 5 into the center of the upper edge above the test opening. The rectangular
measurement volumes for the acceptance tests were chosen here according to the
measurements to be performed directly in front of the test objects installed in the test
openings. Placing the test sources on the sound-reflective closed floor unconditionally
fulfills the free field requirements for third-octave measurements from 125 Hz to at
467
Fig. 12.74 View of the test opening from the receiving room side (left) and source room 1 side
(right) of the window test stand at the VW Acoustics Center
least 3.25 m. Despite the relatively large surfaces which could not be lined with BCA
modules, the norm requirements are fulfilled at 63 Hz up to 2.75 m, at 80 Hz to 1.75 m
and at 100 Hz to 2.25 m.
It was not possible to design the receiving room optimally for low frequencies: all
told approximately 35 m2 , that is approximately 20 % of the bounding surfaces, could
only be lined with 250 mm thick foam elements without low-frequency resonators.
The 16 m2 crane track cover over a width of 2 m lies very unfavorably in the center
above the sound-reflective floor. Also the insufficiently lined opposite-facing 10 m2 ,
respectively 9 m2 surfaces of the test opening, respectively of the doors, lead at below
125 Hz inevitably to the development of only weakly damped mode fields. These can
also be excited by subsequently installed test objects. If, however, as is usually the
case, focus is on sound measurements in the near field, then this measurement room
is suited for measurements well below 125 Hz.
The source room 1 was, similar to as described in Sect. 5.3 and Fig. 3.2, damped
with six CPA modules, which in this instance were permanently installed in two
upper corners. The source room 2 also received low-frequency basic damping by
large surface plaster board facing shells. With the reverberation times of the empty
reverberation rooms shown in Fig. 12.75, the preconditions were met in order to also
be able to conduct comparable and reproducible sound transmission tests down to
63 Hz.
5. Listening Room To assess sounds and noise, the signals recorded by a dummy
head system can be faithfully reproduced through headphones or loudspeakers played
lifelike into the newly designed listening room (Fig. 12.76). This allows acoustic signals to be compared to one another in quick succession, even though there might
have been considerable intervals between their recording. Low frequencies are radiated by two subwoofer systems. Signals that have been modified, e.g. by filtering,
can also be simulated. Intended target sounds can be generated in this way without
having to produce the corresponding variants with time-consuming modifications in
the hardware. Moreover, the listening room is equipped with beamers and respective
technology for visualizing the results or diagrams. In designing this audio studio,
the main aim was to ensure the faithful reproduction and presentation of test results

times in the empty
reverberation rooms of the
test stand shown in Fig. 12.73;
basement (with facing shells
on the ceiling) (bold), ground
floor (with three CPA with
1 mm resonant panels in each
of the upper corners) (thin),
ground floor (additionally
with five fire protection flaps
opened) (broken-line curve)

10
s
8
Reverberation time
468
6
4
2
0
63
125
250
500
1k
2k
Hz
8k
Frequency
that are in no way acoustically falsified by the room. At the same time, however,
emphasis was also placed on achieving a visually pleasing atmosphere. The surface
of the wall lining should take up the hole-image motive of the engine test stands in
structure and in color.
The 120 m3 approximately 3 m high room is located directly above the tyre noise
test bed in Fig. 12.66. With its concrete construction, highly sound-proof doors, joist
floor and carefully damped ventilation and air-conditioning system, a background
noise far below 25 dB(A) is measured when the test stands are in operation. The
listening room itself is windowless and is connected to a separate technical room,
which is essential for its operation. It is also equipped with the latest audio-visual
reproduction technology.
Employed for the room acoustic treatment were foam, CPA and BCA modules
with a maximum depth of 150 mm behind perforated sheet-metal cassettes with a
fleece backing. Figure 12.77 shows, for example, the ceiling of the listening room
with BCA modules and some soft foam elements creating a completely plane surface
decorated in the usersdesired color scheme (Fig. 12.76a). In order to be able to really
judge and compare the sounds recorded in the test rooms or elsewhere down to the
lowest frequencies objectively and subjectively, a neutral sound field must be set up
at all the seats, which is only possible if
room eigenresonances (modes) are strongly damped,
early reflections (within 15 ms) lie at least 10 dB below the direct sound
reverberation time is moderately low and, in particular, rises as little as possible
at low frequencies.
The transfer function in Fig. 12.78 documents with a variance of less than 4 dB that
the room modes were damped well. With a reverberation time (Fig. 12.79), averaged
over eight measuring points, of hardly above 0.15 s, which also hardly increases
above 0.2 s at 63 and 50 Hz, the room meets the current standards for professional
audio studios, see Zha et al. (1996).

Fig. 12.76 View (a),
longitudinal section (b), and
layout (c) of the listening
room and measurement paths
for the transfer function in the
listening room at the VW
Acoustics Center
469
470
10 dB
Fig. 12.78 Transfer function

measured between two
diagonally opposite corners
of the room as shown in
Fig. 12.76c
Transfer function
Fig. 12.77 Ceiling covered with absorber modules in the room shown in Fig. 12.76
50
75
100
125
150
Frequency
Hz
200
6. Experiences from a Demanding Project The VW Acoustics Center documents

a large automobile manufacturers high demands of development quality regarding
noise and vibration comfort, i.e. noise, vibration, harshness NVH. For all acoustic test stands individual acceptance tests indicate their suitability as semi-freefield
rooms according to ISO 3745 (2003). Table 12.8 compiles the essential acoustic

0,6
s
0,5
Reverberation time

time as averaged over eight
measurement positions in the
room shown in Fig. 12.76 and
tolerance band according to
ITU-R BS 1116
471
0,4
0,3
0,2
0,1
0
63
125
250
500 1000 2000

Frequency
Hz
8000
data. The high demands were exceeded in the pass-by test stand: freefield conditions
above a lower limiting frequency of 25 Hz were attained within a radius of 6 m from
the center of the measuring hall. In addition to the already existing facilities, this
center offered the at the time 150 staff working here a new standard for automotive
test stand and measuring technology that became a representative model for many
of their competitors.
Designing and equipping acoustic test facilities demands great flexibility on the
part of the project planner in adapting to the special wishes and ideas of the user.
Finding out suitable solutions with the consultant and combining them to form a verifiable requirements profile was the job of the acoustics engineers at VW. The actual
construction was supervised by VWs building department. Continuous consultation
between all those responsible made it possible to master the coordination problems
that inevitably occur in such a complex building project, see Dreyer et al. (2003a, b).
Regarding the room-acoustic tolerances lowered for the VW project according to
Table 12.7 for third-octave measurements and fulfilling the standards of Table 12.2
also for sine measurements, it was necessary and accepted by the customer to optimize some of the detail designs and solve some of the measuring problems on site
while the test stands were being built. Since some of them, which showed up at a
tolerance of only 1 dB, are of general interest for all measurements in semi-freefield
rooms, they are discussed in the following.
Figure 12.80 shows, for example, the level decay on a diagonal path 1 as shown
in Fig. 12.62, which is approximately 14 m long between the source on the soundreflective floor and the ceiling. At approximately half the height, i.e. at 7 m, a
pronounced maximum can be detected for the third-octave band at 50 Hz, respectively a minimum at 25 Hz, of which the latter greatly exceeds the tolerance range
according to Table 12.2. Both can be unequivocally allocated to the axial modes 0, 0,
1 respectively 0, 0, 2 according to Eq. (2.2) with Lz = /2, respectively . Moreover,
at a distance of 3.5 and 10.5 m from the source two minima corresponding to the
sound field distribution also sketched in Fig. 12.80 show up at 50 Hz. If the percentage of CPA preferably tuned to these low frequencies with 2.5 mm thick resonant
0.62
0.25/0.62d
0.25/0.62d
0.25
0.15
13.9 7.8 4.4

4.5 5.4 3.9
6.7 5.6 3.9
7.6 7.0 4.4
6.0 5.5 3.0
clear dimensions between the lining.

on a radius of 6 m around the center of the hall.
c
at a distance of 2 m from the front walls of the hall.
d
at the ceiling.
21
0.62
13.9 7.8 4.4

23
24
23.5
23
20
26
23.6 19.2 6.2 0.62
Background noise in
the room in dB(A)
1. Exterior noise measuring hall

Drive wind fan
2. 4-wheel roller test bed
Drive wind fan
3. Tyre noise test bed
4. Engine test stand 1 + 2
5. Power-train test stand
6. Window test stand (receiving room)
7. Listening room
Lining in m
Dimensionsa
LBH
Test stand
27
45
28
45
28
34
33.5
Air-conditioning at max.
flow rate in dB(A)
Table 12.8 Acoustic parameters of the eight acoustic test facilities in the VW Acoustics Center. (See Fuchs et al. 2003a, 2003b)
50
50
100
125
50
25b 40c
Lower limiting
frequency in Hz
472
473
Fig. 12.80 Level decay on path 1 in Fig. 12.62 and sound field distribution of the axial mode 0, 0,
1 at 25 Hz (top), resp. 0, 0, 2 at 50 Hz (bottom), in the pass-by test stand of the VW Acoustics Center
Fig. 12.81 Level decay like

in Fig. 12.80 at 25 Hz (top),
resp. 50 Hz (bottom), but with
an increased portion of
low-tuned CPA behind the
ASA lining
10 dB
2
10
Distance from source
m 20
panels is increased, for example, on the ceiling, from initially only 820 % of the
ceiling area and coverage of all the walls and the ceiling with CPA is increased from
all told 39 % to ultimately 55 %, the tolerance range according to Table 12.2 for
these two lowest third octaves is not exceeded until at a distance of approximately
13 m (25 Hz), respectively 9.5 m (50 Hz), see Fig. 12.81.
474
Fig. 12.82 To demonstrate

inevitable floor interferences
in semi-freefield rooms: level
decay for a third-octave
signal at 800 Hz with (top)
and without (bottom)
reflection from the floor in the
vicinity of the loudspeaker as
measured in the room
According to ISO 37 45 (2003), the test sound source should be either smaller
than 0.1 (i.e. at 800 Hz only 4.3 cm, at 8 kHz only 4.3 mm) or completely sunk in
the sound-reflective floor to prevent strong floor reflections and corresponding wave
interferences with the direct field of the source. Such small sources, however, cannot
be produced with a sufficiently high sound power and omni-directional directivity
characteristic. Despite the very ambitious, cooperative approach of this pilot project,
it was not possible to sink a suitable sound source into a hole in the floor. Instead, the
respective loudspeaker was placed directly above the floor as shown in Fig. 12.82.
10 dB
4 kHz
Fig. 12.83 Estimating the

influence of the floor
reflection on path 5 in
Fig. 12.62 for sine tones at
medium frequencies and an
assumed reflection factor of
the floor of r 0.7. (According
to Zhou and Zha 2004; Zha
and Fuchs 2009)
475
2 kHz
1 kHz
500 Hz
250 Hz
125 Hz
1
2
10
m 20
ca. 6.2 m
ca. 0.2 m
ca. 9.6 m
If a point source is assumed approximately 0.2 m above a floor that reflects, for
example, with r = 0.7, decay curves along path 5 in Fig. 12.62 may be calculated
for different sine tones, see Fig. 12.83. The actually anticipated 6 dB decay per
doubling the distance in a free field occurs only at low frequencies. At 4 kHz the level
decay seems almost twice as large, at 2 kHz on the other hand only half as large.
The propagation path difference s of approximately 0.25 m, respectively 0.2 m, at
a distance of 1 m, respectively 10 m, corresponds in the first instance to just 3 ,
respectively 5 /2, i.e. a maximum, respectively a minimum of the resulting sound
field according to Eqs. (12.9)(12.14). Whereas at 800 Hz the level decay tends to a
minimum at s = 0.21 m corresponding to /2 along the entire measuring path. This
explains the course of the curves in Fig. 12.82 (top). Actually this floor interference in
measurements with third-octave noise is less noticeable. Moreover, the assumption
of a point source in interaction with the floor in its near field is only a simplified
model. However, it seems justified to prevent this effect, which has nothing to do
with the quality of the anechoic lining, by placing an only 1 0.4 m foam layer in
the direct vicinity of the source. The measurement then follows the theoretical curve
476
Fig. 12.84 Source and receiver assembly for the acceptance tests (according to Bay et al. 2005); a
dodekaeder loudspeaker for f 400 Hz, b microphone car, c pressure chamber loudspeaker
for f 500 Hz
quite well. With a best fitted straight line, the measured values would not even touch
the 1 dB tolerance range according to Table 12.7, cf. Fig. 12.82 (bottom).
Similar interference effects also occurred at higher frequencies during the acceptance tests, but again these had nothing to do with the lining. Because the test source
can never be an absolute point and in the case in question, for example, a small collar surrounds the opening of the pressure chamber, the level decay shows a similar
deviation at 6.3 kHz as in Fig. 12.82, which however could be easily corrected by
covering the collar with an only 5 mm thick foam disk, see Fig. 12.84c. The situation
was similar for an interference at 10 kHz, which had its simple cause not directly at
the sound source but at the receiver (Fig. 12.85). The phenomenon disappeared when
the small remote-controlled car that draws the microphone along a wire stretched
across the room was also lined with a thin porous absorber. Once these measurement
inadequacies were carefully eliminated, the quality of the semi-freefield pass-by
noise measuring hall could be assessed from decay curves as in Fig. 12.86. However,
it is explicitly pointed out that in nearly all freefield measurements with reflecting
floors, in practice interference effects of the above described type almost inevitably
occur. Figure 12.87 shows for a source 1 m high above the reflecting floor that the
irregularity of the sound field can also appear at lower frequencies. On the other
hand, it may be quite useful to deliberately include this influence in the norm measurements, which are tailored to the respective technical sound sources, see e.g. DIN
ISO 1084 (1997). It should be clear, however, that the level at a certain distance
substantially depends on the size and height of the source above the floor.
Fig. 12.85 To avoid

interferences from test
equipment in anechoic rooms:
level decay for a third-octave
signal at 10 kHz with (top)
and without (bottom)
reflection from a microphone
car according to Fig. 12.84b
477
10 dB
10
m 20
Fig. 12.86 Standard level

decay measurements in
third-octaves on path 1
10 dB
16 kHz
8 kHz
4 kHz
2 kHz
1 kHz
500 Hz
250 Hz
125 Hz
63 Hz
31.5 Hz
1
2
10
20
Finally, the suitability of the pass-by measuring hall for narrow-band (sine) measurements according to the norm precision class 1 was verified, even though this
time-consuming measurement method, as in most freefield measurements in industrial practice, was not actually made compulsory in this project. Figure 12.88 shows
478
10 dB
Fig. 12.87 Estimate of the

floor influence for a point
source 1 m above a floor
reflecting with r 0.7.
(According to Zhou et al.
2004b)
4k Hz
2k Hz
1k Hz
500 Hz
250 Hz
125 Hz
1
2
10
20
ca. 6.2 m
ca. 1.0 m
ca. 9.6 m
that, if all reflections and interferences in the measuring room and from the measuring equipment are avoided, the freefield distance for f 80 Hz is determined as
being more than 9 m, for 63 Hz more than 7.5 m and for 31.5 Hz once again more
than 9 m in accordance with the users and clients target.
12.7.5
Daimler-Chrysler Wind Tunnel in Auburn Hills
The driving force behind the development of space-saving, abrasion-resistant anechoic lining for freefield measuring rooms was essentially the constantly growing
demands of the automobile industry. Here determining, analyzing and designing
479
Fig. 12.88 Level decay for

narrow-band signals
according to ISO 37 45
(2003) on path 1 in Fig. 12.62
4 kHz
2 kHz
1 kHz
500 Hz
250 Hz
125 Hz
63 Hz
10 dB
31.5 Hz
10
20
airframe noise of automobiles in aero-acoustic wind tunnels played a particular role

starting with the BMW acoustic wind tunnel (Sect. 12.3), followed by the FKFS wind
tunnel (Sect. 12.4) and the Audi wind tunnel (Sect. 12.7.2). Due to the extremely high
demands on the abrasion-resistance of the flow-guiding boundaries in simulating vehicle velocities up to 300 km/h corresponding to 80 m/s in the tunnels, it is small
wonder that in 2001 the new fiberless technology crossed the Atlantic, where it was
also first employed in an automotive wind tunnel, in fact the largest of its kind at the
time, covering 87 33 m ground surface.
Like in the Audi facility (Fig. 12.52), at Daimler-Chrysler (Fig. 12.89) in Auburn
Hills near Detroit, not only the plenum was designed with BCA modules but also
the most part of the ducts was provided with BCA wall lining and the hub silencer
directly connected to the axial fan with a rotor diameter of 8 m was likewise fitted
with fiberless modules. Only the silencers in the turning corners were conventionally
executed as silencers with mineral fibers behind fleece and perforated sheet metal
upon separate commission.
Figure 12.90 shows the layout of the plenum. The 61 ton turntable for bearing up
to 4.5 ton trucks contains a scale that measures with an accuracy of 0.01 %. With it
the vehicles can be brought into any desired position toward the wind. The walls on
which the lining is mounted are of concrete. The plenum is intended for measuring
passenger and utility car noise, consequently a nozzle with a 28 m2 opening was
provided, quite large compared to the nozzles of the BMW, FKFS and Audi wind
tunnels. On the opposite side is the intake with an equally advantageously large
opening of 47 m2 , which is equipped on three sides with adjustable wings. The
480
Fig. 12.89 Horizontal section of the Aero-acoustic Wind Tunnel AAWT at the DC Technology Center
in Auburn Hills. (According to Brandsttt et al. 2002; Walter et al. 2003)
5.8 m
ai
Tr
l8
Scale
Trail 3
Trail 6
l4
ai
ai
Tr
Tr
l5
ai
Tr
l2
ai
Tr
l1
15 m
ai
Intake
Tr
l7
20.5 m
3.3 m
Nozzle se
Fig. 12.90 Layout of the

plenum in the DC tunnel
depicted in Fig. 12.89 with
the measuring paths for level
decay measurements.
(According to Brandsttt
et al. 2002)
Control room
double-door entrance through which the vehicles enter the plenum and the narrow
exit door on the opposite side are lined with absorbers in a similar manner as the
plenum. The other windows and the door to the control room remain unlined. They
can, however, also be provided with similar, vertically movable absorber modules.
The test objects are placed on the sound-reflective floor in the center of the scale,
which lies approximately 3.3 m off center in the plenum toward the nozzle.
The wall lining comprises broadband compact absorbers BCA made of
polyurethane foam with an overall thickness of only 250 mm and a standard module
size of 1.2 1.5 m. They are mounted directly on the concrete walls and on the inner
sides of the entrance doors. For protection against damage, the BCA are covered with
481

plenum from the intake facing
the 6.9 4.4 nozzle opening
of the DC tunnel
and held in painted white perforated sheet-metal baskets. On the longitudinal wall,
these baskets are painted black as a background suited for video recording smoke
visualizations of the flow (Fig. 12.91). Leaving a 50 mm wide joint on all sides in
mounting the modules yielded an attractive appearance. The ceiling lining comprises
BCA modules like on the walls. Due to the suspended ceiling construction, the rear
side of the BCA was covered with a closed sheet-metal panel extending over the
entire surface, which functions as a rigid backing. The volume between the raw
ceiling and the suspended ceiling is acoustically untreated and open to the plenum
along the entire length of the three steel beams bearing the suspended ceiling and
the traversing unit.
A few surfaces and elements in the plenum remain acoustically untreated, i.e.
sound-reflective. Among them are the rear sides of the nozzle and the collector, including their steel rigs, galleries running along two sides of the room and in particular
the large traversing unit. Despite all these untreated surfaces, the plenum is intended
as a semi-freefield room according to the norm precision class 1 with a lower limiting
frequency of at least 80 Hz. The freefield radius to be maintained above a test sound
source in the center of the floor is 5.5 m.
In order to check the freefield properties, acceptance tests were conducted in thirdoctave bands on five trails 1, 2, 3, 7 and 8 as shown in Fig. 12.90 and the influence
of the window and door lining was determined by further measurements on trails
4, 5 and 6, for which the path length was extended to 7 m. Some results of these
measurements are shown in Fig. 12.92 for the shorter and hence more critical path 6
(with BCA lining on the control room windows and door). On all paths norm freefield
conditions are met in the extended frequency range down to 50 Hz up to a distance of
7 m. For fulfilling the clients specifications merely down to 80 Hz within a distance
of 5.5 m no lining were required on the control room windows and door. On path 8,
which is least influenced by reflecting elements (see Fig. 12.90), test measurements
depicted for the low frequency range in Fig. 12.93 yield the surprising result that
freefield conditions can be met within a radius of 5.5 m even down to 20 Hz, except
for the 31.5 Hz one-third-octave.
482
Fig. 12.92 Level decay in
third-octave measurements
according to ISO 37 45
(2003) along path 6 in
Fig. 12.90
Fig. 12.93 Level decay as in

Fig. 12.92 along a less critical
path 8 according to Fig. 12.90
483
Fig. 12.94 Wall and ceiling

lining with BCA modules of
the 8.7 5.4 intake and its
polyurethane foam lined
turning vanes of the DC wind
tunnel
As additional sound control measures, sections of the tunnels were lined with BCA
modules and a hub silencer similar to the one described in Sect. 12.7.2 was employed
on the fan. These serve to reduce fan noise and the additional noise generated by the
flow at duct elements. The walls and the ceiling of the diffuser, the adjacent walls of
corner 1 and the transverse duct are executed with BCA modules with a thickness
of 360 mm as is a part of the tunnel walls in front of the nozzle and corner 4 lying
in front of it. Used for the walls of corners 2 and 3 and the hub silencer is a porous
absorber of 305 mm thick polyurethane foam. Figure 12.94 shows a view from the
plenum into the diffuser. Visible are both the polyurethane foam covered wings of
the intake and the BCA lining on the wall and ceiling of the diffuser.
Figure 12.95 shows the hub silencer with the fan behind it. The photograph was
taken from the adjacent concrete duct whose round cross section becomes a square
cross section behind the silencer. At the fan, the silencer has a diameter of 8 m,
widening to 8.6 m due to its conic shape over a length of 12.5 m. The center body
is conic as well with a diameter of 3.55 m down to 1.20 m at the end of the silencer.
The absorptive linings of the outer boundary and the center body are uniformly
305 m thick. The performance of the hub silencer had to be proven by means of
level measurements averaged over the duct cross sections in front of and behind the
silencer (Fig. 12.96a). The measurements show that the damping requirements are
met over the entire frequency range (b). Especially important was the critical lowfrequency range up to 250 Hz, where the fan generates the highest noise level, see
also the measurements below 63 Hz in Fig. 13.22.
Employing multi-step sound control measures, a fan trimmed for minimal noise
emission and optimum flow guidance in the ducts, the entire aerodynamic and acoustic design of the DC wind tunnel aims at ambitiously low pressure levels in the plenum
(Fig. 12.54). Compared to the three previously described aero-acoustic facilities
(Table 12.9), what is remarkable about the DC tunnel is its large nozzle. Some data
in this table were taken from Walter et al. (2003) and Duell et al. (2002).
In contrast to the BMW tunnel (Sect. 12.3) and the FKFS tunnel (Sect. 12.4), the
design, planning and building supervision was granted in entirety to a worldwide
484
Fig. 12.95 Hub silencer at the fan of the DC wind tunnel. View with the fan behind it (top),
longitudinal and cross section (bottom)
operating engineering firm, Sverdrup Technologies. A pilot facility built 10 years

earlier preceded the aero-acoustic wind tunnel AAWT at the Daimler Chrysler Technical Center, see Walter et al. (2003). Meanwhile, with the FKFS and Audi tunnels
development had progressed rapidly so that in the hot final design phase, the general planner was able to adapt, in close collaboration with the DC aerodynamic and
acoustic experts, the acoustic concept to the new standard using BCA technology.
Walter et al. (2003) explain the reason for this is that
the aggressive background noise target for the AAWT could not be met using a
conventional wind tunnel airline,
overly conservative acoustic treatment schemes could not be tolerated financially
and
the basic shapes of the turning vanes based on aerodynamic performance needs. . .
were developed simultaneously based on the (acoustic) insertion loss required
from that particular corner.
The planners were especially pleased with the anechoic plenum: The plenum was
specified to be a semi-anechoic room according to ISO 3745 down to a frequency
485
Fig. 12.96 Inspection of the transmission loss Dd of the hub silencer (a); results averaged over
both propagation directions (b); target (without symbol), model measurement (), measurement
by Fraunhofer IBP (), by the operator ()
of 80 Hz within a 5.5 m radius from the center of the plenum. Commissioning measurements were made using the standard draw-away test and showed the quality
of the room to be better than required. Acoustic treatment in the plenum consists of
flat broad band panel absorbers, which perform better than standard acoustic wedges
and occupy less than 25 % of the space. . . . Although acoustic covers for the control
room windows are available, they were not used for any treatment reported in this
paper. . . . Agreement of the traverse-mounted microphone when on the control room
side (i.e., very close to the strut-mounted microphone) does not appear to be any
better than when it is on the other side of the plenum. This suggests a very good
symmetry of absorption in the plenum, in spite of asymmetries in the plenum, including the control room windows, the presence of the traverse superstructure, and
other miscellaneous reflecting surfaces.
Figure 12.97 shows the third-octave spectrum measured out-of-flow of the selfnoise of the AAWT on both sides of the jet (without a test object) at a velocity of
113 km/h (in the center of the jet) compared to the very high targets set here: they were
apparently more than fulfilled by up to 10 dB in the entire frequency range of interest
486
Table 12.9 Aero-acoustic wind tunnels. (Bold print highlights the facilities on which the
Faist/Fraunhofer team was involved, Lecheler et al. 2004)
Operator
Nissan, Japan
BMW, Mnchen
Honda, Japan
FKFS, Stuttgart
Ford, Kln
Audi, Ingolstadt
Pininfarina, Italien
Hyundai, Korea
GM, Detroit
DC, Auburn Hills
PSA Peugot/
Citroen, St.-CyrLEcole
DLR,
Braunschweig
BMW, Mnchen
Tongji Univ.,
Shanghai
Honda, Sakura
Nozzle
area in m2
Fan power
in MW
Air flow
rate in m3 /s
Maximum velocity
in km/h
in m/s
1986
1987
1991
1993
1998
1998
1999
2000
2001
2002
2003
< 28
10
28
22
20
11
12
28
(56)
28
25
2.20
1.90
?
3.00
< 2.00
2.60
1.10
2.60
2.30
4.70
3.80
1478
0667
1550
1603
1060
0918
0673
1550
(3640)
1876
1630
190
240
200
257
190
< 300
202
200
233
240
240
53
67
55
71
53
< 83
56
55
65
67
67
2007
0.96
0.23
58
215
60
2009
2009
25/18
27.6
4.10
1735
1934
250/300
250
69/83
70
2010
24/17
3.50
1333
200/288
55/80
Finished

spectrum of the out-of-flow
self-noise at 113 km/h in the
DC-AAWT ; target (),
measurement result on the
control room side (, 56.9
dB(A)), opposite side (, 56.4
dB(A)), always at a distance
of 5.5 m from the jet axis
(especially at low frequencies). The in-flow noise (Fig. 12.98) lies approximately
510 dB above the out-of-flow noise levels. Walter et al. (2003) reflect on this as
follows: It has been observed elsewhere that out-of-flow SPL measurements exceed
487

spectrum of the in-flow
self-noise (1 m above the
center of the scale, see
Fig. 12.90) at 113 km/h in the
DC-AAWT ; target (),
measurement result on the
control room side at a
distance of 5.5 m from the jet
axis ()
in-flow measurements at the lowest frequencies. This does not appear to be the case
at AAWT. . . . These results suggest the influence of the plenum acoustic treatment. If
the treatment has poor absorption characteristics at low frequencies, then reflections
off the plenum walls to the out-of-flow microphone can be expected to increase their
SPLs while having less influence on the more distant in-flow microphone. . . . The
AAWT panels (80 Hz design cutoff) appear to be effective down to approximately
30 Hz.
12.7.6
PSA Peugot/Citroen Wind Tunnel at ST-Cyr-LEcole
Another aero-acoustic wind tunnel equipped with the same technology went into
operation at St.-Cyr-LEcole near Paris in 2003. Similar to the Audi and DaimlerChrysler wind tunnels (Sects. 12.5 and 12.7.2) not only the plenum but also the ducts
behind the intake were provided with BCA modules. The absorbent lining of the metal
sheet turning vanes in the corners was separately commissioned and mounted in a
conventional manner with profiled and coated foam segments. Table 12.9 gives the
specifications of the wind tunnel, Fig. 12.99 the layout of the plenum. Figure 12.100
shows in the foreground the lined duct and through the intake the plenum with the
nozzle. The dimensions of the plenum, lined on five sides, are 22 15.5 10.15 m,
yielding a usable room volume of 3 460 m3 over a ground surface of approximately
340 m2 .
Behind one longitudinal wall is the adjacent control room. A relatively large
window front permits visual communication between the two enclosures. Installed
in front of the window in the plenum is a movable apron fitted with BCA modules.
488
Z
22,00 m
7,45 m
15,36 m
L1
Intake
L2
15,5 m
Nozzle
5,50 m
1,5 m
Fig. 12.99 Layout of the plenum at the PSA Peugeot/Citroen wind tunnel at St.-Cyr-LEcole with
loudspeaker positions L1 and L2 for level decay measurements. (According to ISO 37 45 2003)
plenum through the intake in
the direction of the nozzle in
the PSA wind tunnel
Figure 12.101 shows the plenum with the apron lowered and Fig. 12.102 with it
raised. A large soundproof gate outside the plenum serves as an entrance for the
vehicles. It is located in the duct behind the intake, on the right side in Fig. 12.100. A
door in the side wall of the plenum leads to the control room (Fig. 12.99, top right).
Inlets and outlets of the room ventilation are integrated in the absorbent lining
at the nozzle-side of the plenum. In the measuring hall electric wiring and media
cables including adapters are also integrated flush in the lining. Sunk in the floor
on ground level in the vicinity of where the vehicle is positioned is a conveyor-belt
moving with the same velocity as the flow in the center of the jet. Other unlined
elements are video cameras, ladders and a large display opposite the control room
489
Fig. 12.101 View of the BCA

wall lining of the plenum with
the test sound source at L1 as
shown in Fig. 12.99 and a
diagonal microphone cable
car in volume 1movable
absorber apron in front of the
control room window lowered
Fig. 12.102 View of the BCA

wall lining of the plenum
movable absorber apron in
front of the control room
window raised

plenum at the PSA
Peugeot/Citroen wind tunnel
with the test sound source and
measuring path at a height of
1.5 m
(Fig. 12.103 left). The movable traversing device and the nozzle remain relatively
large, yet indispensable reflectors. The collector, however, has been carefully lined
with foam profiles on the intake side.
490
The anechoic wall lining extends from 5 cm above the floor to the ceiling-side
absorbers. The lining of the wall and ceiling consists of 250 cm thick BCA modules
with standard dimensions of approximately 1 1.50 m. These comprise two layers
of polyurethane foam, glued to a resonant panel lying between them, enclosed by
perforated sheet-metal baskets, which ensure mechanical protection on the room
side. Elements such as switches, sockets, etc., are mounted between the BCA as
shown in Fig. 10.15. Running vertically between the BCA modules are approximately
50 mm wide joints. The movable apron in front of the control room window is also
lined with BCA. Integrated flush with the room lining in the 200 mm wide joint
elements between the BCA ceiling modules are absorbent illumination units, similar
to those in Figs. 10.17c and 12.58.
Although a few surfaces and elements in the plenum must remain acoustically
untreated, i.e. sound-reflective, the plenum should fulfill precision class 1 according
to ISO 37 45 (2003) from a lower limiting frequency of 63 Hz. To verify the freefield
properties, acceptance tests were conducted in third-octave bands from 63 Hz to
10 kHz. It was very important to the client that the plenum could be qualified as
a semi-freefield room even at lower frequencies. Consequently, the measurements
were extended to a frequency range from 50 Hz to 16 kHz. For freefield verification,
the client stated precisely the number, position and course of the measurement paths
in different measurement volumes corresponding to Fig. 12.104. The sound pressure
levels were measured beginning at a distance of 1 m from the acoustic center of the
anticipated real source in fixed intervals of 0.25 m as follows.
Volume 1diameter 12 m, height 3 m The sound source is located directly on the
floor at position L1 approximately 1.5 m off the center of the scale (Fig. 12.99).
Eight paths lead from the center of the circle in 45 steps diagonally into the upper
boundary of the cylindrical measurement volume and path 9 runs vertically up to a
height of 3 m. Moreover, on path 3 in the direction to the window, the measurement
is repeated with the anechoic apron raised (Fig. 12.102). Figure 12.105 shows the
theoretical and measured level decays for the frequency range from 50 to 160 Hz
with the respective tolerance bands.
Volume 1diameter 12 m, height 1.5 m The sound source is now located 1.5 m above
the floor at position L1 (Fig. 12.99). Contrary to ISO 37 45 (2003), eight measuring
paths lead from the center of the circle at a constant height of 1.5 m parallel to the floor
to the outer boundary of the measurement cylinder. As anticipated, the measured level
decay follows freefield expectations only within relatively small distances, see the
black circles in Fig. 12.106. This, of course, does in no means disqualify the anechoic
linings but documents very clearly the inevitable influence of floor reflections, cf.
Sects. 12.5 and 12.7.4 f.
Volume 26 2 1.7 m rectangular volume, above volume 1 The sound source is
now located at position L2 in the center of the scale. Eight paths lead diagonally into
the upper boundary of the measurement tetragon and path 9 vertically up to a height
of 3 + 1.7 = 4.7 m. In this configuration the norm requirements are again more than
fulfilled within the target frequency range (Fig. 12.107).
491
Fig. 12.104 Size and location of measurement volumes 1 and 2 in the plenum as shown in
Fig. 12.103marked are the verification areas. (According to ISO 37 45 2003)
12.7.7
BMW Aerodynamic Test Center in Munich
When the first BMW acoustic wind tunnel described in Sect. 12.3 was built in the
mid-1980s, Ackermann et al. (1989) and BMW experts first tested it aerodynamically
and acoustically in extensive model simulations before subsequently planning and
equipping it with then available absorber technology for the silencers, see Fig. 13.17,
and for the plenum lining, see Figs. 12.312.5. Ten years later, an engine noise test
stand using the at the time novel fiberless technology was realized for the first time
in the same Research and Engineering Center FIZ in Munich, see Sect. 12.7.1
and Fuchs et al. (1998). In 2009 BMW once again took the lead building a second
much larger, higher performing wind tunnel (Fig. 12.108) with a multi-lane, variably
movable conveyor belt allowing various alignments of the test object in the flow, see
Fig. 12.109. In line with the concept of complete integration of the silencers in the
flow ducts, which was first developed and tested in model experiments for the FKFS
wind tunnel (Sect. 12.4), here all the sound damping elements were installed in the
492
Fig. 12.105 Level decay in

measurement volume 1, path
1, measured diagonally in
third octaves from 50 to
160 Hz and norm tolerances
160 Hz
Level decay in dB
125 Hz
100 Hz
80 Hz
63 Hz
50 Hz
10 dB
2
3
4 5 6 7 8 910
Distance from source in m
turning corners and the diffuser in the time-proven manner using abrasion-resistant
broadband absorbers described in Sects. 10.1 and 10.2.
12.7.8
Experiences Gained in China
First contacts in 2000 with representatives of the First Automotive Works FAW in
Changchun aimed at building state-of-the-art acoustic test stands modeled on the
pass-by, engine noise and power-train test stands, and listening room at the VW
Acoustics Center (see Sect. 12.7.4). However, it took another five trips to China
including numerous factory tours and difficult discussions in three languages (Chinese for daily needs, German or English for negotiations with the help of competent
interpreters) to overcome the obstacles involved with a global tender and international bidders to finally tie up all the painstakingly negotiated performance packages,
agree on payment conditions and obtain the necessary import documents. It would
not have been possible to gain access to the very complex and specific Chinese market without the assistance of Chinese experts who not only possessed the language
skills and technical expertise in acoustics but also were able to navigate the cultural

Fig. 12.106 Level decays in
measurement volume 1,
radiated and measured on a
path parallel to the floor in
160 Hz
493
160 Hz
Level decay in dB
125 Hz
100 Hz
80 Hz
63 Hz
50 Hz
10 dB
4
2
5 6
3
7 8 9 10
differences. The services of X. Zha, at the time senior project manager at Fraunhofer
IBP, and X. Han, head of the Fraunhofer Representative Office in Beijing, were
invaluable in realizing the first project.
Meanwhile, the concepts and materials described in Sects. 12.4 and 12.6 can
already be found in 35 freefield and semi-freefield rooms in China. A major challenge,
however, were not only the initial situation and Chinese expectations of foreign
automotive manufacturers and test stands, but also how to communicate building
plans because, of course, initially there were no compatible graphic and writing
programs available. In addition to this, in some cases, new acoustic conditions had
to be mastered in order to realize the really newest and best technology. In some
projects, it was a matter of course that the inspection and acceptance tests of anechoic
rooms were carried out using sine signals. It was very important to the clients that
only imported original lining materials were installed. However, to keep costs down,
local craftsmen were employed for assembly but under foreign supervision.
1. Freefield Room, Shanghai Academy of Public Measurement With the opening
of the Chinese market, the demand for modern acoustic test stands was considerable, especially, of course, in the large sea ports. In the Pudong region, a
14 12.3 10.2 = 1 750 m3 freefield room was equipped on all sides with an anechoic lining comprising 130 mm thick CPA and approximately 650 mm thick ASA.
494
Fig. 12.107 Level decays in

measurement volume 2, path
1, measured diagonally in
160 Hz
160 Hz
125 Hz
Level decay in dB
100 Hz
80 Hz
63 Hz
50 Hz
10 dB
7 8 9 10
Fig. 12.108 BMW

Aerodynamic Test Center
ATC in the Research and
Engineering Center in
Munich
With a usable volume of 12.4 10.7 8.6 = 1 140 m3 this corresponds to a volume
efficiency according to Eq. (12.15) of approximately 1.9. Approximately 2.8 m above
the anechoic floor a rope network creates a 12.4 10.7 = 132 m2 utilization area. The
shortest distance between the central point sound source and the nearest lining is thus
2.8 m downwards and 5.35 m to the side.
Not satisfied with the ISO 3745 (2005) standard requirements, the user raised the
precision targets, notably 1 dB at 100 f 20 000 Hz and 1.5 dB at f 80 Hz,
495
Fig. 12.109 Test vehicle on

the conveyor belt moving
with the flow in the
BMW-ATC test stand
always for sine signals. The lining variant, employed for the first time in this
case, enabled to fulfill these conditions up to measurement distances according to
Table 12.10a on radii in the direction to the corners of the room. Extending far beyond
the radii of possible spherical enveloping surfaces around the source, these freefield
distances reach far into the edge area according to Sect. 12.4 (/4 from the lining).
2. Semi-freefield Room, Shanghai Academy of Public Measurement The same
anechoic lining as in example a) was mounted on the walls and ceiling of the
room with raw dimensions 11.2 9.7 8.2 = 891 m3 . The resulting usable volume
of 9.6 8.1 7.4 = 576 m3 yielded a volume efficiency of 1.8. On the, in this case,
78 m2 utilization area, the shortest distance from an assumed point source on the floor
to the nearest lining is thus little more than 4 m. Actually the radial distance from a
central source on the floor to the corners of the room, in which the deviations according to the users targets is just 1 dB (for 100 f 20 000 Hz), respectively 2 dB
(for f 80 Hz), come very close to 4 m for narrowband signals, as the acceptance
test results in Table 12.10b show.
3. Freefield Room, Beijing National Institute of Metrology Somewhat later, the
Beijing institute decided to install test facilities similar to the ones in Shanghai. In
order to be able to offer the same measurement conditions for acoustical product
Table 12.10 Distances r on radial paths from a central source on which in rooms (a) to (d) norm
condition, resp. higher user targets (in parentheses) are fulfilled
f in Hz
40
50
63
80
160
315
630
Freefield:
a)
c)
Semifreefield:
b)
d)
1.5 dB
2.3 m
3.1 m
2.5(2) dB
1.5 dB
2.2 m
4.0 m
2.5(2) dB
1.5 dB
2.5 m
4.0 m
2.5(2) dB
1.5(1) dB
3.0 m
4.3 m
2.5(2) dB
1.5(1) dB
4.1(4.0) m
4.3(4.1) m
2.5(2) dB
1.5(1) dB
5.1(4.6) m
7.9(4.3) m
2.5(2) dB
1.5(1) dB
>6(6) m
>8(8) m
2.5(2) dB
3.9(3.7) m 5.0(4.8) m 2.6(2.3) m 4.3(3.8) m 6.1(3.9) m 6.1(3.8) m 6.1(5.2) m

2.5(2.2) m 4.5(4.5) m 7.8(5.7) m 6.4(6.3) m 5.1(4.9) m 8.0(7.1) m 7.9(4.5) m
496
Fig. 12.110 Freefield room of the Beijing Testing Center; mechanical protection of the ASA lining
(a), steel wire grid (b) and floor with absorbingly lined consoles for test rigs (c)
comparison in the two large central laboratories of the country, the same lining was
employed in both. Unfortunately, like in the building projects (a) and (b) described
above, the corresponding room-acoustical planning using the simulation program
described in Sect. 12.5 could only be applied after the raw dimensions of the room
were already fixed. Thus, the results shown in Table 12.10 do not represent an
absolute optimum. However, in this instance and in test stand (d) the lining used was
especially attractive. Figure 12.110b shows first the ASA lining in the room under
the upper walking grid, already familiar from the test stands in the VW Acoustic
Center in Wolfsburg, Sect. 12.7.4, a 5 5 mm mesh plastic pick-up net, as used by
fishermen, reinforced and provided with loops on the sides and the steel wire grid
extending above the pick-up net. Figure 12.110c shows the removable lower walking
grid on the floor and the absorbingly lined supports for test rig pillars extending into
the work and test section. Finally, Fig. 12.110a shows the anechoic wall camouflage
and protection covering in the actual measurement room comprising large (1 3 m)
chamfered perforated (10 12 mm) metal-sheet grid baskets covered on the wall
side with white glass fleece. Moreover, the space between the two concrete walls of
the room-in-room construction accommodates electromagnetic shielding so that the
electromagnetic fields of the test objects can be studied in addition to the acoustic
fields.
497
The somewhat larger dimensions of 15.6 (14.0) 13 (11.4) 10.4 (8.8) = 2 109
(1 405) m3 yield a correspondingly larger volume efficiency, 2 according to Eq.
(12.15), compared to example a). The especially critical height of the grid, 3 m
above the lower lining, was negotiated with the user. Table 12.10 shows clearly that
the freefield distances according to the standard as well as those according to the
increased demands of these two clients in example c) were substantially greater than
in example a), because the Beijing room is not only larger but also has more favorable
dimensions.
4. Semi-freefield Room, Beijing National Institute of Metrology A comparison
of the two semi-freefield rooms in Beijing and Shanghai shows: fundamentally the
freefield distance in this 14.8 (13.2) 11.6 (10.0) 8.0 (7.2) = 1 373 (950) m3 room
is correspondingly larger than in example b). Its volume efficiency R = 2.2, with the
same lining, is somewhat higher than in example b). Above 50 Hz, as Table 12.10
at the bottom shows, the freefield in this room reaches substantially further than in
example b), which corresponds approximately to the different dimensions. In one
point, however, the Beijing rooms differ from most other such test facilities: being
situated in a very quiet area, they allow measuring an unusually low background
noise level, notably only approximately 3 dB(A) in (c) and 1 dB(A) in (d)!
5. Power-train Test Stand, PAN-ASIA Automobiles In smaller rooms such as this
one with 6.7 5.7 4.3 = 164 m3 , there is no space available for a lining thickness
of 780 mm as in examples a) and b). Moreover, sensitively structured absorbers ASA
on the walls are not always suited in engine noise or power-train test stands. Here
BCA with their smooth, sturdy surfaces described in Sect. 10.5 and Fig. 10.17 have
proven more satisfactory. If, however, sound sources with tonal components are
to be examined in this room, it is advisable to place a somewhat thicker passively
absorbing layer in front of the CPA than was sufficient at BMW (Sect. 12.7.1) or
VW (Sect. 12.7.4 c) for third-octave measurements. In this case, a first 150 mm
thick polyester fiber fleece with a specific mass of only 15 kg/m3 was placed facing
the room and behind it a second 100 mm thick with a specific weight of 20 kg/m3
in front of the CPA with a 100 mm melamine resin soft foam behind its resonant
panels. Although this lining reduces the size of the test cell by approximately 27 %
to 120 m3 above the sound-reflective floor with a utilization area of 30 m2 , its volume
efficiency is still R = 2.7. In this instance, too, the freefield conditions of precision
class 1 according to ISO 37 45 (2003) are met for radial distances from a central
point source on the floor, which are greater than the distance from the nearest lined
surface (thus 2 m) as shown in Table 12.10.
6. Measurement Cabin for NOKIA in Beijing Freefield rooms with raw dimensions of only 5.8 4.2 3.1 = 75 m3 for very small IT products such as mobile phones
present a particular challenge for sine-suited lining. Even with space-saving BCA
lining as in example c) what is left is only a 43 m3 anechoic room above a 18 m2
utilization area with a volume efficiency R = 1.3. With conventional wedge absorbers, even when designed for e.g. 160 Hz, a lining thickness according to Eq.
(4.9) of 530 mm would be required and R would be as small as 0.6, see Fig. 12.41.
498
Actually this room allows freefield measurements up to distances of more than

1.5 m from a central source for frequencies down to at least 63 Hz, although the
distance from the nearest lining (ceiling) is just 1.2 m (for wedge absorbers designed
for 160 Hz even only 1 m). Only a grating installed 0.2 m above the anechoic floor
causes problems at frequencies above 2 kHz if the measurement path runs diagonally
to the floor and this grating is not covered with an absorbent layer.
7. Measurement Cabin for MOTOROLA in Beijing The hitherto smallest complete freefield room measuring only 3.6 3.2 3.7 = 30 m3 , yet with a usable volume
of 2.9 2.4 2 = 14 m3 on an area of 7 m2 similar as in example d)was built and
shipped cost-effectively using modules of pre-fabricated wall elements, similar to
those used for machine-hoods. Nonetheless it fulfills the standard freefield conditions for frequencies down to 100 Hz to the maximum possible spherical enveloping
surface with a radius of 1 m.
8. Exterior Noise Measuring Hall at Tongji University in Shanghai An especially
successful example from an acoustical, optical and haptical standpoint is the (raw)
25.7 21.7 7.35 = 4 100 m3 pass-by noise test stand for all types of road vehicles.
The only 350 mm thickness of the lining, similar to that used in example e), was
further reduced to 250 mm (only 150 mm fleece with a specific weight of 15 kg/m3
in front of the CPA) above approximately 2 m on the walls and in the edge regions of
the ceiling as show in Fig. 12.111. The idea was to save costs where a thicker fleece
layer was not acoustically essential.
In this instance, too, higher acoustical targets for third-octave measurements than
actually foreseen according to ISO 37 45 (2003) had to be met (see Table 12.2), notably 2.5 dB for a to low frequencies extended measurement range 40 f 100 Hz
and 2 dB for f 125 Hz. The acceptance tests on five diagonal paths into the corners and edges of the room yielded freefield distances of more than 9 m for 40 Hz
and more than 11 m for all the other third-octaves, although the largest possible
hemisphere (without the norm safety distance from the lining of /4) can only have
a maximum radius of 7 m. Freefield conditions were also verified on the 7.5 m paths
(cf. Fig. 12.62): with the exception of a flat path to one of the farthest edges of
the room, deviations from the theoretical decay function remained within the above
given tolerances even beyond the respective 7.5 m points until almost directly up to
the lining.
Although the VW pass-by test facility (Fig. 12.64) was of enormous help for
entering the Chinese market, this third realization of such a complete vehicle test
hall again stands out due to its special appearance and fulfillment of the highest
acoustical standards with smooth, insensitive 1.5 1 m BCA modules in perforated
steel sheet baskets with two different thicknesses instead of the ASA lining protected
by fleece covers in the VW model. The 350 mm thick lining of BCA modules is
readily recognized in the center of the ceiling and on the side walls (light lower strip
in Fig. 12.111a). This is also prepared to cover the windows to the adjacent control
room. Microphones for monitoring simulated pass-by noise are mounted on single
tripods in front of the control room and in front of the opposite wall. With its usable
volume (between the linings) of 25 21 7 = 3 675 m3 , this test stand is somewhat
larger and thus more comfortable than many of its kind.
12.8 Review and Prospects of Anechoic Test Facilities
499
Fig. 12.111 Pass-by noise test stand with anechoic BCA lining at the Tongji University (a) with
prototype test vehicles on a 4-wheel drive roller test bed (b, c)
9. Aero-acoustic Wind Tunnel at Tongji University in Shanghai The past two

decades have witnessed a phenomenal growth of the automotive market in China:
In 1992 the sales of passenger and commercial vehicles reached 1 million units. By
2010 it amounted to about 15 million units, making it the largest in the world (Yang
2010). Small wonder, that this created an enormous need for world-class vehicle
development infrastructure for both domestic ( 1/4) and joint-venture automakers
( 3/4).
12.8
Review and Prospects of Anechoic Test Facilities
A universal problem such as traffic noise is a challenge to develop not only quieter
engines but also quieter tires and pavements (see Sect. 12.1). In addition to innovative
sound absorbers for damping noise in engine and passenger compartments, in recent
improved test stands with substantially better working conditions for the scientists
500
and engineers working on the vehicles have become available. The more successful
they became in reducing the noise of diverse sources in the vehicle, the more became
the flow noise the dominant problem even at moderate velocities around 100 km/h.
Up to the early 1980s, the wind tunnels of the automobile industry were very helpful in creating streamlined automobiles with a correspondingly low flow resistance
(cw -parameter). But, these facilities were much too loud, especially at low frequencies below 500 Hz, particularly however below 125 Hz, see Sect. 12.3, Fig. 12.7, to
be able to measure the airframe noise still present when simulating exterior or interior
sound of an upper-class vehicle. It was, therefore, necessary to reduce the self-noise
of the wind tunnels originally conceived to optimize aerodynamics, as well as plan
and build new facilities as aero-acoustic wind tunnels from the start.
The first acoustic wind tunnel planned and first thoroughly tested on a model
scale with the support of Fraunhofer IBP and subsequently built at BMWs Research
and Engineering Center (see Sect. 12.3, Ackermann et al. 1989; Ackermann 1990),
was considered one of the quietest wind tunnels in the world until the late 1980s. Its
A-weighted sound pressure level measured out-of-flow lies more than 20 dB(A) below that of solely aerodynamic wind tunnels. Figure 12.54 shows a graph comparing
the self-noise of some of the wind tunnels listed in Table 12.9. Duell et al. (2002)
refer to a first generation of aero-acoustic wind tunnels, which BMW pioneered and
which were characterized by conventional mineral fiber technology in the silencers,
the measuring section, and the duct lining, see Sect. 12.3. A second generation
characterized by turning vanes integrated with acoustic baffle sections, test section
plenums with robust absorption material tuned for low frequencies, acoustic lining
of the ductwork and fan section, and selection of fans with low acoustic signature
according to the same authors was introduced in 1993 with the FKFS tunnel, see
Sect. 12.4. The second generation is distinguished by another approximately 20
dB(A) noise level reduction in the entire velocity range culminating in the Audi wind
tunnel. The sound damping flow guides in the four corners of the FKFS tunnel have
thus proven successful worldwide. Originally they were used to acoustically retrofit
an aerodynamically excellent facility, recently they have been employed to improve
aerodynamically a (however much smaller) facility used only for acoustic tests at the
German Center for Air and Space Travel (DLR) by Pott-Pollenske and Delfs (2008).
The new technology, which has introduced fundamentally novel broadband
resonators into meanwhile eight wind tunnels for damping low frequency noise
components, has however also been successful in more than 200 instances for
aerodynamically and mechanically less demanding test stands and simple acoustic measurement cells. In the early phase of this space-saving, expedient alternative
for conventional mineral fiber plates and wedges, most users were satisfied with
the room lining as being sufficiently anechoic with respect to valid norms for thirdoctave analyses of the corresponding noise sources. However, with the VW project
(Sect. 12.7.4) an even more space-saving and thus more cost-effective variant was
found, which also permitted narrow-band analyses on corresponding sound sources.
Thus a universally applicable technology for designing freefield measuring rooms
became available, which has begun being used in many sectors, apart from the motor
vehicle industry.
12.8 Review and Prospects of Anechoic Test Facilities
501
Fig. 12.112 Anechoic drive shaft silencer in an engine noise test stand
To meet contemporary architectural, ergonomic and acoustic requirements which

go beyond the requirements of ISO 4735 (2003), Zhou and Zha (2004) developed a
detailed design program in which the exact sound source and microphone positions
specified in the norms or by the user are entered and the transmission properties
of the room are estimated frequency dependent from 25 to 16 000 Hz. In contrast
to conventional homogeneous lining of all boundary surfaces with only one wedge
structure for the entire room, the given room volume can be optimally utilized and the
fixed surfaces and dimensions can be taken into account in detail in a particular, that
is inhomogeneous, design of the lining. This starts with tuning the CPA in front of the
different sound-reflective boundaries and ends with the varied layers and structures
of the porous/fibrous material facing the room. Conventional homogeneous lining
with wedge absorbers of sufficient depth, as recommended by the norms and tuned to
normal sound incidence is acoustically optimal only in a spherical or hemispherical
measurement room with a sound source concentrated in its center. In the rectangular
spaces common for motor vehicle test stands with their corresponding inhomogeneous sound fields, however, the novel, intentionally inhomogeneous lining results
much more effectively everywhere in the required free field conditions, and from the
highest to the lowest frequencies.
In future, especially demanding projects such as described in Sect. 12.7.8 h and
by Fuchs et al. (2007) can be realized with a further improved compact absorber
comprising wall-side CPA modules with a 1, 1.5 or 2.5 thick steel resonant panels on
a 100 mm thick melamine resin soft foam of standard dimensions 1.5 1 m for the
greatest absorption at low frequencies. In front of it is placed over the entire surface
for medium and high frequencies a 150 mm thick layer of polyester fiber fleece with
a specific mass of 20 kg/m3 . In especially critical parts of the room, for example the
ceiling and the lower part of the walls in Fig. 12.111 a second 100 mm thick layer
of polyester fiber fleece with only 15 kg/m3 is added facing the room, respectively
facing the sources, to improve absorption at medium frequencies.
This maximum about 350 mm thick lining takes up in the example of 12.7.8 h
an absorber volume of all told only Va = 387 m3 . The resulting volume efficiency
502
according to Eq. (12.15) R = 9.6 is thus larger than of all previously built acoustic
test stands in the automobile sector, also than of the others built with the new absorber
technology. Thus, with given sound sources and the technically required distances
and accuracy requirements, space and building costs can definitely be saved. If the
dimensions of the test cells are bordered by another building or parts of buildings,
more freedom of movement is gained for the acoustic measurements. Even if the
volume needed for lining acoustic test stands is not important, there are still good
reasons to install the more compact absorbers to create good freefield conditions
even far below 100 Hz, for example at 50 and 25 Hz.
The example in Fig. 12.111 demonstrates still another advantage of BCA: as the
upper corners of such a test stand are of little significance for the acoustic measurements, they are predestined for relatively large fresh air and exhaust ducts necessary
to exchange the air in the room with, in this instance, up to 28 000 m3 /h for the
exhaust of up to 250 kW power from all the installed appliances. This ductwork was
also damped with 60 mm thick foam lining and in some areas with 250 mm thick
BCA lining to such an extent that the noise of the air conditioning with 21.1 dB(A)
cannot impede even the most sensitive measurement tasks. However, the noise emissions of other noise sources or appliances which are not attributable to the respective
test object must be kept under control. Figure 12.112 shows, as typical example,
the (in this case cylindrical) encapsulation of the drive, respectively driven, shaft
in an engine noise test stand like in Figs. 12.70 and 12.71. The actual insulation
element is an up to 3 mm thick steel cylinder with a diameter of 350 mm, which
is embedded between perforated sheet metal cylinders with diameters of 250 and
800 mm in a densely packed damping material. Any struts must, of course, also be
lined absorbingly in order not to falsify the measurements of a test engine.
Finally, a very welcome side-effect of the alternative low-frequency anechoic
linings should also be mentioned: Here the aural pressure sensations, probably
far below 50 Hz in the infra-sound range, often experienced by sensitive users in
conventionally lined freefield rooms, seem not to occur to the same extent.
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Bedell EH (1936) Some data on a room designed for free-field measurements. J Acoust Soc Am
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Brandsttt P, Fuchs HV, Roller M (2001) New absorbers and silencers for wind tunnels and acoustic
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London
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Diestel HG (1962) Zur Schallausbreitung in Reflexionsarmen Rumen. Acustica 12:113118
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Typprfungen, Messungen unter Freifeld-Bedingungen
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DIN ISO 362 (2003) Messung des von beschleunigten Straenfahrzeugen abgestrahlten
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Dreyer W, Hoppe P, Friederich P, Fuchs HV (2003a) Das neue Volkswagen-Akustikzentrum in
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Fasold W (2004) Buchbesprechung: Schallabsorber und Schalldmpfer. Innovative AkustikPrfstnde. Bauphysik 26(2):98
Fuchs HV (2001) Alternative fibreless absorbersnew tools and materials for noise control and
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Strmungsmaschinen. Z Lrmbekmpf 35(5):132136
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Wolfsburg. Teil 2: Reflexionsarme Raumauskleidungen. Automob Z 105(4):1923
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Genuit K (ed) (2010) Sound-Engineering im Automobilbereich. Springer, Berlin

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Zhou X, Zha X (2004) A simple method of determining the sound absorption coefficient at oblique
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Chapter 13
Silencers in Flow Ducts
Chapters 410 describe sound absorbing elements with regard to their

a) acoustical performance
b) mechanical robustness and
c) optical appearance
in numerous embodiments and in relation to other additional functions. In closed
rooms (see Chaps. 11 and 12), the amount of space required for a specific absorption
aspect (a) plays an important role particularly in view of low frequencies, because
this can directly influence the construction costs of a building. The durability aspect
(b) and design aspect (c) of porous/fibrous damping materials can be improved by
acoustically transparent covering or lining as described e.g. by Leistner and Drotleff
(2004). Properties (a) and (b) gain much more significance if the absorbers are
installed in the form of lining and/or splitters in ducts, where they are exposed
to highly turbulent flow of a, possibly chemically aggressive, fluid and probably
additional strong vibration impact. Moreover, if there are suspended particles carried
with the fluid, for example dust, there is the risk that deposits on the silencer may
diminish its acoustic efficiency (a). In such a case coated materials (see Sect. 4.2),
in particular reactive, completely sealed metal cassettes according to Sects. 6.3
and 10.7 offer distinct advantages, see Fuchs et al. 1999. The latter two, just as the
sintered porous glass foam described in Sects. 4.3 and 11.14.9 b, can be made to
also withstand very high temperatures and flow velocities in ducts.
13.1
Planning Silencer Systems
There is practically no ventilation plant, whether in heating, ventilating and air

conditioning HVAC or exhaust gas systems, that does not need suited silencers to
comply with immission standards inside and outside the building or plant. As the
fans are usually the dominant sources of noise in large industrial ventilation systems,
it takes careful planning to install silencers in ducts in order not to jeopardize final
inspection or operation. Even in power plants located in sparsely populated areas
it is often necessary to verify minimal sound emission values. Consequently, sound
507
508
13 Silencers in Flow Ducts
damping elements generally constitute 510 %, sometimes even more, of the costs of
an industrial ventilation system. Considering that more and more, block-type thermal
power stations and combined heating and power plants are being planned and built
within residential areas, their builders must take noise control seriously.
However, the cost pressures for installing AC systems, for example at workplaces,
in homes or restaurants today are such that neither the installer nor the supplier, who
is usually held responsible for noise development, consider a state-of-the-art system
is affordable. The same applies to noise control in heating systems in single-family
houses despite the fact that energy-saving furnaces and metal chimney stacks may
lead to higher sound emissions. Moreover, draft, noise and energy waste are programmed when government sponsored programs, developed in close collaboration
by research institutes and industry (see Frommhold et al. 1992), remain in the drawer
for lack of money and time to apply them.
It is small wonder that some building authorities no longer want to allow the
installation of AC systems in residential and commercial buildings. Instead they
favor going back to windows and flaps in the faades to promote natural airing and
proceeding to thermally activated building elements. On the other hand, residential
complexes hermetically sealed in accordance with energy-saving regulations like the
German EnEV need more than ever optimally noise controlled ventilation systems
as well as thermal comfort and moisture control for a pleasant room environment.
Demanding users of expensive premises, which are normally well isolated against
exterior noises, are especially sensitive to interior noise from any appliance and
equipment installed in the building itself.
As intricate computer programs for silencers are found to be too difficult to apply
by many installers, estimating needs and fulfilling them are unfortunately calculated
by rule of thumb. The consequences are low-grade systems more often, out of fear,
with over-dimensioned rather than under-dimensioned sound-damping elements in
the flow ducts. Occasionally it is observed that in ramified HVAC systems for large
building complexes only a single splitter size (e.g. 30 cm thick) is installed in the
ventilation center wherever there happens to be enough room found for it. When
objections are raised during final inspection, in the best-case scenario those involved
guiltily seek together where an additional silencer might be placed, preferably directly in front of the air outlet into the room, which is the source of the complaint.
Sometimes the fan is so poorly designed that it can only be optimally operated if
excessively thick splitters are installed in the connected ductings. Moreover, as today
negotiations only consider investment costs but not subsequent running costs, too
often duct cross sections are too small in relation to the required flow rates yielding
velocities locally over 10, in some places over 20 m/s and thus lead, generally unnoticed, to unnecessarily high energy costs, unless the system has anyway been turned
off because of the associated noise levels.
In view of this deplorable situation where scientific progress in sustaining the
value of a building and offering more comfort for its users hardly has a chance,
a number of proven and tested rules for designing silencers are presented taking
into consideration all the important silencer parameters, which nevertheless are easy
13.2 Geometric Silencer Parameters
509
to apply even for laymen using a pocket calculator. Anyway, a more sophisticated
design often does not pay, because
the respective absorption coefficient of the damping material employed in the
silencer is not known more exactly, for example, due to lack of manufacturing
uniformity,
the effectiveness of a silencer, similar to that of an absorber placed somewhere in
a room according to Chap. 2, depends on the location where it is installed in the
duct,
there is a lack of precise emission data of the respective fan.
Application of the following simple rules, however, permits quick and reliable
estimation of
how much space the silencers require in the duct and its surrounds,
how much fan power is to be provided to overcome pressure losses in the silencers,
how much energy is consumed due to the silencers when the system is in operation.
In order to calculate the damping to be attained by the respective silencer assembly,
it is essential, of course, to first determine the limiting immission values, for example
according to DIN 4109 (1989), VDI 4100 (2007) or VDI 2569 (1990) as well as
the emission parameters and damping parameters of all relevant elements of the
ventilation system, for example according to VDI 2081 (2001), always frequencydependent in octaves, better yet in one-third-octaves. This leads directly to possible
weaknesses of a selected silencer designusually regarding its effectiveness at low
frequencies (e.g. realizable splitter thickness or housing size), which call for the use
of innovative, in particular reactive and active, less thick sound absorbers in duct
lining and splitter silencers.
13.2
Geometric Silencer Parameters
A silencer in a long straight duct should always be built symmetrically as shown

in Fig. 13.1. Its basic element (b) is completely characterized by the airway width
s, in which the sound waves propagate, the lining thickness d of the absorber, into
which the sound waves are diffracted, and its silencer length L. The silencer height H
determines, just as the remaining free cross section Ss in the housing with the crosssection area S, the sound level at the inlet into the silencer, but not its effectiveness
when placed in a duct with arbitrary connecting cross sections S1 and S2 (Fig. 13.1f)
via a sufficiently long transition element.
If the buildup is rectangular, a central splitter with 2d is always twice as thick as a
lateral splitter, see Fig. 13.1d. If the buildup is cylindrical, which is rarer being more
expensive to manufacture, the sections in Fig. 13.1b13.1e may also be considered
as longitudinal sections, thus for example with a core body with a core diameter of
2d. If the absorber material is homogeneous and passive (e.g. mineral wool), by
510
Fig. 13.1 Geometric parameters of silencers in ducts
maintaining a constant blockage ratio

m=
Sd
d
=
SS
s
(13.1)
with Sd = S Ss and the same silencer volume

Vd = Sd L = SL
m
m+1
(13.2)
according to Fig. 13.1a with two central splitters, the same insertion loss can be
attained as with a central splitter and two lateral splitters, with the clear airway width
between the central splitters being 2s and the lateral spacing should be s. The same
damping D can be attained with an arbitrary number of such splitters symmetrically
disposed side by side, with the silencer width B and the height H then having no
influence on the silencers effectiveness. For practical as well as cost reasons, duct
lining according to Fig. 13.1f is usually not applied; this also holds for lateral splitters.
Homogeneous absorbers, of course, do not need a sound-reflective partition wall
between the two splitter halves as indicated in Fig. 13.1d, e due to the symmetry of the
according to DIN EN ISO 7235 (2002) always assumed plane sound field propagating
13.3 Estimation of the Damping
511
along the silencer. On the other hand, if the basic element of the silencer comprises
a resonator filling according to Sects. 5.3, 8.1, 9.3, 10.2 or 10.7, two of them should
be installed back to back as central silencers. Angular stack silencers (Sect. 10.7),
however, are preferably used to line chimney stacks, see Fig. 10.26. There are also
instances in which very primitive ducts are made simply from compressed mineralfiber panels which are backed on one side with suited sound-transparent and on the
other side with sound-impermeable materials.
If the width B of the silencer is given, the number n of installable splitters is
yielded from
n=
B
B
=
2(d + s)
2s(1 + m)
(13.3)
by suited selection of the parameters d and s. The latter are essentially determined
by three boundary conditions:
a) attaining a given damping,
b) limiting the silencers self noise,
c) minimizing pressure losses in the silencer,
which will be discussed in that order.
13.3
Estimation of the Damping
An analytical calculation of sound absorption in linings and splitters filled with

porous/fibrous material according to Sect. 4.1 requires a state-of-the-art computer
program, see Frommhold (2006). Yet the results can only be as accurate to the extent
that the entered data concur with the properties of the actually employed materials.
So-called trapezoid diagrams according to Esche (1984) and Fig. 13.2 show the
results approximated in a graphical double logarithmic representationapparently
still much too complicated for some users. One way to improve the previously
described desolate situation in designing ventilation systems is to at least apply the
Piening formula derived from empirical studies on silencers for diesel engines more
than 70 years ago, see Piening (1937) and Eq. (3.23). Employing the geometric
conditions of Fig. 13.1 permits using U/Ss = s1 to estimate damping L per unit
length L of the silencer
D =
D
= 1.5
L
s
(13.4)
=3
L
s
(13.5)
in dB/m for a splitter silencer and

D =
for a tubular silencer, respectively a square duct lined all around with an inner
diameter, respectively edge length of 2s and in this way show the significance of the
512
Fig. 13.2 Specific damping

D* in dB as trapezoid
curves for designing
homogeneous fibrous or
porous silencers. (According
to Esche 1984)
clear duct width. The absorption coefficient of the lining is yielded by measurements
on the material and its assembly in an impedance tube according to DIN ISO 10 534
(2001).
With an optimum matching ratio according to Sect. 4.1 of = 3, the specific
damping, for example, of splitter silencers
D = D s = D
U
s
= 1.5 s
L
Ss
(13.6)
follows quite well the straight lines of the trapezoid curves rising at low frequencies
as plotted in Fig. 13.2 on a dimensionless frequency parameter
=
2sf
2s
=
c
(13.7)
with the sound velocity c and the wave length in the fluid medium (for air under
normal conditions: c0 = 344 m/s). For example, for m = 1 and 2d = 0.2 m one finds
at 172 Hz a specific damping D = 0.5 dB and D = 5 dB/m.
13.3.1
Limitations Due to Flanking Transmission and Wave

Beaming
Due to the maximum possible absorption coefficient of 1, D* is limited independent of m to a value of 1.5 dB. Although according to Fig. 13.2, the theoretical
maximum damping lies higher, in practice it is not reached due to different flanking
513
Fig. 13.3 Flanking transmissions in silencers (right) as structure-borne sound via the duct wall (a),
structure-borne sound via the duct walls (b), structure-borne sound via the splitter frame (c) with
an example of (c) (left)
transmissions as, for example, indicated in Fig. 13.3, which can limit the silencers
effectiveness. Above a lower corner frequency which according to Fig. 13.2 and
u = 0.19m0.72 ;
fu = 0.19m0.72
c
2s
(13.8)
depends on the blockage ratio 0.1 < m < 2, specific damping is assumed constant up
to an upper corner frequency
0 = 1.5;
f0 = 1.5
c
2s
(13.9)
which depends only on the lateral spacing s. If the latter according to Eq. (13.7) and
Frommhold (2006) increases above 1.5 , plane sound waves may pass less and less
damped; this is referred to as a wave beaming effect in silencers.
13.3.2
Extended Piening Formula
If the entire relevant frequency range is to be covered with simple formulae, passive
silencers with approximately optimum adjustment according to Chap. 4 (roughly
2 < < 4) may be calculated after Brandsttt and Fuchs (1997)

UL f x
for f < fu : D = 1.5
with x = 1.75 m0.12 ,
(13.10)
Ss fu
514
Table 13.1 Damping calculated according to Brandsttt and Frommhold (1994); Brandsttt et al.
(1994) and estimated according to Eqs. (13.10)(13.12) for d 0.1 m, s 0.05 m, L 1 m
Frequency in Hz
Calculation in dB
Estimation in dB
31.5
163
125
250
500
1,000
2,000
4,000
8,000
0.5
1.8
5.3
15.1
32.3
51.7
51.2
25.5
9.3
0.5
1.5
4.7
14.4
30.0
30.0
30.0
30.0
12.5
for
for
UL
Ss

U L f0 2
D = 1.5
Ss
f
fu < f < f0 :
f > f0 :
D = 1.5
Frequency range
f < fu
f u < f < f0
f > f0
(13.11)
(13.12)
in dB and should pay less attention to arithmetic precision than that damping material
with suited flow resistance is placed in the splitters and that bypasses (if m is large:
even bypasses through the air gap between the splitter frame and the duct wall) are
prevented in installation.
For example, a L = 1 m long silencer with d = 0.1 m, s = 0.05 m and thus
m = 2, Eqs. (13.10)(13.12) with u = 0.115 and fu = 397 Hz and x = 1.61 and
fo = 5,160 Hz yields the damping at octave center frequencies entered in Table 13.1.
These estimates remain in the ascending section somewhat below the analytical calculation according to Brandsttt and Frommhold (1994), Brandsttt et al. (1994).
With this extended Piening formula, damping at low frequencies is thus no longer
overestimated as tends to be the case using the classical formula. In this simplification, there may be deviations above fo (Fig. 13.2), which diminish with increasing
frequency. This range is usually of little significance. Figure 13.4 shows the insertion
loss as measured according to DIN EN ISO 7235 (2002) and Sect. 13.7.1 compared
to the calculation recommended here for splitters with L = 2 m and 2d = 0.2 m. The
calculation is not tied to a fixed frequency resolution; here for example estimated in
1/15-octaves.
With these extensions, silencers with 2 < > 4 and 0.1 < m < 2 can be calculated
with greater precision than using the classical Piening formula. Specific knowledge
about is no longer necessary if commercially available mineral-wool for silencer
production and careful prefabrication with homogeneous stuffing can be relied on.
The deviations from the calculations according to Brandsttt and Frommhold (1994),
Brandsttt et al. (1994) should be less than the tolerances with respect to splitter
production and installation or bypass transmission. By this way, anyone concerned
with the planning of ventilation systems should be able to design sound-damping
linings in ducts. The representation, as standardized via according to Eq. (13.7),
also allows adjustment to the respective fluid and the temperature conditions present.
515
Fig. 13.4 Comparison of

damping according to Eqs.
(13.10)(13.12) (continuous)
and measured according to
Ackermann (1992a) (broken
line) for d = 0.1 m, L = 2 m,
m = 0.5 (1), 1 (2) and 2 (3)
13.3.3
The Low-Frequency Problem
If the silencer is not too long and its damping not too great, according to Eq. (13.4)
the latter depends only on s and (via according to Fig. 4.2) on d. Figure 13.5a shows
the damping D dependent on the splitter thickness calculated after Brandsttt and
Frommhold (1994), Brandsttt et al. (1994) for
= 12 kPa s m2 and s = 100 mm.
With increasing d, absorption extends to low frequencies, however, not proportionally
because according to Eq. (4.7) with 1 shifts simultaneously out of the
optimum range. Even if the specific flow resistance
is reduced with increasing d
(e.g. by selection of a mineral wool with smaller density) to such an extent that the
matching ratio remains constant, this would not accomplish much as Fig. 13.5c
shows. At any rate, it hardly pays to make the splitters thicker even if there were
enough room for a wider housing or a correspondingly greater blockage of the
duct was ignored for energy consumption. As anticipated, above 1,000 Hz lining
thickness d no longer influences the damping due to the beaming effect.
Figure 13.5b shows for a, with d = 100 mm, still well-adjusted splitter the characteristic spectrum of this construction with a maximum typically above 500 Hz.
An extension to high frequencies is easily attained by decreasing splitter spacing.
However note the consequences discussed in Sects. 13.4 and 13.5.
For other damping materials, also reactive absorbers in silencers, an ambitious
engineer can continue to use the classical Piening formula (3.21) or (13.6) at least
516
Fig. 13.5 Calculation according to Brandsttt and Frommhold (1994); Brandsttt et al. (1994) of
the damping D with
= 12 kPa s m2 for (a) s = 100 mm, d = 50, 100, 150, 200 mm (broken line)
and (b) d = 100 mm, s = 200, 150, 100, 75, 50 mm and for (c) s = 100 mm, but with an optimally
adjusted
= 624 kPa s m2
as a good approximation if the manufacturer of the innovative absorbers provides

him with reliable absorption coefficients. Used for comparisons of conventional
commercially available splitter silencers are usually based on catalog data and design
programs offered by manufacturers. Because the frequency spectrum of the damping
requirements is not known, but one knows from experience that the problem is usually
at the lower frequency components, for the sake of simplicity one concentrates on
the damping values exhibited at 250 Hz. If a closer examination of the emission
and damping parameters of the system, for instance according to VDI 2081 (2001),
shows a specific need below that, the conventional small shift to lower frequencies
by placing resonator sheet metals in front of a mineral-wool filling according to VDI
2081 (2001, Fig. 33 there) usually does not suffice. Then it is recommended to use
alternative silencers, for example according to Sects. 5.3, 6.3, 10.2 or 10.6. Here
a few other influences on the effectiveness of conventional silencers, which can be
finely worked out with more detailed theories, will only briefly be taken up in what
follows.
517
Fig. 13.6 Influence of the air

velocity on the effectiveness
of a conventional splitter
silencer with d = s = 100 mm,
= 15 kPa s m2 , L = 2 m at
vs = 0 m/s (, 2); 10 m/s
( , ); + 20 m/s ( , )
(calculated, measured).
(According to Brandsttt and
Frommhold 1994; Brandsttt
et al. 1994)
13.3.4
The Influence of Flow
If the airway velocity in the clear cross-section Ss of the silencer,

vs =
qV
qV
=
(1 + m)
Ss
S
(13.13)
corresponding to the given flow rate qv , is by no means allowed to exceed 20 m/s

because of the mechanical load on the damping elements and especially the associated
energy losses (see Sect. 13.6), this usually does not influence damping significantly.
Figure 13.6 however shows, both by calculation and measurement, that damping
decreases a little if sound propagates with the flow and increases if sound propagates
against it. If the same silencer is inserted on the suction side of a fan, the silencer
tends to operate better than if it is inserted on the thrust side.
13.3.5
The Influence of Temperature
In industrial ventilation units, in particular in exhaust gas systems, the temperature in

the fluid and hence also in the damping material can have a somewhat greater influence. In addition to density and sound velocity, the parameters of the absorber also
change quite clearly, see Mechel (1994, Sect. 20.11 there). Using the layout program
of Brandsttt and Frommhold (1994), Brandsttt et al. (1994), this influence can be
demonstrated with the example in Fig. 13.7. With increasing temperature, maximum propagation damping according to Sect. 13.7.3 shifts to higher frequencies;
the curves indicate an increasingly worse (too high) matching ratio according to
Eq. (4.7) with rising temperatureabout similar to the curve for d = 500 mm in
518
Fig. 13.7 Influence of the

temperature on the
effectiveness of a
conventional splitter silencer
with d = s = 100 mm at 20,
50, 100, 200, 300, 500,
700 C. (After Brandsttt and
Frommhold 1994; Brandsttt
et al. 1994)
Fig. 13.8 Reflection loss Dr

at silencers with d = 100 mm
for m = 0.5, 1, 2, 3, 4.
1993)
Fig. 4.3 which is understandable considering the thinner air. At any rate, in such
types of application it would be better to resort to completely different absorbers
replacing ordinary mineral wool.
13.3.6
The Influence of Reflections
Even if only passive absorption material is employed in conventional silencers, part of

the sound energy is reflected in front of the silencer, particularly at high frequencies.
Figure 13.8 shows how this effect continually increases with the blockage ratio
according to Eq. (13.1) (for 1 < m < 2 to approximately 2 dB at 1,000 Hz). At low
frequencies, this type of damping, however, remains within measurement accuracy.
Just as in norm measurement, always the lowest damping values are determined
which hold for whatever type of silencer being on both sides connected to very long
straight ducts. If instead they are installed directly behind a bend in the duct or
behind a side branch, a bending bonus of more than 10 dB can be encountered,
519
Fig. 13.9 Influence of

coverings on the effectiveness
of conventional silencers with
= 15 kPa s m2 ,
d = s = 100 mm: without
(), with fleece (m =
90 g m2 , 30 kPa s m1 ) (2);
with foil (m = 30 g m2 )
(); 1 mm thick perforated
sheet metal (, ).
1993)
however only at high frequencies, see Frommhold (2006)under circumstances a

suited measure also against the beaming effect according to Sect. 13.3.1. A similar
improvement in damping can be attained if the silencer itself is bent as shown for
example in Fig. 13.55b or for folded spiral-seam tubes in VDI 2081 (2001, Fig. 31
there).
It is quite a different manner, of course, if reactive absorbers are employed, for
example as described in Chaps. 5 and 6 or pure resonator elements as described in
Chap. 7. The latter allow attaining more or less narrow-band, but often very high
low-frequency level reductions, which also are based more on reflection than on
absorption of sound energy. If this does not amplify a resonance in the upstream
duct segment, this does not need to be a drawback for such silencer systems.
13.3.7
The Influence of Coverings
To protect sensitive damping materials such as mineral wool or fiber fleece against
damage, abrasion or soiling, they normally need to be covered with a fabric or foil
and perforated sheet metal. To the extent that it can be ensured that they do not clog,
for example with deposits, and denser material such as plastic foils are not pressed
between the absorbent filling and the perforated sheet metal, the mostly negative
influence of coverings on damping according to the embodiments in Sect. 4.1 can be
kept to a minimum (Fig. 13.9).
13.3.8
The Influence of Structure-borne Sound Transmission
The longer the path of the sound waves along the strongly absorbing ducts, the
more disturbing may become the flanking transmissions of structure-borne sound
520
Fig. 13.10 Insertion loss at

800 Hz as a function of the
silencer length L for
d = s = 100 mm, calculated
with
= 10 kPa s m2 ();
measured with
= 915 kPa s m2 .
(After Brandsttt 1993)
waves received at the loud entry in front of the silencer by its sheet-metal housing
on bypass c in Fig. 13.3 or by the also usually thin-walled metallic ducts on bypass
a. They can be transmitted past the silencer and, under circumstances with little
damping, radiated again on the quiet side and in this way increase the sound level in
the downstream duct. This may result, as in the case of bypass b in Fig. 13.3, in a
severe limitation of the silencers efficiency, particularly for larger silencer lengths
and/or blockage ratios (also see the plateaus in the trapezoid curves in Fig. 13.2).
Figure 13.10 shows norm measurements in a silencer test stand according to
Fig. 13.11 as a function of the silencer length in the region of their maximum damping
at 800 Hz. The deviations from a straight line calculated as pure propagation damping
for an average
= 10 kPa s m2 , that is as difference in level from entering to leaving
the silencer, distinctly increase with L and can be employed up to approximately
1 m for determining reflection damping and beyond 1 m for determining flanking
transmission c in Fig. 13.3. The still relatively high damping values are only realizable
if transmissions a and b can be largely ruled out by the special construction of this test
duct with very heavy, prefabricated wall elements and particularly soft connections.
13.3.9
Damping at Higher Modes
In a certain manner, all the damping formulae and calculations yield lower-limit
estimates, because they relate to the weakening of only the plane waves in a duct,
which pass even the best silencer still relatively unimpeded. Higher modes, which are
able to propagate, for example, in a rectangular duct with cross-sectional dimensions
521
Fig. 13.11 Splitter silencer during a qualification test in the test duct (a); probe microphone on
a pneumatically driven rail for measuring propagation loss (b) in the silencer test stand of the
Fraunhofer IBP (c). (According to DIN 45 646 1998, resp. DIN EN ISO 7235 2002)
1x > 1y at frequencies
fnx ,ny
c!
=
2
nx
lx
2

+
ny
ly
2
nx , ny = 0, 1, 2 . . .
(13.14)
above their cut-on frequency

fc = 0.5
c
lx
(13.15)
and in a cylindrical duct with a diameter D only above

fc = 0.586
c
D
(13.16)
are already absorbed more strongly in the silencer just behind its entry. They occur
in test stands like the one in Fig. 13.11 only if the exciting array of synchronized
loudspeakers does not irradiate the measuring duct quite evenly with plane waves.
However, they also occur in practice behind every duct discontinuity and therefore
regularly determine the noise level in front of the silencer and in this manner increase
its damping efficiency in situ. At higher frequencies, this bonus sometimes offsets
522
the reduction due to beaming above f0 according to Eq. (13.9). At frequencies below
fc the silencer, however, is unable to benefit from this effect, see also Fig. 13.21.
A rather broadband bonus of more than 10 dB can be expected at high frequencies if the silencer is installed directly behind a 90 duct bend, respectively such a
knee is itself lined e.g. like a flexible (hose-type) silencer, see Fig. 13.21b and VDI
2081 (2001, Fig. 31 there). The preceding makes clear why measurement standards
rightfully insist that measurements according to DIN EN ISO 7235 (2002) are to
be conducted only in a straight duct without higher-order modes getting involved,
because otherwise the results are neither repeatable at another site nor representative
for a certain test object. On the other hand it becomes evident that designing silencers
to fit exactly in a specific duct system is actually even more difficult than designing
absorbers for a certain room (see Chaps. 11 and 12). Usually, however, one is on
the safe side when one employs the extended Piening formulae Eqs. (13.8)(13.12)
for mineral wool lining or filling, to estimate the damping spectrum, or when one
relies on standard configurations and uses the manufacturers norm test results. Only
if more detailed application conditions than is usual are known, is a more accurate
calculation with the tools described here worthwhile.
13.4
Estimation of the Self-Noise
The effectiveness of a silencer reaches its physical limits where its own aerodynamically generated noise contributes or even determines the noise level behind it.
This sound power, which propagates in the downstream duct along with the noise
passed through the silencer depends, according to careful investigations by Ackermann (1991), apart from the overall cross section S in m2 of the symmetrically
assembled splitter silencer only on the airway velocity vs according to Eq. (13.13)
in m/s according to
LW = 50 lg vs + 10 lg S + 7
(13.17)
LW A = 70 lg vs + 10 lg S 25
(13.18)
for the unweighted, respectively A-weighted power level, thus for example 72 dB,
respectively 66 dB(A)/m2 for a normally not-to-be exceeded vs = 20 m/s. The values
of very many configurations measured in the receiving reverberation room of a test
stand (Fig. 13.11, top right) compare well with Eqs. (13.17) and (13.18) as does their
spectral distribution, for example in octaves according to Fig. 13.12 with
LW, Oct = LW + LOct .
(13.19)
In the here preferred manner of estimation, detailed calculations and measurements

can be forfeited for these characteristic parameters as well, if the installed silencer
elements do not have particularly rough surfaces, protruding edges or cavities which
13.5 Noise Radiation into a Room
523
Fig. 13.12 A-weighted sound power level per m2 of a splitter silencer (a) according to Eq. (13.18)
() and from measurements at the test stand according to Fig. 13.11 (), respective spectrum
according to VDI 2081 (2001, Fig. 16 there) for straight ducts and measured at vs = 10 m/s (),
resp. 20 m/s ()
could provoke additional vortex shedding or even tonal excitations. In contrast to

the damping estimates according to Eqs. (13.4)(13.12), the estimations using Eqs.
(13.17) and (13.18), however, represent minimum values which are often exceeded
in practice if the silencers are unfavorably flowed at, for example directly behind
duct bends or interfering bodies, diversions, mixing boxes etc.
13.5
Noise Radiation into a Room
The noise that passes the silencer or is newly re-generated in its wake usually
propagates rather undamped in the flow ducts. Sound power distributes evenly at ramifications from a cross section S1 to S2 = Sa + Sb with a cross-sectional discontinuity
= S1 /S2 according to
LW a,b = LW1 LW 10 lg
S1
,
Sa,b
(13.20)
with the component

LW = 10 lg
( + 1)2
4
(13.21)
of the power arriving there being reflected back. More exact estimations of the level
decay through air outlets are found in Lips (2008, Sect. 9.3.7 there). Which sound
pressure level is finally generated, as a superposition of the noise components of the
fan and of all the duct elements LW res in a connected room that should be protected,
L = LW res 10 lg V + 10 lg T + 14 dB,
(13.22)
524
depends, apart from its volume V in m3 , also on the absorption areas in m2 provided
by the interior decoration (AA ), furnishings (AM ) and occupants (AP ) in the room,
which determine its reverberation time T in s:
T = 0.16
AA
V
.
+ AM + AP
(13.23)
One might consider lowering the immission level L according to Eq. (13.22) by
reducing the reverberation time. Placing additional sound absorbers on the floor,
ceiling or walls is, however, out of the question due to the currently prevailing architectural styles and the related costs and complications. Even if this could double
the entire absorption in a room, it would damp the average level in the room just a
hardly perceivable 3 dB. At the most complained about low frequency components,
it is especially difficult to find areas and space for effective absorbers. However,
sometimes it happens that resonances similar to those in large organ pipes are generated in a ventilation duct, but also for example in a chimney stack as shown in
Fig. 13.53, which at very low frequencies simultaneously excite the eigenfrequencies of a connected room that should be protected. In such a case, it definitely is
advisable to eliminate the rooms amplifying influence with special low-frequency
absorbers and in this way at the same time improve the users acoustic comfort in
general, see Chap. 11.
In the vicinity of an air outlet, the room level L is raised by a corresponding near
field pressure level radiated from there with
L = LW res + 10 lg 20 lg r 11 dB,
(13.24)
which decays with 6 dB per doubling of the distance r in m and depends on whether
the outlet ends somewhere in the room ( = 1), in the middle of a wall or ceiling
( = 2), in an edge ( = 4) or corner ( = 8) of the room. Contrary to the room level
L according to Eq. (13.22), absorption, respectively reverberation, in the room does
not influence this direct radiation component.
13.6
Estimation of the Pressure Losses
Conventional fibrous/porous lining of cylindrical or rectangular ducts as shown in

Fig. 13.1c, f generates only slightly higher friction losses in the adjacent flow boundary layer than smooth metal walls. However, placing an absorbing core body in a
tubular silencer or additional splitters in a rectangular duct in order to increase damping, e.g. according to Eqs. (13.10)(13.12), or/and to prevent beaming according
to Eq. (13.9), raises the silencers flow resistance because then
the flow boundary layer surfaces are enlarged,
flow is separated at the rear edges of the elements,
the velocity in the airways usually rises correspondingly.
13.6 Estimation of the Pressure Losses
525
The resulting difference p of the static pressures in front of (p1 ) and behind the
silencer (p2 ) increases quadratic with the volume flow qv , respectively the flow
velocity vs and has to be overcome by the flow machine in addition to its other air
transport tasks. It thus raises the electric power that has to be installed there and the
sound power emitted there. Primarily, however, it is a source of additional energy
and operational costs. In times of rising energy prices, an essential parameter in
characterizing silencers is therefore always also their pressure-loss coefficient
=
p
v2
s
2
(13.25)
with the density of the fluid (for air under normal conditions: 0 = 1.21 kg m3 ).
Two useful formulae are derived from measurements by Ackermann (1991) of
over 1,000 splitter silencers: (1) for completely symmetrically constructed and builtin rectangular splitters with smooth surfaces and smooth metal frames as shown in
Fig. 13.1a,
= 0.65 lg m + 0.025
L
+ 0.53
2s
(13.26)
And (2) for splitters with additional semi-circular approach flow flaps as shown in
Fig. 13.11b,
= 0.75 lg m + 0.025
L
+ 0.3.
2s
(13.27)
Thus, the contained blockage loss (for L = 0) is somewhat lower than as given in
VDI 2081 (2001). On the other hand, a smooth metal covering of the silencer filling,
respectively perforated sheet metal or rib mesh as shown in Fig. 13.13 at the flowparallel surfaces is according to Ackermann (1989) hardly noticeable.
These estimations can be substantiated for 1 < m < 2 by careful tests according to
Fig. 13.11. Figure 13.14, however, also shows greater deviations for m = 4, probably
because even under the most fastidious laboratory conditions aimed at corresponding qualification results, it is practically impossible to install without minor, but
consequential shifting or deformation of the splitters in the test duct. It may be noted
that any asymmetry of the elements tends to increase pressure drops. An increase in
pressure loss (up to 100 %) is also to be expected when the approach flow does not
occur ideally parallel as in the standard test stand, e.g. when the silencers are placed
directly behind a bend or junction in the duct or in an otherwise swirling flow.
Pressure losses, similar as self noise, depend on the quality of the flow around the
silencers. Damping according to Eqs. (13.10)(13.12) and measurements according
to DIN EN ISO 7235 (2002) always represent an estimation on the safe side, whereas
Eqs. (13.17) and (13.18) as well as (13.26) and (13.27) rather offer an optimistic
estimation of minimum values that may for many reasons be exceeded in practice.
For large ventilation systems it therefore pays to consult an expert.
526
Fig. 13.13 Passive silencer in

a cylindrical housing (1) with
mineral-fiber filling (2)
protected from abrasion by a
stainless steel fleece (3) and
held in shape by rib mesh (4).
(Courtesy of
Kutzner + Weber)
For fans, mechanical efficiencies

=
pqV
Nel
(13.28)
can be classified approximately corresponding to the manufacturers specifications

in Table 13.2 which hold in the vicinity of their optimum mechanical duty point,
which also leads to the least sound emissions. The additional electric power Nel to
be provided for the silencer can be estimated based on the silencer, respectively fan
parameters and with Eq. (13.25) according to
Nel =
2
v qV .
2 s
(13.29)
If the temperature- and pressure-dependent density of the respective fluid is related

to 0 = 1.21 kg m3 , the flow rate qv to q0 = 10 m3 /s, and the gap velocity vs to
v0 = 10 m/s, Eq. (13.29) can also be written as a numerical-value equation in kW:
qV
Nel = 0.6
0 q0
vs
v0
2
(13.30)
The annually wasted electric energy EL converted into useless heat due to the silencer
installation can be calculated in MWh per year from the availability , i.e. the fraction
13.6 Estimation of the Pressure Losses
527
Fig. 13.14 Pressure-loss

coefficient of conventional
rectangular splitter silencers
with no profile; a for
d = 100 mm, m = 0.67 (),
1 (), 2 (), 4 (+), b for
d = 200 mm, m = 1 (), 2
(), 4 (2) and estimates
corresponding to Eq. (13.26)
() according to Ackermann
1989
Table 13.2 Efficiency of

axial or radial fans of
different sizes. (According to
Fuchs and Ackermann 1992)
Rotor diameter in m
Efficiency
< 0.25
< 0.40
< 0.70
> 0.70
0.60
0.75
0.80
0.85
of time in which the system is in operation according to

qV
EL = 5.25
0 q0
vs
v0
2
.
(13.31)
The preceding makes clear that, in view of the growing public awareness of environmental and energy issues, it is high time that the losses in the numerous silencers of
ventilation systems are also reflected in business figures more than has previously
528
been the case. In the resulting energy costs EK in 1,000 a year,

EK = 5.25
qv
0 q0
vs
v0
2
,
(13.32)
the current energy price in /kW is, of course, compared to all the other influential
parameters, the greatest uncertaintyunfortunately with rising tendency.
13.7
Silencer Measurements
Section 13.313.6 provide simple estimation formulae for all the relevant silencer
parameters which actually render measurement of conventional but carefully produced samples of a palette of products unnecessary. At least regarding the self-noise
(13.4) and pressure losses (13.6), it suffices to look at the geometries and surfaces
to accurately predict these important quantities. For damping (13.3), it is a different
matter. Here the quality of the mineral wool and how it is handled in the respective
lining can already lead to deviations from the to-be-expected acoustical efficiencies
according to Eqs. (13.8)(13.12).
After the introduction of DIN 45 646 (1988), which gained global validity in DIN
EN ISO 7235 (2002), a number of manufacturers had to correct their catalog data
considerably downward. In order for this to be able to happen without the feared
accompanying competition distortion, quality-conscious competitors formed a silencer quality association. Figure 13.15 shows how strong this correction actually
affected the published data of one of its members: Hardly any damping was left at
low frequencies; in the practically only seldom realizable maximum, the high values
could be maintained to some extent. Nonetheless, the fact is that in individual cases
silencers are able to attain, particularly at high frequencies for the reasons explained
in Sect. 13.3.9, considerably higher, but according to Sect. 13.3.8 also distinctly
lower damping.
In this somewhat uncertain situation, one should always only rely on measurements in a standard test stand for quality control and warranty. This test stand is an
extremely quiet wind tunnel, e.g. as shown in Fig. 13.11, with a maximum air flow
rate of e.g. 35 m3 s1 comprising:
a 130 kW fan, whose noise was eliminated in very effective hub and splitter
silencers (see Fig. 13.16a) as well as in the lining of the turning corners using
passive, reactive and active silencers according to Sects. 4.2, 8.1 and 10.2,
a 106 m3 source reverberation room with CPA modules tuned to low frequencies
according to Sect. 5.3 (with sealed side surfaces) in its upper edges and a plane
loudspeaker array (retractable for measurements with flow) in front of a 2 m long
intake nozzle with a contraction of 8:1,
a 12 m long, 0.5 m high, normally 1 (maximally 1.3) m wide measurement section
(Fig. 13.16b) of very heavy modular construction each element isolated against
13.7 Silencer Measurements
529
Fig. 13.15 Catalog data for a silencer with d = 50 mm, m = 1, L = 1.5 m published by a manufacturer before (top) and after (bottom) he became a member of the silencer quality association.
(According to Ackermann and Mechel 1989)
structure-borne sound discharging the air and the sound through an almost 5 m
long transmission element which opens approximately exponentially,
a 187 m3 receiving reverberation room with CPA modules similar to those in the
source room and a stationary rotating microphone (Fig. 13.16c).
This is how self-noises from the system can be kept below 35 dB(A) in the source
room and below 30 dB(A) in the receiving room, the former also fulfilling the important function of a settling chamber to produce a uniform flow in the test duct.
Correspondingly enlarged, the test section can even be employed for very large objects, e.g. the mushroom silencer described in Sect. 12.3, Fig. 12.4, to examine at
least one half of a symmetrical segment of this structure on a scale 1:1, see Fig. 13.17.
Erected parallel to this rectangular measurement duct also between the two reverberation rooms is a cylindrical test stand in which both tubular silencers and silencers
of almost any design including their housings can be tested with corresponding transition elements, see Fig. 13.18. The high limiting damping of over 60 dB at 250 Hz
and almost 90 dB in the kHz range allows testing even the most effective silencers
in these two test setups.
Special temperature modules also permit measuring silencers (without flow) at
temperatures up to + 500 C (splitter silencers) respectively + 400 C (tubular silencers). For this purpose a 2 0.8 0.5 m temperature box (Fig. 13.19a) is
connected via transition elements to the test duct with a nominal diameter of 400 mm.
Installed in its floor and side walls are heating elements with an output of 21 kW. The
duct cover gives the installed splitters a plane end surface (Fig 13.19b) and ensures
additional thermal insulation. At its front sides, 50 mm thick absorber blocks keep
530
Fig. 13.16 Silencer test stand according to Fig. 13.11: a airway between splitters incorporating
passive and active absorbers behind perforated sheet metal in the basement; b 7 m long central
splitter in the test duct reduced to a width of 0.6 m; c transmission element to the reverberation
room with CPA modules in the upper edges of the room
the heat in the measurement segment and combined with the ceramic gaskets at the
transition elements ensure that the rest of the measuring duct remains cool. A heating rod with a usable length of 1.4 m and a thermal output of 8 kW serves to heat
the tubular silencers, see Fig. 13.19c. Provided with various connecting flanges, this
heating element can be used for tube diameters of 100500 mm. The rest of the duct
is thermally separated from the up to 400 C heated segment. A small compressed
531
Fig. 13.17 Horizontal

segments of the mushroom
silencer (a) and of the
silencers in the flow ducts (b)
of the BMW wind tunnel (see
Sect. 12.3 and Ackermann
1990) in the enlarged test
section of the test stand in
Fig. 13.11
air supply ensures better heat transfer from the heating rod to the air and combined
with the external thermal insulation yields a uniform temperature distribution inside
the horizontally installed test object.
Finally a greatly simplified method of determining the acoustic effectiveness of
duct linings will be discussed. As explained in Sect. 13.2, a symmetrically assembled
silencer is already completely characterized by its basic element (b) in Fig. 13.1.
Assumingas a good approximation within the scope of practical applications
that in the case of homogeneous lining the height H has no fundamental influence
and that, according to Eqs. (13.4)(13.6), the length L, at any rate in a value range
of about 5 s < L < 20 s, is effective only as a simple multiplier for D and D* of
a silencer assembly arbitrarily composed of this basic element, it is obvious that
fundamental studies, for example for research and development purposes, need only
be conducted on one such basic element. All that is needed is a relatively small test
532
Fig. 13.18 Section (a), measurement section (b) and transition element (c) of the Fraunhofer IBP
tubular silencer test stand. (According to Eckoldt and Fuchs 1994a)
stand, for example with only a 1 0.5 0.1 m measurement section. Although this
should be connected to sufficiently long inlet and outlet ducts, these only need to
have the correspondingly smaller cross sections.
Such a miniature test stand is shown in Fig. 13.20a and b along with the reflection
factor of its anechoic termination (c) and the spectrum of the test sound (d) generated
by a loudspeaker array at the other end of the test duct and measured behind the
closed empty test section, see Ackermann (1992b) for details. Instead of rotating
microphones in the reverberation room of a standard test stand (Fig. 13.11), in this
case a small microphone, at the end of a thin pipe, is moved back and forth diagonally
at half the height through the duct with the aid of an externally placed pneumatically
driven track. Figure 13.20d shows that the spatial variations determined in onethird-octave also stay within narrow limits up to about 1.2 kHz, even above the first
transverse mode at 340 Hz according to Eq. (13.15).
Measuring methods deviating even further from standard methods will be occasionally discussed in the following. A more detailed description of in-situ testing
methods of silencers is found in Kurze and Riedel (2004).
13.7.1
Insertion Loss
Three damping parameters are suited to characterize the acoustic effectiveness of

silencers in ducts:
533
Fig. 13.19 Temperature box (a) in the test rig according to Fig. 13.18 for measuring splitter
silencers (b); heating rod for tubular silencers (c)
insertion loss De ,
transmission loss Dd ,
propagation loss Da ,
the first parameter being by far the most important and is generally meant when
reference is made above to damping D. It is determined according to DIN EN ISO
7235 (2002), for example, in a test stand as shown in Fig. 13.11 according to the
so-called substitution method. It shows the difference between the sound power level
LW II in a smooth, overall sound-reflective duct and the level LWI after placing the
test object in it,
De = LW II LW I .
(13.33)
When measuring without silencers, a smooth hard substitution element has to be

installed in the duct. Of the transmissions indicated in Fig. 13.3 thus only the
structure-borne sound transmission path c can influence the measurement. It would,
of course, be a different situation if a silencer housing were installed along with the
534
Fig. 13.20 Principle of a miniature test stand according to Ackermann (1992b) (a); measurement
section with installed silencer segment (b); measured () and standard required (- - -) reflection
factor r of its termination (c); fluctuations of the test sound on a diagonal measuring path (d)
test object and this assembly were then measured in LWI . The measurements are
based on the corresponding spatially and temporally averaged sound pressure levels
on normalized measuring paths in the measurement section behind the test object or
in the connected reverberation room,
De = LpII LpI .
(13.34)
The sound excitation always occurs frontally with plane waves, for example from
a surface of many in-phase operated loudspeakers as shown in Fig. 13.11c, of
preferably broadband pink noise in one-third-octaves at the normalized center
frequencies. The conversion of three third-octave values (DT ) into a corresponding
octave value (D0 ) is performed according to the test conditions of the silencer quality
association (Fig. 13.15) by

3
1 0.1 DT ,i
D0 = 10 lg
.
(13.35)
10
3 i=1
535
Fig. 13.21 Influence of the exciting sound field on the insertion loss: (a) frontal () respectively
lateral ( ) excitation in a straight duct (after Ackermann 1991); (b) straight (), at 45 (gray)
respectively at 90 (black) exciting duct in a miniature test stand (Fig. 13.20)
However it is stressed that in the representation of octave spectra even for relatively
broadband effective resonance silencers such as, for example, shown in Fig. 13.27
important information may be lost for the respective application.
For application in practice of the results determined in the test stand, the internal
and external assembly of the silencer (within 2d and L) but also the spacing (2s)
naturally must correspond exactly with the test certificate. The test results can be
transferred to arbitrarily high and wide flow ducts simply by choosing a suited height
(H) and number of splitters n (B) according to Eq. (13.13).
Tests on /4 silencers (similar to the one in Fig. 7.3) in Fig. 13.21a show distinctly
higher insertion loss values above 500 Hz if excitation is not frontal according to the
norm (only plane waves from the loudspeaker array) but lateral (additional higher
modes) with two in-phase loudspeakers on one side wall of the duct directly behind
the inlet nozzle, but axially offset one duct width. A similar effect can be attained if a
silencer is placed in a miniature test stand behind a bend in the duct, see Fig. 13.21b.
Both easily repeatable laboratory results confirm practical experience that silencers,
when installed, almost regularly exceed their norm values by up to 10 dB, however unfortunately always only at the high frequencies where damping is less often lacking.
The bending bonus could be demonstrated in an exemplary manner by the bending
silencers of the FKFS wind tunnel (Sect. 12.4): the profiles on the right in Fig. 4.5
designed for high frequencies would above 500 Hz yield up to 20 dB less damping
in the extended straight variant, see Fig. 4.6. The over 40 dB insertion loss at 125 Hz
in the membrane-absorber splitters (on the left in Fig. 4.5), in this case responsible
for low frequencies, is also partly due to the double 90 bend, although the (in this
frequency range sound-reflective) bending profiles distinctly reduce this bonus, see
Eckoldt and Fuchs (1995, Fig. 9 there). For a detailed description of how bends may
reduce the sound level in pipes and ducts see also Lips (2008, Sect. 9.3.3 there).
536
13.7.2
Transmission Loss
Much more rarely than insertion loss, transmission loss is determined from the
averaged sound pressure levels before (Lp1 ) and behind (Lp2 ) the test object:
Dd = Lp1 Lp2 .
(13.36)
An example of such measurements is the proof of the effectiveness of the hub silencer
at the fan of the Daimler-Chrysler wind tunnel (see Sect. 12.7.5, Fig. 12.96): Only
very rough differences in level before and behind the silencer in both directions can be
determined in-situ. In this case, too, the demands made for frequencies above 500 Hz
were far exceeded, because in this configuration the basically stronger damped higher
modes are involved again.
13.7.3
Propagation Loss
Following the sound waves from entry into a silencer with a probe microphone
according to Fig. 13.11b along the lining permits analyzing the level decay more
evidently than with discrete measurements just before and behind the silencer. For
example, if in the installed state, toward the end of the silencer in such a drawthrough measurement after a steady decay in dB/m,
Da =
Lpx
,
x
(13.37)
a renewed rise is noticed, it is a sure indication that sound with high amplitude
transmitted on a bypass according to Fig. 13.3 is penetrating backwards into the
silencer. Figure 13.22 shows such a measurement through the hub silencer in Figs.
12.95 and 12.96. The course of the sound level shows that damping already starts
at 40 Hz and at 63 Hz is already 2 dB/m. Thus propagation loss measurements can
serve as a diagnostic tool for detailed analysis of the effectiveness of silencers.
13.7.4
Immission-relevant Damping
If, for example, a roof fan, an exhaust stack of a heating system or a chimney stack of
a paper, mineral-fiber or fertilizer factory is the source of noise in its neighborhood,
the simplest thing to do is to record the noise at the relevant site of immission as a
sound pressure spectrum and to define from it the necessary damping, also frequency
dependent, as L(f) in order not to exceed a given immission limit value Li in dB(A)
according to Eq. (3.21). This requirement can be fulfilled by a silencer with the
characteristic insertion loss according to Sect. 13.7.1 installed on or in the vicinity of
537
Fig. 13.22 Propagation damping at very low frequencies in the silencer shown in Fig. 12.95
the source, for example, also in front of the sound-emitting opening of the chimney
stack:
De = L(f ).
(13.38)
A precondition for the success of this acoustic measure is only that the propagation
losses along the path from the site of emission to the site of immission and also the
systems operational conditions have not changed much meanwhile.
Much more difficult is to determine, e.g. at an early stage of planning, the specific
need for silencers only from an immission limit value and a sound power level of
the source (both perhaps only roughly given in dB(A)). Even if experience or indeed
reliable data relating to the respective emission spectrum should be available, there
are many other influences on the propagation path that need to be clarified especially
regarding high projecting emitters such as chimney stacks, see VDI 2714 (1988).
First, there is the directivity characteristic of the source (DI) in Eq. (3.21), for
example of a flowed through chimney stack outlet. It has to be taken into consideration
that when weather conditions yield a slight downwind or temperature inversion the
path of the sound from the site of immission according to Fig. 13.23 is not straight
538
Fig. 13.23 Sound

propagation from a chimney
stack outlet. (According to
VDI 2714 1988)
(sm ) but curves toward the ground (approximately on a 5 km radius R). The actually
relevant radiation angle is yielded from
s
m
= 0 arc sin
.
(13.39)
2R
However, even if the source and the site of immission are located at the same height
or at a very great distance from each other, according to Eckoldt et al. (2002) only
that component of the sound emissions remains immission effective that is radiated
at angles > 80 whereas the component for < 80 is absorbed in the atmosphere.
The directivity index DI in Eq. (3.21) for this relevant angle range was investigated
by Jess (2002) in model tests at constant temperature on a chimney stack with an
inner diameter of 2 m without or with sound absorptive lining directly in front of the
outlet. Table 13.3 shows how DI diminishes toward high frequencies, with absorption
even twice as much as without. This effect, long known as positive for noise control,
is only lessened if an already relatively strong flow with 15 m/s is superimposed. It
continues to increase up to nearly 30 dB at large angles and very high frequencies but
remains almost negligible at 63 Hz. If, without exact knowledge of the propagation
conditions, DI values are estimated at 80 for an installation, one is on the safe side.
Usually, therefore no additional damping is required at high frequencies, instead
focus normally is on low frequencies to eliminate, in particular, the rumbling tones
which are often still perceivable at great distances.
Such silencers customized for low or very low frequencies are described in
Sect. 7.3 (up to a diameter of about 0.8 m) and 10.6 (up to 3 m and more). If theses
silencers are longer than 10 m, they of course cannot be tested in a standard test
stand. In order to ensure quality control of such large systems and to continuously
improve design accuracy of the silencers integrated in the chimney stack, every product undergoes careful acoustic testing at the manufacturer prior to, in many cases,
cost-effective shipping and assembly in situ, see Fig. 13.24a. In an about 23 m long
exhaust pipe adapted axially or laterally to the chimney stack at the exhaust inlet
539
Table 13.3 Directivity index DI at a chimney stack outlet with a diameter of 2 m at 80 to its axis
without or with silencers SD and flow (top), at larger angles (bottom) according to Eckoldt et al.
(2002)
Chimney stack
Without SD, without flow
With SD, without flow
With SD, 15 m/s
Octave band in Hz
63
125
250
500
1k
2k
4k
8k
1
1
1
3
6
6
5
10
9
6
12
11
7
15
14
8
20
18
10
25
23
14
28
25
500
11
12
14
16
1k
14
15
17
19
2k
18
19
21
23
4k
23
25
27
29
8k
25
27
29
31
Chimney stack
Octave band in Hz
With SD, 15 m/s, 80

With SD, 15 m/s, 90
With SD, 15 m/s, 100
With SD, 15 m/s, 110
63
1
1
2
3
125
6
7
10
12
250
9
10
12
14
Fig. 13.24 Silencer test in a factory via a laterally connected transmission pipe (a) incorporating
a loudspeaker and a rotating microphone (b), respectively a microphone on a pneumatically driven
track (c) within the transmission pipe, alternatively a microphone on a cable in front of the chimney
stack outlet. (According to Eckoldt et al. 2002)
540
suited loudspeakers simulate the source for the measurement. The average pressure
level determined with the aid of a rotating microphone (Fig. 13.24b) or multiple microphone positions on a diagonal track (c) in this source pipe is taken as a measure
of the sound power radiated into the chimney stack.
According to a first procedure, the sound power emitted behind the silencer is
determined on multiple measuring points at approximately 20 cm distance from the
exhaust outlet. The difference between the two averaged levels is a measure of the
transmission loss according to Sect. 13.7.2. According to a second procedure, a
microphone attached to a steel cable is drawn through the silencer simultaneously
measuring step by step the level decay as propagation loss according to Sect. 13.7.3
(Fig. 13.24d). All the measuring results are then rated with the operational conditions in the respective application, because the flow and temperature conditions can
substantially influence the acoustic properties of these special resonator silencers.
Only in exceptions is it necessary to conduct additional final acceptance tests in
situ at the outlet of the chimney (before and after the installation), from which the
insertion loss of the silencer according to Sect. 13.7.1 can be derived. The noise
radiated from there, for example, at 80 (for low frequencies in contrast to high
frequencies almost spherical) is often drowned by the noise from other sources of
the same or other plants. Decisive is, of course, always the measurable success at the
relevant sites of immission.
13.8
Examples of Innovative Duct Linings
The series of more than ten alternative fiberless absorbers discussed by Fuchs (2002)
and listed in the foreword started with an absorber made completely of plastic foils
(Sect. 5.1). Its presentation as a substitute for mineral-wool applications in room
acoustics at the Hannover Fair in 1983, led to a commission to develop an absorber
solely made of aluminum for use in flow ducts. The resulting absorber according
to Sect. 6.3 was used not only in the silencers in the ducts but also in the anechoic
lining of the measuring hall of the FKFS wind tunnel (Sect. 12.4), probably the largest
single application of this membrane absorber. This cross-pollination of the noisecontrol and room-acoustic objectives remained typical for subsequent innovations at
Fraunhofer IBP.
13.8.1
Resonator Silencers for Mine Ventilation Systems
Figure 13.5b illustrates how the maximum effectiveness of the damping D of a

passive silencer designed with 2d = 200 mm for medium frequencies can be increased
from 15 to above 50 dB/m solely by reducing the airway width 2s from 400 to
100 mm. At 250 Hz it is, however, only 717, at 125 Hz just 26 dB/m. Even if the
passive splitters are made significantly thicker, it is difficult to attain high insertion
13.8 Examples of Innovative Duct Linings
541
Fig. 13.25 100 mm thick stainless steel membrane absorbers (left) as a substitute for 400 mm thick
cavity resonators with L = 1 m. (According to Reiser et al. 1987)
Fig. 13.26 Acoustical
comparison of membrane
absorbers (a), /4 resonators
(Fig. 7.3b) and Helmholtz
resonators (Fig. 6.2c) in the
configuration of Fig. 13.25
loss below 500 Hz with this type of absorber, see Fig. 13.5a. For this reason various
silencer variants were developed for low frequencies, which enable a more efficient
interaction with the sound field in the duct.
In coal mining, the fresh air in the mines is supplied through airing tubes. Silencers have to be installed to reduce the fan noise reaching the miners through the
ventilation ducts. These silencers must meet very high demands regarding soiling or
damage from coal dust or vibration impact. For this reason, hermetically sealed membrane absorbers MA according to Sect. 6.3 were acoustically compared by Fuchs
et al. (1989a, 1989b) in the laboratory with conventional open cavity resonators
according to Fig. 7.3 (/4 resonators) and Fig. 6.2 (Helmholtz resonators), which
were tested previously with a width of 40 cm in a silencer test stand, see Fig. 13.16b.
Although the stainless-steel MA splitters (Fig. 13.25) are only 10 cm thick, they are
able to compete with the other 40 cm thick silencers in the fan test stand of the Westflische Berggewerkschaftskasse (Westphalian Miners Union Health Insurance), see
Fig. 13.26.
In this case, the membrane absorber has, in addition to its smaller volume and
light weight, another decisive advantage: no coal dust can accumulate on its smooth
surfaces. Whereas if coal dust enters the cavities of other silencers, a pressure wave
may whirl it around in the ducts and cause a much feared dust explosion. Moreover,
the two silencer configurations with the same length L = 1 m and the given housing
cross section S differ by distinctly varying pressure drops and energy losses according
to Eqs. (13.26) and (13.30).
542
Meanwhile, instead of membrane absorbers according to Sect. 6.3, panel resonators according to Sects. 5.3 and 10.7 can be employed. Depending on the thickness
of the membrane, panel and splitter, silencers can be designed which despite their
lean construction are still able to absorb far below 100 Hz. The leap in quality in
designing silencers with smooth, resistant, hermetically sealed surfaces introduced
years ago was initially appreciated for its little volume, light weight, durability and
easy cleanliness. Today reduced pressure losses speak in favor of changing from
thick (Index a) to slimmer type silencers (Index b):
(a) one thick splitter
ma = 2
a = 0.85
Nel,b b
=
Nel,a a
vs,b
vs,a
(b) two thin splitters

mb = 0.5
b = 0.46
2
= 0.135
Switching to thinner splitters not only reduces the volume Vd by half, but also energy
losses to 13.5 %. Although if the length of the silencer is greater, due to doubling
of the surface wetted by the flow, the advantage is somewhat reduced in case (b),
but it is still 85 %, respectively 83 % if the length is L = 2 m, respectively 4 m. In
this comparison one should, however, consider that the cavity resonators with their
coarse, cleft surfaces actually yield an even higher flow resistance, which is not taken
into account in Eq. (13.26).
As the sound power emitted by the fan itself,
LW = LW spez + 10 lg
qV
p
+ 20 lg
,
q0
p0
(13.40)
according to Schmidt (2006) and VDI 2081 (2001, Eq. (13) there) depends not only
on its specific type of construction and its duty point (with LWspez between about 63
and 73 dB) but in addition on the flow rate qv with the reference value q0 = 10 m3 /s
and essentially on the pressure drop p, with p0 = 10 Pa, the acoustical advantages
of the slim silencer variant in Fig. 13.25 show up again: They reduce the sound generation already at the source by some perhaps decisive dB. Moreover, bearing in mind
the emission spectra of different types of fans (Fig. 13.27) with the dimensionless
frequency, the Strouhal number
Sr =
f 60
,
n
(13.41)
one discovers that, in particular, radial fans with a lower speed of rotation, e.g.
n = 600 min1 , show maximum radiation at about between 31.5 and 160 Hz, usually with tonal components, which conventional splitters are less suited to damp.
However, to deduce from this that, as indicated in Fig. 13.28, radial fans require
three to four times the silencer length of axial fans, would, based on the previous
discourse, be outdated. Correct at any rate is always that, if the silencer construction
and configuration is optimally tuned to a respective noise spectrum, the required
damping according to Eq. (3.23) can be increased best by increasing the silencer
543
Fig. 13.27 Spectral

characteristics of 1 axial, 2
cylindrical rotor and 3 radial
fans. (According to Schmidt
2006)
Fig. 13.28 Required length

of passive silencers for axial,
respectively radial fans with
the same aerodynamic
performance and insertion
loss. (According to Schmidt
2006)
length L rather than by decreasing Ss . For a more accurate estimation of the fans
sound emission see Lips (2008, Chap. 5 there).
13.8.2
Membrane Absorbers in Exhaust-gas Filter Systems
Fossil-fuel burning power plants must be equipped with high performance exhaustgas filter systems, in which fans with a power up to more than 10 MW are installed
to convey the exhaust gas through the filters, cleaning unit and other elements in the
544
Fig. 13.29 Typical noise

emissions of exhaust-gas fans
in desulfurization systems
(a) and sound pressure levels
(b) directly adjacent to the
exhaust-gas duct behind,
respectively in front of the fan
(curve c with thermal
insulation of the duct).
(According to Fuchs et al.
1989)
flow ducts. Depending on their design (flow rate qv , pressure difference p, number
of revolutions U and number of blades z), suction-duct, booster and recirculation
fans emit sound power levels between 115 and 145 dB(A) into the connected ducts
(Fig. 13.29) thereby exciting the duct walls before and behind the fan in such a
manner that the pressure level in front of large radiating surfaces sometimes is above
100 dB(A). As Fig. 13.29b indicates, conventional thermal insulation of the ducts
reduces this level at high frequencies considerably so that the remaining spectrum
retains a more marked maximum at low frequencies, usually around fm = 250 Hz. The
same applies to damping with various duct elements so that the emission spectrum
at the outlet of the stack also dominates at low frequencies.
545
Fig. 13.30 Integration of

membrane absorbers in a
silencer of the exhaust-gas
desulfurization system of a
heating and power station.
(According to Fuchs et al.
1989)
Moisture absorption (especially in fibrous/porous materials), clocking (especially

in dead water zones) and corrosion are a problem particularly behind wet fans, thus
greatly limiting the selection of silencer materials. A member of the Vereinigung der
Grokraftwerkbetreiber VGB (association of large power plant operators) therefore
sought a way of testing a membrane absorber MA element under realistic conditions but with limited risk in an exhaust-gas desulfurization system (based on wet
cleaning/gypsum) of the Berliner Elektrizitts-Werke BEWAG, in fact in a silencer
in the clean-gas pipe behind a heavy-oil-burning steam boiler, see Fig. 13.30. In one
splitter, a 90 cm high segment was replaced with three MA segments.
Each MA splitter segment is subdivided by 1.5 mm thick stainless steel walls
(material 1.4539) into 10 11 cm honeycombs. Separating sheet metals form 80
chambers which are open on one side and have volumes of 660 and 2,970 cm3 ,
see Fig. 13.31a. The honeycombs are spot welded to the separating sheet metals
and subsequently sealed with a resilient, nonflammable adhesive that is temperature
stable up to 300 C. According to (b) stainless steel sheet metal strips are glued onto
the open honeycombs in such a manner that 1 cm wide slits are created. Subsequently
546
Fig. 13.31 Assembly of stainless steel membrane absorber elements for tests in a silencer according
to Fig. 13.30
cover membranes are stretched over these slit membranes (both only 0.075 mm thick
and made of stainless steel 1.4301, respectively Hastelloy) and securely fastened
at the edges of the segments. Each of the three segments weighs 95 kg. Figure 13.31
shows two of them ready for measurement in the Fraunhofer standard test stand;
Fig. 13.32 shows the insertion loss results.
Initially, the three segments were installed in situ for 3 months (between two inspections). They showed no change of any kind. Even after another 5 months, the
MA splitters were in perfect condition after all told 2,140 h of operation, nine standstills of less than and four standstills of more than 6 h. Apart from minimal deposits
that were easy to remove by light brushing, no changes were found, see Fig. 13.33.
It was not until after removal following long service time that tiny porosities were
discovered, which however did not impair the acoustic performance measured again
in the test stand.
The silencer configuration shown in Fig. 13.30 is examined here regarding its
energy needs:
Geometry: S = H B = 10 m2 ; L = 3.6 m
Blockage ratio: 2d = 0.33 m; 2s = 0.2 m m = 1.65
Airway velocity: qV = 146 m3 /s; vs = 39 m/s
Pressure loss coefficient: = 1.12 according to Eq. (13.26).
547
Fig. 13.32 Insertion loss of

an array of three splitter
segments according to
Fig. 13.31
An estimated according to Table 13.2 of 0.85 and 0 yields for this silencer
power requirements according to Eq. (13.30) of Nel = 176 kW. With an availability
of = 0.96, this means annual energy consumption according to Eq. (13.31) of
EL = 1,475 MWh/a and with energy costs of = 0.2 /kWh overall costs according
to Eq. (13.32) of EK = 300 T/a.
The MA alternative allows, as example 13.8.1 demonstrates, making the splitters much thinner, thereby minimizing pressure drop in this silencer. Moreover, it
would then be possible to select the membranes correspondingly thicker for tuning to
250 Hz, thereby increasing their durability. Despite positive laboratory experiences,
this technology unfortunately has not yet found the deserved implementation in this
and similar areas of application. The panel absorbers and angular stack silencers of
Sects. 5.3 and 10.6 were more successful here (see the following three sections) as
well as the tubular silencer of Sect. 7.3 (see Sect. 13.8.6).
13.8.3 Alternative Silencers at Paper Mills

Air-suction units which remove moisture from the pulp in the wet line of paper
mills radiate a low-frequency noise which is generated by rotary piston fans. This
rumbling is distinctly discernible in the A-weighted immission level even at greater
distance. As early as in the late 1980s, Nordland, one of the largest fine paper
548
Fig. 13.33 Membrane absorber after 5 months of testing in an exhaust-gas duct of a desulfurization
system
mills in Europe, tackled this problem, initially with the support of the Umweltbundesamt (Federal Environmental Agency), with a new silencer technology using
membrane absorbers according to Sect. 6.3. Meanwhile panel resonators according
to Sect. 5.3 and a chimney stack with angular stack silencers according to Sect. 10.6
are successfully in use at this innovative yet cost-conscious manufacturer.
After determining the actual state by sound-level measurements (with partial
shutting-down various machines) at the different immission sites and at the chimney
stack outlets, at that time novel membrane absorbers were designed to attain an as
large as possible insertion loss at 80 and 160 Hz, fabricated and prototypes, initially
aluminum, tested in the miniature test stand and then in the standard test stand of
Sect. 13.7 and finally in the chimney stack outlets of the paper mills. It was not until
later that splitter silencers and tubular silencers were completely made of stainless
steel (No. 1.4571) by a license partner (Schako Klima Luft) again tested according
to norm in the laboratory and finally installed on the factory roofs.
In 1989, all told 30 cm thick and 3 m long two-side absorptive MA splitters with a
blocking ratio of m = 0.7 were installed in the 5.8 0.6 m opening of the air-suction
unit of a paper mill. 3 6 chambers, each with a volume of 3,900 cm3 , were placed
adjacent to each other on both sides of a middle metal plate. The thickness of the
walls of the chambers and of the central plate was 1.5 mm. This honeycomb structure
gave the splitters sufficient stability. The 0.3 mm thick slotted membrane was glued
onto the ridges in such a manner that an about 3 mm thick slot running in flow
549
direction was created. Directly on top, a cover membrane, also 0.3 mm thick, seals
the interior of the splitter permanently. To prevent that the two membranes come in
contact with each other, the slit membrane was prior dented a little with a rubber
roller. The front and side surfaces of the 1 0.5 m segments each weighing 35 kg
are protected against mechanical damage by a frame with a 15 mm wide protruding
brim. In each segment is a small hole in the bottom to allow condensation fluid
to run off. Membrane absorbers MA of this construction are easier to build if the
application allows using a thinner material to fabricate the acoustically non-effective
honeycomb. Figure 13.34a shows the installation of MA segments in the prepared
eight racks (b), which are provided with a semicircular approach flow flaps at the
bottom. Assembly claws facilitate drawing out the splitters for regular inspection and
maintenance. With an airway velocity of only vs = 3.5 m/s the pressure drop with
p = 2 Pa is negligible.
These silencers reduce the enveloping-surface sound pressure level by 7 dB(A);
the level peaks at 80 Hz, respectively at 160 Hz, by 10 dB, respectively 5 dB, see
Fig. 13.35, Fuchs (1993) and Fuchs et al. (2002, Fig. 8 there). Evaluations at measuring points on the enveloping surface, however, show that at immission-effective flat
angles damping values up to 15 dB are attained (see Sect. 13.7.4). Even after 1 year
in use no diminishment in performance was found. In order to be able to ascertain
acoustical aging behavior under more repeatable measuring conditions in a standard
test stand, one splitter segment was replaced by a reserve element in running operation. The results in Fuchs et al. (1992) indicate once again no change. Figure 13.36
shows a dry surface covered by a thin gray but easily removable layer. Under it the
clean metal surface comes into appearance again (Fig. 13.36c). No paper residue
collected on the smooth cover membrane like in the case of the chimney wall. After
a number of years, however, the service team discovered that the membranes had
corroded badly due to their being exposed to such extreme chemical conditions, in
which mineral-wool silencers would have lasted hardly more than a few weeks. Since
then, they replace them from time to time (after 20 years since first in operation!).
MA tubular silencers (Fig. 13.37) which were placed on the exhaust pipes with
a diameter of 0.4 m in another paper mill yielded at immission-effective flat angles
once again better level reduction than the strived at 10 dB(A). Figure 13.37c shows
how the paper residue is unable to collect on the smooth absorber surfaces but only
on its upper edges. However, when connecting the 1 m long, octagonal silencers
composed of MA segments and the exhaust pipes intensively excited to structureborne sound too little attention was paid to structural decoupling. The consequence
was that vibrations were transmitted and a kind of combustion occurred at the
contact points of the membranes causing the silencers to fall apart quickly.
Having had 15 years of good experience with membrane absorbers, in 2004 Nordland commissioned a complete acoustic overhaul of the exhaust air systems of other
of their paper mills. All the absorber chambers and splitter silencers in the ducts
were replaced with a single sound-absorbing exhaust-air chimney stack. Six exhaust air ducts are led to this stack through an extensively insulated main pipeline
in which low-frequency tuned panel resonators were previously installed to prevent
resonance excitations there.
550
Fig. 13.34 Installation of stainless steel membrane absorber splitters (a) in the chimney stack (b)
on the roof (c) of a paper mill. (According to Fuchs et al. 1992)
Now the actual damping is assumed by the 18 m high steel chimney stack with
a diameter of 1.3 m in its octagonal angular stack silencer according to Sect. 10.6.
Furthermore, installed in the upper part for a length of 15.5 m is a silencer cross made
of 6 cm, respectively 10 cm thick hermetically sealed resonator splitters according
to Hanisch et al. (2004a, b). Figure 13.38 shows the insertion loss De of the thinner
551

spectrum (a) and narrow band
analysis (b) in the near field
of the chimney stack in
Fig. 13.34
splitters tuned to 1,600 Hz calculated according to Eckoldt et al. (2004) and measured
in the standard test stand. The manufacturers (Niessing Anlagenbau) measurement
of the transmission loss Dd according to the examples in Sect. 13.7.4 and Fig. 13.24
shows in Fig. 13.39a very broadband silencer, which with completely sealed, smooth
surfaces is soil rejecting and corrosion resistant and has, at an average flow velocity
of vs = 17 m/s, a pressure drop of only 150 Pa. Damping at high frequencies by the
relatively long splitters was somewhat over-dimensioned to take into account that
their panel resonances may shift to lower frequencies due to possible dirt deposits
from the exhaust air, thus increasing their mass. These various innovative silencer
technologies damp the noise of the feared loud vacuum pump units to such an extent,
at any rate up to the respective stack outlet, that all that can still be heard there is the
exhaust air flowing out into the open air.
13.8.4
Silencers in Mineral-fiber Production Plants
There is a rapidly growing market for innovative environmental technology dominated by German and American companies each with an approximately 27 % share
552
Fig. 13.36 Inspection of the membrane absorbers after 1 year in the silencer according to Fig. 13.34
of the market. In Germany about 10 years ago, industrial environmental technology

had a volume of approximately 30 billion, a quarter of which is invested in air
cleaning plants (Fig. 13.40). As the ventilators and engines implemented in environmental protection systems are among the loudest noise emitters, the integrated noise
control provided in the form of silencers and encapsulations constitute 1020 % of
their costs. The actual share of noise-control technology of the environmental market
553
Fig. 13.37 Octagonal tubular silencer composed of membrane absorber segments (a) at the exhaust
outlets (b) of an air-suction system
Fig. 13.38 Insertion loss (b) of high-frequency tuned panel resonators measured () at a test stand
(a) and calculated ( ). (According to Eckoldt et al. 2004)
is much greater than the official 10 % shown in Fig. 13.40b for noise abatement (for
roads, railroads, machines and systems). Adding the turnover with room acoustic
measures at work places and recreational areas to the calculated 3 billion shows
just how big the market for acoustical measures is. Germanys high sound immission
protection standards are a reason why, according to a 1995 ifo-Institute survey, 43 %
of patent applications in noise control worldwide were initiated here.
Worldwide by far most acoustic materials and elements are still based on some
sort of mineral fiber. Rotary piston fans like the ones treated in example 13.8.3 and
shown in Fig. 13.41 are employed in manufacturing the various different mineralfiber products. For the air-suction unit described under (b) the maximum sound
power level at the outlet opening located above the roof, for approximately 5.5 m3 /s
steam-saturated exhaust air, was given as LWA = 73 dB(A). The three air-suction
units employed here together contribute 109 dB(A) with a strong tonal noise component at 500 Hz. One of the five rotary piston fans was measured in a test stand.
554
Fig. 13.39 View from the outlet of the sound-absorbing chimney stack at the manufacturer (a),
respectively of the interior (b), attained transmission loss Dd in dB (c). (Courtesy of Niessing
Anlagenbau)
According to the measurement, they contribute 134 dB(A) with a strong tonal component at 50 Hz. Directly connected downstream of the latter, however, are already
large silencer/fluid-separation pots, which reduce the noise level in the pressure pipe
by approximately 30 dB(A). The silencers, therefore, must attain an insertion loss
according to Fig. 13.42b. The flow velocity in the airway between the splitters was
limited to 12 m/s in order to keep the pressure drop and self noise low.
In the past 18 years ventilation systems with new, soil resitant, easy-to-clean
silencers were installed, respectively retrofitted in the Odenwald Faserplattenwerk
(Fiber Plate Factory). Every single measure was developed and performed in a hard
competition with conventional technology that dominates the market. In contrast to
customary practice, however, in this case when granting commissions considered
in detail were not only production and assembly costs, but also maintenance and
operating costs including calculated mid-term energy costs due to the respective
pressure losses in the silencer systems of different design.
a. Noise Control Requirements In fiber-plate production, the exhaust air is
cleaned in exhaust systems and emitted with a harmless residue content at a given
height (in this case: 1040 m above the complex). In the factory, which is located
directly adjacent to a mixed industrial/residential area, the permissible A-weighed
sound power levels depending on the location of the exhaust air openings are
555
Fig. 13.40 Patent applications for environmental protection (a); distribution of the turnover of
environmental technology on the German market (b). (According to Eckoldt et al. 2000b)
approximately 7075 dB(A). These levels are set by the acoustic consultant for
every single noise source in the factory with the aim of observing the permissible
immission levels in the vicinity of the factory. Special care must be taken to avoid
strong tonal components especially at low frequencies. Regulations like TA Lrm
(1998) (Technical Directive on Noise Abatement) refer in detail to the annoyance
due to rumbling tones in the frequency range below 90 Hz.
556
Fig. 13.41 Vacuum pumps

for removing moisture from
paper (bottom), respectively
from mineral fiber plates
(top), are according to
Eckoldt and Fuchs (1994b)
among the strongest sources
of low-frequency noise
b. All-metal Silencer for Air-suction Units Fiber plates, e.g. for acoustic ceilings,
are made from a mineral-wool reinforced material, which is mixed in a wet state.
Similar to paper production, gross removal of moisture is carried out along a wet line
through a colander located under the wet product. The remaining water is extracted
by means of vacuum suction. Silencers are required on the downstream side of this
vacuum generator, as described in more detail by Lips (2008, Sect. 4.3 and Chap. 6
there). The exhaust air is wet and contains residue of non-separated material. The
silencers, therefore, have to be not only acousticly effective but also easy to clean and
soil resistant. In 1991, silencers with membrane absorbers MA for low frequencies
are installed. The splitters and the housing are made of stainless steel. The membranes
are between 0.8 and 0.1 mm thick. Figure 13.42 from Eckoldt and Fuchs (1994b)
shows the silencer-splitter arrangement. The thick MA splitter is tuned to the octave
bands 63 and 125 Hz taking especially into consideration the tonal noise of the rotary
piston fans (50 Hz). The thin MA splitters for low frequencies up to 250 Hz are
combined on their rear sides with stainless steel wool behind perforated sheet metal
for frequencies above 250 Hz, thereby attaining the damping given in Fig. 13.42 as
measured in octave bands in a test stand.
557
Fig. 13.42 Silencer made of porous absorbers (PA) and membrane absorbers (MA) in an air-suction
unit (a); insertion loss (b); sound pressure level beside the exhaust air opening without, resp. with
silencer (c)
Figure 13.42c shows the noise spectrum at a distance of 1 m from the exhaust
opening of the new and a comparable old unit with conventional silencers. The
tonal components of the rotary piston fan in the third octave band 50 Hz, which are
insufficiently damped by customary silencers and can, therefore, be heard in the
vicinity during quiet night hours, are perfectly damped by the alternative silencers.
Cleaning (Fig. 13.43) is done every 6 months with a water jet and takes one man
approximately 2 h. Once the MA silencers have fulfilled their purpose, they can
be recycled as scrap material, whereas worn-out mineral-wool splitters, which are
less durable, have to be treated as special waste. This, too, is a hardly appreciated
advantage of this all-metal silencer. After 2 years, an inspection as part of the annual
cleaning revealed that the silencer was in perfect acoustical condition.
558
Fig. 13.43 Silencer according to Fig. 13.42 before (a), resp. after (b) cleaning with a water jet.
(Eckoldt et al. 2000a)
c. Bending Silencer in the Dust-filtering Unit When the dried fiber plates are fabricated dust is inevitably generated. It is separated in a filtering unit and returned to
the production process. Approximately 110,000 m3 /h exhaust air containing a permissible amount of remaining dust of less than 50 mg/m3 , according to the operator:
only approximately 47 mg/m3 , is blown into the atmosphere by a radial fan. Thus,
after all at least 2.6 t of dust a year pass through the silencer. In this case, too,
membrane absorbers MA, this time made of aluminum, are installed to damp the
low-frequency components, see Eckoldt (1995).
The acoustic specifications in Fig. 13.44 again call for not only MAs for low
frequencies but also porous absorbers for damping above 250 Hz. For this purpose
a coated open-cell foam is employed successfully. The foam in question is an openpore polyurethane foam with a specific mass of approximately 30 kg/m3 bearing a
thin acoustically transparent coating. Although dust may collect on the coated surface
like with the MA aluminum sheet metals, it cannot enter the absorber and is easy to
remove during inspection with an air jet or a broom.
Figure 13.44b shows a drawing of the unit, Fig. 13.44a the bending silencer
during assembly with its opening in opposite direction of the housing area. The two
bends have the effect that the required high degree of damping is attained with little
pressure loss (relatively large spacing between the splitters, see Eckoldt and Teige
1992; Mohr and Teige 1993). First two 100 mm thick splitters filled with mineral
wool and covered with glass fleece were placed in the silencer 2 (Fig. 13.44b). As
these were covered with a thick layer of dust after a bit more than a year in operation
(Fig. 13.45c) and then damaged when cleaned, they were replaced with foam splitters
of two-side coated PU foam of the same thickness and have been in use without any
559
Fig. 13.44 Assembly (a), schematic (b) and specifications for the bending silencer of the dustfiltering unit at the Odenwald Faserplattenwerk. (After Eckoldt et al. 2000b)
560
Fig. 13.45 Bend 2 of the bending silencer in Fig. 13.44 in a virginal state (a) and after 2 years of
use (b) compared with fibrous lining after 1 year of use (c)
complaints for many years. This measure was made possible with the support of the
Deutsche Bundesstiftung Umwelt DBU (German Federal Environment Foundation).
d. Chimney Stack with Integrated Silencer The mineral wool is produced by
means of a nozzle blowing process. Fine fibers are blown with air pressure from the
561
molten mass into the so-called fall shaft. There the fibers are provided with an oily
binder and transported on a conveyor belt out of the unit for further processing. The
dust is removed from the exhaust air through the fall shaft (approx. 120,000 m3 /h)
in a washer and conveyed with a permissible remaining dust content via a suction
fan with silencers into a steel chimney stack. Two such units are operated in parallel.
As the two units were worn out after 20 years of operation and had to be rebuilt,
the previous conventional silencers with mineral wool behind perforated sheet metal
was to be replaced by an easy-to-clean system that is soil resistant. Conventional
splitters, namely, regularly collect sticky dust as shown in Fig. 13.46a. Furthermore,
replacing the splitters with new ones was considered as time consuming, expensive
and impeded by the lack of space. For this reason, angular stack silencers according to
Eckoldt and Hemsing (1997) and Sect. 10.6 are installed in the chimney stacks. These
have to attain the damping given in Fig. 13.46d. After preliminary tests in a stack
pipe with a diameter of 1.8 m and a length of 5 m with an octagonal panel absorber
(Fig. 13.47a, b), this damping is attained by providing the two 37 m high chimney
stacks (Fig. 13.47c) with a diameter of 1.6 m along a length of 20 m (segments
1, 2, 3 and 5) with such resonators for damping low frequencies and along 11 m
with a passive wall cladding of foam behind perforated sheet metal (segments 4 and
6) plus an additional similar thin splitter cross in segment 4, cf. Fig. 10.27. The
pressure loss of this fully integrated stack silencer is so minimal that energy savings
of approximately 15,000 annually for each of the two units are yielded. With this
alternative concept the investments could also be reduced by approximately 40,000
compared to a chimney stack with a separate silencer unit. Less installation costs also
contribute to this. The octagonal silencer unit was simply lowered into the roof, see
Fig. 10.27. This solution was also employed for even larger mineral wool production
plants with good results: Fig. 13.48 shows, for example, a 34 m high silencer-stack
for 600,000 m3 /h moist exhaust air with a 10 m long angular stack silencer and 6 m
long passive absorber splitters at a mineral wool producer.
13.8.5
Silencers for Wet Dust Scrubbing
In a to be newly built plant for producing granular urea-ammonia-sulfate mixtures,

the 163,000 m3 /h exhaust air is to be cleaned in a wet washer and conveyed to the
atmosphere in a 20 m long chimney stack with a diameter of 2 m. The main sounddamping elements once again should be made of stainless steel. The additional porous
absorbers needed for damping the medium and high frequencies should be insensitive
to water, residual dust and the acidic fluid (ph-value approx. 4). The pressure drop
of all the installed elements should remain below 100 Pa.
As there is no space for a splitter between the washer and the chimney stack which
emits the cleaned exhaust air at a height of approximately 40 m, the splitter has to
be integrated inside the stack. There is only a length of 12.5 m from the outlet of the
stack down available for the sound damping elements. Air-pollution measurement
instruments are located below that. It is paramount that the damping elements do
562
Fig. 13.46 Old fibrous splitters in the fall shaft of the exhaust system (a) and old soiled chimney
stack (b); new chimney stack with an octagonal silencer after 3 years in operation and cleaned with
a water jet (c); requirement spectrum (d)
563
Fig. 13.47 Chimney element with an angular stack silencer (a, b) as in segment 3 in (c), see also
Fig. 10.27b
564
Fig. 13.48 Chimney stack silencer with an interior diameter of 3.1 m and hermetically sealed lining
with a silencer splitter cross at a mineral wool manufacturer (a), on site (b) and completely installed
(c, d)
not affect the uniform flow allowing undisturbed measurements. In order that the
acoustic elements do not increase the flow velocity and with it pressure losses, the
stack is widened from a diameter of 2 to one of 2.3 m where the absorbers are located.
The 8 m available for the angular stack silencer, however, is insufficient for the
required damping. Therefore, in addition an also 8 m long splitter cross of panel
resonators according to Sect. 5.3 and Hanisch et al. (2004) is installed in the lower
565
Fig. 13.49 View through the

silencers to the outlet of a
silencer stack for dust
scrubbing during fertilizer
production. (Eckoldt et al.
2000a)
segment of the stack silencer. For the octave bands 2504,000 Hz a second, 4 m long
segment is lined and equipped with a splitter cross consisting of mineral wool behind a
glass-silk woven fabric, stainless-steel wool and perforated sheet metal. Figure 13.49
shows the cylindrical perforated sheet-metal cover of the passive absorber designed
according to Brandsttt and Frommhold (1994), Brandsttt et al. (1994) behind the
all-metal silencer.
In order to measure the propagation loss, a microphone is drawn, similar as in
Fig. 13.24, through one of the four partial ducts of the whole silencer. Excited with
pink noise, the sound level is measured in 1 m steps from the entrance to the silencer
up to its opening. Figure 13.50b shows the microphone near the end of the stack.
In the back one can see the black dodecahedron loudspeaker and the rotary head of
the control microphone. The propagation damping is shown in Fig. 13.50a. The 8 m
long lower part of the silencer has its maximum effect, as planned, at 80160 Hz.
The 4 m long top part enhances the damping substantially at higher frequencies. The
unit shown in Fig. 13.51 has been in operation since 1998.
13.8.6
Silencers for Dust-loaded Exhaust Air
The resonator silencer with six cavities (Fig. 7.6) described in Sect. 7.3 was initially
used in a coal- dust-combustion heating/power station. The exhaust gases, which
still contain residual dust following several filtering steps, are conveyed out by a
fan through a 40 m high chimney with a diameter of 0.45 m with a temperature of
180 C and 10 m/s. Owing to a duct lining with fibrous absorbers, the low-frequency
tonal noises dominate, which by far exceed the limit value at the immission site.
The acoustic target (up to 25 dB damping between 63 and 250 Hz) could be met
566
Fig. 13.50 Propagation damping Da (a) in the silencer of Fig. 13.49 measured in 1 m steps with a
rope-guided microphone (b)
with the six-chamber tubular reactive silencer which was retrofitted at the top end
of the chimney, see Fig. 7.6. In order to prevent soiling, perforated sheet metals with
a hole diameter of 10 mm were selected instead of the usual 3 mm. The operator
is able to clean the perforated sheet metals and cavities with a high-pressure steam
cleaner as part of annual maintenance. Figure 13.52a depicts the unfinished silencer
567
Fig. 13.51 Washer and stack silencer as in Fig. 13.49
without the outer mantel at the manufacturer so that the separating sheet metals and
perforated metal tubes are visible. Figure 13.52b shows the installation of such a
silencer in the exhaust gas pipe of a plant to produce puffed stones (puffed pearlite)
as a popular additive for fiber plates, for example in suspended ceiling systems.
13.8.7
Silencers in Heating Systems
Noise emissions from heating stations are described in detail in Lips (2008, Chap. 11
there). In decentralized heating stations and small block heating/power stations for
apartment and office buildings, the noise emitters are located in direct vicinity of their
users. The dominant furnace noise and fan noise are caused by explosion-like changes
in volume and turbulent mixing processes in the combustion chamber. Figure 13.53a
shows a typical spectrum of the pressure fluctuations in the connecting pipe between
the boiler and the chimney for a heat output of between 100 and 500 kW, which
increases strongly toward the low frequencies (Bay et al. 2004). Especially lowfrequency pulsations can excite cavity resonances according to Chap. 7, Eqs. (7.6)
and (7.8), in the exhaust gas pipe which, barely damped in the currently so popular
568
Fig. 13.52 Tubular reactive

silencer according to Fig. 7.6
during production (a) and
installed in an exhaust gas
pipe of a puffed stone
processing plant (b)
cylindrical metal stacks, are then radiated through the chimney outlet. As described
in Sect. 13.7.4, Table 13.3, it can be assumed that this radiation occurs at least at
high frequencies strongly directed, see Fig. 13.54 and Leistner et al. (2001). Contrary
to industrial chimney stacks, in the present case this directivity bonus according to
Sect. 13.7.4 may not occur at all or only weakened when the facility stands on a
steep slope and chimney bonnets are applied. At any rate, it hardly occurs at all at
the particularly disturbing low frequencies.
Although a new furnace technology (so-called blue or rocket furnaces) is able
to increase the thermal output substantially, it has, however, also aggravated the
already present quite prevalent noise problem. Therefore today exhaust-gas silencers
569
Fig. 13.53 Typical sound spectrum in the connecting pipe between the heat generator and the
exhaust gas pipe at a heat output of 100500 kW (a), propagation paths (arrows) and influence
parameters (b). (According to Leistner et al. 2001)
Fig. 13.54 Directivity DI of
the radiation from a stack
outlet with a nominal width of
340 mm
are almost always required even in small heating systems, probably also due to the
increased general environmental awareness and higher demands. However, they can
seldom be installed near the outlet of the chimney stack or in the exhaust gas pipe
itself. They have to either be installed in a conventional manner between the heat
generator and the exhaust pipe or even be integrated near the combustion chamber
itself. Figure 13.55a shows a passive tubular silencer in a stainless steel housing
and (b) a space-saving variant that exploits the bending bonus for high frequencies
according to Sect. 13.3.9.
a. Tubular Reactive Silencers The resonator described in Sect. 7.3 has often proven
quite successful as a problem-solver in large block heating/power stations, especially
570
Fig. 13.55 Passive tubular silencer (a), bend silencer (b), slit silencer (c) as well as active and
reactive silencers in stainless steel housings for installation between the boiler and the exhaust pipe
(d). (Courtesy of Kutzner + Weber)
Fig. 13.56 Model of a three-segments tubular reactive silencer tuned to different low frequencies for
use under extreme conditions with smooth inner pipe (1), perforated pipe segments (2), concentric
cavities (3) and a condensation drain (4). (Courtesy of Kutzner + Weber)
for low-frequency rumbling tones, see Fig. 13.56. Before it can be used, a particular
immission spectrum must first be analyzed in order to be able to adjust the dimensions
of the cavities as best as possible to the most annoying frequency components. A
serial product that can be ordered directly from the warehouse is less suited for this
purpose.
b. Active Resonance Silencers The tubular silencers commonly available on the
market, usually with a mineral wool filling with lining thicknesses of hardly more
than 5 cm are effective according to Fig. 4.2 primarily at medium and high frequen-
571
cies. The bending bonus discussed in Sect. 13.3.9 also has no strong effect at low
frequencies. However, as the space between the boiler and the exhaust-gas pipe is
generally so tight that it does not allow installation of voluminous or long silencers,
an absorber was developed that combines a passive tubular silencer for high frequencies with an active side-branch resonator according to Sect. 8.2 and in addition, if
required, a /4 resonator according to Sect. 7.1 for low frequencies.
Installation of such a silencer combination is shown in Fig. 13.55d. The active
module is separated from the actual exhaust-gas pipe by a short pipe section sealed
by a temperature and condensation resistant foil, yielding a space saving possibility
to extend damping to nearly any low frequencies by making this complex resonance
system with its geometric, mechanical and electronic adjustable parameters very
broadband effective.
c. Slotted Silencers in Heating Boilers Section 6.2 describes a slotted absorber
which is tunable to medium frequencies (approximately 125500 Hz) solely by
means of the geometric parameters of the silencer volume and its partial covering.
A very successful variant for heating systems is shown in Fig. 13.55c. Corresponding careful acoustical adjustment to the source permits completely integrating an
extremely compact silencer serially in the heat generator. Figure 13.57 shows in a
sectional model how such slotted absorbers can be installed between the combustion
chamber and the connecting pipe in a space-saving manner yielding a reduction in
level of approximately 8 dB(A).
13.8.8 Active Silencers in Air-conditioners

Similar compact integration of noise control as reported in Sect. 13.8.7 c is, of
course, of interest for manufacturers of heating, ventilation and air-conditioning
HVAC systems for use in upscale homes, places of work and recreational areas. A
variety of design and aerodynamic measures can already reduce the corresponding
noise emissions directly at the source and during the development process. Despite
successful noise reduction at the fan and the flow ducts, a certain noise level remains,
particularly, with powerful devices which must be further reduced with silencers for
demanding clients. As usual, the issues are low frequencies, restricted space and
as little as possible pressure loss. At the same time, neither the outer dimensions
nor the design of the devices may be altered nor the costs significantly be raised. In
order to solve this difficult, but common conflict, an active absorber according to
Sect. 8.1 was developed up serial production, see Leistner et al. (2000) for a group
of innovative HVAC units, e.g. for IT rooms, service centers or museum halls.
As Fig. 13.58 indicates the air sucked out of the room from the top is conditioned
in the air-conditioner and blown out into a cavity floor. Due to the acoustically
decoupled blow out side, only a small silencer hat is provided, however, with a
given width and depth and minimal height.
The spectrum measured at a representative measuring point without a silencer
(Fig. 13.59a) demonstrates the low-frequency problem. The peak level at 200 Hz is
572
Fig. 13.57 Slotted absorber
in the exhaust gas path of a
combustion chamber (a) and
the attainable noise reduction
(b) after Brandsttt et al.
(2004). (Courtesy of
Viessmann)
Fig. 13.58 Sketch of a HVAC

unit with a silencer at its inlet
573
Fig. 13.59 Sound pressure

level at the measuring point
of Fig. 13.58 (a) without and
with active silencers (b)
caused by the fans tonal noise and as a tonal component is perceived as particularly
annoying. Figure 13.59b shows the correspondingly designed silencer with a height
of 300 mm. All nine similarly built active silencer cassettes operate opposite a thin
porous layer and in combination with the passive absorbers yield a broadband effective silencer which also solves the tonal problem, see. Fig. 13.59a. With an air flow
rate of nominally 9,000 m3 /h, the silencer reduces this by only 3 %. The resulting
velocity of approximately 10 m/s shows that the active cassettes also operate well
with this flow.
13.8.9
Silencer Design for HVAC Systems
The example of an air-conditioning system for a building with n0 = 6 open-plan

offices with a net area of F0 = 1,000 m2 each and a story height of h0 = 3.3 m permits
574
Table 13.4 Comparison of self noise LW in dB, pressure drop p in Pa and energy needs (Nel in
kWh, EL in MWh annually) with varying flow rates qv in m3 /h and housing sizes (S in m2 ) for
differently constructed and designed splitter silencers (a, b) according to Fig. 13.25
qV
vs,a
vs,b
LW,a
LW,b
pa
pb
Nel,a
Nel,b
ELa
ELb
20,000
40,000
0.75
0.75
1.50
0.75
1.50
2.25
22
44
22
66
33
22
11
22
11
33
16
11
73
88
76
97
85
78
58
73
61
82
70
63
247
987
247
2,222
555
247
34
136
34
305
72
34
1.72
13.8
3.4
46.4
11.6
5.2
0.23
1.8
0.46
6.2
1.6
0.7
7.5
60.0
15.0
203.0
51.0
23.0
1
8
2
27
6
3
60,000
estimating the additional energy needs due to the installation of silencers in the
ventilation duct at a radial fan which dominates the overall noise at low frequencies.
Air exchange rates wL = 1, 2 or 3/h, a fan efficiency of = 0.8 and an average
availability of = 0.5 and = 0 = 1.21 kg/m3 yield with the corresponding formulae in Sects. 13.4 and 13.6 the estimations listed in Table 13.4. Assumed was a flow
rate according to
qV = wL F0 h0 n0
(13.42)
with 20,000/40,000, respectively 60,000 m3 /h corresponding to, for example, a call

centers typical seating capacity according to Eq. (10.1) of 5 to at most 10 m2 approximately 33/66/10016/32/48 m3 /h per work place. In order to limit the flow velocity
v1 in the connected duct to 22 m/s, cross sections
S1 =
qV
v1
(13.43)
of 0.25/0.5/0.75 m2 are provided. Lines 1, 2, and 4 in Table 13.4 show the velocities
vs,a and vs,b according to Eq. (13.13), the self-noise according to (13.17), the pressure
loss according to (13.26) and the energy parameters according to (13.30) and (13.31)
for the two silencer configurations in Fig. 13.25 if these are installed in the duct or
in a housing with S = B H = 0.6 1.25 = 0.75 m2 .
One can read that for a quite moderate air exchange variant (a) with a thick
splitter will generate a pressure drop of almost 1,000 Pa and require 13.8 kW or
60,000 kWh/a. Employing variant (b) with two thinner splitters but the same acoustic
effectiveness would reduce energy costs approximately by 86 %. Even if instead, as
shown in line 3 of Table 13.4, two thick splitters were placed in a correspondingly
wider housing in order to reduce blocking and consequently reduce the airway
velocity in the space between the splitters to the same value as in variant (b), the
pressure drop and the energy needs would be twice as great as in variant (b) with
S = 0.75 m2 . The strong influence of the thickness of the splitters not only on the
required space but also on the required energy is evident. Considering the overall
costs of silencers, possible extra costs for larger housing or/and optimum types
of construction adapted to the specific noise spectrum will amortize quickly. For
the same reasons, it pays to clean the silencers regularly to prevent clocking and
13.9 Review and Prospects of Duct Silencers
575
deposits collecting in the airways. It must, however, be noted that, of course, other
components of HVAC systems, such as e.g. air inlets and air outlets also cause
considerable pressure drops, see VDI 2081 (2001).
13.9
Review and Prospects of Duct Silencers
The noise-related stress is rising slowly but steadily in nearly all realms of life, be it
at work,
in public and leisure areas,
at home.
In times of limited resources, it however no longer suffices to just lament this poor
state of affairs, but rather it is imperative to assess the problem and the feasible
solutions quantitatively, in other words financially, in order for corresponding noise
awareness to develop and in the long term to change this trend. Up to now noise
control has been a neglected sector in environmental protection, a sector which unfortunately was overlooked while focusing on efforts to keep the ground, air and
water clean. Yet, according to Weinberger (1992), in Germany alone the total noise
costs amount to more than 15 billion annually. This sum includes not only costs for
noise-caused hearing impairment and cardiovascular diseases but also the publics
willingness to pay for silence, but not other noise-caused health problems or diminished productivity. The figures demonstrate that noise control is an economic and
environmental factor of the first degree. According to Weinberger (1992), industrial
noise costs its vicinity approximately 2.5 billion annually although, according to
surveys conducted by the Umweltbundesamt, only 14 % of the population seems to
be disturbed by it, see Fig. 1.1.
This study also compares the costs of noise disturbances with the annual expenditures on noise prevention by public authorities of 0.15 billion, industry 0.3 billion
and private households 1.4 billion /a. Thus just short of 2 billion /a went for noise
control including planning and monitoring costs. Theses figures however are too low
for three reasons:
Hidden Noise-control Costs For the factory owner who cleans foul air from production processes by running it through filters and washers before releasing it into
the atmosphere or who cleans factory air in dust filtering units to protect people at
their work places or living in the neighborhood, these air-conditioning systems serve
primarily to keep the air clean although these devices just like all machines must
meet strict noise-control regulations, see Sect. 13.8. If, however, 1020 % of the
investment for environment-protection devices and a significant part of the running
costs are actually related to noise-control, it is evident that considerably more than
10 % of the environmental costs are provoked by necessary noise control measures,
see Fig. 13.40.
Costs of Measures Carried Out at the Noise Sources Primary noise-reduction measures carried out on loud machines and plants are always preferable to secondary
576
Fig. 13.60 Environmental

seal granted by the
Umweltbundesamt (Federal
Environmental Office) for
quiet products and processes
ones (encapsulation, shielding), because they are more sustainable. However, the
very often high development costs for quiet products which are brought on the market with a corresponding quality seal (Fig. 13.60) as an additional enticement to buy
appear in no statistic as noise-control costs, because they are not as visible as those
installed on the propagation path between the source and the receiver.
Energy Costs Caused by Silencers In many devices, e.g. ventilators (fan, pumps
and compressors) in industrial and power plants, noise can be reduced at the source
by hardly more than only 36 dBfor instance by constructive measures at the
blades or selection of the operating conditions. Despite their already extremely low
acoustic efficiency, they emit at nominal outputs of, for example, 10 MW sound
power corresponding to 130 dB(A) (Fig. 13.29) so that often silencers with De > 40
dB have to be installed in connected ducts or at the inlet and/or outlet openings in
order to be able to meet certain immission limits. The energy and maintenance costs
of these secondary noise control measures can, calculated for the lifetime of the
system, often exceed by far the initial investment costs, which always take priority,
see Fuchs (2008).
Calculations for a cooling tower of the nuclear power station in Neckarwestheim
(Fig. 13.61) may vividly demonstrate this. The great amount of cooling water removed from the Neckar is returned to the river following preliminary mechanical
cleaning and passing through a cooling cycle in the power plant so that the waste
heat of the power plant (approx. 2,500 MW) does not heat up the river but is released into the atmosphere in an environmentally friendly manner. In older plants
this was usually done by erecting a high natural draught cooling tower (see Lips
2008, Fig. 12.16 there), which would have ruined the lovely landscape where the
Neckar winds between the vineyards to form a loop. Therefore, in the mid-1980s, a
so-called hybrid cooling tower was built. With a height of only 51 m and a diameter
of just under 160 m at the bottom tapering to 73 m at the top, it seems to be flat
embedded in the landscape, see Fig. 13.61b.
The water is uniformly sprayed in a water separator approximately 17 m above
the ground. Forty-four axial fans radially disposed on a ring with a diameter of 120 m
ensure in the lower wet section with an electric power of 44 190 kW and in the
top dry section with 44 255 kW the intake of maximally 56,000 m3 /s cold air from
13.9 Review and Prospects of Duct Silencers
577
Fig. 13.61 Section (a) and view (b) of the hybrid cooling tower of the nuclear power plant in
Neckarwestheim. (According to Koch 1989 and Fuchs 1992)
the outside and the necessary lift of the heated air in the cooling tower. Consuming
a total of 20 MW, this environment-friendly measure consumes up to 1.6 % of the
power plants overall net output of 1,225 MW.
The fans with an assumed acoustical efficiency of
A =
PA
= 2 106
Pel
emit an A-weighted power level of LWA 136 dB(A). A rough estimate according
to Eq. (3.19), taking into the consideration a propagation damping of all told Di 7
578
dB, yields a pressure level Li 60 dB(A) at the given immission site at a distance of
800 m. In order to be able to meet a partial immission level of 30 dB(A) in the purely
residential area, noise attenuation measures have to attain a value of De 30 dB, of
course depending on the location in relation to the immission site and taking into
consideration masking by the large diffusor, as examined in detail by Koch (1989)
and Schupp and Jacobs (1987).
The correspondingly designed splitter silencers with mineral-wool filling span
a cross-section surface of all told almost 20,000 m2 in the hatched sections of
Fig. 13.61a. Using the manufacturers specifications for , , qv and vs and assuming = 0.85 according to Table 13.2 permits estimating the energy parameters
of the various silencer plants:
Wet-part air-inlet, suction side (44 fields with B = 9.5 m, H = 8.75 m)
= 0.38, = 1.24 kg m3 , qv = 22,200 m3 s1 , vs = 12 m s1 , Nel = 887 kW,
Dry-part air-inlet, suction side (44 fields with B = 9.5 m, H = 8.75 m)
= 0.29, = 1.24 kg m3 , qv = 24,000 m3 s1 , vs = 13 m s1 , Nel = 866 kW,
Dry-part air-outlet, pressure side (44 fields with B = 7.6 m, H = 10 m)
= 0.34, = 1.17 kg m3 , qv = 24,000 m3 s1 , vs = 13.3 m s1 , Nel = 994 kW,
Wet-part air-outlet, pressure side (area with 9,500 m2 above the water separator)
= 0.28, = 1.14 kg m3 , qv = 24,100 m3 s1 , vs = 6.3 m s1 , Nel = 180 kW.
With all told almost 3 MW, approximately 15 % of the fan power and thus 0.24 % of
the power plant output are needed to overcome the pressure losses in the silencers.
With an availability of assumedly 0.75, the silencers consume according to Eq.
(13.31) almost 20 million kW/a. If the related energy costs, so to say at the source,
were estimated to be 0.08 /kWh, the operating costs just for sparing the environment acoustically would amount to approximately 1.5 million. In a few years the
running energy costs would already considerably exceed the one-time investment
costs. If the nuclear power plant is shut down soon as part of the politically agreed
upon phasing out of this specific energy source, the silencers will have consumed
roughly 400 million kWh and cost the customer 32 million (initial investment and
maintenance not included). For that amount of money, it would have been possible to
compensate numerous neighbors of the power plant differently. However, the basic
question is: How expensivethus how environmentally riskymay a noise-control
measure be if, as in this example, only a relatively small number of people are affected, whereas very many bear directly or indirectly the financial burden of the high
investment, operating and (indirectly caused additional) environmental costs?
If such or similar new plants were equipped with silencers, one would not install
more than 700 t of mineral wool, 540 t of aluminum and 40 t of steel as needed in the
described example more than 20 years ago. Fundamentally, the following rules need
to be noted in the design of cost-effective splitter silencers (see Fuchs and Ackermann
1992; Fuchs 2008):
1. Determine the damping needs according to the specific immission requirements
and emission components of the plant frequency dependent, at least in octaves!
Without these input data, silencer layout will be a matter of luck.
References
579
2. Always build silencers, even for low frequencies, as slim as possible! Reactive
silencers (e.g. according to Sect. 5.3 or 6.3) are better suited than passive silencers
whose splitter thickness is normally limited to approximately 400 mm.
3. To attain high acoustic effectiveness do not place the splitters too close together,
but design them correspondingly longer in a given cross section! What increases
the construction volume reduces the subsequent energy costs.
4. Always check the self noise re-generated behind the silencer! If it determines the
immission level, the silencer layout has failed.
5. Provide enough space for silencers in the planning phase! Silencers forced in
somewhere generate necessarily high pressure losses later.
6. Include the splitters in maintenance cycles! If they are easily accessible or are
even removable, they can be cleaned regularly.
7. If badly fouled fluids or high hygienic requirements are involved provide
claddings and splitters with smooth, hermetically sealed surfaces! Fewer deposits and lower pressure losses mean lower operating costs and justify higher
investments.
Herein lies the major challenge for the consultant engineers: they should not only
demand noise-level reduction at the relevant immission sites and set insertion losses
for the silencers in the ventilation plants. Moreover, they can help the operator and
the environment if they include the to-be-expected pressure losses in their expert
opinions. Only by clearly exemplifying all operating costs will they be able to convince the operator of the necessary size and the adequate construction of the silencers
customized for a specific sound spectrum.
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Eckoldt D (1995) Neuartiger Umlenk-Schalldmpfer auf dem Dach. Luft Kltetech 31(4):188189
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Eckoldt D, Jess M, Brandsttt P, Hemsing J (2002) Schallemission von Schornstein-Mndungen.
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Index
A
A-weighting, 6, 12
Aalto Theater Essen, 163, 327
Abrasion, 79
Abrasion protection, 34
Absenteeism, 206
Absenteeism for illness, 207
Absorbent apron, 440
Absorber bulkhead, 442
Absorber material, 509
Absorber surface, 21
Absorption area, 5
Absorption aspect, 507
Absorption coefficient, 15, 21, 379, 400, 416
Absorption cross-section, 131
Absorption table, 16
Absorption-coefficient measurement, 21
Absorptive cladding, 25
Absorptive lining, 24
Academy of Arts, 272
Accent microphone, 319
Acceptance test, 419, 540
Acoustic ceiling, 193, 290, 315, 556
Acoustic comfort, 220, 304, 443, 524
Acoustic conditioning, 241
Acoustic consultant, 555
Acoustic cylinder, 273
Acoustic Design Ahnert, 272
Acoustic efficiency, 507, 576
Acoustic element, 301, 303
Acoustic engineer, 151
Acoustic lining, 273
Acoustic material, 553
Acoustic measure, 206
Acoustic monitoring, 394
Acoustic plaster, 263
Acoustic plaster system, 269
Acoustic quality, 152, 191
Acoustic shock protection, 206

Acoustic test cell, 139
Acoustic test facility, 394
Acoustic transparency, 165, 167, 209, 305, 366
Acoustic wind tunnel, 395, 401
Acoustical boundary layer, 38, 103
Acoustical comfort, 2, 5, 377
Acoustical concept, 313, 327, 345, 362
Acoustical quality, 150
Airborne sound, 26
Acoustical transparency, 196, 275
Acoustical zone, 197
Acoustics, 151
Acrylic-glass diffuser, 22
Active module, 571
Active side-branch resonator, 571
Active silencer, 91
Active silencer cassette, 573
Adult education center, 297
Aero-acoustic wind tunnel, 395, 479, 500
Aesthetic acoustic, 253
Aesthetical aspect, 382
Airborne sound, 26
Air cleaning plant, 552
Air conditioning, 360
Air convector, 137
Air outlet, 80
Air-conditioning duct, 461
Air-conditioning system, 446, 453, 465, 571
Air-suction unit, 553
Airborne-sound absorption, 181
Airborne-sound insulation, 181
Airframe noise, 443
Airway velocity, 574
Alternative fiberless absorber, 6
Alternative silencer, 516
Altes Gewandhaus, 229
Aluminum chip, 38

DOI 10.1007/978-3-642-29367-2, Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg 2013
583
584
Amphitheater, 155
Analog console, 243
Analysis roller, 457
Anechoic cladding, 33
Anechoic room, 17, 138, 378
Angular stack silencer, 143, 511, 561, 564
Announcer, 370
Annular resonance frequency, 141
Arbeitsstttenverordnung, 204
Architect, 149
Architectural acoustic design, 150
Architectural acoustics, 181
Arithmetic precision, 514
Articulation, 162
Articulation loss, 237
Articulation loss of consonant, 167
Artificial masking, 314
Artistic endeavor, 215
Artistic profile, 215
Assembly frame, 436
Assembly hall, 2, 260, 273
Assisted resonance system, 230
Asymmetrical structured absorber, 141, 396,
423, 427, 444
Ataturk Cultural Center, 164
Athens Epidauros Festival, 243
Atria, 272
Audi wind tunnel, 479
Audi Wind Tunnel Center, 440
Audibility, 152
Audibility threshold, 168
Audience, 153
Audience size, 153
Audio room, 10, 415
Audio studio, 138
Auditorium, 207, 220
Auditory sensation area, 168
Auralization, 415
Automobile-acoustics wind tunnel, 36
Automotive industry, 396
B
Background noise, 193, 204, 268, 277, 468,
497
Background noise correction, 406
Baffle absorber, 263
Balance, 219
Baroque structure, 155
Base coat of plaster, 70
Basic absorption, 311, 350
Basic damping, 11
Basilar membrane, 178
Bass absorber, 346
Index
Bass base, 166
Bass foundation, 227
Bass muffler, 303
Bass ratio, 159, 237
Bass rise, 230, 247
Bass trap, 128
Bell Laboratory, 402
Bending silencer, 123, 442, 535
Birmingham, 154
Blank, 281
BMW acoustic wind tunnel, 397, 479
BMW Research and Engineering Center, 432
BMW wind tunnel, 412
Body language, 191
Boundary-layer parameter, 105
Brilliance, 217
Broadband absorber, 36
Broadband compact absorber, 26, 126, 197,
271, 290, 298, 395, 421, 426, 480
Broadband muffler, 303
Bronnbach Monastery, 297
Budapest, 154
Building contractor, 149
Burn-out, 207
C
Cabinet, 132
Cable routing, 124
Cafeteria, 207
Call center, 181
Cardiovascular disease, 575
Cavea, 76, 245, 246
Cavity resonance, 567
Cavity resonator, 79, 82, 105
Ceiling, 273
Cellulose layer, 70
Center time, 166
Chamber music, 272
Characteristic impedance, 16, 106
Childrens voice, 277
Chimney bonnet, 568
Chimney stack, 141, 508, 537, 538
Chinese court-yard theatre, 248
Church service, 242
Circus maximus, 248
Cladding, 373
Clarinet, 226
Clarity, 163, 186, 222, 260, 324
Clarity, definition, 196
Classroom, 181, 185, 207
Cleanability, 432
Clean-room condition, 72
Cleaning, 144
Co-verberation, 156
Index
Coated soft foam, 444
Coating, 36
Coffering, 72
Cognitive resource, 207
Comb-filter effect, 370, 429
Combustion chamber, 567, 569
Combustion engine, 83
Communication, 174, 177, 294, 346, 377
Communication ability, 211
Communication problem, 20
Communication room, 415
Communicative performance, 201
Compact absorber, 301, 304
Compact broadband absorber, 444
Compact lining, 396
Comparability, 394
Competitiveness, 206
Component resonance, 461
Compound panel absorber, 54, 126, 197, 224,
251, 270, 274, 290, 297, 361, 396, 423,
425
Compound structure, 425
Computer aided design, 394
Computer simulation, 222, 341
Computer workplace, 135
Concave reflector, 17
Concealing cable, 303
Concentration, 154
Concert hall, 153
Concert shell, 348
Concerts, 241
Concrete vessel, 145
Conference, 290
Conference center, 269
Conference room, 289
Conference venue, 272
Confidentiality, 196
Congress, 266
Conservational, 267
Conservation guideline, 318
Consonant, 169, 192
Control room, 487
Control room window, 360, 370, 440
Control window, 17
Convention, 149, 266
Conventional cladding, 216
Convention venue, 273
Conversation, 289
Conversation room, 290
Conveyor-belt, 488
Cooling ceiling, 303
Cooling tower, 576
Corner absorber, 374
585
Corrosion resistant, 551
Courtyard, 272
Cover membrane, 425
Covered edge absorber, 131, 197, 293
CPA module, 22, 364
Cross-sectional discontinuity, 80
Cubic shape, 418
Cuvillies Theater, 155
D
Daimler-Chrysler, 479
Damping, 5
Data reduction, 359
Decay distortion, 224
Decay time, 379
Demonstration room, 357
Depth, 223
Design aspect, 507
Design concept, 396
Design program, 516
Destructive reflection, 17, 358
Diffraction, 27
Diffuse-field distance, 19, 168, 194
Diffuse-field radius, 194
Diffuser, 21, 358, 483, 492, 578
Diffusivity, 155, 222
Diffusor density, 162
Digital architecture, 243
Direct listening, 223
Direct sound, 156, 163
Directive hearing, 320
Directivity bonus, 568
Directivity index, 5, 24, 538
Directivity parameter, 20
Directivity sensation, 167
Distance impression, 223
Divider, 206
Dodecahedron loudspeaker, 565
Drama theater, 250
Drapes, 272
Drive concept, 461
Drive motor, 464
Drive shaft, 461, 464
Drive shaft bearing, 464
Drive wind, 140
Drive-wind fan, 453
Drive wind simulation, 446
Duct lining, 509
Dummy head system, 467
Durability aspect, 507
Dust explosion, 541
Dynamic range, 217
Dynamic viscosity, 38
586
E
Ear plug, 209
Early decay time, 237
Early reflection, 156, 222
Early retirement, 207
Early reverberation, 158
Echo decay time, 266
Echo effect, 154
Echo energy, 171
Echo factor, 171
Echo formation, 266
Echo-freeness, 221
Echo, 17, 163
Economic, 209
Edge absorber, viii, 10, 127, 288, 289
Edge area, 495
Edge effect, 74
Edge field, 413, 455, 458
Effect time, 215
Effective absorption coefficient, 12
Effort to focus, 207
Eigenfrequency, 320
Eigenfunction, 97
Eigenresonance, 19, 355, 374, 425
Eigenvalue, 97
Electric power, 526
Electro-acoustic system, 260
Electromagnetic shielding, 496
Element resonance, 24
Elementary school, 207
Emission control, 1
Emission limit, 455
Emission measurement, 407
Encapsulation, 5, 25, 373
End correction, 67, 72, 106
Engine harshness, 460
Engine noise, 395, 497
Engine-noise test stand, 432
Engine support, 464
Engine test stand, 459
Enhancing, 150
Ensemble playing, 20, 209, 327
Enveloping surface, 400, 406, 495
Envelopment, 167, 343
Environmental awareness, 569
Environmental compatibility, 39
Environmental cost, 575, 578
Epidauros Amphitheater, 243
Equivalent absorption area, 16, 318, 378
Equivalent mean level, 215
Ergonomic aspect, 151, 152, 199, 209, 220,
316, 383
Ergonomic standard, 206
Index
Ergonomically, 150
Erich Leinsdorf, 212
Exhaust-gas pipe, 571
Exhaust-gas silencer, 568
Exhaust gas system, 507, 517
Exhibition, 272
Expansion chamber, 81
Exposed concrete, 186
Exposure level, 215
Expressiveness, 219, 242
Exterior noise, 24, 192, 508
F
Facing shell, 261, 361, 465
Factory cafeteria, 257
Factory hall, 124, 284
Factory shop, 373
Fan laboratory, 407
Fan noise, 483, 567
Fatigue, 207
Feedback, 185
Fiber diameter, 104
Fiber fleece, 444
Fiber-plate production, 554
Fiber wedge, 409
Final decay, 223
Finishing coat of plaster, 70
Fire hazard, 376
First Automotive Works, 395
FKFS wind tunnel, 425, 479
Flanking transmission, 465, 513, 519
Flat room, 181
Fleece covering, 303
Flexible design, 124
Floor reflection, 490
Flow duct, 508
Flow noise, 400
Flutter echo, 272
Foam cushion, 366
Foam cylinder, 302
Foam panel, 317
Foam profile, 36, 123
Focal point, 297
Foil absorber, 279, 295, 331, 368, 407
Food-processing, 373
Form indicator, 191
Fortissimo, 212, 217
Fraunhofer, 86, 219, 256, 272, 291
Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft, 206
Free jet, 400
Freefield, 163, 394
Freefield condition, 420
Freefield distance, 422
Freefield quality, 418
Index
Freefield room, 21, 149, 378
Frequency characteristic, 222
Frequency factor, 175
Friction parameter, 104
Front wind unit, 446
Frontal teaching, 196
Functional acoustic, 186, 187, 208, 242, 297,
339
Functional aspect, 209, 220, 316, 383
Fundamental tone component, 192
Fundamental tone, 169, 242
Furnace noise, 567
Furnace technology, 568
Furnishing, 153
Furniture, 132, 135
G
Galas, 266
Gauze stocking, 397
Gear box, 461
Geometric, 221
Glass boundary, 103
Glass box, 294
Glass component, 294
Glass faade, 257, 275, 371
Glass fiber fabric, 361
Glass foam, 39, 79
Glass-foam panel, 376
Glass reflector, 261
Glass wall-unit system, 305
Glass wool, 35
Grand piano, 226
Gregorian chant, 150
Grid, 436
Ground effect, 394
Guarantee, 278
Gyms, 207, 275
Gypsum foam, 39
H
Hallway, 207
Hammer organ, 235
Hndel, 211
Hard-foam panel, 272
Hard-of-hearing, 193
Harmful interference, 377
Harmonic tone, 176
Headset, 205, 206, 209
Health insurance, 213
Hearing, 257
Hearing impairment, 255, 575
Heat developed, 140
Heat generator, 569
587
Heating/power station, 565
Heating system, 508
Helmholtz resonator, 64, 72, 84, 106, 128, 237,
250, 424, 541
Herodeion, 246, 251
Herodes Odeion (Herodeion), 243
Higher duct mode, 520
Hollow-block brick, 39
Honeycomb structure, 72, 425, 548
Hood, 75
Horse-shoe shape, 246, 250, 337
Hospital, 72
Hot spot, 304
Household appliance, 396, 419
Hub silencer, 442, 536
Human hearing range, 126
HVAC system, 508
Hybrid cooling tower, 576
Hydraulic aggregate, 396
I
Illness, 206
Image source, 414
Immission level, 1, 24, 313
Immission limit, 576
Impaired hearing, 2, 162, 187, 210
Impression, 150
Impression of direction, 224
Impulse response, 163, 222, 332
Industrial ventilation system, 507
Inevitable absorption, 345
Information content, 204
Inherent friction, 105
Initial transient, 223, 224
Initial transient distortion, 223
Inlet correction, 82
Insertion loss, 24, 25, 160
Insulation, 5
Insulation dip, 23
Insulation element, 26
Intelligibility, 20, 163, 196, 345, 355, 374
Interactive communication, 187
Interaural cross-correlation coefficient, 167
Interference, 403
Interference effect, 150, 156, 422
Interference mechanism, 79
Interference silencer, 79
Interior noise measurement, 446
Internal noise test, 394
Intonation, 215
Irrelevant sound effect, 207
588
J
Jesus Christus Kirche, 230, 236, 240, 243, 251,
254, 268
Job security, 205
Joist floor, 124, 284
Juvuzela, 253
K
Kaiser-Wilhelm-Akademie Berlin, 269
Kindergarten, 181, 207
Kreuzkirche Dresden, 240
L
Laboratory condition, 381
Large-scale structure, 221
Late reflection, 222
Lateral energy fraction, 167
Lateral-fraction level, 222, 352
Latex paint, 377
Level decay, 312
Level decay test, 436, 458, 463
Level difference, 281, 313
Level distribution, 162
Light ceiling, 260
Limiting frequency, 458
Limiting level, 181
Listening, 207
Listening position, 358, 370
Listening room, 138, 359, 396, 467
Live concert, 241
Load machine, 460, 461
Lobby, 272
Lombard, 19, 20
Lombard effect, 179, 185, 266, 281
Loss factor, 49
Loudness, 162, 163, 167, 180, 215, 219, 221,
334
Loudness spiral, 182, 195
Loudspeaker, 223, 260
Loudspeaker system, 454
Low-frequency absorber, 20, 36, 75, 126, 364,
379
Low-noise product, 2
Lunchroom, 207
M
MA tubular silencer, 549
Magnetophone, 224
Main microphone, 318
Mains connection, 124
Market success, vi
Masking, 224, 321
Masking effect, 176
Masking threshold, 176
Index
Mass spring system, 69, 424
Material compression, 35
Maximum distance, 400
Mean free wave path, 155
Mean loudness level, 152
Mean value, 187
Measurement room, 355
Measurement volume, 400, 421
Measuring, 221
Measuring room, 138
Mechanical protection, 35
Meeting point, 205
Membrane absorber, 72, 224, 318, 321, 357,
374, 395, 412, 558
Membrane-absorber module, 323
Membrane absorber technology, 444
Mercedes Technology Center, 396
Microperforated, 71
Microperforated absorber, 101
Microperforated absorber foil, 275
Microperforated acrylic glass, 271
Microperforated diffuser, 370
Microperforated duct, 280
Microperforated foil, 371
Microperforated metal cassette, 347
Microperforated panel, 366, 370
Microperforated sail, 302
Microperforated structure, 70, 113
Microphone array, 465
Mid-size company, 396
Mineral-fiber panel, 511
Mineral-fiber product, 553
Mineral-fiber technology, 444
Mineral-wool baffle, 302
Mineral-wool element, 444
Mineral-wool panel, 376
Miniature test stand, 535
Misdirection, 154
Mobile phone, 255, 497
Modal field, 10
Mode excitation, 289
Mode field, 21, 467
Modular assembly, 440
Motor vehicle, 419
Movable sound screen, 321
Multi-channel recording, 355
Multi-channel reproduction, 138
Multi-person communication, 268
Multipurpose hall, 124
Multipurpose room, 272
Museum, 272
Music ensemble, 223, 320
Music performance, 165, 273
Index
Music presentation, 188
Musical communication, 189
Musical instrument, 212
Musician, 210
N
Near field, 194
Near-field holography, 465
Need-adjusted sound absorber, 18
New work, 205, 206
Noise abatement, v
Noise awareness, 575
Noise control, 208, 220, 254, 447, 575
Noise emission, v, 557
Noise exposure, 209
Noise level, 181
Noise pollution, 1, 393
Noise reduction, 1, 5
Noise spectrum, 153
Noise-control measure, 578
Noise-related stress, 575
Non-native citizen, 187
Nuclear power station, 576
O
Obligatory, 151
Occupancy density, 181
Occupational disease, 210, 211, 255
Octagonal panel absorber, 561
Octagonal silencer, 549, 561
Odeon, 245, 247
Office, 185
Office Innovation Center, 264, 292
Office of Conservation, 271
Office real estate, 206
Office world, 220
Open courtyard, 266
Open-air stage, 213
Open-plan office, 17, 124, 181, 285, 300
Open-pore foam, 374
Open-pore soft foam, 425
Opera house, 153, 249, 250
Operating noise, 360
Operating vibration analysis, 461
Optical transparency, 124
Optics, 205
Orchestra, 76, 156, 245, 249
Orchestra pit, 20, 181, 213, 319, 339
Orchestra rehearsal room, 20
Orchestra sound, 20
Orthogonality, 97
Otoplastic, 209
Out-of-flow measurement point, 400
589
Overall visual impression, 276
Overhearing, 207
Overheating, 79
P
Palladios Teatro Olimpico, 249
Panel absorber, 143
Panel resonator, 274, 424, 564
Particular concentration, 204
Pass-by noise, 394
Pass-by noise level, 393
Pass-by noise measuring hall, 451
Pass-by noise test, 451
Pass-by simulation, 453
Passive absorber, 31, 34
Percussion concert, 318
Perforated cover, 323, 412
Perforated membrane, 425
Perforated panel absorber, 63, 303
Perforated sheet metal, 444, 556
Perforated sheet-metal basket, 440, 465, 490
Perforated sheet-metal cage, 397
Perforated sheet-metal cassette, 468
Perforation ratio, 35, 103
Performance, 156
Performer, 153
Peripheral incident, 207
Permanent hearing damage, 211
Personal ear protection, 209
Persuasive power, 242
Philharmonie, 240, 251
Physical training, 275
Physiological, 219
Pienings formula, 143, 144, 511, 515, 522
Pin-board, 366
PISA study, 208
Piu forte, 212
Plane wave, 521
Plaster board, 290
Plaster board facing shell, 284
Plastic, 243
Plastic foam, 36
Plastic foil, 519
Play corner, 207
Plays, 241
Poem and drama of
Aischylos, 246
Euripides, 246
Homeros, 246
Sophocles, 246
Polyurethane foam, 558
Porosity, 31
Porous absorber, 271, 272
Porous concrete, 39
590
Porous glass element, 145
Post production, 243
Power plant, 507
Power train, 462
Power-train test stand, 462
Practical absorption coefficient, 190
Practice room, 20
Pre-school, 207
Precision-bearing cartridge, 460
Precision test, 421
Prefabricated partition, 124
Prefabrication, 514
Pressure chamber, 8
Pressure drop, 554, 561
Pressure loss, 79, 409
Pressure-loss coefficient, 38
Pressure resistivity, 39
Primary structure, 154
Productivity, 206
Projection area, 124
Projection screen, 290
Projection surface, 285, 366
Propagation constant, 66
Propagation correction, 406
Propagation loss, 565
Propagation path, 1, 537
Propulsion noise, 455
Proscenium, 162, 249
Provisional measure, 264
Puffed clay, 39
Q
Quality seal, 576
R
Radiation angle, 5
Radiation characteristic, 378
Radiator niche, 272
Raising of the voice, 170
Rated sound pressure level, 204
Raw building cost, 440
Ray tracing, 248, 415
Rayleigh model, 104
Reactive absorber, 22
Reactive principle, 79
Receiving room, 21, 379
Reception characteristic, 378
Recess room, 207
Reciprocating pump, 83
Recording, 156
Recording studio, 185, 213, 369
Rectangular room, 155
Recycling potential, 40
Index
Reference curve, 160, 190
Reference sound field, 368
Reference sound source, 281, 406
Reflection coefficient, 15, 80
Reflection factor, 15, 415
Reflection, 79
Reflective silencer, 80
Reflectogram, 163
Reflector, 331, 334, 338
Register transparency, 196
Rehearsal room, 181, 328
Repeatability, 21, 394
Reproducibility, 21
Reproduction quality, 227, 355
Resonance frequency, 106
Resonance silencer, 535
Resonance system, 23
/4-Resonator, 82
Resonator filling, 511
Resonator sheet metal, 516
Resonator splitter, 550
Resounding time, 157
Restaurant, 185
Reverberance, 221, 224
Reverberation, 157, 163
Reverberation distance, 281
Reverberation factor, 172
Reverberation room, 21, 154, 224, 378, 416
Reverberation time, 17, 152, 222, 329, 350,
373, 374
Road surface condition, 446
Robustness, 432
Rock wool, 35
Roller test bed, 444
Roofed atrium, 266
Room acoustic, 149, 150, 220
Room acoustical concept, 170, 206, 303
Room acoustical target, 187
Room acoustics criteria, 151
Room-acoustic quality, 222
Room climate, 136
Room eigenresonance, 24
Room geometry, 418
Room height, 181
Room impression, 355
Room impression (roomliness), 163
Room-in-room building, 400
Room-in-room construction, 361
Room-in-room principle, 359
Room mode, 10, 21, 139, 290, 294
Room qualification test, 379
Room response, 198
Room response correction, 406
Index
Rotary piston fan, 547, 553
Rotating microphone, 379, 540
Rumbling, 2
Rumbling tone, 538, 555, 570
S
Sabines formula, 158, 427
Sacred music, 165
Scale model, 395
Scanning device, 465
Schloss Solitude, 219
Schnittge organ
distinguished, 223
localized, 223
personal note, 223
recognized, 223
School, 181
School teacher, 207
Seating arrangement, 215
Selective absorption, 17
Self-noise, 396, 400, 411
Self-noise spectrum, 395
Semi-freefield room, 17, 394, 419, 440
Sentence intelligibility, 170
Service center, 135, 308
Service industry, 2
Settling chamber, 529
Shakespearean theatre, 248
Shear layer, 400
Shelf, 132
Shielding, 5, 373
Short-term memory, 207
Shortfall, 190
Side-branch resonator, 81
Sight line, 222
Signal processing, 149
Silencer assembly, 24
Silencer design, 509
Silencer hat, 571
Silencer package, 123
Silencer splitter, 65, 409
Silencer splitter package, 409
Silencer, 5, 149
Simulation program, 151, 164, 414
Single-number rating, 6, 22, 160, 190
Skeletal structure, 36
Skeleton vibration, 67
Skene, 249
Slot geometry, 67
Slot spacing, 67
Slot width, 67
Slotted panel absorber, 66
Small-scale structure, 222
591
Smetana, 211
Smoke visualization, 481
Social, 199, 209
Social organ, 191
Soft foam, 395
Soft foam panel, 321
Soiling, 79
Solo entry, 215
Sound absorber, 373
Sound absorption, 378, 380
Sound balance, 320
Sound barrier, 145
Sound concentration, 297
Sound damping, 122
Sound deflection, 37
Sound design, 150, 443
Sound distortion, 294, 320
Sound emission, 378, 380
Sound-field distribution, 155
Sound floor, 289
Sound hood, 25
Sound impression, 223, 393
Sound insulation, 122, 201, 294
Sound level distribution, 222
Sound level reduction, 307
Sound mastering, 369
Sound perception, 227
Sound pollution, 254
Sound power, 378
Sound power level, 18, 21
Sound-power measurement, 21
Sound pressure level, 18
Sound propagation curve, 202, 307
Sound reinforcement, 203
Sound screen, 2, 27, 298, 311, 315, 318,
407
Sound transmission, 163, 378380
Sound transmission, repeatability, 379
Sound transmission, reproducibility, 379
Sound transmission loss, 21, 22, 80
Sound transmission test, 465, 467
Sound-reflecting surface, 186
Sound-reflective floor, 419
Soundproof cabin, 446
Source, 21
Source position, 418
Spaciousness, 167
Spatial breadth, 223
Spatial hearing, 224
Spatial resolution, 318
Spatial transmission, 223
Specific flow resistance, 31
Specific weight, 35
592
Spectral characterization, 160
Spectrum adjustment parameter, 160
Speech, 189
Speech communication, 191
Speech intelligibility, 18, 166, 266, 272, 290,
294
Speech interference level, 160
Speech performance, 165
Speech presentation, 189
Speech quality, 191
Spherical wave, 404
Splitter, 273
Splitter cross, 561
Splitter silencer, 82, 395, 509, 578
Sports stadium, 155
Spring-element, 26
Staatstheater, 251
Staatstheater Mainz, 219
Stage proscenium, 341
Stage scenery, 153
Stainless steel wool, 556
Stairwell, 207
Standard deviation, 379
Standing wave, 16
Steam jet, 144
Stereo base, 368
Stereo master, 243
Stereophonic recording, 223
Strain, 207
Streamlined automobile, 500
Strouhal number, 542
Structure-borne isolation, 74
Structure-borne sound transmission, 533
Structure factor, 31
Subjective assessment, 151, 333
Subjective perception, 221
Substitution method, 533
Surface efficiency, 201
Surface parameter, 135, 181, 201
Surround master, 243
Syllable intelligibility, 170
Synthesis, 243
T
Talk show, 185
Target sound, 467
Taste, 149
Tasting, 257
Teamwork, 205
Technical sound source, 405
Telephoning, 205
Temperature, 35
Temperature stability, 39
Index
Temporal transparency, 196
Temporary conditioning, 263
Temporary hearing threshold shift, 211
Tension, 207
Test certificate, 535
Test environment, 138
Testing surface, 21
Textile, 303
Thermal conduction, 105
Thermal parameter, 136
Threshold of pain, 168
Threshold shift, 178
Ticket hall, 272
Titania Palast, 235
Tonal excitation, 523
Tonal impression, 415
Tonal noise, 379, 553
Tonal picture, 355, 369
Tonal sensation, 167, 215
Tonmeister, 149
Torture, 150
Tradition, 149
Traffic noise, 393
Training center, 284
Training space, 289
Transfer function, 357, 361, 362, 364, 368
Transfer impedance, 97, 143
Transmission element, 529
Transmission function, 183
Transmission path, 332
Transmission property, 355
Transmission van, 243
Transmitted, 150
Transparency, 186, 260, 273
Transparent architecture, 272, 275
Transparent microperforated foil, 257
Transparent workshop, 394
Traversing device, 489
Traversing unit, 411, 481
Tubular reactive silencer, 83, 566
Tubular silencer, 73, 529, 569, 570
Tunnel wall, 145
Turning corner, 409, 492
Turning vane, 123
Tyre noise test bed, 457
U
Useful energy, 171
Useful energy factor, 171
User noise, 193
V
Vacuum pump, 551
Vapor-diffusion resistance, 70
Index
Variable acoustics, 154
Vehicle floor assembly, 465
Ventilation, 571
Ventilation pipe, 280
Ventilator, 24
Vent, 449
Vibration, 447
Vibration behavior, 461
Vibration impact, 507
Video conference, 290
Video studios, 138
Vitruvius, 76
Vivaldi, 211
Volume efficiency, 455
Volume parameter, 135, 153
Voluminous acoustic baffle, 273
Vortex shedding, 523
Vowel, 169, 192, 242
VW Acoustic Center, 396
W
Wall friction, 104
Wall hanging, 34
Wall impedance, 16
Wall-module system, 303
593
Warmth, 159, 229
Washing machine, 420
Water-borne silencer, 81
Wave-field synthesis, 355
Wave guide, 90, 95
Wave resistance, 15, 32, 66
Wedge absorber, 397
Wedge absorber system, 433
Weighted absorption coefficient, 6, 190
Weighted sound transmission loss, 6
Wet washer, 561
4-Wheel dynamometer, 446
4-Wheel roller test bed, 446, 451, 457
Wheel test stand, 140
White board, 290
Wind tunnel, 123, 395
Window surface, 155
Wooden batten, 277
Wooden paneling, 224, 250, 271, 278
Word intelligibility, 170
Working environment, 205
Workshop, 207
Z
Zooming, 253

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Applied Acoustics: Concepts, Absorbers, and

Silencers for Acoustical Comfort and Noise

Applied Acoustics: Concepts,

No discipline in engineering is used in so many different capacities in such diverse

market segment. However, standards and guidelines for conventional technologies

About the Author

Helmut V. Fuchs studied electrical engineering at the Technical University of Berlin

The Low Frequency Problem . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Sound Absorption for Noise Control and Room-Acoustical Design . . .

5.3 Compound Panel Absorbers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

8 Absorbers with Active Components . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

10 Integrated and Integrating Sound Absorbers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

11 Sound Absorbers in Room Acoustics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 149

11.2 Objective Criteria for the Acoustic Quality of Rooms . . . . . . . . . . . . .

11.13.1 Appreciations of Ancient Theaters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

12 Sound Absorbers and Silencers in Anechoic Test Facilities . . . . . . . . . .

12.7.4 Volkswagen Acoustics Center in Wolfsburg . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

13 Silencers in Flow Ducts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Symbols, Abbreviations, Units

Sound absorption coefficient

Symbols, Abbreviations, Units

Directivity factor, Eq. (3.14)

Symbols, Abbreviations, Units

Transmission loss of a silencer, Eq. (13.36)

Symbols, Abbreviations, Units

Strength, Eq. (11.13)

Hight of splitter silencers, Fig. 13.1

Interaural cross correlation coefficient

(raw) Construction costs, Eq. (12.18)

(mean) sound (pressure) level

Symbols, Abbreviations, Units

(energy) equivalent mean noise level

Mass, Eq. (8.3)

Volume flow rate

Sound transmission loss

Symbols, Abbreviations, Units

(komplex) Reflection factor

Absorptive lining, e.g. in a silencer, Fig. 13.1

Bounding surface of a room

Symbols, Abbreviations, Units

(komplex) Wall impedance, Eq. (3.6)

(normalized) Friction parameter in MPA, Eq. (9.1), (9.2)

Wave resistance (in air)

Fig. 1.1 Percentage of the

considerable scale in the service industries, especially in communication-intensive,

In addition to the mentioned passive and reactive sound-damping materials and

The Low Frequency Problem

From the emission sound-power level LW of a source Q, which can be determined

+ LR + LS + LT + const

2 The Low Frequency Problem

2 The Low Frequency Problem

Fig. 2.2 Sound level

2 The Low Frequency Problem

example as 3-dB bandwidth n = 2fn according to Kurtze et al. (1975, p. 65

with the volume V = 1x 1y 1z in m3 , the surface S = 2 (1x 1y + 1x 1z + 1y 1z ) in m2 and

2 The Low Frequency Problem

Fig. 2.3 Eigenfrequency

This uncertainty is indicated by the gray area in the simplified representation of

2 The Low Frequency Problem

Fig. 2.4 Frequency ranges of

almost without exception. Experienced acoustical engineers no longer quite trust

2 The Low Frequency Problem

Fig. 2.5 Schematic

2 The Low Frequency Problem