Classroom Noise Control in Virginia
When sound waves from rehearsals in a music classroom began to bleed into an adjoining academic classroom, acoustic treatment became a must-have for a school in Virginia.
Knowing the importance of classroom acoustics, Acoustical Solutions, Inc. was able to stop the noise transfer between rooms as well as increase sound quality and speech intelligibility inside the academic classroom.
Application Introduction
St. Christopher's School in Richmond, Va. takes the arts very seriously, so when rehearsals in the school's music classroom became too loud for an adjoining classroom to host lessons and tests, stopping the music wasn't an option.
Instead, administrators at the JK-12 boy's school contacted Acoustical Solutions, Inc.
Gary Hudson, an Acoustical Solutions technical sales representative with more than 15 years experience, was in charge of creating a solution for St. Christopher's.
"What they could hear in the classroom was mainly high frequencies - the pianos and flutes," he said. "And the biggest problem with the noise came when they needed silence for testing."
The cinderblock wall that separated the rehearsal space from the classroom was ideal for allowing sound to transfer through.
"Block walls are hollow, so the noise was able to pass through easily," Hudson explained.
Additionally, cinderblock walls reflect the sound that doesn't transfer through back into the room. This creates reverberation and echo in the space, which seriously deteriorates speech intelligibility.
Fortunately, the classroom only had one cinderblock wall, so reverberation was minimal. It was still enough of a problem though, that it needed to be addressed.
Treatment Provided
Hudson's solution was to cover the entire cinderblock wall with custom-made AlphaSorb Barrier Fabric Wrapped Sound Panels.
These acoustic panels are made of a sound barrier encased between two absorptive layers. This construction allows for the panels to offer both a Sound Transmission Coefficient (STC) and a Noise Reduction Coefficient (NRC).
The panels' STC, which is 29, is a result of the encased sound barrier. This number indicates the panels will block 29 decibels of sound from transferring through.
The panels' NRC, which is .85 - 1.05, is a result of the two absorptive layers. This number indicates that the panels will absorb anywhere from 85 to 100 percent of the sound with which they come into contact, which reduces reverberation and increases speech intelligibility.
Results
The combinations of STC and NRC worked exactly as Hudson had planned, blocking the sound coming from the music room as well as reducing the minor reverberation in the room.
St. Christopher's history teacher, Andrew Smith, agrees that the acoustical treatment worked.
"Since the sound wall was installed, I have heard absolutely no music of any kind from the rooms next door," he explained. "Proof positive of the desired effect."
For more information on this application, contact Gary Hudson.
