Knowledge - Technical Resources Type: Articles

This month we were kindly invited to Paragon Interiors Group’s annual golf day at The Nottinghamshire Golf and Country Club and we thought it would be a bit of fun to run a competition to find out who could hit their ball the loudest.

A sound level meter was set up on the course to measure the maximum noise level during competitors’ drives at a distance of approximately 1m.

It was a very wet day, but despite the rain, there was no shortage of competitors to take on the challenge. Some interesting tactics were employed, with golfers selecting specific clubs and balls to try and make the loudest sound possible.

The worthy winner of the competition was Sam Wynn from Pulse Associates with a drive measuring a whopping 108 dBA. For reference, 108 dBA is about the same noise level you would hear during a sonic boom. Sam won himself a nice pair of Sony Wireless Headphones.

The full results of the measurements are shown below. There was a large variation in the measured levels with an average of around 97 dBA.

We found that the type of club and the strength of the shot were big factors in the measured noise level. The highest measured levels tended to also be very clean, powerful shots, although a few mishits also recorded very high levels!

Think you can hit a louder shot? Let us know when your next corporate golf day is and we will happily come along to find out!

The guide is aimed at developers and architects and sets out common reverberation control treatment options for rooms.

These treatments are used to prevent excessive reverberation and are often required to achieve acoustic specifications or regulations. In particular, reverberation treatments are required for the following development types:

• corridors in residential developments to comply with Building Regulations Part E
• teaching rooms in schools to comply with BB93 (as required by Building Regulations Part E)
• rooms within medical or healthcare facilities to comply with HTM08-01
• office workspaces (particularly open-plan workspaces) to achieve good quality work environments

The amount and type of treatment will vary depending on the size and use of the room. In many cases, the location of the material is also very important.

The performance of acoustic treatments is graded based on the amount of sound they absorb. The best absorbers are Class A (almost total absorption), however, Class B & C absorbers are also very effective.

Set out below are a number of common treatments along with their pros and cons.

Other treatments

As shown above, there are various treatment types, many of which also come in different styles and configurations. The key is finding the right treatment (or combination of treatments) for every project. Cass Allen has extensive experience in the design and specification of reverberation treatments including numerous products and suppliers. Please let us know if you would like more information.

Reverberation is an aspect of building acoustics that affects us on a daily basis, often without us even realising.

Have you ever been in a restaurant and struggled to understand the person across the table when they talk? Have you ever sat at the back of a classroom or lecture and been unable been hear what the speaker was saying?

If so, these issues were likely caused by excessive reverberation, which is caused by sound reflecting off room surfaces.

The solution to reverberation problems is to add more acoustic absorption into the space. Acoustic absorption can be provided by general room finishes (carpets, curtains, ceilings) and specialist treatments, such as hanging baffles, wall panels, diffusers etc.

Particularly sensitive spaces, such as classrooms, must achieve certain reverberation performance criteria in order to comply with Building Regulations. However, many spaces, such as such as atria, restaurants, shopping centres, swimming pools, etc, are not subject to regulations and can often be overlooked. Excessive reverberation in these spaces can lead to environments that are loud and uncomfortable to be in.

In these cases, appropriate reverberation design is recommended to ensure that the spaces are fit for purpose. Detailed reverberation modelling is a useful for tool for carrying out these assessments and helping specify appropriate treatment.

Below is an example of reverberation modelling which we carried out to help inform the design of the foyer of a luxury residential development. The floor (marble), walls and ceiling (plasterboard) were highly acoustically reflective.

These videos show graphically how the sound was predicted to disperse around the space. Colours show the propagation of sound pressure across the room from a loudspeaker positioned at A0.

The modelling software can also be used to produce ‘auralisations’, which allow clients and architects to listen to how the space will sound in advance. These auralisations are a useful tool in subjectively assessing the benefit and costs of treatments.

The following auralisations are of the above foyer with and without treatment:

Before:

After:

In summary, reverberation is an important consideration in the design of high quality development and we have the tools to help make sure that designs will be fit for purpose. If you have a project where reverberation may be an issue then please get in touch and we will be delighted to help.