North Carolina State University Engineering Lab Acoustic Treatment

Schools and universities serve a multitude of functions to facilitate learning. Research and development may often fuel core curriculum but, more importantly, define the overall focus of the department. Whether teaching a class or sharing ideas around the lab, acoustics play an important role in effectively sharing ideas and discoveries. Acoustical Solutions was contacted to help provide the North Carolina State University engineering department with a quick, cost-effective sound solution.

North Carolina State University’s computer lab and office space in the engineering department had very low speech intelligibility. The flat reflective wall surfaces were bouncing sound around the room, making it difficult to hold conferences and classes. Additionally, there were some distracting low-frequency sounds being generated in the lab.

Since this was a laboratory environment, the client needed a cleanable material to absorb the sound. Both the AlphaEnvriro® PVC Baffles and the PolySorpt® Acoustic Panels fit the bill. The AlphaEnvriro® PVC Baffles were suspended from the ceiling throughout the space to provide general absorption as well as to address some of the low-frequency issues. Suspending the acoustical material in this manner will help with low-frequency absorption due to the fact that the material has give and can ‘swing.’ We installed PolySorpt® Acoustic Panels to cover up the reflective wall space to improve speech intelligibility by lowering the RT60 (reverberation time). The acoustic panels lowered the amount of reflected sound, improving the quality of the sound in the room.

Materials

• (31) PolySorpt® Acoustic Panels 2′ x 4′ x 1″ in Charcoal
• (27) AlphaEnvriro® PVC Baffles 2′ x 4′ x 1.5″ thick in Beige