Effects of sound absorbing facades on the acoustical quality in different simulated inner courtyard situations
Residential perimeter blocks can shield traffic noise, but the acoustical quality may be sub-optimal in the inner courtyards. This study investigated how effective sound-absorbing facade surfaces and balcony soffits as well as an absorbing floor (lawn) influence the acoustical quality in inner court...
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| Language: | English |
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EDP Sciences
2024-01-01
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| Series: | Acta Acustica |
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| Online Access: | https://acta-acustica.edpsciences.org/articles/aacus/full_html/2024/01/aacus230092/aacus230092.html |
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| author | Eggenschwiler Kurt Jansohn Tilljan Blau Matthias Schäffer Beat |
| author_facet | Eggenschwiler Kurt Jansohn Tilljan Blau Matthias Schäffer Beat |
| author_sort | Eggenschwiler Kurt |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Residential perimeter blocks can shield traffic noise, but the acoustical quality may be sub-optimal in the inner courtyards. This study investigated how effective sound-absorbing facade surfaces and balcony soffits as well as an absorbing floor (lawn) influence the acoustical quality in inner courtyards. Room acoustical simulations were carried out for eight generic and two real-world models with very large numbers of transmission paths. Facades (reflecting, fully absorbing, partially absorbing), balcony soffits (reflecting, absorbing) and courtyard floor (reflecting, absorbing) were varied. A range of room acoustical parameters were evaluated, namely, reverberation time T20, early decay time EDT, strength G, speech transmission index STI, and Dietsch’s echo criterion EK. The simulations revealed that fully absorbing facades are an effective measure to improve the acoustical quality in inner courtyards, while partially absorbing facades result in smaller improvements. In fact, each additional storey of absorbing facades further improves the situation. In the case of non-absorbing facades, absorbing balcony soffits or an absorbing floor in the inner courtyard are not very effective as individual measures and may even increase disturbances due to echoes. The same holds true for situations with absorbing facades. Their feasibility should therefore be clarified for the individual situation in question. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-cf25962723fc4a6ca484bcd1396f332d |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 2681-4617 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2024-01-01 |
| publisher | EDP Sciences |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Acta Acustica |
| spelling | doaj-art-cf25962723fc4a6ca484bcd1396f332d2025-01-06T10:55:40ZengEDP SciencesActa Acustica2681-46172024-01-0187610.1051/aacus/2024053aacus230092Effects of sound absorbing facades on the acoustical quality in different simulated inner courtyard situationsEggenschwiler Kurt0https://orcid.org/0009-0002-2031-1933Jansohn Tilljan1Blau Matthias2https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1721-960XSchäffer Beat3https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1805-4117Empa, Swiss Federal Laboratories for Materials Science and TechnologyEmpa, Swiss Federal Laboratories for Materials Science and TechnologyInstitut für Hörtechnik und Audiologie, Jade HochschuleEmpa, Swiss Federal Laboratories for Materials Science and TechnologyResidential perimeter blocks can shield traffic noise, but the acoustical quality may be sub-optimal in the inner courtyards. This study investigated how effective sound-absorbing facade surfaces and balcony soffits as well as an absorbing floor (lawn) influence the acoustical quality in inner courtyards. Room acoustical simulations were carried out for eight generic and two real-world models with very large numbers of transmission paths. Facades (reflecting, fully absorbing, partially absorbing), balcony soffits (reflecting, absorbing) and courtyard floor (reflecting, absorbing) were varied. A range of room acoustical parameters were evaluated, namely, reverberation time T20, early decay time EDT, strength G, speech transmission index STI, and Dietsch’s echo criterion EK. The simulations revealed that fully absorbing facades are an effective measure to improve the acoustical quality in inner courtyards, while partially absorbing facades result in smaller improvements. In fact, each additional storey of absorbing facades further improves the situation. In the case of non-absorbing facades, absorbing balcony soffits or an absorbing floor in the inner courtyard are not very effective as individual measures and may even increase disturbances due to echoes. The same holds true for situations with absorbing facades. Their feasibility should therefore be clarified for the individual situation in question.https://acta-acustica.edpsciences.org/articles/aacus/full_html/2024/01/aacus230092/aacus230092.htmlcourtyardsroom acoustical simulationroom acoustical parameterabsorbing facade |
| spellingShingle | Eggenschwiler Kurt Jansohn Tilljan Blau Matthias Schäffer Beat Effects of sound absorbing facades on the acoustical quality in different simulated inner courtyard situations Acta Acustica courtyards room acoustical simulation room acoustical parameter absorbing facade |
| title | Effects of sound absorbing facades on the acoustical quality in different simulated inner courtyard situations |
| title_full | Effects of sound absorbing facades on the acoustical quality in different simulated inner courtyard situations |
| title_fullStr | Effects of sound absorbing facades on the acoustical quality in different simulated inner courtyard situations |
| title_full_unstemmed | Effects of sound absorbing facades on the acoustical quality in different simulated inner courtyard situations |
| title_short | Effects of sound absorbing facades on the acoustical quality in different simulated inner courtyard situations |
| title_sort | effects of sound absorbing facades on the acoustical quality in different simulated inner courtyard situations |
| topic | courtyards room acoustical simulation room acoustical parameter absorbing facade |
| url | https://acta-acustica.edpsciences.org/articles/aacus/full_html/2024/01/aacus230092/aacus230092.html |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT eggenschwilerkurt effectsofsoundabsorbingfacadesontheacousticalqualityindifferentsimulatedinnercourtyardsituations AT jansohntilljan effectsofsoundabsorbingfacadesontheacousticalqualityindifferentsimulatedinnercourtyardsituations AT blaumatthias effectsofsoundabsorbingfacadesontheacousticalqualityindifferentsimulatedinnercourtyardsituations AT schafferbeat effectsofsoundabsorbingfacadesontheacousticalqualityindifferentsimulatedinnercourtyardsituations |