SOUND ABSORPTION

Introduction
Sound absorption coefficient is used to evaluate the sound absorption efficiency of materials. It is the
ratio of absorbed energy to incident energy and is represented by ά. If the acoustic energy can be
absorbed entirely, then ά = 1

Absorbed energy
ά=
Incident energy
The sound absorption coefficient of materials is correlated with frequency, and it varies with different
frequencies. The sound absorption coefficient frequency characteristic curve can be used to illustrate
the sound absorption properties of different frequencies exactly. It is not convenient to compare and
state, so the average of an acoustic material’s absorption coefficients at a specified set of frequencies, is
used for simplification.

The best known acoustical materials are acoustical absorbents.

These are light weight, porous, fuzzy types of boards, blankets and panels.

When a sound wave strikes a surface, a part of its energy is absorbed by friction, part of its energy is
transmitted and the remaining part is reflected.

Reverberation directly depends on the loss of energy of sound wave due to friction.

The following chart is an average sound absorption coefficient of different building materials and
finishes at different frequencies
 Hawassa university
Institute of technology
Department of architecture

Architectural science IV
Material sound absorption coefficient
(cut sheet)

Written by Dagmawi Teshager

Tech/0288/11
Submitted to Daniel Merid