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Room Sound The SOUND ABSORPTION COEFFICIENT

Absorption The sound absorption coefficient, often denoted by the symbol α (alpha), is a
measure of how much sound energy is absorbed by a material when sound
waves interact with it. It quantifies the effectiveness of a material in reducing
- Sound Absorption the reflection of sound waves.

Coefficient • The absorption coefficient typically ranges from 0 to 1, where:

• A coefficient of 0 indicates that the material reflects all incident sound energy and
absorbs none.
• A coefficient of 1 indicates that the material absorbs all incident sound energy and
reflects none.

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• In reality, most materials have absorption coefficients between 0 and 1, The SOUND ABSORPTION COEFFICIENT
meaning they absorb some portion of the sound energy and reflect the
rest. is the ratio of absorbed sound intensity in an actual material to
• The absorption coefficient depends on several factors, including the the incident sound intensity and can be expressed as
material's thickness, density, surface finish, and the frequency of the
sound waves. Different materials and surface treatments have different α = Ia / Ii
absorption characteristics across different frequencies.
• Acoustic engineers and designers use absorption coefficients to select where
appropriate materials for achieving desired acoustic properties in a space,
such as reducing reverberation, controlling noise levels, and improving α = sound absorption coefficient
speech intelligibility. These coefficients are often measured in laboratory Ia = sound intensity absorbed (W/m2)
tests using standardized methods. Ii = incident sound intensity (W/m2)

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Absorption coefficient - α - for some common materials can be

found in the table below:

1) Note! - the sound absorption coefficient varies with frequency.

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The SOUND ABSORPTION FORMULA Total Sound Absorption of a room

The total sound absorption formula is used to calculate the overall The total sound absorption in a room can be expressed as
sound absorption of a room or space. It is important in architectural
and acoustic design to control reverberation and noise levels within a A = S1 α1 + S2 α2 + .. + Sn αn
space for optimal acoustics. A = ∑ S i αi

The formula typically takes into account various factors such as the Where:
absorption coefficients of different materials used in the room (such
A = the absorption of the room (m2 Sabine)
as walls, ceiling, floor, furniture, etc.), the surface areas of these
materials, and the volume of the room. Si = area of the actual surface (m2)
αi = absorption coefficient of the actual surface

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Example - Room Acoustic Absorption
Compute for The Total Sound Absorption in a room with
10 m2 concrete floor with absorption coefficient 0.02
10 m2 concrete roof with absorption coefficient 0.02
40 m2 fiberboard walls with absorption coefficient 0.3
can be calculated as
A = (10 m2) (0.02) + (10 m2) (0.02) + (40 m2) (0.3)
A = 12.4 m2 Sabine
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The MEAN ABSORPTION COEFFICIENT can be calculated as
αm = A / S
Where:
αm = mean absorption coefficient
S = total surface in the room (m2) = (L x W x H)
A = total sound absorption in a room
αm = (12.4 m2 Sabine) / ((10 m2) + (10 m2) + (40 m2))
αm = 0.2
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Mean Absorption Coefficient for Room
The mean absorption coefficient for the room can be expressed as:
αm = A / S
Where:
αm = mean absorption coefficient
S = total surface in the room (m2)
A = the absorption of the room (m2 Sabine)
The acoustic characteristics of a room can be calculated with the formulas above or estimated
for typical rooms.
Mean Absorption Coefficient of Material
• The mean absorption coefficient, often denoted as αm (alpha sub m),
represents the average absorption performance of a surface or material
across a range of frequencies. It is a single value that summarizes the
material's overall ability to absorb sound energy across the audible
spectrum.
• The mean absorption coefficient is calculated by averaging the
absorption coefficients of a material or surface over a specified
frequency range. This range typically covers the frequencies relevant to
human hearing, usually from around 125 Hz to 4000 Hz, although the
specific range may vary depending on the application.
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• Mathematically, the mean absorption coefficient (αm) can be calculated using the
absorption coefficients (α) at different frequencies (f) using the following formula:
Example:
• Let's say we have a material for which we have measured absorption
coefficients at five different frequencies: 250 Hz, 500 Hz, 1000 Hz, 2000
Hz, and 4000 Hz. The absorption coefficients at these frequencies are as
follows:

• At 250 Hz: α(250) = 0.2

The mean absorption coefficient provides a convenient way to compare the overall sound • At 500 Hz: α(500) = 0.3
absorption characteristics of different materials or surfaces.
• At 1000 Hz: α(1000) = 0.5

It helps designers and acoustic engineers make informed decisions when selecting • At 2000 Hz: α(2000) = 0.6
materials to achieve desired acoustic outcomes in architectural spaces, such as reducing • At 4000 Hz: α(4000) = 0.4
reverberation or controlling noise levels.

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• To compute the mean absorption coefficient (αm) for this material, we • Next, we divide the sum by the total number of frequency points (n),
need to calculate the average of these absorption coefficients across the which in this case is n=5:
frequency range. In this example, we'll use the entire frequency range
from 250 Hz to 4000 Hz.
So, the mean absorption coefficient for
• First, we sum up all the absorption coefficients: this material is 0.4.

This means that, on average, this material

absorbs 40% of the incident sound energy
across the frequencies tested, ranging from
250 Hz to 4000 Hz.

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Example 2- Computing the mean absorption coefficient for a room

• We'll assume the following surface areas for each component:
• Suppose we have a small conference room with the following surfaces
and materials:
• Walls: 60 square meters
1. Walls: Painted drywall with an absorption coefficient of 0.05
• Ceiling: 40 square meters
2. Ceiling: Acoustic ceiling tiles with an absorption coefficient of 0.8
• Floor: 40 square meters
3. Floor: Carpet with an absorption coefficient of 0.3
• Furniture: Assume a total surface area of 10 square meters covered by
4. Furniture: Wooden chairs with an absorption coefficient of 0.1 chairs
5. Windows: Glass windows with curtains, contributing negligible
absorption (for simplicity, we'll ignore them in this example)

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First, we'll calculate the total surface area of the room:

Finally, we'll compute the mean absorption coefficient for the room using the
formula:

Now, we'll calculate the sum of products of absorption coefficients and surface
areas for each component:

So, the mean absorption coefficient for this conference room is approximately
0.32. This value represents the overall sound absorption characteristics of the
room, considering the absorption properties of its surfaces and materials.

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END

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