White Papers
2020
Use of Helmholtz resonators for noise attenuation
- Where: DMG White papers | Journal Issue | 2020
- Abstract
Acoustics is the only category in which a LEED-rated office building performs worse than a conventional building. The exposed hard surfaces and the lack of partitions cause easy propagation of conversational sounds between work-stations in an open office. Research has shown that excess speech levels in the office cause disturbance to the occupants and can affect their work performance. For a productive acoustic environment, the speech levels are to be maintained lower than the background noises which plays a masking role for the remote speech sounds. The speech sound levels can be reduced with the inclusion of sound absorptive materials. In particular, resonant absorbers perform well in the case of open-plan office speech levels.
This paper discusses the basic principles of a Helmholtz resonator. Classical lumped approach is used for evaluating the absorptive quality of the resonator. Modifications to the geometry of the basic construct as explored by Selamet, S.K.Tang, Y.H.Kim and a few others, are discussed along with their analytical formulation. Methods that govern an array of resonators are given as they can overcome the limitation of a narrow absorption bandwidth of a resonator. Evolutionary solver is used for automating the process of Helmholtz resonator panel design. The application of such an array or a panel in a room would be discussed along with the trade-offs for an optimal acoustic comfort. - Author: Vidhya Rajendran
- Document: Link
- Related Project: Heavenly Rooms (HR)