Sound baffle

A sound baffle is a construction or device which reduces the strength (level) of airborne sound. Sound baffles are a fundamental tool of noise mitigation, the practice of minimizing noise pollution or reverberation. An important type of sound baffle is the noise barrier constructed along highways to reduce sound levels at properties in the vicinity. Sound baffles are also applied to walls and ceilings in building interiors to absorb sound energy and thus lessen reverberation. Noise barrier The technology for accurate prediction of the effects of noise barrier design using a computer model to analyze roadway noise has been available since the early 1970s. The earliest published scientific design of a noise barrier may have occurred in Santa Clara County, California in 1970 for a section of the Foothill Expressway in Los Altos, California. The county used a computer model to predict the effects of sound propagation from roadways, with variables consisting of vehicle speed, ratio of trucks to automobiles, road surface type, roadway geometrics, micro-meteorology and the design of proposed soundwalls. Architectural acoustics Since the early 1900s, scientists have been aware of the utility of certain types of interior coatings or baffles to improve the acoustics of concert halls, theaters, conference rooms and other spaces where sound quality is important. By the mid-1950s, Bolt, Beranek and Newman and a few other U.S. research organizations were developing technology to address sound quality's design challenges. This design field draws on several disciplines including acoustical science, computer modeling, architecture and materials science. Sound baffles are also used in speaker cabinets to absorb energy from the pressure created by the speakers, thus reducing cabinet resonance. In 1973, Pearl P. Randolph, a school bus driver in Virginia, won a new school bus in a national contest held by Wayne Corporation for the suggestion that sound baffles be installed in the ceiling of school buses.

About this result

This page is automatically generated and may contain information that is not correct, complete, up-to-date, or relevant to your search query. The same applies to every other page on this website. Please make sure to verify the information with EPFL's official sources.

Related concepts (7)

Related courses (2)

Related lectures (22)

PHYS-118: Building physics

Ce cours traite des principaux phénomènes physiques observables dans le bâtiment et doit permettre à l'étudiant d'acquérir des connaissances de base dans le domaine de la physique du bâtiment.

EE-548: Audio engineering

This lecture is oriented towards the study of audio engineering, with a special focus on room acoustics applications. The learning outcomes will be the techniques for microphones and loudspeaker desig

Sound baffle

Noise control

Noise control or noise mitigation is a set of strategies to reduce noise pollution or to reduce the impact of that noise, whether outdoors or indoors. The main areas of noise mitigation or abatement are: transportation noise control, architectural design, urban planning through zoning codes, and occupational noise control. Roadway noise and aircraft noise are the most pervasive sources of environmental noise.

Sound

In physics, sound is a vibration that propagates as an acoustic wave, through a transmission medium such as a gas, liquid or solid. In human physiology and psychology, sound is the reception of such waves and their perception by the brain. Only acoustic waves that have frequencies lying between about 20 Hz and 20 kHz, the audio frequency range, elicit an auditory percept in humans. In air at atmospheric pressure, these represent sound waves with wavelengths of to . Sound waves above 20 kHz are known as ultrasound and are not audible to humans.

Factors impacting noise EE-548: Audio engineering

Explores the factors influencing the annoyance level of noise, such as loudness, spectrum, and temporal features.

Can One Hear the Shape of a Room MOOC: Digital Signal Processing I

Explores sound propagation in rooms, room impulse responses, and reconstructing room shapes.

Sound Propagation and Building Physics PHYS-118: Building physics

Explores sound wave properties, radiation, color perception, and noise exposure effects.