ACOUSTIC PANELS
Sound insulation is considered one of the most significant aspects when designing facilities. Airborne sound is a category of sound that travels via the medium of air and should be dealt with first and foremost when building a place. It is critical to establish a tranquil environment to develop human comfort. The untreated airborne sound might result in sick building syndrome. Acoustic panels are utilized to alleviate this problem. This article will go thoroughly into the issue to learn more about acoustic panels and what type of acoustic panels are used on a different plane.
WHAT ARE ACOUSTIC PANELS?
Acoustic panels are the solution to loud disturbances. According to technical definitions, acoustic panels are boards made from mineral wool or foam. That reduces airborne noise, reverberation, and echo in rooms. With the evolution of time, various acoustic panels have been based on fabrication processes, materials, and many more criteria. Still, majorly acoustic panels are broadly divided into absorbers and diffusers.
Absorbers
Acoustic absorbers are the materials that are used to absorb airborne sound energies. This sound energy, after absorption, is converted to mechanical energy to disperse most of the noise into the porous structure of materials. Using this methodology, various absorber panels are available in the market based on materials, fixing, and design. Generally, mineral wool, foam, and fibrous material absorb the material in discussions.
Diffusers
Acoustic diffusers are best to implement when the need is not to absorb sound energy but to disperse it in the room. It is used to reduce reverberations and echoes in halls. Apart from the functional advantages, it also serves as an aesthetic appeal to the design. There is a variety of innovations available in the market. Still, diffusers can be divided into five parts: 1. MLS diffusers: these are made in the form of a strip with two different depths. These are available in a smaller width. 2. Quadratic-residue diffusers: these are the advanced version of MLS diffusers with greater bandwidth. The other three diffusers are named primitive-root, optimized, and hemispherical.
DESIGN OF SPACES USING ACOUSTIC PANELS
The environment in restaurants is of interaction which leads to noise creation. It is often observed that if restaurants and cafés or offices are not treated well for acoustics, it often creates reverberations in the spaces. Take an example of a double-height restaurant; if the area is not well acoustically treated, then repercussions will be seen in that space since the number of customers has increased. So, to cope with this issue, restaurants and other areas with large footfalls are provided with acoustic panels; the central part to notice here is that standard acoustic panels are not used since they do not create an appealing aesthetic appearance for commercial spaces. Acoustic barriers are used in the form of ceiling design or wall cladding which gives the interior of restaurants a bonus in appearance, and it serves a function of space.
1.CEILING ACOUSTIC PANELS:
Ceiling acoustic wall panels are effective for multiple services depending on the space requirements. Sound absorption, reflection, and diffusion are some of the functions of ceiling panels. Materials used for acoustic panels are mineral fiber, fiberglass, metal, wood, cementitious wood fiber, reinforced gypsum tiles, PVC stretch, and acoustic foams. There are various forms of ceiling acoustic panels available in the market; suspended ceiling panels, tiles, ceiling cloud, baffle, and mount is some of them.
2.ACOUSTIC WALL PANELS:
Acoustic wall panels also serve two purposes one being able to control the airborne noise and second to provide an aesthetic wall cladding to the space. These are not only used in commercial spaces but also in residential areas. Many types of acoustic panels are available in the market, depending on the patterns, textures, and most important material. Some of them are Composite acoustic panels, Fiberglass acoustic panels, Fabric acoustic panels, grooved wooden acoustic wall panels, Perforated and micro-perforated acoustic wall panels, and Wooden fiber acoustic wall panels. These wall panels can also be inspired by parametric architecture and biomimicry. They can also serve as an accent wall in required spaces.
NEW ACOUSTIC PANELS
With the design evolution and new technologies, various variety in design and materials were seen. Some of them are explained below:
1. Free standing acoustic panels
These acoustic panels act as sound absorptive or diffusive material and partition wall, room separators, or accessory that enhances the space. This creates a personal insulating space, or semi-public spaces are designed with an aesthetic touch.
2. Paper acoustic panels
Talking about sustainability, this is one of the most exciting options to choose for paneling as they are made from recycled paper. The fibrous pieces are porous, which, when processed, provides it an ability to act as a sound absorbent material
3. Polyester felt acoustic panels
These are lightweight and durable acoustic panels, available in different patterns and designs.
Acoustic art panels
Moss acoustic panels
These type of acoustic panels helps to add green space to the building, which allows connection to nature in the closed surrounding. Apart from this, this is a super sustainable approach with little or no maintenance.
CONCLUSION
The problem of airborne noise is serious and using designer acoustic panels can provide a creative solution. Besides making the space habitable, it will also be aesthetically pleasing to the eye. These panels can create an excellent environment for comfort if they are correctly used with the interior.
