Switching to eco-friendly building materials is the need of the hour, a response to the global cry for mitigating the climate crisis. Construction activities contribute to almost 50% of all greenhouse gas emissions worldwide.
Irrespective of the nature of construction, residential or commercial, the carbon footprint of traditionally used materials is immense. Embodied carbon of infrastructure draws a perspective of all toxic emissions such as C1, C2, C3, and C4 associated with extraction, transportation, manufacturing, and construction of infrastructure and its derivatives.
Coming from a strong belief that WASTE is WASTE only if you WASTE it, Shriti Pandey of Strawcture Eco decided to put the agricultural waste of straw, bagasse, and husk to make high-density construction boards. To play a small but significant role in reducing air pollution on account of stubble burning to create a sustainable solution that sequesters CO2 and has a negative carbon footprint during the manufacturing process, we have come up with a one-stop solution for all of you – Agribiopanels.
Ceiling – the high point of an enclosed space is often an afterthought to designers. However, it draws equal, if not better functional significance. It houses utilities that illustrate operational ambience and architectural luxury as well. Say for instance thermal, sonic and wellness quotient.
PERFORATED AND SUSPENDED CEILINGS
With centralized cooling and heating in commercial spaces and the need for flexibility of power points that require open wiring, Suspended ceilings have become an option of choice.
Suspended ceilings require a metal grid for the panels to rest on. These panels are used to house lights, speakers, AC duct supply, and occasionally even power sockets.
The suspended ceilings depending on the space, can be just a design element, functional ceilings, or a way to treat the sound signature of the room, that is, be used for the acoustic treatment of the room.
Ceilings play a significant role in defining the sound signature of the room, which means that they play a significant role in influencing the clarity of speech, floor noise levels, reverbs, etc. First, let’s look at how sound behaves in a room.
Sound in a room
90% of the sound we hear comes from reflected surfaces in the room, and only 10% is direct sound.
Reflected sound arrives at our ears a shade later than the direct sound. Sound travels at about 1,130 feet/second; for example, in an 18-foot-long room, a sound wave will travel about 60 times back and forth between the walls in 1 second, instantly filling the room. In addition, sound does not move linearly but propagates 360 degrees. Hence, a bare room or a room with reflective surfaces like polished wood, glass mirror, and metal will create an infinite number of sound waves, all reflecting in infinite directions and colliding and interfering with each other, leading to distortion and a diminished listening experience.
False/Suspended ceilings and perforated panels provide a solution to treat the room’s acoustic signature for a better acoustic experience. Depending on the requirement and the aesthetics, different options are available.
If a dropped ceiling is possible, one can use the right type of panels to arrive at the proper acoustic signature per the space requirement. Still, if the space aesthetics demand high ceilings- often seen in hotel lobbies- then a combination of suspended ceilings and wall treatment comes to the rescue.
Types of Acoustics Panels & Uses
Typically, the perforated panel is a protective or decorative texture that covers an acoustical material; that may be designed to absorb, reflect or scatter sound.
Hence, the perforated panel in such applications is designed to be “transparent” to enable the sound waves to pass through without impacting them as they move to encounter the acoustic treatment behind it.
While this is true in most cases, there are some instances where the perforated panels play an active role. Suppose the objective is to remove or reduce noise for a targeted set of frequencies; in that case, designing a sound absorption system that is “tuned” to those targeted frequencies will require the perforated panels to play a critically active role. This kind of system is called a Tuned Resonant Absorber. By employing such a system, the designer can reduce the thickness of the absorbing layer and save space and cost.
In a resonant sound absorber, the air motion in and out of the holes in the perforated panel sheet oscillates in response to an incident sound wave. The required frequency of oscillation is determined by the amount of air in the perforations and the springiness of the trapped air.
The frequency of dynamic air movement in and out of the holes and back and forth in the sound absorptive layer converts the acoustic energy into heat and removes it from the auditory scene.
The interaction between the thickness of the perforated sheet, the size and number of holes in it, and the depth of the trapped air layer determines the target frequency, thereby, the thickness of the absorbing layer required to remove the sound.
Sound Absorption Coefficient Ceiling Clouds / Perforated Metal Ceiling Tiles (courtesy: suspendedmetalceiling.com)
As a component of a resonant sound-absorbing system, perforated panels have the following capabilities
WITH MAGRA
Magra is a 100% sustainable organic solution for thermal and acoustic insulation of a space. Magra, made of natural animal residue, is renewable and sustainable, regulates Humidity, is Fire and Mould Resistant, and purifies the air while offering excellent acoustic insulation.
In applications such as a sound studio or home theatre room, the use of a gap & Magra fill is an excellent option for extra acoustic insulation.
To Sum up.
As per the building regulations & comfort criteria, the optimum reverberation coefficient is stipulated for every kind of space measured in seconds. While preserving the desired ambience and tone, the proper blend of diffusion and absorption will reduce and mitigate unwanted sound interference.
Experts at Strawcture Eco can help and guide you on the best combination that could help control reverberation for a comfortable space and allows for a much more precise, more natural, with the desired clarity and sentiment of conversation.
Choose Strawcture ceilings to create an inviting ambience with a new dimension of comfort!
