Question

A room (8 m x 6 m x 4 m (height)) with hard sound reflecting surfaces is to be decorated for meeting purpose. The reverberation time is measured and found to be 3 seconds in a particular octave band. Calculate how much extra sound absorption must be provided to reduce the reverberation time to 0.8 s, that is suitable for speech and discussion. Assume that a carpet is added on the entire floor with the value of α = 0.2 in the same band and sound absorbing panels are added to cover areas of the wall and ceiling with the value of α = 0.4. What is the area for these panels required? You may assume that the absorption coefficient of the hard sound reflective surfaces is negligible and other settings (e.g., equipment and furniture) inside the room are the same.

Answer 1