Functional (Unit) Sound Absorbing Panels Reduce Noise Levels In Waste Water Treatment Facility
By Alan Eckel - President, Eckel Industries, Cambridge, Mass.
In October 1996, rooms within the integrated wastewater and sludge treatment facility were evaluated as to their noise problems. Based on these studies, several rooms would need to be treated with Unit Sound Absorbing Panels.
Acoustical treatment to achieve maximum noise reduction was calculated. Functional (unit) Sound Absorbing Panels (Eckoustic Functional Panels - EFP's) were installed on the ceilings and walls of both rooms. Average noise level in the pump room was reduced to 85 dBA and in this blower room to 82 dBA bringing the rooms into OSHA compliance, and reducing reverberation to levels that did not interfere with communication between workers.
In the generator rooms – a room, which is 87 ft. wide x 153 ft. long x 41 ft. high – for example, there are four sets of 2500HP diesel engine generators, with multiple pumps available. They drive 600HP motors, which operate the pumps. With the normal running mode being one engine set is used to drive two or three pumps. The typical overload is two engine sets to drive four pumps. One of the other sets of engine generators is redundant, the other is reserve. Prior to installation of unit sound absorbing panels, Eckel’s Eckoustic Functional Panel, EFP’s. Sound level measurements were taken at eight locations within the room at various distances from the engine generators, Fig.1. Acoustic treatment here involved a ceiling treatment with 6,602 sq. ft. (50%) coverage and wall treatment with 2,069 sq. ft. (10%) coverage. Fig. 2. For the ceiling treatment, three-quarters of the panels were 30” x 10 ft. EFPs; the reminder, 30” x 8 ft. On the walls, the panel sizes were 48” x 8 ft. and 24” x 6 ft. (All of these sizes are standard sizes.) With one engine set and three pumps running the background noise was reduced from 92.5dBA to 82.7dBA after EFP treatment, a reduction of 9.85dBA. With two sets of engine generators and four pumps running, average noise levels were reduced by 6.98dBA, to bring the overall noise level below 85dBA, Fig. 3.
Similar results were obtained for the blower room. Here too a mix of panels sizes were used – 30” x 10 ft., 30” x 8 ft., 30” x 4 ft., and 42” x 5 ft. – as the most efficient means of achieving the desired noise reduction. This room measures 53 ft. x 120 ft. x 25 ft.; 2,651 sq. ft. of panels was adequate for effective treatment, Fig.4 & Fig. 5. With two blowers running, the average levels noise reduction with EFPs installed was over 5dBA, from 86.6dBA to 81.3dBA, Fig. 6.
Unit Sound Absorbing Panels offer several advantages, as a method of adding sound absorption to spaces with hard reflective surfaces. They can be installed in new or existing facilities without interference with utilities such as sprinklers, lighting, ventilation etc. They require little or no maintenance and are extremely effective in lowering background noise and reverberation in a wide variety of industrial and architectural applications.
