Skip Navigation LinksPath:
> Home > Business Areas > Acoustics > Theory

What is sound absorption?

Sound is pressure waves travelling through air. Sound absorption is the absorption of sound waves in a material and is
the process where sound energy is dissipated into heat energy.

The sound absorption properties of a material are characterised by the sound absorbtion coefficient α and vary from 0 to 1.0.
Sound absorbtion of a material is frequency dependent.

 


 

 


α = 1.0 equals 100% sound absorption
α = 0.0 equals 0% sound absorption

How does Fibertex acoustic nonwovens work?

When a sound wave strikes a surface of a

material, it is either reflected or penetrated

into the material. If the acoustic impedance of the

material is too high, the sound wave is reflected.

If the acoustic impedance is low, sound waves enter the

material.

FiberAcoustic® is a novel nonwoven sound absorber

specially developed for optimal acoustic performance due

to tuned acoustic impedance.

The FiberAcoustic® acoustic impedance is low enough to

ensure that minimum sound is reflected and accurately

high enough to ensure that maximum sound energy is

converted into heat - while letting a broad spectrum of

sound wave frequencies enter the material.


When a sound wave has entered the surface, the optimal acoustic impedance of FiberAcoustic ensures that sound waves are encapsulated in the airspace behind FiberAcoustic. Sound energy is removed by sound waves hitting back and forth between a solid surface and FiberAcoustic.