AT TENUATOR

CHAPTER-15
SOUND ATTENUATORS
INDEX
o Introduction,Types of Sound Attenuators,

Dimensions of Flange

o Rectangular Sound Attenuators

o Bend Sound Attenuators

o Circular Sound Attenuators

SOUND A

o Engineering and Performance Data

o Recommended Design Criteria for

Various Area Functions

o Noise Criterion Curves and Noise Criteria Values

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SOUND ATTENUATORS TECNALCO

INTRODUCTION

The Sound attenuators are designed by TECNALCO to combat noise problems. All fans / impellers used
in air conditioning system produce noise, relevant to the amount of work they do to move the air, much of
the noise is generated by the fluctuations of radiated pressure and these pressure waves are distributed
approximately equally in all directions, causing “duct born noise” and “break out” or “flanking noise”.

After approximately determining the sound reduction requirements of the concerned area select suitable
sound attenuator to match or reduce noise to the target level, while selecting sound attenuator following
parameters are to be considered.

1. Insertion loss
2. Airlfow regenerated noise
3. Static pressure drop
4. Forward or reverse flow.

Galvanised steel outer casing of the sound attenuator is designed to HVAC standards, perforated splitters
are filled with an odourless incombustible, vermin proof and moisture proof inorganic sound absorbing
material. Primary function of this unit is to reduce noise, operated smoothly, efficiently and trouble free
service.

Types of Sound Attenuators:

Rectangular Sound Attenuators: are generally employed in ducted air conditioning systems to reduce the
air born fan generated noise to a predetermined noise criteria level in the areas served by the air handling
unit.
Bend Sound Attenuators : are generally employed in air conditioning systems where space is at a
premium or where the compact shape of the square bend unit suite the restricted duct configuration.

Circular Sound Attenuators : are used in special cases where the conveyance of air is through circular fans
or ducts.

Dimensions of Flange

Attenuator Angle Hole

A
Perimeter Size Dia
(Inches)
(Inches) (Inches) (Inches)

36-83 1x1x1/8 5/16 9/16

84-up 1-1/2x1-1/2x3/16 3/8 7/8

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SOUND ATTENUTORS TECNALCO

RECTANGULAR SOUND ATTENUATORS

Product Description

Outer casing
Constructed from not less than 22 gauge galvanised steel sheet with lock formed joints.

Splitter facings
22 gauge perforated galvanised steel sheet. The perforated sheet will have 3mm dia holes, with 5mm pitch.
Splitter facings are aero dynamically profiled and exits are with flat faced. All fixings made with rivets.
Sound absorbent material

Inorganic, non-hygroscopic, flame, moisture and vermin proof,rock wool fibre of the desired density to
achieve the required acoustic results to be packed under compression to prevent the formation of voids
due to setting

End connections
M.S Steel angle secured to casing. Casing peined over flange face. Flanges will have one coat of primer
paint. We can supply with ductmate or Mez flanges , if required by the Clients.

Special cases
In moisture or grease laden environments the infill can be enveloped in Melinex materials to facilitate
cleaning. This is also used to prevent any possibility of progressive particle migration and so can be used
in hospitals, clean rooms and food production areas.

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SOUND ATTENUTORS TECNALCO

BEND SOUND ATTENUATORS

Product Description

Outer casing
Constructed from not less than 22 gauge galvanized steel sheet with lock formed joints.

Splitter facings
22 gauge perforated galvanised steel sheet. The perforated sheet will have 3 mm dia holes, with 5 mm
pitch. Splitter facings are aero dynamically profiled and exits are either aero dynamically profiled or flat
faced. All fixings made with rivets.

Sound absorbent material

Inorganic, non-hygroscopic, flame, moisture and vermin proof, rock wool fibre of the desired
density to achieve the required acoustic results to be packed under compression to prevent the
formation of voids due to settling.

End connections
M.S Steel angle secured to casing. Casing peined over flange face. Flanges will have one coat of primer
paint. We can supply with ductmate or Mez flanges, if required by the Clients.

Special cases
Where space is a limit concern, our Bend attenuators are solutions for the requirements. Bend
attenuators are either of vertical / horizontal construction.

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SOUND ATTENUTORS TECNALCO

CIRCULAR SOUND ATTENUATORS

Product Description

Outer casing
Constructed from not less than 22 gauge galvanised steel sheet with lock formed joints.

Inner face

Pod constructed from 22 gauge galvanized steel sheet with conical facing and flat ends. Inner face with
22 gauge perforated steel sheet. The perforated steel sheet will have 3mm dia holes with 5mm pitch.

Sound absorbent material

Inorganic, non-hygroscopic, flame , moisture and vermin proof, rock wool fibre of the desired density to
achieve the required acoustic results to be packed under compression to prevent the formation of voids due
to settling.

End connections
Tapped end ring inserts are standard, alternative connections would be spigots of required dia
will be provided at both ends for connecting to the equipment or duct.

Special cases
In moisture or grease laden environments the infill can be enveloped in Melinex materials to facilitate
cleaning. This is also used to prevent any possibility of progressive particle migration and so can be used
in hospitals, clean rooms and food production areas.
Note:

Circular attenuators without a centre pod model is TECR Circular attenuators with a centre pod model is
TEC RP. TECR 400/2 indicates that 400mm is dia of the circular attenuator and 800mm is the length.

Model: TECRP Model: TECR

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SOUND ATTENUTORS TECNALCO

ENGINEERING AND PERFORMANCE DATA

Insertion loss: The difference between two sound power levels when measured at the same point before
and after the sound attenuator is installed.

Aerodynamic noise: Also called generated noise. it is caused by air flow through elbows, dampers,
branch wyes, pressure reduction devices.

Dynamic insertion loss: The dynamic insertion loss of a sound attenuator, duct lining or other attenuating
device is the performance measured, when handling the rated air flow. It is the reduction in sound pressure
level expressed in decibels.

Static pressure drop: The air flow pressure loss.

Sound pressure level (Lp): This is the noise level in a room which is percieved by the human ear having been
radiated from a sound source and subjected to room dispersion and attenuation. Expressed on a decibel
scale refers to a reference sound pressure of 2x10-5 Pa or 0.0002 microbar.

Sound power level (Lw): This represents the total sound energy transmitted by the device (fan etc.) and is
independent of the characteristics of the room into which the sound is radiated. Sound power level can
not be measured directly. It must be calculated from sound pressure level measurements. The sound
power level of source (Lw) is the ratio expressed in decibels of its sound power divided by the reference
sound power which is 10-12 watts.

1/1 Octave band : A range of frequencies where the highest frequency of the band is double the lowest
frequency in the band. The band is specified by the centre frequency.

Frequency:The number of vibration or waves or cycles of any periodic phenomenon per second.

Decibel (dB): The unit “bel” is used in the telecomminication engineering as a dimensionless unit for the
logarithmic ratio of two power quanitites. The decibel is one-tenth of a bel.
Therefore L= 10log 10 (sound power / Reference power)
The reference power for sound power level is 10-12watts.

Test results from ETL

The tests were conducted by the Intertek Testing Services on the selected sizes of the Sound attenuators,
the test results include insertion loss in dB, face velocity, static pressure drop and generated sound
power level (Lw) dB re 10-12 watts.

Test method: The sound attenuators were tested for insertion loss with and without airflow and air flow
generated sound testing were conducted in accordance with ASTM standard E477-96 , entitled
"Standard Method of Testing Duct Liner materials and Prefabricated Silencer for Acoustical and air flow

performance"” SoundPressure level data was obtained using a Bruel and Kjaer digital Frequency Analyzer
Type 2131. The ITS reverberation room is qualified in accordance with ANSI S12.31 and S12.32 for
sound measurement from 100 to 10,000 Hertz.

Note: For Complete details refers test report no: J20024293 - 002.

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SOUND ATTENUTORS TECNALCO

ENGINEERING AND PERFORMANCE DATA

Attenuator Pressure Drop for Rectangular Type

Velocity (M/sec) TEC1 TEC2 TEC2 TEC4 TEC5 TEC6

1.00 5 1 1 9 2 1
1.10 6 1 1 10 2 1
1.20 7 2 1 12 3 1
1.30 8 2 1 14 3 1
1.40 9 3 1 16 4 2
1.50 10 3 2 19 4 2
1.60 11 4 2 22 4 2
1.70 12 4 2 24 5 2
1.80 13 5 2 27 5 3
1.90 14 5 2 30 6 3
2.00 15 6 3 33 6 3
2.10 16 6 3 37 8 4
2.20 18 7 4 39 9 4
2.30 20 7 4 42 10 4
2.40 22 8 5 47 11 5
2.50 24 8 5 52 11 5
2.60 26 9 6 57 12 5
2.70 28 9 6 61 13 5
2.80 30 10 7 66 14 6
2.90 32 10 7 71 15 7
3.00 34 11 8 76 16 7
3.10 36 11 9 81 17 8
3.20 38 12 9 85 18 9
3.30 40 13 9 90 20 10
3.40 42 14 9 95 22 11
3.50 44 15 10 103 24 12
3.60 47 16 10 109 26 12
3.70 50 17 11 115 27 13
3.80 53 18 11 121 28 16
3.90 56 19 12 128 29 16
4.00 57 20 12 134 30 17
4.10 60 21 13 142 32 17
4.20 63 22 14 148 33 17
4.30 66 23 15 155 34 18
4.40 69 24 16 162 35 18
4.50 72 25 17 169 37 19
4.60 75 26 18 39 20
4.70 79 27 19 40 21
4.80 83 29 20 41 22
4.90 87 31 21 43 22
5.00 91 32 22 45 23

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SOUND ATTENUTORS TECNALCO

ENGINEERING AND PERFORMANCE DATA

Attenuator Pressure Drop for Rectangular Type

Velocity (M/sec) TEC1 TEC2 TEC2 TEC4 TEC5 TEC6

5.10 95 34 23 48 23
5.20 99 35 24 50 24
5.30 103 37 24 54 24
5.40 107 38 25 58 25
5.50 111 40 26 60 26
5.60 115 41 27 61 27
5.70 119 43 28 62 28
5.80 124 45 29 63 29
5.90 129 47 30 64 30
6.00 134 49 31 65 31
6.10 51 32 67 32
6.20 53 33 69 33
6.30 56 34 73 34
6.40 57 35 77 35
6.50 59 36 81 36
6.60 61 37 86 37
6.70 63 39 91 38
6.80 65 41 93 40
6.90 67 42 95 42
7.00 69 43 97 43
7.10 72 44 99 46
7.20 75 46 102 48
7.30 78 48 50
7.40 81 49 51
7.50 84 51 51
7.60 87 52 52
7.70 91 53 53
7.80 54 54
7.90 55 54
8.00 59 55
8.10 60 55
8.20 62 56
8.30 64 57
8.40 66 58
8.50 59
8.60 64
8.70 64
8.50 65
8.90 66
9.00

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SOUND ATTENUTORS TECNALCO

ENGINEERING AND PERFORMANCE DATA

Attenuator Pressure Drop for Circular type TEC RP

Pressure drop Model - Airflow m3/s

Pa TECRP300 TECRP400 TECRP500 TECRP600 TECRP800 TECRP1000 TECRP1250

5 0.3 0.5 0.82 1.29 2.09 3.35 5.43

10 0.45 0.72 1.17 1.84 2.98 4.78 7.74

15 0.54 0.88 1.43 2.25 3.62 5.81 9.4

20 0.63 1.02 1.66 2.62 4.2 6.73 11.01

25 0.71 1.17 1.86 2.92 4.71 7.55 12.2

30 0.78 1.27 2.04 3.2 5.16 8.26 13.37

35 0.84 1.37 2.19 3.46 5.55 8.87 14.36

40 0.9 1.47 2.34 3.7 5.93 9.49 15.36

45 0.97 1.57 2.53 3.93 6.38 10.21 16.51

50 1.01 1.63 2.63 4.14 6.64 10.82 17.17

55 1.06 1.71 2.76 4.35 6.96 11.13 18.01

60 1.11 1.79 2.89 4.54 7.28 11.65 18.84

65 1.16 1.87 3.02 4.73 7.6 12.16 19.65

70 1.2 1.93 3.12 4.91 7.86 12.57 20.33

75 1.25 2.02 3.25 5.08 8.18 13.08 21.14

80 1.29 2.08 3.35 5.25 8.43 13.48 21.8

85 1.33 2.15 3.45 5.41 8.69 13.9 22.46

90 1.37 2.21 3.55 5.57 8.94 14.31 23.13

95 1.41 2.27 3.66 5.72 9.2 14.72 23.79

100 1.45 2.34 3.76 5.87 9.45 15.12 24.45

Note: The Sound Attenuator type ‘ TECR ’ does not present any obstruction to the air stream and has
a negligible pressure drop.

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SOUND ATTENUTORS TECNALCO

ENGINEERING AND PERFORMANCE DATA

Recommended Design Criteria For Various Area Functions

a. Range Of Indoor Design Goals.

Range of Range of
Range of Range of
A -Sound A -Sound
Type of Area NC Criteria Type of Area NC Criteria
levels, levels,
Curves Curves
Decibels Decibels
RESIDENCES CHURCHES AND SCHOOLS (Cont’d)
Private homes(rural and suburban) 25-35 20-30 Laboratories 40-50 35-45
Private homes (urban) 30-40 25-35 Recreation halls 40-55 35-50
Apartment houses, 2- and 3-family units 35-45 30-40 Corridors and halls 40-55 35-50
HOTELS Kitchens 45-55 40-50
Individual rooms or suites 35-45 30-40 PUBLIC BUILDINGS
Ballrooms, banquet rooms 35-45 30-40 Public Libraries, museums, court rooms 35-45 30-40
Halls and corridors, lobbies 40-50 35-45 Post offices, general banking areas,
Garages 45-55 40-50 lobbies 40-50 35-45
Kitchens and laundries 45-55 40-50 Washrooms and toilets 45-55 40-50
HOSPITALS AND CLINICS RESTAURANTS, CAFETERIAS,
Private rooms 30-40 25-35 LOUNGES
Operating rooms, wards 35-45 30-40 Restaurants 40-50 35-45
Laboratories, halls and corridors Cocktail lounges 40-55 35-50
Lobbies and waiting rooms 40-50 35-45 Night Clubs 40-50 35-45
Washrooms and toilets 45-55 40-50 Cafeterias 45-55 40-50
OFFICES STORES, RETAIL
Board room 25-35 20-30 Clothing stores
Conference rooms 30-40 25-35 Department stores (upper floors) } 40-50 35-45
Executive office 35-45 30-40 Department stores (main floors) 45-55 40-50
Supervisor office, reception room 35-50 30-45 Small retail stores }
General open offices, drafting rooms 40-50 35-45 Supermarkets 45-55 40-50
Halls and corridors 45-65 40-60
Tabulation and computation 40-55 35-50 SPORTS ACTIVITIES, INDOOR
Coliseums 35-45 30-40
Bowling alleys, gymnasiums 40-50 35-45
AUDITORIUMS AND MUSIC HALLS
Bowling alleys, gymnasiums 40-50 35-45
Concert and opera halls
Swimming pools 45-60 40-55
Studios for sound reproduction 20-30 15-25
Legitimate theatres, multipurpose halls 30-35 25-30 TRANSPORTATION (RAIL, BUS
Movie theatres, TV audience studios PLANE)
Semi-outdoor amphitheatres 35-45 30-40 Ticket sales offices 35-45 30-40
Lecture halls, planetarium Lounges and waiting rooms 40-55 35-50
Lobbies 40-50 35-45
EQUIPMENT ROOMS
CHURCHES AND SCHOOLS 8 hr/day exposure <90
Sanctuaries 25-35 20-30 3 hr/day exposure <97
Libraries 35-45 30-40 (or per OSHA requirements)
Schools and classrooms 35-45 30-40

NC CURVE COMMUNICATION ENVIRONMENT NC CURVE COMMUNICATION ENVIRONMENT

Extremely quiet environment, suppressed speech Satisfactory for conference at a 6-8 ft. table: normal
Below NC 40
is quite audible, suitable for acute pickup of all voice 6-12 ft. telephone use satisfactory.
NC25
sounds.
Satisfactory for conferences at a 4-5 ft. table: normal
Very quiet office, suitable for large conferences: NC 45 voice 3-6 ft.: raised voice 6-12 ft. telephone use
NC 30
telephone use satisfactory. occassionally difficult.

Quiet office: satisfactory for conference at a 15 ft. Unsatisfactory for conferences of more than two or three
NC 35 table: normal voice 10-30 ft. : telephone use. above persons: normal voice 1-2 ft.: raised voice 3-6 ft.
telephone use slightly difficult.

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SOUND ATTENUTORS TECNALCO

NOISE CRITERION CURVES AND NOISE CRITERIA VALUES

Noise Criterion Curves

OCTAVE BAND SOUND PRESSURE LEVEL dB

OCTAVE BAND CENTRE FREQUENCY- Hz

Noise Criteria Values

Octave Band 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8
Preferred Frequency Hz 63 125 250 500 1K 2K 4K 8K
NC - 20 50 40 33 27 22 19 17 16
NC - 25 54 44 37 31 27 24 22 21
NC - 30 57 48 42 36 31 29 27 26
NC - 35 60 52 46 40 36 34 32 31
NC - 40 64 55 50 45 41 39 38 37
NC - 45 67 59 54 49 46 44 43 42
NC - 50 70 63 58 54 50 49 48 47
NC - 55 74 67 63 58 55 54 53 52
NC - 60 77 71 67 63 60 59 58 57
NC - 65 80 75 71 68 65 64 63 62
NC - 70 84 79 75 72 70 69 68 67

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