ACOUSTIC KNOWLEDGE

Noise prevention and sound insulation are particularly needed in places where many people gather for long periods of time. Examples include educational institutions such as schools and universities, open-plan offices, clinics, exhibition halls, conference rooms, concert halls and theaters.

Noise, sound & sounds

Anyone thinking about acoustic room correction should know what sound is and how it behaves. "Sound" is the propagation of minute pressure fluctuations in an elastic medium. Our hearing converts these pressure differences into electrical signals that our brain processes and: we hear something. There are five different types of sound events:

• Tone: a periodic and sinusoidal oscillation (e.g. tuning fork)
• Sound: a non-sinusoidal periodic vibration (e.g. violin sound)
• Noise: an irregular vibration (e.g. speech)
• Bang: an irregular vibration with a large initial impulse (e.g. rifle shot)
• Noise: a disturbing, stressful or harmful sound due to its structure (usually volume)

In order for sound to propagate, the vibration must be transported through an elastic medium. This can be air, water or iron, for example. This propagating pressure fluctuation is called a sound wave. How fast a sound wave travels depends on the medium and temperature. In air at 20 degrees Celsius, the speed of sound is 343 m/s.

The volume is where things get really interesting. This is determined using sound pressure and the sound pressure level is expressed in decibels.

By the way: a baby's cry can be as loud as a jet: up to 120 dB is possible. From 85 dB, hearing protection should be worn at the workplace, as hearing damage to the person's ears is possible from 85 dB, and from 120 even after a short time. The risk of cardiovascular disease increases from 65 dB, learning and concentration problems can occur from 45 dB and sleep disorders from 35 dB. So even a ticking alarm clock could be the source of your restless sleep. Graphic representation of the frequency of errors at work depending on certain noise conditions

A doubling of the perceived volume corresponds to about +10 dB. If you want to create a separate room in an open-plan office, you can achieve sound insulation of 26 dB with Office acoustic sound curtains. This turns an open-plan office with the noise backdrop of a main road into a quiet library that encourages colleagues to whisper rather than shout.

Room acoustics

What our acoustic curtains do in the interior

If it is too loud, it has one of two causes: Either disturbing sound is penetrating the room from outside, or unwanted sound is spreading unpleasantly within the room. In the first case, it is a matter of building acoustics, in the second, room acoustics. And you can make a big difference to the acoustics with curtains, especially indoors. The movable acoustic screens create flexible room acoustics, offer a wide range of usage scenarios from concert halls to offices and have an impressive appearance. Specially transparent acoustic textiles allow for inspiring creative design. With us, you always get a good price for acoustic curtains.

The reverberation of a room can be controlled with sound-absorbing acoustic curtains, for example with an acoustic curtain made of molleton fabric. A shorter reverberation time improves speech intelligibility, which in turn increases concentration and comprehension. For music performances, the flexible acoustic curtains can then be retracted, thereby lengthening the reverberation again.

Variable sound insulation

The temporary separation of room segments is another effective means of making a room multifunctional. This can also be achieved with textile solutions known as sound curtains.

Good sound curtains consist of several layers of curtains made of different materials so that a high weight per unit area and a good sound insulation value can be achieved. For example, the Pérez Art Museum in Miami uses various sound curtains with up to 11 layers.

These curtains with a sound reduction index RW of up to 20 dB divide the museum's stairwell into different auditoriums as required. After the event, the room can then be completely opened up again to reveal the impressive architecture.

Our highlights among the acoustic absorbers

ABSORBER LIGHT acoustics: the translucent acoustic fabric

The perfect blend of light-flooded rooms and perfect acoustics. ABSORBER LIGHT is a transparent acoustic curtain - a translucent yet highly absorbent fabric that uses micro-slits in the fabric to absorb sound. The ABSORBER LIGHT acoustic curtain should always be used at a distance of around 10-30 cm from a sound-reflecting surface (e.g. window front). This acoustic curtain is the best choice when rooms need to be bright and acoustically optimized. It is therefore ideal for use in offices, galleries, foyers, rehearsal rooms and museums.

Acoustic ABSORBER CS: The professional acoustic fabric

Together with musicians, theater managers and an acoustics institute, we have developed a completely new sound-absorbing acoustic curtain, the Acoustic Absorber CS. The acoustically highly effective fabric is used in concert halls, theaters, opera houses, conference rooms and recording studios and reduces the reverberation time. A shorter reverberation time means better speech intelligibility and comfort in the room. With its high grammage of approx. 560 g/m², Absorber CS is considered "highly absorbent" and is one of the top performers in sound insulation with acoustic curtains.

Acoustic absorber WOOLSERGE OFFICE: Natural wool fabric

WOOLSERGE OFFICE is made of 100 percent wool and combines a natural, designer feel with outstanding acoustic values. And this acoustic curtain can do even more: it regulates the room air, as the natural material wool absorbs and releases the moisture in the room air. This acoustic curtain is not only highly absorbent, but also regulates humidity. And it is available in 13 different colors. It is the ideal solution for open-plan offices, conference rooms, exhibition halls and hotels.

Soundproofing

Create islands of peace with acoustic curtains

If you partition off an area in an open-plan office to hold meetings, then you need soundproofing against noise from outside. Because acoustic curtains have to meet different requirements here than for room acoustics, we at Gerriets have special solutions for this. Whether you want to separate work areas or create quiet meeting islands - our acoustic curtains offer the full range of configuration options. 3-, 5- or 7-ply, single-colored or elaborately printed visible side, manual automated operation - the Office sound curtain adapts to your individual requirements. This creates rooms at the touch of a button.

Our employees are on hand to answer any questions you may have: if you are an architect, office planner, interior designer or acoustic planner and want to work with acoustic curtains on a project, for example, we can advise you on the planning and support you during implementation.

Acoustics in motion

Track systems and drive mechanisms

The OFFICE acoustic curtain can be moved both manually and by motor. If you want the machine to do it for you, you will hear almost nothing: Our Friction-Drive traction motor is extremely quiet. You can control your acoustic curtain with a remote control, with the BUS system or via a touch panel. The rail system that carries the load for you is light, quiet and reliable.

Quality from Gerriets

Our service for planning and installation

Room acoustic planning is a complex subject. On the one hand, reliable measured values are important, and on the other, the possibility of accompanying measurements and advice during the construction process. We are at your side. All textiles are tested and classified for their effectiveness under neutral conditions. To ensure that your project is also an acoustic success, we offer expert advice throughout the entire construction process.

And as soon as it goes from planning to installing the acoustic curtain: Gerriets supplies and installs a wide variety of track systems to suit the respective building project. Even heavy-duty tracks from the theater sector for the effortless movement of extremely large and heavy acoustic curtains or small curtain tracks for the integration of modern room concepts are no problem.

Do you need help planning and optimizing your room acoustics? Get in touch with us here!