White Paper Public Spaces Acoustic Treatment Guidelines Airports
Credits Copyright 2020 by Vicoustic No parts of this document might be copied and/or published without the written consent of Vicoustic. This white paper is continually updated with new and amended details. Vicoustic accepts no liability for any eventuality arising from the use of errors contained in this catalog. Vicoustic reserves the right to correct errors or misprints. The pictures shown are merely illustrative and might differ from the actual products.
White Paper Public Spaces Acoustic Treatment Guidelines Airports
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Introduction Airports Acoustic treatment guidelines How to increase speech intelligibility of airport’s PA systems? VMT Line Recommended products VMT — Virtual Material Technology Acoustic treatment results Product Information VMT Collections Glossary Vicoustic
Public Spaces Acoustic Treatment Guidelines / Airports Introduction The anxiety of loosing a flight Loosing a flight is likely to be the main concern that travelers’ have when in an airport, and is likely to be a cause of anxiety and stress to many people. Therefore, in order to minimize this anxiety and make all travelers more confident, airports should provide all relevant flight information in a clear and perceptible way.
Reducing stress by maximizing speech intelligibility By maximizing the speech intelligibility of an airport’s PA system, i.e. by delivering clear and perceptible messages, traveler’s stress levels are likely to reduce, since they will feel more confident that all the relevant information will be correctly perceived and therefore their experience in the airport should become more relaxed and enjoyable.
Public Spaces Acoustic Treatment Guidelines / Airports Which factors compromise an airport’s PA system? In 2017, a research sponsored by The Federal Aviation Administration in the USA1, made a questionnaire about communications transmitted over PA systems. This questionnaire was delivered to members of the airline industry that had a role in the operation of the airports2.
Which airport areas are more relevant for acoustics? According to the same research1, gate areas and concourses are considered the areas where improvement on an airport’s PA system intelligibility should preferentially occur. No wonder that these were the areas that received most votes since these are the “(…) places where passengers are most anxious about announcements related to boarding, delays, upgrades, and so forth”1.
Public Spaces Acoustic Treatment Guidelines / Airports How to increase speech intelligibility of airport’s PA systems? As seen previously, high background noise and room acoustics are considered the most negative factors on speech intelligibility of an airport’s PA system announcements. These two factors are related, i.e. in an uncontrolled room, high background noise levels will occur and then, vice versa, in a controlled room, background noise levels will also be controlled and minimized.
Why do airports have high background noise? This leads to very reverberant rooms and in such spaces, background noise created by multiple people talking, making noise, etc., will quickly build up, making it very hard for people to understand each other. Typically, airports have very hard reflective surfaces, such as glass, concrete and plasterboard. Therefore, they are normally not acoustically treated leading to acoustic issues.
Public Spaces Acoustic Treatment Guidelines / Airports VMT Line Recommended products 2 1
Flat Panel VMT For wall installation or T-Bar systems, Flat Panel VMT may just be the ideal solution for an airport. Flat Panel VMT is a sound absorbing panel, extremely efficient in middle and high frequencies, where speech occurs, making it ideal for spaces where great concentrations of people are expected such as in airports. Figure 3 • Flat Panel VMT, Natural Stones Collection, Travertino Classico 1 • Flat Panel VMT, 87a and customized 2 Performance 1.00 0.90 Flat Panel 40 mm 0.
Public Spaces Acoustic Treatment Guidelines / Airports ViCloud VMT Flat and 3D ViClouds VMT are extremely efficient suspended elements that can be used to control the room’s reverberation and any strong sound reflections from the ceiling. Figure 4 ViClouds VMT are a simple and lightweight suspended acoustic solution that is ideal for spaces, where there is a great concentration of people and where background noise, created by a room full of conversations, can quickly build up.
Figure 5 • ViCloud Flat VMT, Square, 82a 1 • Flat Panel VMT, Tiles Collection, Pattern 3, customized 2 • Flat Panel VMT, Natural Stones Collection, Grey Stone Pattern 3 Performance 1m from soffit Aeq (m2) 1.6 ViCloud Round ViCloud Square ViCloud Hexagon 1.4 ViCloud Petal 1.2 1 0.8 0.6 0.4 0.
Public Spaces Acoustic Treatment Guidelines / Airports VMT Virtual Material Technology VMT stands for Virtual Material Technology. These are panels developed exclusively by Vicoustic using an innovative dyeing technology. You can simulate concrete, marble, wood and other materials, achieving a realistic look in any setting with the added benefit of having the acoustics controlled. VMT products are available in a wide range of standard patterns or may be customized with any art-work one may want.
1 1 1 Figure 7 • Flat Panel VMT, customized 1 1 2 Flat Panel VMT with a natural stone look Flat Panel VMT as airport advertisement Contrary to real stone, Flat Panel VMT is a lightweight panel making it possible to have a natural stone look (like marble) in the ceiling and walls, with the advantage of reducing the space reverberation. The versatility of VMT allows it to be used for advertisement.
Public Spaces Acoustic Treatment Guidelines / Airports 2 3 1 Figure 8 • Flat Panel VMT, Concrete Collection, Pattern 2 • Flat Panel VMT, Customized Exit sign 1 2 • Flat Panel VMT, Customized Advertisement 3 3 Flat Panel VMT to improve airport’s signalization Flat Panel VMT can be used to identify different areas using color codes and signs. This will help travellers find the right way to specific airport areas.
1 2 3 5 Figure 9 • ViCloud Flat VMT, Square, 82a 1 • Flat Panel VMT, Tiles Collection, Pattern 3, customized 2 • Flat Panel VMT, Natural Stones Collection, Grey Stone Pattern ViCloud VMT enhances acoustic performance and interior design 3 Just as Flat Panel VMT, ViCloud VMT can have different finishes, be used as an advertisement support or identify different airport areas. These acoustic clouds have twice the area of absorbing material exposed to noise , because they are a suspended element.
Public Spaces Acoustic Treatment Guidelines / Airports Installing VMT Products is so easy, that you don’t need to close your airport for the installation. 1 Figure 10 • ViCloud 3D VMT, Natural Stones Collection, Calacatta Carrara 1 • Flat Panel VMT, Nature Collection, Pattern 3 customized 2 2 Installation 2 Installing VMT Products is so easy that you don’t need to close your airport for the installation. The installation can be done overnight, which avoids disrupting the airport’s business.
Sustainability (Air Quality and Eco-Friendly) 1 Instead of using commonplace raw materials, the latest Vicoustic VMT line of products uses new and responsible raw materials that are predominantly made of recycled PET Bottles (60%), which are recyclable and low emitting materials (low VOC emissions). Alongside being made of eco-friendly materials, these products maintain all necessary fire safety regulations and are classified as Class 1 according to OEKO-TEX 100 Standard, i.e.
Public Spaces Acoustic Treatment Guidelines / Airports Water Resistance An added value of VMT products is that water is not an issue for them. Given that they are predominantly made of recycled PET Bottles, these panels are water resistant and washable. In this way, one will not face the common water mold problem that many acoustic panels available in the market have. Even the perforated metal ceilings have issues with water, becoming rust after some time.
1 Quantities Needed The table below presents minimum quantities recommended by Best Practice Guidelines depending on an airport’s space volume. 2 The values presented are based on a room’s dimensions and consider standard airports finishes for floors, walls and ceilings. You can use these values as a guideline and scale them according to your room’s size. For more complex rooms or if you need help with your project please contact Vicoustic’s Team.
Public Spaces Acoustic Treatment Guidelines / Airports Acoustic Treatment Results The illustrations below portray a PA message (“Important information”) being transmitted in an untreated and a treated gate area. Untreated gate area I P I MM I ONNN IPMOPORORTTAA N T I N F O RMMAATTI O R TNATNITN IFNOFRO R M AT I O The message is being blurred by excessive gate reverberation and masked by noise from people in the gate, compromising speech intelligibility.
Product Information Flat Panel VMT 3 5 2 4 Dimensions* 1 Features Available Finishes 1 595 x 595 x 20 mm / 23.4’’ x 23.4’’ x 0.8’’ ∙ Light weight Collections 2 1190 x 595 x 20 mm / 46.8’’ x 23.4’’ x 0.8’’ ∙ Easy to Install ∙ Natural Stones 3 2380 x 1190 x 20 mm / 93,7’’ x 46.8’’ x 0,8’’ ∙ Easy to clean and maintain ∙ 3D 4 595 x 595 x 40 mm / 46.8’’ x 23.4’’ x 1.6’’ ∙ High Performance in medium and high ∙ Brick 5 1190 x 595 x 40 mm / 23.4’’ x 46.8’’ x 1.
Public Spaces Acoustic Treatment Guidelines / Airports ViCloud Flat VMT 1 Square 3 Round 2 Hexagon 4 Petal Dimensions* 1 1160 x 1160 x 40 mm / 45.7’’ x 45.7’’ x 1.6’’ 3 Ø 1160 x 40 mm / Ø 45.7’’ x 1.6’’ *Please notice that the dimensions of this 2 1160 x 1005 x 40 mm / 45.7’’ x 39.6’’ x 1.6’’ 4 1160 x 1068 x 40 mm / 45.7’’ x 42’’ x 1.
ViCloud 3D VMT 1 Square 3 Round 2 Hexagon 4 Petal Dimensions* 1 1160 x 1160 x 40 mm / 45.7’’ x 45.7’’ x 1.6’’ 3 Ø 1160 x 40 mm / Ø 45.7’’ x 1.6’’ *Please notice that the dimensions of this 2 1160 x 1005 x 40 mm / 45.7’’ x 39.6’’ x 1.6’’ 4 1160 x 1068 x 40 mm / 45.7’’ x 42’’ x 1.
Public Spaces Acoustic Treatment Guidelines / Airports VMT Collections Natural Stones Collection Calacatta Carrara Emperador Dark Fusion Wow Grey Stone Invisible Grey Travertino Classico Pattern information for all products available at vicoustic.
Tiles Collection 1 2 3 4
Public Spaces Acoustic Treatment Guidelines / Airports 3D Collection 1 2 3 4 3 4 3 4 3 4 Brick Collection 1 2 Concrete Collection 1 2 Doodle Collection 1 2
Floral Collection 1 3 4 Geometric Collection 1 2 3 4 Nature Collection 1 2 3 World Collection 1 2 3 4
Public Spaces Acoustic Treatment Guidelines / Airports Glossary dB (decibel) – The scale on which sound pressure level is expressed. It is defined as 20 times the logarithm of the root mean-square pressure of the sound field and reference pressure (2 x 10−5 Pa). Direct Sound – Sound that arrives at the listener’s position directly from the sound source, i.e. without being reflected from any objects or surface.
Reverberation Time (s) – A measure of the degree of reverberation in a space. It is equal to the time required for the level of a steady sound to decay by 60 dB after it has been turned off. Sound Absorption – The portion of the sound energy that is absorbed and not returned when a sound wave hits a surface. Sound Reflection – The portion of the sound energy that is returned when a sound wave hits a surface.
Public Spaces Acoustic Treatment Guidelines / Airports Vicoustic Provides innovative acoustic solutions
Vicoustic is a company in constant evolution with strong international expression, represented in more than 80 countries Vicoustic understands sound - and we know what makes a truly exceptional acoustic and audio experience. Being at the forefront of acoustic technology, we combine engineered systems with stunning design to bring you sound that is free of compromises, but full of high quality performance.
Public Spaces Acoustic Treatment Guidelines / Airports Vicoustic Team From conception through to completion, we work closely with architects, engineers and designers to deliver a project successfully irrespective of complexity. Our project team includes senior acoustic engineers and designers that are experts in taking you on your acoustic and design needs.
We do ∙ Custom Designed Products ∙ Room Design Recommendations ∙ Technical Support
Public Spaces Acoustic Treatment Guidelines / Airports Technology and rigorous in-house testing are the foundations for every Vicoustic Product This is what makes Vicoustic a distinguished brand and leader in its sector We believe that Vicoustic should constantly be paving the way, innovating and driving sound technologies to ensure that we are not only leading the field, but producing the best acoustics in every space we are acoustically curating.
The ‘Multifunctional Room’, lined with magnetic walls, allows us to assemble, mount and test different combinations of acoustic products quickly and efficiently. Not only does this allow us to analyse performance, quality and design, it also gives us the opportunity to share this learning with our Vicoustic partners across the world The ‘Innovative Acoustic Chamber’ is a world leading testing facility.
Public Spaces Acoustic Treatment Guidelines / Airports Vicoustic Sustainability Approach In the past decade, Vicoustic has been developing a strong concern in terms of creating new sustainable acoustic solutions We are committed to making products in an environmentally friendly way. This is important to Vicoustic and an integral part of our product development.
Vicoustic’s continuing research and innovation in acoustic solutions, in its pursuit of new materials, led to the development of VicPET Wool Instead of using commonplace raw materials, the latest Vicoustic line of products uses new and responsible raw materials that are predominantly made of recycled PET Bottles (65%), which are recyclable and low emitting materials (low VOC emissions).
Production Strategically located in the largest industrial cluster in Portugal Packaging Each individual panel is inspected, placed in plastic casing and boxed.
R&D and Logistics Facility Avenida do Polo 3, Nº 159, Carvalhosa 4590-137 Paços de Ferreira, Portugal P (+351) 255 136 746 M (+351) 917 851 019 Info and Sales E sales@vicoustic.com Office Rua Quinta do Bom Retiro Nº 16, Armazém 9 2820-690 Charneca da Caparica, Portugal P (+351) 212 964 100 Marketing Department E marketing@vicoustic.com www.vicoustic.com Jan 2020 Project Department E projects@vicoustic.
