Our fabrics also go through sound absorption tests using reverberation rooms, impedance tubes and a fully-accredited testing lab. All of this is to ensure the serenity of interior spaces from hospitality to healthcare to residential interiors.
Sound absorption is measured by calculating the reverberation time in the frequency range 100 to 5000 Hz, in accordance with EN ISO 354.
It's important to remember that if your fire retardant fabric doesn't bear the FR-One mark, it is not an FR-One fabric.
Our fabrics are tested in an acoustics laboratory to ensure the peace and tranquillity of your interior spaces. Sound reduction and absorption are especially important in the contract market, such as for hotel bedroom interiors, healthcare facilities, or for restaurants.
All fabrics, from upholstery to drapery, can help in the quest for quietness. FR-One fabrics guarantee peace and quiet where you need it most.
FR-One fabrics are tested by an independent, third party acoustics laboratory to ensure they surpass the highest noise reduction standards in the industry. Like the mechanical tests that our fabrics go through, the acoustic testing is comprehensive and rigorous.
They’re tested especially on two scales.
Let’s go into them briefly.
The performance of a fabric and acoustic material is measured using the impedance tube test (ISO 10534-2), rather than with the older standard test using reverberation rooms as acousticians found that this method wasn’t sensitive enough.
Sound is blasted through the fabric and into what’s called an anechoic termination: a term for a place, room or object that completely absorbs sound waves. Sound literally can’t escape. Using an anechoic end-point allows the fabric to be tested on its own merit as a standalone product.
The number you’re looking for at the end of this test is the NRC (the Noise Reduction Coefficient). The higher the number, the greater the sound absorption qualities of the fabric.
Sound Transmission Class (STC) and Apparent Sound Transmission Class (ASTC) are single number ratings used to test the performance of fabrics, furnishings, interior walls and ceilings, glass, doors, etc., when exposed to speech, radio, television, and other similar sources of noise.
Testing for sound transmission loss also requires impedance tubes and reverberation chambers (for larger pieces especially), and is carried out through a range of frequencies. Understanding sound transmission loss increases your building's noise insulation.
