Our most popular feature is In Situ Sound Absorption, a unique addition to your toolbox designed for professionals who want to examine real-world sound fields. “In situ” means you can take measurements directly on-site, in an existing environment, without needing specialized settings or setups like an impedance tube or an anechoic chamber. All you need is the Sonocat and its software.

 

Traditional methods for measuring the sound absorption coefficient rely on assumptions about the overall sound field affecting the test material, typically conducted in a controlled laboratory environment. However, in real-world settings, the sound field can be unpredictable and variable due to different sound sources. The ability of a material to absorb sound depends not just on its properties but also on the surrounding environment.

 

The sound absorption coefficient is defined as the ratio of active to incident sound power with respect to a surface. Traditional measurements assume that the material will perform similarly in both an anechoic environment and the field, which might not always be the case. Instead of considering the global sound field, the local-plane-wave method focuses on the local sound field, assuming that the normal component of the sound field at each point can be described by an incident and a reflected plane wave. By assuming local plane waves near the surface, we can derive the effective in-situ absorption coefficient from sound field measurements.

 

So, rather than bringing the material to a laboratory, we bring the Sonocat to the actual sound field, providing accurate, on-site sound absorption measurements.

 

+ Measurements in real conditions

+ Real-time results

+ Easy handling

+ No artificial sound source required

+ All sizes

+ All forms

+ All materials

+ Non-destructive