Sound absorbing vertically retracting drapery: A comparative study

Abstract

The use of drapery as a variable sound absorbing material is widespread in theaters, university music halls, and other spaces where variable reverberation time is desired. As a class project at The University of Kansas, the authors and their classmates tested two types of sound absorbing vertically retracting drapery manufactured by a theatrical contracting firm using reverberant room methods. Fabric used in these two tests was cotton velour and acrylic velour. Coefficients of absorption were compared with coefficients of absorption published by a firm specializing in the fabrication of vertically retracting sound absorbing velour drapery. The measured and published data allowed both types of vertical retracting drapery to be specified for a multipurpose auditorium renovation project at a college in Kansas. The college auditorium renovation project will use the drapery fabricated by the specialty firm and the on-site determined coefficients of absorption will be presented and compared with the manufacturer's published data and also compared with the data obtained in the reverberant room for the somewhat different retracting drapery design by the theatre contracting firm. And if it proves to be possible, the on-site sound absorption measurements will be made at another college auditorium which uses cotton velour retracting drapery produced by the theatrical contracting firm. These data will be useful in specifying sound absorbing vertically retracting drapery for future projects.