On-site measurements of absorption coefficients of pews with and without occupation

• Autores: Ettore Cirillo, Michele D´Alba, Sabrina Della Crociata, Francesco Martellotta
• Localización: Proceedings of the ISRA 2007 Seville, Vol. 3, 2008 (Oral Session Communications), ISBN 9788469082676
• Idioma: español
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• Resumen

  • The influence of pews on the acoustical characteristics of churches is often significant because of the lack of large absorbing surfaces. The effect of occupation is even more important because the higher absorption due to people makes the acoustics dependent on the number of occupants. In order to better quantify the contribution of the pews and that of the people to the total acoustic absorption a set of measurements were carried out in a modern church with two types of pews. The measurements were carried out in four steps. First the church was measured with the pews at their places. Then the first type of pews was removed and measures repeated. Then, also the second kind of pews was removed and the measurements were made in the empty church. Finally, the measurements were repeated just before the beginning of a Mass, with an average occupation of 75%. Measurements showed that construction details such as the length and the quality of the material may influence the results, while the effect of occupancy is more significant at medium and high frequencies.