How Acoustic Fabric is tested

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What is an Acoustic Panel Fabric?

Put simply, an “Acoustic Panel Fabric” is a fabric which is suitable for use in acoustic absorption products because of its acoustic properties. It must be acoustically transparent; that is, penetrable to sound waves.

Of course the work of absorbing sound in the room is being done by the acoustic substrate or insulation. So what's the purpose of the fabric? It's mostly there to make the room look great but there is more to it than just choosing an acoustic fabric based on aesthetics alone. The first job of an "Acoustic Panel Fabric" is to not get in the way of what the acoustic panel is there to do. You want the sound to pass right through the fabric and into the acoustic core material behind it. If the fabric is reflecting the sound back into the room your acoustic panels aren't doing a thing.

With all of the above in mind, you are now ready for the fun part: Choosing a pattern and a color! We recommend the use of one of the many Acoustical & Tackable Panel Fabrics offered by Guilford of Maine. Made from post-consumer and postindustrial recycled polyester (soda bottles), Guilford of Maine fabrics have the strength and durability to withstand years of use and still look as great as the day that they were installed

What you need to know before buying or specifying a Fabric-Wall Covering on your next project

Selecting A “Fire-Rated-Fabric” Commercial building codes require that both fabrics and tackable/acoustical substrates and insulation materials selected for use as a wall covering in commercial or residential applications be certified as Class A ASTM-E84. Additional testing may be necessary. Consult your local building and safety codes for complete requirements. We recommend selecting a “Fire-Rated” panel fabric from one of Guilford of Maine’s many lines. With thousands of fabric to choose from, we are sure to have the style and color you are looking for. For availability, pricing and product information please contact your local Tech-Wall Inc. distributor.

Selecting The Right Acoustical Fabric.

The fabric you select can impact the acoustical properties of the Stretched-Fabric Wall System you specify. Fabrics made of 100% polyester with an open weave are the most transparent. These fabrics are often made from 100% recycled products. Many of the recommended Guilford of Maine fabrics are acoustically transparent, allowing your substrate to absorb sound. Applied backings can significantly reduce the NRC of a given fabric.

Selecting A Tackable Fabric Although most fabrics work well with any of Tech-Wall’s many track systems, when selecting fabric for use as a Tackable surface it is important to choose one that is identified as “Self Healing” or one with an open weave design. Vinyl Wall Coverings will show damage after a staple or tack is removed.

Fabric Width and Lay-Out Fabric widths vary by style and are typically between 54” and 66”. To minimize waste, choose a fabric of the correct width for your design layout. Special care must be taken in the selection and installation of fabrics. Some fabrics have a directional weave. Others have patterns or repeats. These can affect your layout and even the quantity of fabric required.

When we say our Acoustic Textiles have been 3rd party tested to perform like they should, what does that mean? In this post we will investigate how our Acoustic Textiles are tested and what those numbers mean.

Sure, you can use the "blow through" test to see if a fabric will work acoustically, but if data and science is what you're after, you need a more exact test to tell whether a fabric is appropriate. When the acoustic performance of a space really matters, you don’t want to hobble sound-absorbing panels, walls and ceilings by choosing the wrong finishes. That would be an expensive mistake.

In situations where acoustic performance is critical, a fabric’s job is not to absorb sound itself, but to allow sound absorbing products behind the fabric to do their best work (see image below). The fabric should never impede, or reflect sound, before it can travel to the absorbing product behind it. All surfaces, fabrics included, reflect sound waves to some extent. The least reflective products work the best as finishes for acoustic applications.

Now that we know what we are looking for in a fabric, how do we test whether or not it's acoustically sound? The test is an Impedence Tube Test (ISO 10534-2). Don't let words like impedence or anechoic termination scare you. It's a pretty straight forward process.

Sound is directed through the fabric and into an Anechoic Termination, which is basically a fancy way of saying "the place where no sound can escape". It's like a black hole for sound in that no sound is reflected back off of the anechoic termination. Because fabrics are tested using a standard anechoic end-point, rather than a specific manufacturer’s sound-absorbing product, this test allows fabrics to be tested on their own merit, giving you more meaningful data for making decisions.

The amount of sound that goes through the fabric is measured, resulting in a number between 0 — a highly sound reflective surface, to 1 — a surface that the sound entirely goes through. This number is called the NRC (noise reduction coefficient) rating. With NRC numbers, the higher the number, the greater the sound absorption, and the better it is for acoustically sensitive settings.

All 50+ patterns of our Acoustic Textiles collection have an NRC of .85 or higher. This means that an average of 85%, and typically 90% or 95% for most patterns, of sound passes right through the fabric. Which is exactly what you want.