Characterization and improvement of absorption and scattering by profiled architectural surfaces without specialized test facilities

A turntable apparatus and measurement procedure, based on ISO 17497-1, were developed for measuring the random-incidence absorption and scattering of surfaces, without specialized facilities. While not highly accurate, they proved adequate for determining the general characteristics of surfaces. Two original profiled wooden architectural surfaces, and a hard, flat reference surface, were characterized, and found to have low absorption and scattering. They were then modified for increased absorption by creating Helmholtz-resonator configurations, obtaining good performance at low- and mid-frequencies. They were also modified for increased scattering, in one case by creating a Schroeder diffuser. In the other case, the surface was integrated into a novel frame-array configuration, which scattered sound very well above 500 Hz.