Efficiency of an acoustic table screen between two work stations in open plan offices

Abstract

International audienceIn order to improve the acoustic comfort of the users in open plan offices, several solutions are proposed. One of them consists in the installation of a small absorbing screen between two face to face work stations. The height of this table screen is variable. Nowadays it is difficult to predict accurately the efficiency of this kind of installation. A typical case of an office work station has been modeled and different heights of the table screen have been investigated through simulation. Two simulation methods have been compared: The first one (ICARE software developed at CSTB) uses asymptotic methods and is based on beam tracing including edge diffraction. The second method (MICADO 3D software developed at CSTB) uses the resolution through the Boundary Element Method where the Green function is optimized by the use of a source image technique. The simulation results show the insertion loss for the table screen and permits to determine the most efficient height for the protection between two work stations. Finally, the simulations results are compared to measurement results done in a semi-anechoic room by INRS