Silence is golden: Perforated metal sound absorption panels curtail drag strip noise
by Jonathan McGaha | November 30, 2009 12:00 am
When word got around that Bruton Smith, owner of Speedway Motorsports, Concord, N.C., was considering building a top fuel drag strip adjacent to the company’s Lowe’s Speedway Complex in Charlotte, N.C., the residents of a nearby residential subdivision were ready to put up a fight.
Only 2,500 feet (762 m) away, for many the idea was unacceptable, despite what the new attraction would do to boost jobs and tourism for a slow local economy.
Diamond Manufacturing Co., Wyoming, Pa., through its sister-company Perforated Metals Plus, Charlotte, N.C., provided the solution, a 24- by 540-foot (7- by 165-m) wall made of the company’s Acoustax perforated metal sound absorption panels. The Acoustax wall not only serves as a barrier to sound transmission but the panels actually absorb and eliminate much of the noise energy, helping Smith keep his status as a good neighbor in the community.
“We knew going in that top fuel dragsters produce a noise much louder than a racing car or truck, actually as loud if not louder than a military jet engine,” said Steve Swift, project manager for Speedway Motorsports. “We knew we would need a special type of product to allow us to coexist peacefully in the community.” Swift said that if Smith faced enough resistance to building the new drag strip, there was a chance he would scrap the plans and also move the popular NASCAR Speedway out of the area, taking away the numerous jobs involved and economic support of the service industry that serves as a foundation for much of the local economy.
Speedway Motorsports called in a sound consultant and a structural engineer who worked with both the company and the community to determine that a sound wall was a viable solution. After reviewing a number of sound barrier products, Swift said he found what he needed in Diamond Manufacturing’s Acoustax panels.
“Acoustax panels are made of perforated aluminum so they are lightweight, only three pounds per square foot,” said Brian W. May, architectural sales manager for Diamond Manufacturing. “The center features a rock wool filling that is a natural fiber sound absorber. The exterior is powder coated in an electrostatic process for a finish that can be colored to match the surroundings and last a long time.” An added bonus is that the panels are 100 percent recyclable, cheaper to move and quicker to install than concrete. “Most importantly, they perform better than competing products because the layered materials absorb the sound and don’t reflect it,” he added. “In this case, the result is that the community is happy because the sound from the drag strip is less than they even expected.”
Karen B. Kelly is marketing manager for Diamond Manufacturing, Wyoming, Pa. For more information, visit
www.diamondman.com.
Source URL: https://www.metalarchitecture.com/projects/silence-is-golden-perforated-metal-sound-absorption-panels-curtail-drag-strip-noise/