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on 12/19/2011
Sound Fighter® Systems was the first absorptive sound wall and noise barrier company to launch an interactive website, and maintains its effort to stay on the technology curve by launching a new PDA-optimized website designed for the mobile search market. “The growth rate for PDA web browsing and research is skyrocketing – nearly doubling in 2011 alone, and our customers are looking for flexibility and convenience when managing their projects on the go,” said Murray Stacy, VP of Marketing & Sales for Sound Fighter® Systems. “We expect this trend to accelerate in the next couple of years, making a mobile-optimized website a critical component of our marketing effort.”
Sound Fighter® Systems’ mobile site is accessible on any smart phone or PDA, including the iPhone, iPad, Blackberry and Android models. Users can access much of the same valuable content of the company’s web site, www.soundfighter.com, including informative videos and demonstrations on noise and noise barriers, photos, and commonly-asked Q&A. Customers using mobile devices from an iPad to a Smart Phone can easily find educational tips on noise barrier performance or quickly contact a Sound Fighter® Systems representative to ask questions or request a quotation.
The site is designed to provide basic but meaningful information regarding absorptive noise barriers and absorptive sound walls:
- Fast – the site streamlines content size to speed user interface.
- Concise — the site includes the most commonly-searched components of Sound Fighter® Systems’ main website, scaled-down for ease-of-use by mobile viewers.
- Informative — Fast-loading educational and instructional videos
- Answers — To commonly-asked questions
- Visual — Photos showing a wide variety of uses for Sound Fighter® Systems’ noise barriers
on 12/16/2011
Although its presence lingered unaddressed for many years, environmental noise is now recognized as a significant health issue. Environmental or ambient noise is unwanted or harmful outdoor sound created by human activities, including noise emitted by means of transport /road traffic, rail traffic, air traffic – and from sites of industrial activity. From delivery trucks to air conditioners, we are constantly bombarded by sounds that go unnoticed for the most part. However, out-of-earshot should not mean out-of-mind. It is precisely these innocuous environmental noises that should be sounding an alarm.
Those involved with the more obvious noise sources such as airports, shooting sports, manufacturing or even musical concerts have long known the detrimental effect of extreme noise levels on long-term hearing. Only recently, however, has environmental noise been thoroughly researched for its affect on our mental and physical health – and the findings may surprise you.
Subjected to 45 decibels of noise, the average person cannot sleep. At 120 decibels the ear registers pain, but hearing damage begins at a much lower level, about 85 decibels. And one burst of noise, as from a passing truck, is known to alter endocrine, neurological, and cardiovascular functions in many individuals.
Does this mean we are doomed to a noise-filled life of stress? Fortunately, no. Noise is now recognized as a controllable problem that can be minimized via varied abatement technologies. One of the most effective environmental noise abatement technologies to be developed is the noise barrier wall, or sound wall. Sound walls are classified as reflective or absorptive. Hard surfaces such as masonry or concrete are considered to be reflective. This means most of the noise is reflected back towards the noise source and beyond. A barrier wall such as the Sound Fighter® LSE 2000 with a porous surface material and sound-dampening content material is tested to be highly-absorptive, meaning little or no noise is reflected back towards the source or elsewhere.
Is a sound wall the best mitigation option for every application? Certainly not. There are effective mitigation tools for any situation – from earplugs to ceiling tiles. But for many outdoor applications such as traffic, manufacturing, compressor and commercial retail noise, nothing outperforms a well-engineered and efficient absorptive sound wall.
on 12/06/2011
So you need to install a commercial sound wall (noise barrier) to eliminate unwanted noise either created by your business, or noise coming from a neighboring source. There are lots of “wall” materials out there – wood, cement block, metal, etc., but most are considered “reflective” materials that actually cause the unwanted noise to echo off of them. We’ve all been inside a building with bad acoustics, which result from the use of reflective materials in construction. And when it comes to unwanted noise nobody wants to hear that in the first place, much less again as reflective or echoed sound.
So what are the best noise barrier options for eliminating unwanted outdoor noise? Address these three key considerations, and you will be on your way to a quieter solution:
- Use a fully-absorptive barrier material (i.e. non-reflective) with an NRC of 1.0. Acoustical absorption is measured by a rating called “NRC,” (Noise Reduction Coefficient) where an NRC of 1.0 is considered 100% absorptive, and NRC ratings lower than 1.0 are considered less absorptive.
- Use a barrier material made for the outdoors. Request test data on UV protection, color stability, freeze-thaw testing and wind-load testing. Newer barrier products that have been in the market less than ten years have no way to verify this data except in theory.
- Use a barrier manufacturer with a long track-record. You want your barrier to last decades, so you should use a company who has been in business long enough to back-up what they offer.
Fully-absorptive noise barriers are not inexpensive, but if noise-reduction is the overriding objective in a contentious or even litigious situation, a properly-designed absorptive noise barrier will be money well spent.
Sound Fighter® Systems (SFS) is the sole manufacturer of the LSE Absorptive Noise Barrier System, a fully sound-absorptive, high-performance sound wall designed for outdoor noise mitigation.
on 11/07/2011
Urban sprawl and antiquated technology has made the Water Treatment Industry a very active market for Sound Fighter Systems. “The updated equipment that modern pumping and treatment facilities use – in either new construction or upgraded retrofits – is easily attenuated by our LSE System.” states Murray Stacy, VP for Sound Fighter® Systems. “Municipalities and water companies find their facilities being engulfed by expanding urban development who do not want to hear or see their equipment. The unobtrusive and very effective attenuation performance of our LSE System addresses both of those concerns.”
Sound Fighter® Systems works with design engineers, environmental engineers and directly with the water companies and municipalities to address their noise issues. “Add the fact that our LSE System is engineered specifically for harsh outdoor environments, is completely corrosion resistant, and maintenance-free, it’s an attractive long-term solution for our customers in the Water Industry.” concludes Stacy.
on 11/07/2011
Acoustical specialists often face a common dilemma when addressing how best to attenuate industrial or HVAC equipment: How to get as close to the equipment as possible without adversely affecting the airflow or ventilation to the equipment itself?
Many sites targeted for noise barriers – either design-built or retrofit – have limited space in which to install a barrier. As a result, the barrier must be located very close to the noise source equipment, and such equipment often includes coolers that require specific minimum airflow in order to keep the system from overheating and potentially shutting-down. Gaps underneath or in the noise barrier itself destroy the attenuation performance of the barrier. So Sound Fighter® Systems has partnered with a top custom baffle manufacturer to provide acoustical baffles designed to allow sufficient airflow to the noise source, while simultaneously maintaining meaningful noise attenuation. And the baffle system is designed specifically to fit with the company’s LSE Absorptive Barrier Systems.
Sound Fighter Systems has successfully designed LSE Barriers utilizing these attenuated baffles for customers in the HVAC, gas compression, manufacturing, water treatment and utilities industries.
on 11/07/2011
Sound Fighter® Systems’ has received the order to design, engineer and produce a 30’ tall, 400’ long extension to the existing massive LSE Absorptive Noise Barrier at the Derichbourg Recycling facility in southeast Texas. The combination of poor soils and excessive wind loading challenged the Sound Fighter team, but with the previous sections of LSE Barrier in place for over two years now (and two hurricanes), these challenges appear to be another success story for the company.
Besides the LSE System’s renowned durability and acoustical performance, Sound Fighter Systems recently conducted Miami-Dade wind load testing on the system (both static and dynamic testing), and it passed with ease, and such testing is essential for such large wall structures along the Gulf Coast.
This newest section will be the final of four noise barrier sections, ranging from 30-35’ tall – all engineered for Gulf Coast wind loading.
on 11/07/2011
Sound Fighter® Systems’ ability to design creative solutions for its customers has again transformed the company into an industry leadership position. This time, the reason is the Company’s high-performance noise-attenuating gates.
Sound Fighter’s® designs range from traditional hinged swing-gates to sophisticated automated rolling gates, and can design a custom noise barrier gate for your specific needs.
With few exceptions, gates incorporated in to large sound walls (including most DOT sound walls) have posed serious problems from a logistics and performance perspective. Most of America’s highway sound walls are made of concrete, which is too heavy to be used as a gate material. Utilizing wood or other non-attenuating materials as an alternate significantly diminishes the overall performance of the sound wall into which they are going.
However, Sound Fighter® Systems has designed and engineered numerous gate designs that are adaptable to nearly any new or retrofit sound wall application – enabling the customer to maintain peak attenuation while providing needed access for maintenance or emergencies. Weighing-in at only 5 lbs psf, the LSE System is ideally-suited for gate applications.
Sound Fighter’s® designs range from traditional hinged swing-gates to sophisticated automated rolling gates, and can design a custom noise barrier gate for any specific needs.
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