Proctor Group Australia (PGA) and Dynamic Composite Technologies wanted to give a student at the audio and acoustics program at the University of Sydney the chance to help develop a sound proofing design for our passive ventilation system, ProctorVentient. The University of Sydney School of Architecture, Design and Planning offer an excellent short term internship programme as part of the masters degree course.
We selected Jason Rasquinha a student pursuing a master’s degree at the university to work with us. Under the mentorship of Arup’s Chris Field and the team members from PGA, Andy Russell and Alex George, Jason played a key role in researching the various acoustic treatment options for the Ventient system.
Starting with an identified set of acoustic materials previously researched at the University, the team collectively developed a series of prototype acoustic sleeves that could be incorporated into test modules. In order to quantitatively identify the performance of these sleeves, the team tested the transmission loss (TL) performance of many modules at the University of Sydney acoustics laboratory. The two stage testing and review process helped us to identify an acoustic sleeve with minimal compromise on air flow and also meet the needs for simple manufacturing and installation.
Through the development and testing process, the project helped Jason build on his learnings from the taught acoustics program. Jason showed great commitment to the internship and made a huge contribution to design and testing with a valuable theoretical grounding. Jason has a bright future ahead of him upon graduation we look forward to working with him in the future. Thanks also Chris Field, the Sydney School of Architecture, Design and Planning and the acoustics lab for making this experience possible for Jason & PGA.
