Randolph Lab

The Randolph Lab is located in Randolph Hall at Virginia Tech. It consists of an anechoic chamber, two reverberant chambers and two general work areas.

Anechoic Chamber

The anechoic chamber is presently being used to characterize actuators developed at VAL to test new active control strategies on fundamental sound generating structures such as plates and cylinders. The experimental set-up shown in the picture is concerned with active structural acoustic control from a simply-supported cylinder using real time estimate of the far-field radiated pressure from structural sensors. Tests on turbofan inlet noise have also been recently carried out. The focus of this facility is on deterministic, free-field radiation studies.

Reverberant Chamber

The reverberant chambers are used to characterize the acoustic performance of machines and structures under a diffuse sound radiation field. The response is usually random and non-deterministic. The reverberant chambers can be also used to measure the acoustic transmission of panels and other structures excited by random, non-deterministic sound fields. The reverberant chambers are presently being used to study new active control strategies to reduce sound transmission through planar structures as well as active skins for sound radiation control. The focus of the work in this facility is on random, diffuse sound fields.

Listening Room

The listening room is presently being used to conduct virtual acoustic studies to effectively recreate a variety of acoustic environments. The listening is 12ft by 12ft and is constructed in modular 4ft by 8ft sections.