In the world of sound traps, the "lunch" is insertion loss (the amount of sound attenuation provided) and the "bill" is pressure drop. Generally speaking, the more insertion loss you get at a given air velocity, the more static pressure drop you pay. And, when you consider that these pressure drops are greatly increased if the sound attenuator is located close to duct fittings (see page 8-9 of this document for examples), this bill can be very high indeed for any project where duct space is at a premium.
You know, all of them.
Enter the ZAPD™ series silencer from Industrial Acoustics (Z12A series cutsheet linked).
These silencers eliminate added static pressure drop by eliminating the air constriction that typical silencers impose upon the airstream:
Traditional Silencer
This is done by keeping the fill out of the airstream, so that the airflow sees no disturbance, and thus experiences no pressure drop:
New ZAPD™ Silencers
This design can provide significant insertion loss performance, with up to 12-14 dB in the first band for some 10' models, and 35-50 dB in the center bands for some 10' models--all with negligible self-noise and no additional pressure drop!
The exterior-baffle design does create functional limits to the size of these silencers, but they are great for use in systems where energy efficiency is a high priority, or where there is very little static pressure available, such as in VAV terminal boxes or water-source heat pumps.
Your free lunch just arrived. And it will pay you in energy savings for the rest of its life.
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