Paint spray booth extract fan noise control poses a problem for conventional silencing in that, even with effective filtration, the silencer will clog and lose attenuation. Moreover, paint fans often generate a low-frequency hum that passes through mufflers with little attenuation. This case study illustrates a low-cost alternative approach to spray booth extract noise reduction that lasts the lifetime of the fan without loss of performance.
A pair of classic industrial paint spray booth extract fan filter systems used on an MDF paint plant generated a very irritating low-frequency drone that was the subject of complaints both from operators inside the workshops and from local residents. At these low frequencies, conventional silencers would not only have been ineffective, but would have quickly clogged.
Moreover, as the pair of fans were not quite synchronised, the sound also had a distinctive “beat” which made it even more annoying. As the spray booth extract fan noise was at a low frequency of 146Hz, conventional silencers would have been very large, very expensive, would have required relocation of the plant and supplementation with lagging and enclosures (and regular cleaning). We bypassed all these issues by reducing the fan noise at source (Quiet Fan technology), eliminating the tones (13dB reduction) and the “beat ” with no down-time outside normal maintenance requirements.
This approach has a broad application for silencing paint plant, spray booth fans and other dust extract filtration systems as a more effective alternative to attenuators…
