ACOUSTICAL DEFECTS AND REMEDIES

NIKHILANANDAN N
SUNIDHI VERMA
HIMANI SURYAVANSHI
 WHAT ARE ACOUSTICAL DEFECTS ?

❑ ACOUSTICAL DEFECTS ARE THE ACOUSTIC PROBLEMS THAT OCCUR WHILE HEARING A SOUND.
❑ IT IS OFTEN RESULTED FROM IMPROPER DESIGN OR FROM CONSTRUCTION LIMITATIONS.
❑ SMOOTH, CURVED REFLECTING SURFACES SUCH AS DOMES AND CURVED WALLS ACT AS
FOCUSING ELEMENTS, CREATING LARGE ECHOES AND LEADING TO BAD TEXTURE.
LIST OF ACOUSTICAL DEFECTS

❑ RESONANCE ❑ CREEP
❑ ECHO – ❑ WHISPERING GALLERY
o FLUTTER ❑ SOUND SHADOW
o CORNER ❑ DEAD SPOTS
o REAR ECHO ❑ INSUFFICIENT LOUDNESS
❑ REVERBERATION ❑ STANDING WAVES
❑ SOUND FOCI ❑ NOISES
RESONANCE
◼ RESONANCE IS THE TENDENCY OF A SYSTEM TO OSCILLATE WITH GREATER
AMPLITUDE AT SOME FREQUENCIES THAN AT OTHER.
◼ THUS, IT RESULTS IN AN UNWANTED SOUND EFFECT INSIDE A HALL.
◼ ACOUSTIC RESONANCE IS A PHENOMENON WHERE ACOUSTIC SYSTEMS
AMPLIFY SOUND WAVES WHOSE FREQUENCY MATCHES ONE OF ITS OWN
NATURAL FREQUENCIES OF VIBRATION.
◼ AN ACOUSTICALLY RESONANT OBJECT USUALLY HAS MORE THAN ONE
RESONANT FREQUENCY ESPECIALLY AT HARMONICS OF THE STRONGEST
RESONANCE.
◼ RESONATE FREQUENCY CAN BE ESTIMATED AS:
RESONANT FREQUENCY = (SOUND VELOCITY)/2 [ (P/L)2 + (Q/W)2 + (R/H)2]
WHERE P , Q , R HAVE DIFFERENT PERMUTATIONS AND COMBINATIONS OF
VALUES 0, 1, 2, 3, …… AND L, W, H STAND FOR LENGTH, WIDTH AND HIEGHT OF
THE ROOM.
 REMEDIES
◼ AVOID SMOOTH PARALLEL WALLS, AND FLAT CEILING OR
INTRODUCE SURFACE IRREGULARITIES.
◼ THE RESONANCE CAN BE AVOIDED BY FIXING THE WINDOW
PANELS PROPERLY.
◼ ANY OTHER VIBRATING OBJECT WHICH MAY PRODUCE
RESONANCE CAN BE PLACED OVER A SUITABLE SOUND
ABSORBING MATERIALS LIKE MINERAL WOOL, INSULATION
BOARDS, ETC. USING BASS TRAPPERS AT
CORNERS OF WALLS

MINERAL WOOL FIBER TILES

USING SOUND ABSORBING
MATERIALS BELOW FLOORING
ECHO

◼ WE PERCIEVE AN ECHO WHEN THE ORIGINAL SOUND

PRODUCED GETS REFLECTED BY A SURFACE AND REACHES
BACK TO THE LISTENER.
◼ IF REFLECTED SOUND IS EXCESSIVELY DELAYED (FOR MORE
THAN 70 MILLI SEC.) AFTER THE DIRECT SOUND AND IS
LOUD ENOUGH TO BE OBSTRUCTIVE, IT IS CLEARLY HEARD
ABOVE THE GENERAL REVERBERATION AND IS CALLED
‘ECHO’.
CONDITIONS LEADING TO SOUND ECHO

• SQUARE ROOMS ARE THE WORST FOR

ECHO AND STANDING WAVE PROBLEMS.

• RECTANGULAR ROOMS, HAVE LARGE

REFLECTIVE WALLS WHICH OFTEN CREATE
SLAP ECHOES AND FLUTTER ECHOES.
REAR ECHO

◼ A FLAT, SOUND-REFLECTING REAR WALL CAN PRODUCE

ECHOES OR UNWANTED, LONG- DELAYED REFLECTIONS IN
MEDIUM TO LARGE AUDITORIUMS.

REMEDIES:
◼ DEEP SOUND ABSORBING TREATMENT SUCH AS GLASS FIBER
BLANKET OR BOARD SUPPORTED BY FURRING.
◼ LARGE SCALE IRREGULARITIES OR MODULATIONS TO
PRODUCE DIFFUSION.
◼ SPLAYED SURFACE TO DIRECT SOUND DOWNWARDS.
FLUTTER ECHO

◼ 'FLUTTER ECHOES' OCCUR BETWEEN HARD PARALLEL WALLS

WHERE THE SOUND REPEATEDLY BOUNCES BACK AND FORTH.
◼ THEY SOUND VERY NASTY INDEED AND MUST BE CURED. IT IS
VERY EASY TO IDENTIFY WHERE THEY OCCUR BY SIMPLY
CLAPPING YOUR HANDS.
◼ WALK UP AND DOWN THE ROOM TO LOCATE FLUTTER ECHO
POINTS AND MARK THEM FOR TREATMENT. 
CORNER ECHO

◼ THE CORNER ECHO IS A SPECULAR PHENOMENON ,

CREATED BECAUSE OF THE BULK WAVES REFLECTIONS ON
THE CORNER AND ON THE SPECIMEN BACKWALL.
◼ WHEN TWO WALLS ARE AT RIGHT ANGLES ,THE SOUND
WAVES GIVE REFLECTIONS AT THE CORNERS. THAT
PRODUCE CORNER ECHO.

REMEDIES:
◼ USE OF PATCH OF ABSORBENTS AT THE CORNERS.
 REMEDIES FOR ECHO

• THIS DEFECT IS AVOIDED BY SELECTING

PROPER SHAPE FOR THE AUDITORIUM .
USE OF SPLAYED SIDE WALL INSTEAD OF
PARALLEL WALLS , GREATLY REDUCES
THE PROBLEM AND ENHANCE THE
ACOUSTICAL QUALITY OF THE HALL.

• ECHOES MAY BE AVOIDED BY COVERING

THE OPPOSITE WALLS AND HIGH
CELLING WITH ABSORPTIVE MATERIAL.
 SOUND FOCI

◼ REFLECTING CONCAVE SURFACES CAUSE CONCENTRATION OF

REFLECTED SOUND , CREATING A SOUND OF LARGER INTENSITY AT
THE FOCAL POINT. THESE SPOTS ARE KNOWN AS SOUND FOCI.
◼ SUCH CONCENTRATIONS OF SOUND INTENSITY AT SOME POINTS
LEAD TO DEFICIENCY OF REFLECTED SOUND AT THE OTHER
POINTS.
◼ CONCAVE DOME , VAULTS ,OR WALLS WILL FOCUS REFLECTED
SOUND INTO CERTAIN AREA OF ROOMS. THIS HAS SEVERAL
DISADVANTAGES. FOR EXAMPLE-
◼ IT WILL DEPRIVE SOME LISTNERS OF USEFUL SOUND REFLECTIONS
AND CAUSE HOT SPORTS AT OTHER AUDIENCE POSITION.

REMEDIES
◼ AVOID CURVED SURFACE OR TREAT THEM WITH PATCHES OF SOUND REFLECTIONS IN
ABSORBENTS TO PROVIDE DIFFUSION. DIFFERENT SURFACES
 ACOUSTIC SHADOW:

◼ AN ACOUSTIC SHADOW OR SOUND SHADOW IS AN

AREA THROUGH WHICH SOUND WAVES FAIL TO
PROPAGATE, DUE TO TOPOGRAPHICAL OBSTRUCTIONS
OR DISRUPTION OF THE WAVES VIA PHENOMENA SUCH
AS WIND CURRENTS, BUILDINGS, OR SOUND BARRIERS.
◼ DUE TO DIFFRACTION AROUND THE OBJECT, IT WILL NOT
BE COMPLETELY SILENT IN THE SOUND SHADOW.
◼ SOUND SHADOWS ARE THE AREAS OF POOR AUDIBILITY.
DEAD SPOTS

◼ THIS DEFECT IS AN OUTCOME OF

THE FORMATION OF SOUND FOCI.
◼ BECAUSE OF HIGH
CONCENTRATION OF REFLECTED
SOUND AT SOUND FOCI, THERE IS
DEFICIENCY OF REFLECTED SOUND
AT SOME OTHER POINTS. THESE
POINTS ARE KNOWN AS DEAD SPOTS.
◼ WHERE SOUND INTENSITY IS SO LOW
THAT IT IS INSUFFICIENT FOR
HEARING.
REMEDIES
◼ THIS DEFECT CAN BE REMOVED BY SUITABLY
PLACING DIFFUSERS AND REFLECTORS.
◼ RIGHT PROPORTIONS OF INTERNAL SPACES.
◼ SO THAT SOUND GETS REFLECTED IN ALL
DIRECTION.

PLACING DIFFUSERS INSIDE A ROOM

USE OF REFLECTORS AT
AUDITORIUM CEILING
DIFFUSION:

◼ THIS IS THE CONVERSE OF FOCUSING AND OCCURS

PRIMARILY WHEN SOUND IS REFLECTED FROM
CONVEX SURFACES.
◼ A DEGREE OF DIFFUSION IS ALSO PROVIDED BY FLAT
HORIZONTAL AND INCLINED REFLECTORS .
◼ IN A DIFFUSE SOUND FIELD THE SOUND LEVEL
REMAINS RELATIVELY CONSTANT THROUGHOUT
THE SPACE, AN EXTREMELY DESIRABLE PROPERTY
FOR MUSICAL PERFORMANCES.
 REVERBERATION

◼ REVERBERATION IS THE PERSISTENCE OF SOUND IN THE

ENCLOSED SPACE, AFTER THE SOURCE OF SOUND HAS STOPPED
AS A RESULT OF MULTIPLE ECHOES.
◼ REVERBERANT SOUND IS THE REFLECTED SOUND, AS A RESULT OF
IMPROPER ABSORPTION.
◼ REVERBERATION MAY RESULT IN CONFUSION WITH THE SOUND
CREATED NEXT.
◼ HOWEVER SOME REVERBERATION IS ESSENTIAL FOR IMPROVING
SOUND QUALITY.
◼ PARALLEL REFLECTIVE SURFACE GENERATES UNWANTED
REVRBERATION.
 REVERBERATION

◼ AS PER PROFESSOR W.C. CABIN’S REVERBERATION TIME

‘T’ IS GIVEN BY THE FORMULA.
T=0.16V/A
◼ WHERE ‘A’ IS THE TOTAL ABSORBINNG POWER OF THE
SURFACES OF ROOM/HALL.
◼ AND V IS THE VOLUME OF A ROOM.
◼ THE TIME DURING WHICH THE SOUND PERSISTS IS
CALLED THE REVERBERATION TIME IN THE HALL.
◼ A HIGH REVERBERATION TIME CAN MAKE A ROOM
SOUND LOUD AND NOISY.
 REVERBERATION TIME AS PER INDIAN STANDARD CODE: 2526- 1963

SR. NO RECOMMENDED TIME IN ACOUSTICS

SECONDS

1 0.50 TO 1.50 EXCELLENT

2 1.50 TO 2.00 GOOD

3 2.00 TO 3.00 FAIRLY GOOD

4 3.00 TO 5.00 BAD REVERBERATION INSIDE A ROOM

5 ABOVE 5.0 SECONDS VERY BAD

REMEDIES

◼ THE REVERBERATION TIME CAN BE CONTROLLED BY THE

SUILABLE CHOICE OF BUILDING MATERIALS AND
FURNISHING MATERIALS.
◼ THERE SHOULD BE A LIMITED NUMBER OF WINDOWS.
THEY MAY BE OPENED OR CLOSED TO OBTAIN OPTIMUM
REVERBERATION TIME. SINCE OPEN WINDOWS ALLOW
THE SOUND ENERGY TO FLOW OUT OF THE HALL.
◼ BY COVERING CEILINGS WITH GOOD SOUND ABSORBING
MATERIALS.
◼ BY COVERING THE FLOORS WITH CARPET.
CREEP

◼ THIS DESCRIBES THE REFLECTION OF SOUND ALONG

A CURVE SURFACE FROM A SOURCE NEAR THE
SURFACE . ALTHOUGH THE SOUND CAN BE HEARD
AT POINTS ALONG THE SURFACE, IT IS INAUDIBLE
AWAY FROM THE SURFACE.
◼ CREEP IS ILLUSTRATED IN THIS DIA.-

REMEDIES-
◼ USE OF ABSORBENT PIECES ALONG THAT SURFACE.
 WHISPERING GALLERIES

◼ A VERY SOFT SOUND , LIKE A WHISPER, UTTERED

CLOSE TO A SURFACE OF A “DOME” WILL BE
SURPRISINGLY AUDIBLE AT OPPOSITE END OF THE
DOME.

REMEDIES:
◼ IS TO HAVE SURFACE IRREGULARITIES.(BOTH
INTERNAL AND EXTERNAL)
◼ PROVIDED NOISE ISOLATION METHODS. USE OF
RESILIENT MATERIALS .FLOATING FLOORS ETC.
INSUFFICIENT LOUDNESS

THIS DEFECT IS CAUSED DUE TO

a) LACK OF SOUND REFLECTING FLAT SURFACE NEAR THE SOUND SOURCE
b) EXCESSIVE SOUND ABSORPTION TREATMENT IN THE HALL.

REMEDIES :
a) PROVIDING HARD REFLECTING SURFACE NEAR THE SOURCE,
b) BY ADJUSTING THE ABSORPTION OF THE HALL SO AS TO GET OPTIMUM TIME OF REVERBERATION.
STANDING WAVES

◼ WHEN A ROOM’S WIDTH OR LENGTH CORRELATES DIRECTLY TO THE LENGTH OF A WAVEFORM

AT A SPECIFIC FREQUENCY, A STANDING WAVE CAN OCCUR WHERE THE INITIAL SOUND AND THE
REFLECTED SOUND BEGIN TO REINFORCE EACH OTHER.
◼ STANDING WAVES ARE CREATED WHEN YOU HAVE TWO PARALLEL FACING WALLS.
◼ THERE WILL BE PARTICULAR SET OF FREQUENCIES THAT ARE REINFORCED BY THE DISTANCE
BETWEEN THE WALLS ( THE SOUND MAKES EXACTLY ONE ROUND TRIP ON EACH CYCLE OF THE
SPEAKER AND THE PRESSURE FRONTS PILE UP).
REMEDIES

◼ THE PHENOMENON CAN BE PREVENTED BY DESIGNING THE

ROOM WITH NON PARALLEL WALLS.
◼ IT CAN BE CURED IN EXISTING ROOMS BY MAKING ONE OF
THE WALLS ABSORPTIVE OR BY BREAKING UP THE FLAT
SURFACES.
◼ WHEN SOUND IS REFLECTED OFF A ROUNDED OR COMPLEX
SURFACE, IT IS DEFFUSED.
◼ DIFFUSION SPREADS THE REVERBERANT SOUND EVENLY
THROUGHOUT THE ROOM , WHICH NOT ONLY PREVENTS
STANDING WAVES BUT ALSO ELIMINATES “DEAD SPOTS”. DIFFUSERS: PROVIDING THE
RANDOMNESS & BREAKING THE
FLATNESS OF THE WALLS
NOISE

NOISE

◼ NOISE IS UNWANTED SOUND WHICH MAKES THE SATISFACTORY HEARING OF SPEECH AND MUSICE.
◼ THERE ARE MAINLY THREE TYPES OF NOISES THAT ARE TO BE MINIMIZED.
◼ THEY ARE
◼ 1. AIR BORNE NOISE
◼ 2. STRUCTURE BORNE NOISE
◼ 3. INTERNAL NOISE
AIR BORNE NOISE

◼ THE NOISE THAT COMES INTO BUILDING THROUGHT AIR FORM

DISTANT SOURCES IS CALLED AIR BORNE NOISE.
◼ A PART OF IT DIRECTLY ENTERS THE HALL THROUGHT THE OPEN
WINDOW DOOR OR OTHER OPENINGS WHILE ANOTHER PART
ENTR S BY TRANSMISSION THROUGH WALL AND FLOORE .

REMEDIES:
THE BUILDING MAY BE LOCATED ON QUITE SIE AWAYFROM HEAVY
TRAFFICE ,MARKET PLACE ,RAILWAY STATION ,AIR PORTS ETC.
THEY MAYBE SHADED FROM NOISE BY INTERPOSING A BUFFER ZONE
OF TREES, GARDEN ETC.
 STURTURE BORNE NOISE

◼ THE NOISE WHICH COMES FROM IMPACT SOURCES ON THE

STRUCTURE EXTENTS OF THE BUILDINGBIS KNOWN AS THE
STRUCTURE BORNE NOISE.IT IS DIRECTLY TRANSMITTED TO THE
BUILDING BY VIBRATIONS IN THE COMMON SOURCE OF
THISTYPE OF NOIS ARE FOOT-STEPS. MOVING OF FORNITURE ,
OPERATING MACHINERY ETC.

REMEDIES:
◼ THE PROBLEM DUE TO MACHINERY AND DOMESTIC APPLIANCES
CAN BE OVERCOME BY PLACING VIBRATION ISOLATORS
BETWEEN MACHINES AND THIRE SUPPORTS.
◼ CAVITY WALLS, COMPOUND WALL MAY BE USED TOINCEASE
THE NOISE TRANSMISSION LOSS.
 INTERNAL NOISE
◼ INTERNAL NOISE IS THE NOISE PRODUCT IN THE HALL OR
OFFICE ETC.
◼ THEY ARE PRODUCED BY AIR CONDITIONERS, MOVEMENT OF
PEOPLE ETC.

REMEDIES:
◼ THE WALL, FLOOR AND CELLING MAY BE PROVIDED WITH
ENOUGH SOUND ABSORBING METERIALS.
◼ THE GADGET OR MACHINERY SHOULD BE PLACED ON
SOUND ABSORBENT MATERIAL.
EXTERNAL NOISE

◼ EXTERNAL NOISE FROM VEHICLES, TRAFFIC ENGINES , FACTORIES, COOLING PLANTS ETC. MAY
ENTER THE HALL EITHER THROUGH THE OPENINGS (SUCH AS DOORS, WINDOWS, VENTILATORS
ETC.) OR THROUGH WALLS AND OTHER STRUCTURAL ELEMENTS HAVING IMPROPER SOUND
INSULATION.
REMEDIES:
THIS DEFECT CAN BE REMOVED BY PROPER PLANNING OF THE HALL WITH RESPECT TO ITS
SURROUNDINGS AND BY PROPER SOUND INSULATION OF EXTERNAL WALLS.
 REAL EXAMPLES OF BUILDINGS HAVING GOOD ACOUSTICS:

SIDNEY OPERA HOUSE AULA MAGNA (UCV)

THANK YOU