Basics of Architectural

Acoustics
PRAVEEN SUTHAR
INTRODUCTION
SOUND
AUDIBLE RANGE OF SOUND

The threshold of pain is the upper Limit

of hearing and it has a standard value of
1 watt per metre square (1W/m²).

Sounds below the lower limit of hearing

are inaudible while the those above the
upper limit may cause pain or even
damage the human ear.
Spherical compression (longitudinal) waves
Longitudinal wave:
In a longitudinal wave a particle displacement is parallel to the
direction of wave propagation

Transverse wave:
In a transverse wave a particle displacement is perpendicular to
the direction of wave propagation
PROPERTIES OF SOUND

FREQUENCY
PERIOD
WAVELENGHTH
AMPLITUDE/ SOUND PRESSURE/ INTENSITY
SPEED
Frequency of sound

• Frequency is the rate of repetition of a periodic event.

• Sound in air consists of a series of compressions and rarefactions due to
air particles set into motion by a vibrating source.
• The frequency of a sound wave is determined by the number of times per
second a given molecule of air vibrates about its neutral position.
• The greater the number of complete vibrations (called cycles), the higher
the frequency. The unit of frequency is the hertz (Hz).
• Pitch is the subjective response of human hearing to frequency.
• Low frequencies generally are considered "boomy," and high frequencies
"screechy" or "hissy."
Wavelength of a sound is the distance traveled Period (T) = the time between successive
in one cycle (or period) waveform peaks

• Wavelength = period • speed of sound in • Frequency (in cycles/sec or Hertz) = 1/period,

medium ( c ) • Thus f = 1/T

• Thus wavelength = c / frequency IT IS A RECIPROCAL OF FREQUENCY

 DISTANCE

• As sound passes through air, the to-and-fro motion of the particles alternately pushes together and draws
apart adjacent air particles, forming regions of rarefaction and compression,
• Wavelength is the distance a sound wave travels during one cycle of vibration.
• It also is the distance between adjacent regions where identical conditions of particle displacement occur
INTENSITY
The amount of energy that is transported past a given area of the medium per unit
of time is known as the intensity of the sound wave.

The greater the amplitude of vibrations of the particles of the medium, the greater
the rate at which energy is transported through it, and the more intense that the
sound wave is.

Intensity is the energy/time/area; and since the energy/time ratio is equivalent to

the quantity power, intensity is simply the power/area.
Loudness vs. Intensity

Intensity: depends on amplitude of the wave and distance from the sound
source Intensity is measured in DECIBELS (dB)

Loudness is subjective to interpretation Loudness is a physical response to

the intensity of sound. Loudness depends on many factors!
VELOCITY / SPEED OF SOUND
Threshold of Hearing

The measured threshold of hearing curve shows

that the sound intensity required to be heard is
quite different for different frequencies.

The standard threshold of hearing at 1000 Hz

is nominally taken to be 0 dB ( or 10-12W/m2),
but the actual curves show the measured
threshold at 1000 Hz to be about 4 dB.

There is marked discrimination against low

frequencies so that about 60 dB is required to be
heard at 30 Hz.
Equal loudness contours.

The loudness of a sound is determined by referring to the

loudness or phon scale which shows sounds of various levels
and frequencies which are perceived as of the same sound
loudness.
The Threshold of Hearing AND audile sound • The graph shows the tremendous range
of sound levels in decibels (abbreviated
dB)* and frequency in hertz over which
healthy young persons can hear.
• Also shown on the graph is the
frequency range for "conversational“
speech, which occurs in the region
where the ear is most sensitive. For
comparison, the region where
symphonic music occurs is indicated on
the graph by the large shaded area
extending at mid-frequencies from
below 25 dB to over 100 dB (called
dynamic range). The dynamic range for
individual instruments can vary from 30
dB (woodwinds) to 50 dB (strings).
• The lowest level of musical sound
energy that can be detected by the
audience largely depends on the
background noise in the music hall, and
the upper level depends on the
acoustical characteristics of the hall .
• Electronically amplified rock music in
arenas and coliseums far exceeds the
maximum sound levels for a large
symphonic orchestra. Rock music,
purposefully amplified to be at the
threshold of feeling
THE DECIBEL SCALE

Since the range of intensities that the human ear can detect is so large, the scale that is frequently used by
physicists to measure intensity is a scale based on powers of 10.

This type of scale is sometimes referred to as a logarithmic scale.

The scale for measuring intensity is the decibel scale.

The threshold of hearing is assigned a sound level of 0 decibels (abbreviated 0 dB);

this sound corresponds to an intensity of 1*10-12W/m2. (The threshold of hearing )

A sound that is 10 times more intense ( 1*10-11 W/m2) is assigned a sound level of 10 dB.

A sound that is 10*10 or 100 times more intense (1*10-10 W/m2) is assigned a sound level of 20 db.

I : INTENSITE OF SOUND
I0 : THESHOLD OF HEARING
Frequency and Octave

• frequency ranges for human speech

(divided into consonants, which contain
most of the information for articulation,
and vowels), piano music, stereo
sounds, and acoustical laboratory tests
(e.g., tests used to determine absorption
and isolation properties of building
materials) . Human speech contains
energy from about 125 to 8000 Hz.
Women's vocal cords are generally
thinner and shorter than men's, so the
wavelengths produced are smaller. This
is the reason the female frequency of
vibration for speech is normally higher.
Wavelengths in SI and English units are
indicated by the scales at the top of the
graph above the corresponding
frequency.
FREQUENCY RANGES OF AUDIBLE SOUNDS

• A healthy young person is capable of hearing sound energy from about 20 to 20,000 Hz.

• Hearing sensitivity, especially the upper frequency limit, diminishes with increasing age

• Long-term and repeated exposure to intense sounds and noises of everyday living can cause permanent
hearing damage (called sociocusis), and short-term exposure can cause temporary loss.

• Consequently, the extent of the hearing sensitivity for an individual depends on many factors, including age,
sex, ethnicity, previous exposure to high noise levels from the workplace, gunfire, power tools, rock music,
etc.

• All other hearing losses (e.g., caused by mumps, drugs, accidents) are called nosocusis.
PITCH

The sensation of a frequency is commonly referred to as

the pitch of a sound. A high pitch sound corresponds to a
high frequency sound wave and a low pitch sound
corresponds to a low frequency sound wave.

Certain sound waves when played (and heard)

simultaneously will produce a particularly pleasant
sensation when heard, are said to be consonant. Such
sound waves form the basis of intervals in music. For
example, any two sounds whose frequencies make a 2:1
ratio are said to be separated by an octave and result in a
particularly pleasing sensation when heard. That is, two
sound waves sound good when played together if one
sound has twice the frequency of the other. Similarly two
sounds with a frequency ratio of 5:4 are said to be
separated by an interval of a third; such sound waves
also sound good when played together
SOUND SPECTRUM

Because most sounds are complex, fluctuating in pressure, level, and frequency content, the relationships
between sound pressure level and frequency are required for meaningful analysis (data so plotted are called
a sound spectrum) .
Doppler Effect

Change in the apparent frequency of a wave as

observer and source move toward or away from
each other

Motion causes a change in pitch When a sound

source approaches, an observer hears a higher
frequency.

When the sound source moves away, the observer

hears a lower frequency.

e.g. You hear the high pitch of the siren of the

approaching ambulance, and notice that its pitch
drops suddenly as the ambulance passes you. That is
called the Doppler effect.
PROPOGATION OF SOUND
when sound in propagate in the air a pressure fluctuation will
create because it is a longitudinal kind of a wave. So, the pressure
fluctuations is also mapped like this when it is in the crest it is a
CREST maximum pressure.

So, a compression and the rarefaction will take place one after
another and this fluctuation of the pressure we will take the
sound from one point to the other point and the pressure in the
particular fluctuate like compression and the rarefaction.
TROUGH
speed of the sound is also depend upon lot of physical
parameters of the air, the first parameter will be the atmospheric
pressure, second parameter may be the density of the air and
also the third parameter may be the temperature of the air. By
virtue of the atmospheric pressure and the density we can find
out the velocity as c as with this particular formula where the
small p is the pressure atmospheric pressure and the rho is the
density.
 The near field and far field of
sound. Source: National Institute
for Occupational Health and Safety
(1988).
 Inside a room, close to a source like a machine, the direct sound dominates, and the sound pressure may vary significantly
with just small changes in position.

This area is called the near field .

The area beyond the near field is called the far field made up of two sections,
•The free field
•The reverberant field

In the free field the direct sound still dominates and the sound pressure level decreases by 6 dB for each doubling of
distance.

In the reverberant field the reflected sound adds to the direct sound and the decrease per doubling of distance of the
sound pressure level will be less than 6 dB.
Decrease in sound intensity for a point source with doubling
of distance.
Sound attenuation

Attenuation is a damping of sound, an interruption that diminishes the volume and quality of the sound wave.

When a sound travels through a medium it loses energy overcoming the resistance of the medium
Peak reasons are ….

• Spherical spreading

• Absorption
– Temperature and humidity effects

• Reflective scattering
– Due to impedance differences
 Spherical spreading

• Loss in sound intensity follows

the inverse square law

The mathematical relationship between intensity

and distance is sometimes referred to as
an inverse square relationship.

“The intensity varies inversely with the square

of the distance from the source”.

So if the distance from the source is doubled

(increased by a factor of 2), then the intensity is
quartered (decreased by a factor of 4).
Acoustic impedance (absorption of sound)

• The degree to which a medium is compressible by sound pressure

• Acoustic impedance = speed of sound X density of medium

• Transmission between media with different impedances is difficult

– Sounds reflect off animals in air, but can pass through them in water

• Dictates efficiency of sound production and reception by organisms

ROOM ACOUSTICS
BEHAVIOUR OF SOUND IN AN ENCLOSURE
An enclosed space is a room or area bounded on every of its sides. The materials for enclosure may be classified into two:
• Those that allow sound rays to pass through and
• Those that do not allow sound rays to pass through.
Areas bounded with materials that allow sound rays to pass through tend to enjoy good acoustic as the effect of indirect sound from reflection is
reduced within the space. In this space, sound from external source can pass through the material into the enclosure as background noise. The
vibration of some of the materials can be a source of noise within the space and this can be a bane to the achievement of clear and audible speech
and music. The effect of indirect sound may be pronounced in spaces enclosed with materials that do not allow the passage of sound rays through
them. Adjustments to the material to aid diffusion will improve the acoustic of the space. Some of these materials can absorb sound, reducing the
effect of indirect sound.

On encountering barriers posed by the enclosure, sound waves are likely to behave in
the following ways:
• Reflection
• Absorption
• Refraction
• Diffusion
• Diffraction
• Transmission
• Reverberation and echo
REFLECTION
This occurs when the wavelength of a sound wave is smaller
than the surface of an obstacle. In the case of an enclosed space,
the sound waves hit every side of the enclosure continuously
until the sound energy reduces to zero. The amount of waves
reflected depends on the smoothness, size, and softness of the
materials of enclosure. The angle of incidence of sound rays is
equal to that of the reflected rays only if the surface of the
reflector is flat. But when it is curved, the angles are different.

ABSORPTION
When sound waves hit the surface of an obstacle, some of its
energy is reflected while some are lost through its transfer to
the molecules of the barrier. The lost sound energy is said to
have been absorbed by the barrier. The thickness and nature of
the material as regards its softness and hardness influences the
amount of sound energy absorbed.
TRANSMISSION
In this phenomenon, sound wave is carried
by molecules of the obstacle through
vibration and reemitted at the other side
irrespective of the medium. It can be
structure borne, air borne or impact sound.
DIFFUSION
This is the scattering of waves from a surface. It occurs
as a result of the texture and hardness of the obstacle
is comparable to the wavelength of the sound. The
direction of the incident ray changes when it strikes
the surface of the obstacle. Satisfaction is achieved
when sound is heard in all direction at equal level.
REFRACTION
This is the bending of sound when it travels from
one medium into another medium. The difference
in the composition of the two different media
bends the sound i.e. the angle of incidence
changes into an angle of refraction as it travels into
the new medium.
DIFFRACTION
When the wavelength of a sound wave is smaller or equal to
the size of the obstacle, the sound rays tend to bend round the
edge of the obstacle thereby turning the edge to a sound
source.
EDGE DIFFRACTION OF SOUND
Edge diffraction results in the
curvature of part of a sound
wave around the edge of a
barrier. This causes the obstacles
to scatter the sound waves
making it behave like a source of
sound.
REVERBERATION:
This is the persistence of sound in an enclosed space as a result of
continuous reflection or scattering of sound after the source has
stopped. It is one the most prominent behaviours of sound in an
enclosure. It occurs when sound waves hits a surface and are
reflected toward another surface which also reflects it. Some of
the sound is absorbed with this continuous reflection which
gradually reduces the energy of the sound to zero. The
phenomenon can affect the audibility of sound in an enclosure,
especially if the reverberation time, which is the time taken for
the sound pressure level to diminish to 60 dB below its initial
value is considerably long.

ECHO:
This occurs when the reverberation time is long enough to cause a
distinct repetition of the direct sound. This condition is an
advanced form of reverberation where the sound is heard clearly
and repeatedly after some time until it fades.