Lecture One

Noise Pollution

Introduction to noise pollution

Noise is unwanted sound because it:

can cause hearing loss

interferes speech communication
disturbs moods, relaxation, and privacy

Sound is a form of energy produced by a

vibrating object or an aerodynamic disturbance

Environmental noise

Major sources

Transportation
Industry
Construction
Buildings and households
Humans and pets

Sound

Energy produced by

Vibrating objects
Aerodynamic disturbances

Energy causes disturbances in air

molecules producing variations in air
pressure

Causes eardrums to vibrate and transfer

vibrations to inner ear

Sound

Must move through a medium of

molecules

Results in differences in speed of sound

transmission

Sound energy

Vibration of objects produces sound

energy which radiates outward as
acoustical energy
Energy produced by a sound described
as sound power

Sound power

Sp values expressed in dimensionless

units called decibels
Calculated from the following
equation

Sound power

Where

Wm = sound energy in watts

Wr = reference sound energy, 10 -12 watts

Logarithm of the ratio of measured and

reference sound energy multiplied by 10

Sound intensity

As sound radiates outward from a

source this flow is described as sound
intensity (SI)

Watts/m2, expressed as dB

Sound intensity

Where

Im = measured sound intensity

Ir =reference sound intensity

Sound pressure levels

Commonly measured with instruments

to record sound levels
Expressed in decibels, dB

Sound pressure levels

Where

Pm = measured pressure

Pr = reference pressure, the threshold of

human hearing, 2 x 10-5 N/m2 (Pa) or 2 x
10-4 bars

Sound pressure levels

Calculation: where Pm = 2.0 bars

Frequency

Major characteristic of sound

Inversely related to wavelength
Discrimination by humans constitutes
hearing
Expressed as cycles/sec or hertz(Hz)

Frequency

Sound sources produce a range of

frequencies
Most sounds characterized by dominant
frequencies
Range of human hearing 20-20,000 Hz

Range of human hearing

Range of human hearing

Humans here best in the middle

frequencies
Low frequencies (< 16 Hz) -infrasound
High frequencies (> 20,000 Hz) ultrasound

Sound levels, sources, and

human responses

Sound measurement

Use sound pressure level meters

Weighting Network or Scales

Different scales have different discriminations on lower
frequency waves
-A scale: < 600 Hz
-B scale: < more moderate
-C scale: little discrimination
20 dB(A), 20 dB(B), 20 dB(C) etc.

It is common to use A scale.

Meter response

Slow and fast options

Averaging time
Fast

response- 0.125 seconds

Slow response - 1 second

Use of slow response recommended

Instrument accuracy

Rated type 1, type 2, and type 3

Type 1 instrument +/- 1dB

Type 2 instrument +/- 2 dB
Type 3 instrument +/- 3 dB

Impulse sound

Rapidly rising and falling sound

pressure
Need specially designed instruments
to measure

Spectrum analysis

Octave bands used for spectral analysis

Sound pressure levels at different frequency

band
Commonly 10 octave bands are used

Upper

frequency twice the lower frequency

Characterized by the center frequency

Octave bands

Equivalent sound levels

Equivalent sound level = Leq

Average of all sounds measured on the
A scale
Correlates well with effects of noise in
humans
Used to report environmental noise
levels

Equivalent sound levels

Where

Li = each measured value in decibels

N = number of values

Averaging sound levels

10 values 65, 75, 68, 70, 80, 72, 76, 78,

82, 65 dB

Addition:
Similarly, when individual values are added:
Ltotal = 10 log 10L /10
i

Subtraction:
L = 10 log (10L /10-10L /10)
s

Where: Ls is the noise source and Lb is the

background

Total sound levels

Two sounds of 80 dB

La 10 log10 [10 10 ] 83dBA

8

Doubling results in 3 dB increase

Chart for Adding Decibels:

(1) Determine the difference between the two
(2) use the following table to add the corresponding increment to the
HIGH level