ACOUSTICS

PROPERTIES OF SOUND
 CONTENTS :

•Definitions – Sound , Acoustics

•Terminologies :

Sound waves Frequency

Speed of sound Loudness / intensity
Velocity Tone / tone structure
Wavelength Period

•Classification of sound
•Behaviour of sound and its effects
•Measurement of sound
•Transmission of sound
•Characteristics of available sound
•Interference and linearity of sound
•Attenuation
•Architectural acoustics
Sound is a vibration that propagates as a
mechanical wave of pressure and displacement,
through some medium (such as air or water).

Acoustics is the science that deals with the study

of all mechanical waves in gases, liquids, and solids
including vibration, sound, ultrasound and infrasound.

Sound is produced by pressure
variations about a mean value within
a medium.
These pressure variations travel in the
form of a pressure wave with an
inherent amount of energy.
These pressure variations in air are
typically induced by a vibrating object.
A speaker cone serves as a good
illustration.
As the cone moves forward, the air
immediately in front is compressed
causing a slight increase in air
pressure.
As the cone moves back past its
rest position, it causes a reduction
in the air pressure known as
rarefaction.
SOUND WAVE IS A LONGITUDINAL WAVE
LONGITUDINAL WAVE- A wave in which particles of medium vibrate in a direction
parallel to the direction of propagation of the wave is called longitudinal wave.

SOUND AS A LONGITUDINAL WAVE MOTION:

•Sound is produced when any object is set into vibrations. For example a vibrating tuning fork,
musical instrument, ringing bell etc.
•All these vibrating bodies produce compression in the surrounding medium on a forward
motion and rarefaction on a backward motion.
•These compression and rarefaction travelling in a given direction form a longitudinal wave
motion in that direction produces sound.
 PROPAGATION OF SOUND
A sine wave(is a mathematical curve that
describes a smooth repetitive oscillation.) is the
simplest form of this motion.

The image shows the vertical movement of a point

travelling around a circle over time transposed to
a graph where the y axis (the vertical) represents
the vertical movement and the x axis (the
horizontal) represents the passage of time.

• One Cycle of a sound wave in air, consists of

one compression of the air together with the
subsequent rarefaction that occurs. The air
molecules are forced together (compression or
compaction) and then subsequently they
immediately begin returning to their equilibrium
state.
•The equilibrium state of the air molecules is the
state in which they were before the compression
under observation occurred. In doing so they
acquire momentum and thus become compressed
again and so on.
The pebble strikes the surface ,a ripple
radiates out from point of impact in an
ever increasing circular ring. The ripple
indicates that when pebble strikes the
surface of the water it creates a local
depression on the surface. Water ,like
most liquids is incompressible the particles
of water adjacent to the point where the
pebble strikes are forced upwards. A
ripple consisting of a trough and two
crests is formed at the surface of the
water.
Once the pebble has passed through the
surface of water, the elasticity of bulk
water tends to bring the water surface
back to its normal state , causing the
water particles to oscillate about their
original undisturbed position . This motion
is transmitted to neighboring particles so
that ripple and energy contained in it
advances away from the point of ripple ‘s
origin.
Most waves in nature do not contain a
single ripple , but rather a series of ripples,
each following the preceding ripple after
constant time interval.
 FREQUENCY OR PITCH

The number of cycles of vibration in a given unit of time. The number of cycles in a second is
one Hertz (Hz), after the German physicist.
Therefore 1Hz equals one cycle per second.
The faster the sound source vibrates, the higher the frequency.

Higher frequencies are interpreted as a higher pitch. For example, when you sing in a high-
pitched voice you are forcing your vocal chords to vibrate quickly.

Most often we will be looking at sound waves that humans can actually hear, which are
frequencies from 20 – 20 000 Hz.

For calculations, we use standard formula-

v = f λ; where v is velocity of sound
f is frequency of sound
λ is wavelength
NAME FREQUENCY CHARACTERISTICS
RANGE(Hz)
INFRASONIC 0-20 low frequency which
human ear can’t detect
SONIC 20- 20000 normal range for human
ears
ULTRASONIC 20,000+ Beyond normal hearing
for humans

PERIOD

The period of a wave is the time for a

particle on a medium to make one
complete vibration cycle. Period, being a
time, is measured in units of time such as
seconds.
 WAVELENGTH
It is the distance travelled in one cycle( or period)
Wavelength = speed of sound / frequency

Air: 340 m/s / 1000 cycle/s = 0.34 m/cycle

Water: 1500 m/s / 3000 cycle/s = 0.5 m/cycle

 VELOCITY OF SOUND (Speed of Sound)
The speed of sound is the distance travelled during a unit of time by a sound
wave propagating through an elastic medium.
In dry air at 20 degree celsius the speed of sound is 343 m/s.

speed = distance/time

The faster a sound wave travels, the more distance it will cover in the same
period of time.

Factors Affecting Wave Speed

The speed of any wave depends upon the properties of the medium through which the wave
is traveling. - inertial properties and elastic properties.
Elastic properties are those properties related to the tendency of a material to maintain its
shape and not deform whenever a force or stress is applied to it. A material such as steel will
experience a very small deformation of shape (and dimension) when a stress is applied to it.
Steel is a rigid material with a high elasticity. On the other hand, a material such as a rubber
band is highly flexible; when a force is applied to stretch the rubber band, it deforms or
changes its shape readily. A small stress on the rubber band causes a large deformation.
In general, solids have the strongest interactions between particles, followed by liquids and
then gases. For this reason, longitudinal sound waves travel faster in solids than they do in
liquids than they do in gases.
THE SPEED OF SOUND
 INTENSITY OR LOUDNESS OF SOUND
It is defined as the flow of sound energy per second through unit area ,the unit area being
perpendicular to the specified direction.
So loudness is the strength of the sensation received by the human ear and is proportional to
the sound energy in sound waves.

Intensity of sound is purely a physical quantity .

Loudness depends upon characteristics of ear.

Loudness vs Sound Intensity

•Sound intensity is a property of the sound source but loudness depends on the sound
source, the medium and the receiver, as well.
•Sound intensity holds a small significance in problems involving human hearing system,
but loudness is a very important property to consider in such problems.
•Sound intensity is measured in Watt per square meter whereas loudness is measured in
Sones.
 TONE/TONE STRUCTURE:

It is that characteristic or quality of sound by which various sounds can be distinguished from
one another.
Two sounds can be of same frequency and intensity , but even then they can be distinguished
by virtue of their different tones.

TIMBRE:

Timbre is a word that describes the tone or unique quality of a sound. If you
play the same note on a piano and on a guitar, each note will have its
own timbre.
 AMPLITUDE OF SOUND:

Amplitude can be a word that describes a wave.

It means that maximum amount the wave varies from the baseline or equilibrium.
Displacement is usually used to describe particles in motion, as in how far a particle has
moved from a given point.

The amplitude is expressed in a physical quantity − for example, as voltage, sound

pressure, etc.
 DOPPLER EFFECT
The Doppler effect is observed whenever the source of waves is moving with respect to
an observer.
The Doppler effect describes the shift in the frequency of a wave sound when the wave
source and/or the receiver is moving.

As the car approached with its siren blasting, the pitch of the siren sound (a measure of
the siren's frequency) was high; and then suddenly after the car passed by, the pitch of
the siren sound was low.
That was the Doppler effect - an apparent shift in frequency for a sound wave produced
by a moving source.
 CLASSIFICATION OF SOUND
• Acoustic transmission in building design refers to a number of
processes by which sound can be transferred from one part of a
building to another.

• Depending upon the position of source, sound can be broadly

divided into two classes:
Airborne sound:
• It is a sound which is transmitted through air and travels direct to
the ear of person.

• This type of sound travels from one part of the building to other or
from outside to inside through openings.

• A noise source in one room sends air pressure waves which induce
vibration to one side of a wall or element of structure setting it
moving such that the other face of the wall vibrates in an adjacent
room.

• Structural isolation therefore becomes an important consideration

• E.g. : recording studios, may be almost entirely isolated from the

rest of a structure by controlling noise by air tightening or adding
mass into the structure, such as a heavy dividing wall.
 2. Impact sound:
• It is a sound which is transmitted first
through the structure .

• A noise source in one room results

from an impact of an object onto a
separating surface, such as a floor and
transmits the sound to an adjacent
room.

• A typical example would be the sound

of footsteps in a room being heard in a
room below.

• Acoustic control measures usually

include attempts to isolate the source
of the impact, or cushioning it. For
E.G. :Noise of footsteps, furniture example carpets will perform
movement, dropping of significantly better than hard floors
utensils on the floor
• Impact sounds are troublesome and
are often very sharp.
3. Flanking transmission :
• Complex form of noise transmission, where the resultant vibrations
from a noise source are transmitted to other rooms of the building
usually by elements of structure within the building.

• For example, in a steel framed building, once the frame itself is set into
motion the effective transmission can be pronounced
BEHAVIOR OF SOUND & ITS EFFECTS
1. Reflection of sound waves :
•If a source of sound is directed at a
vertical surface some distance away,
an ECHO may be heard.
•Sound waves "bounce" off the vertical
surface, and are REFLECTED back
towards the source.
• Reflection of sound waves obey the laws
of reflection.

•Reflection of sound waves off of surfaces

can lead to one of two phenomena -
an echo or a reverberation

•But reflection of sound waves in Smooth walls fail to

auditoriums and concert halls do not give the room a feel
always lead to displeasing results, of full sound
especially if the reflections
are designed right.
• Smooth walls have a tendency to direct
sound waves in a specific direction.

•Subsequently the use of smooth walls in

an auditorium will cause spectators to
receive a large amount of sound from one
location along the wall; there would be only
one possible path by which sound waves
could travel from the speakers to the
listener. The auditorium would not seem to
be as lively and full of sound.

•Rough walls tend to diffuse sound,

reflecting it in a variety of directions. This
allows a spectator to perceive sounds from Rough walls fail to
every part of the room, making it seem give the room a
lively and full. For this reason, auditorium feel of full & lively
and concert hall designers prefer sound.
construction materials that are rough rather
than smooth
 BEHAVIOR OF SOUND & ITS EFFECTS
Definition of reflection
coefficient (r) of an element
When sound energy falls on the boundary
of an enclosure such as a wall or ceiling ,
a part of the energy is reflected back into
the enclosure with in the material of the
boundary and converted into heat and part
is transmitted through the boundary
element . The reflected sound expressed
as fraction of the total sound energy
falling on a boundary element is called the
reflection coefficient of the element
denoted by the greek symbol rho (r)
Thus
r = Reflected sound energy
Incident sound energy
23
Since the reflected energy is always less than the energy incident on the element r is
always less than 1.0, and is generally as a decimal number . For instance if the sound
energy incident on a panel is 100units of which 20 units is reflected then r =20% or
simply, r = 0.2.
The fraction of the incident sound that is transmitted through the element is called
transmission coefficient denoted by Greek symbol tau (t) . Similarly the fraction of the
incident that is absorbed into material is called absorption coefficient represented by
Greek symbol alpha (a).Since the sum of the reflected , absorbed and transmitted
amount of energy must be equal to the incident energy, the following relationship must
hold true:
r + a + t =1.0
The most important property of boundary element that affects sound reflection ,
absorption and transmission characteristics is its surface density ( weight per unit area).
Heavy weight elements its more reflective , implying that they provide a strong
reflection of sound as compared with lightweight elements. In other the value of r for a
heavy weight element is high . Since a heavyweight element is more reflective , less
sound is available to go through it. Thus a heavy weight element transmit little sound
I.e the value of t for the a heavyweight element is small. Conversely a lightweight
element transmits more sound and reflects less.

24
The wall is heavy, the amplitude of vibrations in the walls is small .
Consequently the vibrations in the air on the receiver side have a small
amplitude, implying that very little sound transmits through the wall . On the
other hand , a light weight wall has larger vibrations and therefore , a greater
amount of sound is transmitted through it.
The reflection, absorption and transmission characteristics of sound of
enclosure’s interior , we find both the absorbed and transmitted part of sound
energy are lost from the enclosure.
There fore the absorbed and the transmitted are grouped together and
considered as absorbed part.
In considering the acoustics of the enclosure, we assume that the sound
energy that falls on an enclosure boundary a part is reflected and a part
absorbed r + a =1.0
The absorption coefficient (a) also includes the transmission coefficient. Thus the
absorption coefficient is that fraction of incident sound energy that is not reflected
by boundary element

25
A building element must be heavy to provide a strong reflection of sound.
Another factor that affects reflection from an element is the ability of sound to
bend around an obstacle, referred to as diffraction. If sound did not diffract it
would go over an obstacle along a straight line path –like light, which produces
an optical shadow behind the obstacle

Diffraction causes a deviation from this straight line path and sound bends
around the obstacle , so that the acoustical shadow is smaller than the optical
shadow.
It is because of diffraction that we are able to hear a sound even when the

26
sound source is not visible to us
Music is also adversely affected. Although low frequency is able to
penetrate into the balcony space by diffraction, high frequency music
cannot. Consequently the music under a deep balcony assumes
undesirable tonal coloration. Since amplified music is usually not
acceptable ,deep balconies must be avoided in concert halls and other
music spaces

27
Refraction of Sound Waves

•Refraction of waves involves a change in the direction of waves as they pass

from one medium to another.
• Refraction, or bending of the path of the waves, is accompanied by a
change in speed and wavelength of the waves.

•Thus, waves passing from one medium to another will undergo refraction.
Refraction of sound waves is most evident in situations in which the sound
wave passes through a medium with gradually varying properties.

•For example, sound waves are known to refract when traveling over water.
Even though the sound wave is not exactly changing media, it is traveling
through a medium with varying properties; thus, the wave will encounter
refraction and change its direction.
Resonance :
•Sound waves from a source may,
under certain circumstances,
increase or initiate vibrations in
other sources. This occurs when the
frequency of the two sources are
equal.

•This can easily be demonstrated by

placing a vibrating tuning fork above
a straight-sided jug. By adjusting the
level of water in the jug, a point is
reached when a sound is emitted by
the jug when the fork is brought over
its opening.
A good sound reflector, a building element must be sufficiently large in relation
to the wavelength of sound and sufficiently stiff. A good sound reflector must
also be nonporous. Sound reflection from a large , heavy and a nonporous
surface can be either
•Specular reflection is a mirror type reflection similar to the reflection of light
from mirror the reflected beam makes the same angle with the reflecting
surface as the incident beam
•Diffuse reflection: the opposite of specular reflection is diffuse reflection. In
diffuse reflection the incident sound is reflected equally in all
directions(uniform scattering)
Sound Diffusion : A perfectly diffuse sound field is defined as one in which
sound arrives at the listener from all directions in equal strength.
Sound diffusion is one of the important acoustical requirements for rooms
used for musical performances . A room with a few specularly reflecting
surface , and which does not contain adequate surface irregularities of
diffuse sound produces harsh reflection known as “ acoustic glare” –an
undesirable effect of Music
Flutter echo : Sound echo is produced when the direct and the reflected

sounds are clearly and separately heard . When the reflected sounds

When the reflected sound reaches 0.05 seconds after the arrival of direct

sound ,echo is produced. Echoes are quite pronounced in domed structures

such as temples , where the reflected sounds concentrate in foci. When the

direct sound is repeated many times as echoes , room flutter is produced

.Flutter is generally produced when the sound is reflected successively

between hard parallel walls . Both echo and room flutter are undesirable in

buildings.

Sound Resonance : Sound waves are capable of setting physical vibration in

surrounding objects. The vibrating objects in turn produce sound waves. The

vibrating objects in turn produce sound waves. Thus the original

Sound level from the source is increased because of the sound added by the

vibrating objects This phenomenon is known as resonance

Sound Absorption : apart of the incident sound energy is absorbed by
the material . This loss of sound energy is because of its conversion to
heat due to frictional resistance inside the pores of the materials . The
fibrous and porous nature of materials contributes to their sound
absorbing capacity . The sound absorption coefficient of a materials
contributes to their sound absorbing capacity.The sound absorption
coefficient of a material is the ratio of the sound energy absorbed to the
total incident sound energy on a unit area of the material and is denoted
by a
The total absorption provided by the material of surface area a sq. mts
and sound absorption coefficient a is obtained in Sabins as:
S= a. a sabins or sq.m
In a hall the total sound absorption by different acoustical materials is given by the
expression
S= s1+s2+s3……….
= a1. a1 + a2. a2 + a3. a 3……. .

SABINE FORMULA
 MEASUREMENT OF SOUND
•It is measured with tools as ‘sound level meter’

•It is usually measured in units such as: Decibel, Sone, mel, Phon, Hertz

Purposes of measuring the sound:

•Helps to improve building acoustics

•It indicates when a sound may cause hearing damage and thus helps in taking
corrective measures to avoid the same.

•It permits evaluation of the hearing sensitivity of an individual.

•It permits precise & scientific analysis of the annoying sounds and thus, gives
an objective means of comparing annoying sounds under different conditions.

•It serves as powerful diagnosis tool in noise reduction .

 WAVE INTERFERENCE
Wave interference is the phenomenon that occurs when two waves meet
while traveling along the same medium.

The interference of waves causes the medium to take on a shape that results
from the net effect of the two individual waves upon the particles of the medium.

Two traveling waves

which exist in the same
medium will interfere
with each other.

If their amplitudes add,

the interference is said to
be constructive
interference.

It is called destructive
interference if they are
"out of phase" and
subtract. BS II | ACOUSTICS | PROPERTIES OF
SOUND
•Patterns of destructive and constructive interference may lead to
"dead spots" and "live spots" in auditorium acoustics.

•Interference of incident and reflected waves is essential to the

production of resonant standing waves

•Interference has far reaching consequences in sound because of the

production of "beats" between two frequencies which interfere with
each other.

f
+
f’

f f’ =

BS II | ACOUSTICS | PROPERTIES OF
SOUND
If a particular location along the medium repeatedly
experiences the interference of two compressions
followed up by the interference of two rarefactions, then
the two sound waves will continually reinforce each other
and produce a very loud sound.
BS II | ACOUSTICS | PROPERTIES OF
SOUND
Sound pressure waves
combine additively .

Waves that start together are

in phase

1. Sounds in phase
increase in amplitude
(positive interference)

2. Sounds out of phase

cancel each other out
(negative interference)

3. Sounds partially out of

phase create varying
amplitudes (beats)

BS II | ACOUSTICS | PROPERTIES OF
SOUND
 TRANSMISSION
LOSS
It is defined as

" The accumulated decrease in

acoustic intensity as an acoustic
pressure wave propagates
outwards from a source."

As the acoustic wave propagates

outwards from the source the
intensity of the signal is reduced
with increasing range due to:

1) Spreading

Spherical spreading
Cylindrical spreading

2) Attenuation
BS II | ACOUSTICS | PROPERTIES OF
SOUND
attenuation
Attenuation means the loss of the signal's amplitude with increasing
propagation distance.
The loss is defined as the ratio of two amplitudes and is usually expressed
in logarithmic units, Neper or dB.

Atmospheric
attenuation

BS II | ACOUSTICS | PROPERTIES OF
SOUND
a) Spherical Spreading : Loss in sound intensity follows the inverse
square law
“ Pressure drops in half for each doubling of distance ”
i.e. for each doubling of distance sound is 6 dB less

b) Cylindrical spreading:
The spherical spreading law will apply when sound energy spreads
outwards with no refraction or reflection from boundaries (e.g. the sea
floor or surface).
However, in a sound channel or shallow water where there are
reflections from the sea floor / surface spreading may be considerably
reduced by refraction and reflection.

BS II | ACOUSTICS | PROPERTIES OF
SOUND
 Acoustic Impedance
Sound travels through materials under
The acoustic impedance (Z)
the influence of sound pressure.
of a material is defined as the
product of its density (p) and
Because molecules or atoms of a solid
acoustic velocity (V).
are bound elastically to one another,
the excess pressure results in a wave
propagating through the solid. Z = pV
Acoustic impedance is important in •Transmission between media
with different impedances is
1. The determination of acoustic difficult.
transmission and reflection at the •Sounds reflect off animals in
boundary of two materials having air, but can pass through
different acoustic impedances. them in water.
2. The design of ultrasonic •Dictates efficiency of sound
transducers. production and reception by
3. Assessing absorption of sound in a organisms
medium.

BS II | ACOUSTICS | PROPERTIES OF
SOUND
Interior space acoustics
1. Diffusers which scatter sound are used in some rooms to improve the
acoustics.

2. This is the science of controlling a room's surfaces based on sound

absorbing and reflecting properties.
3. Excessive reverberation time, which can be calculated, can lead to poor
speech intelligibility.
4. Sound reflections create standing waves that produce natural
resonances that can be heard as a pleasant sensation or an annoying
one.

5. Reflective surfaces can be angled and

coordinated to provide good coverage
of sound for a listener in a concert hall
Toorillustrate this concept
music recital space.consider the
difference between a modern large
office meeting room or lecture
theater
and a traditional classroom with all
hard surfaces.
BS II | ACOUSTICS | PROPERTIES OF
SOUND
 ARCHITECTURAL ACOUSTICS

Architectural acoustics (also known as room acoustics and building

acoustics) is the science and engineering of achieving a good sound
within a building and is a branch of acoustical engineering.

It is the technology of designing spaces, structures and mechanical systems to

meet hearing needs ,the effect of building design on the control of sound in
buildings

Aspects of Acoustical Design in Buildings

• 1. Planning to keep noise sources as far as
possible from quiet area
• 2. Internal acoustics of rooms
• 3. Structural precautions to reduce noise
penetrations

BS II | ACOUSTICS | PROPERTIES OF
SOUND
 Architectural Acoustics includes the
following design considerations :

• Building skin envelope

• Inter-space noise control
• Interior space acoustics
• Mechanical equipment noise

Building skin envelope :

•This science analyzes noise transmission from building exterior envelope to

interior and vice versa.

•The main noise paths are roofs, eaves, walls, windows, door and penetrations.

•Sufficient control ensures space functionality and is often required based on

building use and local municipal codes.

•An example would be providing a suitable design for a home which is to be

constructed close to a high volume roadway, or under the flight path of a major
airport, or BS II | ACOUSTICS | PROPERTIES OF
of the airport itself. SOUND
Inter-space noise control :
• The science of limiting and/or controlling noise transmission from one
building space to another to ensure space functionality and speech
privacy.
• The typical sound paths are ceilings, room partitions, acoustic ceiling
panels (such as wood dropped ceiling panels), doors, windows, flanking,
ducting and other penetrations.
• Technical solutions depend on the source of the noise and the path of
acoustic transmission, for example noise by steps or noise by (air,water)
flow vibrations.
An example would be
providing suitable
party wall design in
an
apartment complex to
minimize the mutual
disturbance due to
noise by residents in
adjacent apartments
BS II | ACOUSTICS | PROPERTIES OF
SOUND
MECHANICAL EQUIPMENT NOISE

Building services noise control is the science of controlling noise produced

by:

• HVAC (air conditioning and mechanical ventilation) systems in buildings

• Elevators
• Electrical generators positioned within or attached to a building
• Any other building service infrastructure component that emits sound.

Inadequate control may lead to elevated sound levels within the space
which can be annoying and reduce speech intelligibility.

Typical improvements are vibration isolation of mechanical equipment,

and sound traps in ductwork.

Sound masking can also be created by adjusting HVAC noise to a

predetermined level.
BS II | ACOUSTICS | PROPERTIES OF
SOUND
There are three ways to improve workplace acoustics and solve
workplace sound problems – the ABCs.
• A = Absorb (via drapes, carpets, ceiling tiles, etc.)
• B = Block (via panels, walls, floors, ceilings and layout)
• C = Cover-up (via sound masking)

BS II | ACOUSTICS | PROPERTIES OF
SOUND
REFLECTION OF SOUND :
When a free sound wave travelling through air strikes a uniform , large , solid
plane surface , it is reflected in the same manner as that of the light ray.
This phenomenon is known as reflection of light.

BS II | ACOUSTICS | PROPERTIES OF
SOUND
DEFECTS DUE TO REFLECTED SOUND:
Two main defects occur due to reflection of sound :

•Echo
•Reverberation
ECHO:
When the reflected sound waves reach the ear just when the original sound
produced from the same source is reached , an echo is produced and it thus
indicated repetition of a sound by reflection of sound waves from a surface.

Reverberation :
•Time interval required for the sound energy to convert into other form of
energy.

•Generally brought about by the friction between the sound waves and air
particles and surfaces in contact.

•This gradual process of transformation is called reverberation and the time

interval thus required is called reverberation time
BS II | ACOUSTICS | PROPERTIES OF
SOUND
 THANK YOU

BS II | ACOUSTICS | PROPERTIES OF
SOUND