Acoustic measurements

LMS Test.Lab

16A

Copyright Siemens Industry Software NV

 Table of Contents

Chapter 1 Acoustic measurement functions ................................................................ 5

Section 1.1 Sound pressure level ............................................................................ 5
Section 1.2 Sound Intensity .................................................................................... 5
Section 1.3 Residual intensity ................................................................................. 6
Section 1.4 Pressure residual intensity index .......................................................... 7

Chapter 2 Calculation of acoustic quantities ............................................................... 9

Section 2.1 Effective sound pressure ...................................................................... 9
Section 2.2 Acoustic intensity ................................................................................ 9
Section 2.3 Sound power ...................................................................................... 10
Section 2.4 Particle velocities ............................................................................... 10

Chapter 3 Acoustic measurement surfaces ............................................................... 13

Section 3.1 Acoustic ISO standards ...................................................................... 13

Chapter 4 Frequency bands......................................................................................... 15

Section 4.1 Field indicators .................................................................................. 15
Section 4.2 The criteria ......................................................................................... 18

16A 3
 Chapter 1 Acoustic measurement functions

Chapter 1 Acoustic measurement functions

In This Chapter
Sound pressure level ...........................................................5
Sound Intensity ...................................................................5
Residual intensity ...............................................................6
Pressure residual intensity index ........................................7
This section describes the acoustic quantities that can be measured. From
measured quantities it is possible to derive further quantities as described in
section 3.2.

Section 1.1 Sound pressure level

This is defined by equation 2-12 and can be measured using a single channel. It
will result in an averaged pressure or autopower spectrum.

For measurements in the free field, and in the direction of propagation, the
normal sound intensity level will be equal to the sound pressure level. In
practice, when not working under free field conditions, the sound intensity level
will be lower than the sound pressure level.

Section 1.2 Sound Intensity

The sound intensity in a specified direction at a point is the average rate of

sound energy transmitted in the specified direction through a unit area normal to
this direction at the point considered.

In most situations it is the component of the sound intensity vector normal to the
measurement surface, In , which is measured.

In order to determine sound intensity you can measure both the instantaneous
pressure and the corresponding particle velocity simultaneously. In practice,
the sound pressure can be obtained directly using a microphone. The
instantaneous particle velocity can be calculated from the pressure gradient
between two closely spaced microphones. A sound intensity probe can
therefore consist of two closely spaced pressure microphones which measure
both the sound pressure and the pressure gradient between the microphones.

16A 5
 Chapter 1 Acoustic measurement functions

For frequency domain calculations, it can be shown that the sound intensity can
be calculated from the imaginary part of the crosspower between the two
microphone signals. The following formula is used:

Where S1,2 is the double sided crosspower between the two microphone
signals, f is the signal frequency, d is the microphone distance and r is the air
density.

For this function, all channels are processed as channel pairs, each pair
consisting of two consecutive channels. It therefore requires that an even
number of channels is defined.

The reactive sound intensity (non propagating energy) is calculated as:

For the idealized case of measurements in the free field (free space without
reflections) and in the direction of propagation, the reactive intensity is zero.

Section 1.3 Residual intensity

This is defined as:

where Lp is the measured sound pressure level and δp I0 is the pressure residual
intensity index. To calculate the residual intensity therefore it is necessary to
have the pressure residual intensity index available. This is described below.
Intensity measurements can be made in a sound field where the sound intensity
level is in the range

Lp is defined in equation 2-12, and LI in equation 2-10. In a free field the

pressure and intensity levels are the same, whereas in all other cases, the
measured intensity will be less than the pressure. The residual intensity (Lp-δp
I0) represents the lowest intensity level which can be detected by the system for
the given sound pressure level.

6 LMS Test.Lab Acoustic measurements

 Chapter 1 Acoustic measurement functions

Section 1.4 Pressure residual intensity index

For the calculation of the pressure residual intensity index of a sound intensity
probe, it is required to place the intensity probe in a sound field such that the
sound pressure is uniform over the volume. In these conditions there will be no
difference between the two signals at both microphones, and hence the
measured intensity should be zero. However, the phase mismatch between the
two measuring channels causes a small difference between the two signals
making it appear as if there is some intensity. The intensity detected can be
likened to a noise floor below which measurements cannot be made. This
intensity lower limit is not fixed but varies with the pressure level. What is
fixed, is the difference between the pressure and the intensity level when the
same signal is fed to both channels.

It is this which is defined as the pressure residual intensity index.

Mathematically therefore the pressure residual intensity index is:

where Lp is the sound pressure level and LIn is the normal sound intensity
level.

Dynamic capability index

In order to ensure a particular level of accuracy for the measurements it is

necessary to increase the measurement floor defined by the residual intensity
level by an amount termed the 'bias error factor' (k)

Figure 3-1 Dynamic capability index Ld

The 'bias error factor' (k) is selected according to the grade of accuracy required
from the table below.

16A 7
 Chapter 1 Acoustic measurement functions

Grade of accuracy Bias error factor dB

Precision (class 1) 10

Engineering (class 2) 10

Survey (class 3) 7

Table 3.1 Bias error factor (k)

The difference between the residual pressure-intensity index and k therefore

represents the range in which the probe should be operating and is termed the
'dynamic capability index' (Ld) for the probe.

8 LMS Test.Lab Acoustic measurements

 Chapter 2 Calculation of acoustic quantities

Chapter 2 Calculation of acoustic quantities

In This Chapter
Effective sound pressure ....................................................9
Acoustic intensity ...............................................................9
Sound power .......................................................................10
Particle velocities ...............................................................10
Acoustic functions can be derived from ones that have been measured. This
section describes these analysis functions and Table 3.2 gives an overview of
them and the measured quantities required for their derivation.

Calculations will be made over specific frequency bands This subject is

discussed in section 3.4. Some functions are computed over a known area. The
subject of defining surfaces (meshes) for acoustic functions is discussed in
section 3.3.

Section 2.1 Effective sound pressure

The effective sound pressure pe or prms may be computed from a measured

sound pressure spectrum or from its autopower spectrum.

Section 2.2 Acoustic intensity

This as a vector quantity calculated directly from measured acoustic intensity

functions.

When intensity measurements are not available but sound pressure

measurements are available, then the magnitude of the acoustic intensity can be

16A 9
 Chapter 2 Calculation of acoustic quantities

computed from the effective sound pressure p and the acoustic impedance ro.c

but only under the assumption of plane progressive waves in a free field.

Section 2.3 Sound power

This is calculated from the geometrical area S and the acoustic intensity
component perpendicular to a surface

Under certain circumstances, intensity can be assumed to be proportional to

effective sound pressure, and then

Section 2.4 Particle velocities

These can be calculated when both acoustic intensity and sound pressure data
are available

All the possible analysis functions are summarized in Table 3.2. (These are
based on the assumption of plane progressive waves in a free field.)

Acoustic Symbol Required Formula MKS

quantity data units

Effectiv pe sound Pa or
e (RMS) pressure
spectrum N/m2
sound p
pressure
pressure
autopowe
rA

10 LMS Test.Lab Acoustic measurements

 Chapter 2 Calculation of acoustic quantities

Intensity intensity W/m

2

Sound P Intensity W
power and area

Sound
pressure
spectrum
and area

pressure
autopowe
r and

area

Particle intensity m/s

velocity and
sound
pressure

Table 3.2 Overview of analysis functions for acoustic signals

16A 11
 Chapter 3 Acoustic measurement surfaces

Chapter 3 Acoustic measurement surfaces

In This Chapter
Acoustic ISO standards ......................................................13
Acoustic measurements differ from other types of signals in that they are
measured some distance away from the object rather than on the test structure
itself. The measurement points are termed associated nodes, that are surrounded
by a hypothetical measurement surface. An organized collection of
measurement surfaces and nodes are termed a measurement mesh and there are
ISO standards that define such meshes for particular measurement types.

Figure 3-2 Sound source, acoustic measurement mesh and nodes

Acoustic measurement meshes can be parallelepiped, cylindrical or spherical in

shape.

Associated nodes on measurement meshes have a nodal orientation. This is

always Cartesian, and the orientation of the +Z nodal coordinate system for a
measurement defines the measurement direction.dd

Section 3.1 Acoustic ISO standards

The ISO-3744 and ISO-3745 standards describe sound pressure measurements.

The microphone positions are defined on a (hemi-) spherical or a parallelepiped
measurement mesh. The possible dimensions of the measurement mesh depend
on the characteristic distance of the reference surface. This reference surface is
defined as the smallest rectangular box that encloses the noise source.
 ISO-3744 Acoustics - Determination of sound power levels of noise

16A 13
 Chapter 3 Acoustic measurement surfaces

sources - Engineering methods for free-field conditions over a reflecting

plane.
 ISO-3745 Acoustics - Determination of sound power levels of noise
sources - Precision methods for anechoic and semi-anechoic rooms
The ISO-9614-1 standard describe sound intensity measurements. In this case the
microphone positions of the measurement meshes are not defined. The quality
of the mesh has to be judged during measurements.

It describes a number of field indicators that allow a judgment of the accuracy

of the measurements and the mesh.

14 LMS Test.Lab Acoustic measurements

 Chapter 4 Frequency bands

Chapter 4 Frequency bands

In This Chapter
Field indicators ...................................................................15
The criteria .........................................................................18
Whenever an acoustic quantity is integrated over a certain frequency band, the
following formula applies

The integration of a continuous function a(f) is replaced by a finite sum over the
corresponding discrete samples:

This integration takes into account the full value of all data samples between the
two limits, and 50 % of the first and last sample. It can be obtained between any
two measured frequency limits.

It is good practise to maintain the type of frequency band that was used in the
acquisition of the data for the calculation. In fact data acquired in octave bands
must remain in those bands for the analysis. The calculation of the field
indicators also makes little sense unless the analysis bands correspond with the
measurement bands.

Section 4.1 Field indicators

When attempting to analyze the sound power being radiated from a noise source
in situ, the international standard ISO 9614-1 lays out a number of measurement
conditions which must be adhered to if the results are to be considered
acceptable for this purpose. A number of criteria must be satisfied, based on the
values of particular indicator functions, to ensure the requisite adequacy of the
measurements and meshes. This section describes both the field indicators
themselves and the criteria used to assess the results.

F1 Sound field temporal variability indicator

This gives the measure of temporal (or time) variability of the field. It is

16A 15
 Chapter 4 Frequency bands

defined as follows

Where In is the mean value of M short time averages of Ink defined in the
following equation.

F2 Surface pressure-intensity indicator

In a free field where sound is only radiating out from a source, the pressure and
intensity levels are equal in magnitude. In a diffuse or reactive field however,
intensity can be low when the pressure is high. A lower measured intensity can
also arise if the sound wave is incident at an angle to the probe since this also
affects the phase change detected across the probe. The pressure-intensity
indicator examines the difference between the pressure and the absolute values
of intensity. This function can be determined on a point to point basis during
the acquisition, but the function F2 described here represents the value averaged
over all the measured surfaces.

is the surface sound pressure level defined as

where i indicates the measurement surface and N is the total number of surfaces
(of the local component).

is the surface normal unsigned acoustic intensity level defined as

where |Ini| is the absolute (unsigned) value of the normal intensity vector.

Note: A large difference between intensity and pressure suggests that the
probe is not well aligned or that you are operating in diffuse field.

16 LMS Test.Lab Acoustic measurements

 Chapter 4 Frequency bands

In order to calculate F2 it is necessary to have both intensity and autopower (or

pressure) measurements for all points on the mesh.

F3 Negative partial power indicator

This indicator also examines the difference between measured intensity and
pressure, but in this case the direction of the intensities is taken into account.
Thus this function expresses the variation between intensities arising from the
source under investigation (positive) and those being generated by extraneous
sources (negative).

is the surface sound pressure level defined above.

is the surface normal signed acoustic intensity level defined as

Note! If the quantity Error! is negative, then the effect of extraneous sources
is too great and the set of measurements do not satisfy the ISO requirements.

In order to calculate F3 it is necessary to have both intensity and autopower (or

pressure) measurements for all points on the mesh.

F4 Non-uniformity indicator

This indicates the measure of spatial (or positional) variability that exists in the
field. It can be compared with the statistical parameter standard deviation.

Where i indicates the measurement surface and N is the total number of

surfaces. In is the mean of the normal acoustic intensity vectors taken over the
N surfaces.

In order to calculate F4, only intensity measurements are required.

16A 17
 Chapter 4 Frequency bands

Section 4.2 The criteria

Three criterion can be evaluated in verifying the results of an acoustic intensity

analysis.

Ld - F2 Measurement chain accuracy

If a measurement array is to be considered suitable for determining the sound

power level of a noise source according to ISO 9614-1, then the dynamic
capability index (Ld) must be greater than the indicator F2 for each frequency
band.

Ld is dependent on the measurement equipment and is defined in equation NO

TAG. F2 is defined in equation 3-18. Ld is derived from the pressure residual
intensity index which must be computed during the measurement phase.

If this criterion is not satisfied then it is an indication that the levels being
measured are too low for the source and that it is necessary to reduce the
average distance between the measurement surface and the source.

F3 - F2 Extraneous noise sources

If the difference between field indicators F2 and F3 is significant (greater than

3dB), it is a strong indication of the presence of a directional extraneous noise
source in the vicinity of the noise source under test.

If the difference between these two indicators is greater than 3 dB, then the
situation can be improved by reducing the average distance between the
measurement surface and the source, shielding measurement sources from the
extraneous noises or reducing some reflections towards the source under
investigation.

Measurement mesh adequacy

A check on the adequacy of the measurement positions (mesh) can be made

using the following criterion.

where N is the number of measurement (probe) positions

F4 is the indicator defined in equation 3-23

C is a factor selected from table 3.3 depending on the accuracy required.

Where the same mesh is used for a number of bands then the maximum value of
C.F42 will be considered when evaluating the criterion.

18 LMS Test.Lab Acoustic measurements

 Chapter 4 Frequency bands

Center frequencies (Hz) C

Octave band 1/3 Octave band Precision Engineering Survey

class 1 class 2 class 3

63-125 50-160 19 11

250-500 200-630 9 19

1000-4000 800-5000 57 29

6300 19 14

A weighted (63 - 4k or 50 - 6.3k) Hz 8

Table 3.3 Values of factor C for measurement mesh accuracy

16A 19
 Index

A
Acoustic intensity • 12
Acoustic ISO standards • 15
Acoustic measurement functions • 5
Acoustic measurement surfaces • 15
C
Calculation of acoustic quantities • 11
E
Effective sound pressure • 11
F
Field indicators • 18
Frequency bands • 17
P
Particle velocities • 13
Pressure residual intensity index • 7
R
Residual intensity • 6
S
Sound Intensity • 5
Sound power • 12
Sound pressure level • 5
T
The criteria • 20

16A 21