LECTURE 10

ROOM ACOUSTICS

Dr. Noor Aziah Mohd Ariffin

noaz62@yahoo.com
Extn: 5224

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 Department of Architecture
Kulliyyah of Architecture and Enviro Design
International Islamic University Malaysia What is Room Acoustics?

 Subject concerned with the control of sound in an

enclosed space
 Aim to provide the best conditions for the
production and the reception of desirable sounds.

Design strategy of room acoustics:

 To achieve optimum reverberation
 To reduce noise disturbances and echoes
 To avoid acoustics defects
 To enhance clarity of sound

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 Department of Architecture
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 An adequate level of sound evenly distributed to

all listeners in the room
 A rate of decay (reverberation time) suitable for
the type of room
 Background noise and external noise reduced to
acceptable levels
 Absence of echoes and similar acoustic defects

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Department of Architecture
Kulliyyah of Architecture and Enviro Design
International Islamic University Malaysia Fundamental factors

 Shape and form of the room

 Materials of walls and ceiling and floor
 Shape of reflective surfaces – concave, flat or
convex
 The absorption materials – the location, type
and amount

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The effects of sound inside an enclosed space:

 Reflect
 Absorb
 Transmit Absorption
Diffraction
 Diffract Reflection

Transmission

Diffraction

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The behaviour of sound inside an enclosed space

reflected

direct

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Behaviour of Sound

 When sound reflects, the angle of incident is equal

to the angle of reflection.
 Size of reflectors must be able to reflect the same
wavelength of sound concerned - to avoid long
delayed reflections and focusing effects.
 Eg. of focusing effects in an concave shapes when it
can produce places with very loud sound or hot
spots.
 Convex surfaces with diffusing surfaces reflects the
sound more evenly.
 Reflectors are used to distribute sound evenly in
an enclosure and to increase the overall sound
level.

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Behaviour of Sound
Kulliyyah of Architecture and Enviro Design
International Islamic University Malaysia
Behaviour of Sound
FLAT SURFACE CONVEX SURFACE

Uniformly
distributed

Scatter

CONCAVE SURFACE
Converge

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Department of Architecture
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International Islamic University Malaysia Acoustics Defects

What are acoustics defects?

 Long delayed echoes
 Flutter echoes
 Sound shadows
 Distortion – sound are garbled and illegible
 Sound concentrations – or hot spots

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 Department of Architecture
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i. Long Delayed Reflections:

 Are reflections that occur when a room is too long or too
big
 These are reflections from parallel or convex reflectors
placed too far along the ceiling towards then end of the
room.
 Walls and ceiling surfaces are important to prevent
delayed reflections.
 Strong reflections can be prevented by covering surfaces
with absorbent materials or making them into diffusing
surfaces by means of a convex shape.
 Reflections from corners can be overcome by using an
acoustic plaster or absorbent materials.

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 Department of Architecture
Kulliyyah of Architecture and Enviro Design
International Islamic University Malaysia Acoustics Defects

i. Long Delayed Reflections:

Sound reflectors

Long Delayed
Reflections

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 Department of Architecture
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International Islamic University Malaysia i. Long Delayed Reflections

Effect of sound reflection against time lag:

Time-lag (sec) Effect
0.00 – 0.02 Optimum amplification
0.02 – 0.03 Good amplification
0.03 – 0.07 Mixed sounds
> 0.07 Echoing

Relationship of reflection between the distance of reflector -

listener
Distance (meter) Effect
<7 Optimum
7 – 11 Good
11 – 23 Garbled sounds
> 23 Echoing
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 Department of Architecture
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International Islamic University Malaysia ii. Flutter Echoes

 Are rapid succession of noticeable echoes

 Can be avoided by not having the sound source
between parallel reflecting surfaces.
 In small rooms, it can be avoided by avoiding
parallel walls and parallel ceilings and floors.

Parallel walls - Flutter echoes ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

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University of Creative Technology, Cyberjaya walls
 Department of Architecture
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 This can occur when ceiling reflectors are concave

in nature
 Some sound is concentrated into certain areas while
other areas may not receive reflected sound
 Sound level in a room is not uniform throughout

Area of
sound
shadow

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 Department of Architecture
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International Islamic University Malaysia Reverberation

 Is a continuing presence of sound after the source of

the sound has been stopped.
 Caused by rapid multiple reflections between the
surfaces of a room.
 As the number of reflection increases the distance
travelled increases and the sound energy becomes
weaker.

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Reverberation
International Islamic University Malaysia Reverberation

 The multiple reflections reach the listener too fast for

them to be heard as separate sound.
 Reverberations are heard as an extension to the
original sound.

Reverberations

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 Department of Architecture
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 Sound absorption is a reduction in the sound energy

reflected from the surface.
 Sound absorption is a means of controlling reverberation.
 Absorption coefficient is a measure of the amount of
sound absorption provided by a particular type of
surface.

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 The effective absorption of a surface depends on

the area and the absorption coefficient of the
material.
 Absorption of a surface:
= area of surface (m2) x abs. coeff. of the surface
Unit: m2 sabins
 The total absorption of a room is the sum of the
absorptions provide by each surface in the room.

Total Absorption (A) = Σ (area x absorption coeff.)

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Absorption Coefficient
Kulliyyah ofIslamic
International Architecture andMalaysia
University Enviro Design
International Islamic University Malaysia

Absorption coefficient
Material/Hz 125 250 500 1K 2K 4K
Air m3 0.003 0.007 0.02
Acoustic panel 0.15 0.3 0.75 0.85 0.75 0.4
Plaster 0.03 0.03 0.02 0.03 0.04 0.05
Floor – concrete 0.02 0.02 0.02 0.04 0.05 0.05
Floor – wood 0.15 0.2 0.1 0.1 0.1 0.1
Floor – carpet 0.1 0.15 0.25 0.3 0.3 0.3
Brickwall 0.05 0.04 0.02 0.04 0.05 0.05
Curtains 0.05 0.12 0.15 0.27 0.37 0.5
People seated 0.18 0.4 0.46 0.46 0.51 0.46

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 Department of Architecture
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International Islamic University Malaysia Reverberation
Reverberation time
Time

 When a sound source stops the reverberant sound

level dies away with time.
 The rate at which the sound decays - is a useful
indication of the reverberation quality and is
measured by a reverberation time.

Reverberation time is the time taken for a

sound to decay by 60dB from its original level.

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 Department of Architecture
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International Islamic University Malaysia Reverberation
Reverberation time
Time

 The time taken for decay (rate of decay) in an

enclosed space depends on the following factors:

a) the distances between the surfaces of

the room
b) the absorption of the surfaces
c) the frequency of the sound

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Desirable
International Islamic University Malaysia
Reverberation
Reverberation time Time

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Examples of
International Islamic University Malaysia
Reverberation
Reverberation time Time
The auditoriums cited below are some of the most outstanding in the world, and they
show the consistent pattern of having significantly lower RT

Auditorium 125Hz 500Hz 2000Hz

Symphony Hall, Boston 2.2 1.8 1.7
Carnegie Hall, New York 1.8 1.8 1.6
Royal Festival Hall, London 1.4 1.5 1.4
Royal Albert Hall, London 3.4 2.6 2.2
Concertgebouw, Amsterdam 2.2 2.1 1.8
Kennedy Center, Washington 2.5 2.2 1.9

Rossing, Science of Sound, Ch 23

Beranek, 2004 Concert Halls and Opera Houses: Music, Acoustics &
Architecture

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ReverberationReverberation
Kulliyyah of Architecture and Enviro Design
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 Reverberation time is an important index for
describing the acoustical quality of an enclosure and
is described as the:

Sabine Formula: RT = 0.16V

A

where: RT = reverberation time

V = volume of the room
A = total absorption of room surfaces (Sa)

 Reverberation is controlled by the acoustic absorption within the

enclosed space.
 Each surface has a characteristic absorption spectrum
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Reverberation Time
International Islamic University Malaysia
Calculation

 The absorption of a surface is determined by

multiplying its surface area (S) by its absorption
coefficient (a)
 The total room absorption (A) is simply the sum of the
products, with the inclusion of audience absorption
plus other room contents.

A = S1a1 + S2a2 + S3a3 + S4a4 + ... Snan

where S1 ... Sn Area of each Surface 1 to n

a1 ... an Absorption coefficient of each Surface 1 to n
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Reverberation Time
International Islamic University Malaysia
Calculation

Calculate the reverberation time at 500 Hz for a hall of

1200m3 having the following surface absorption for 100
numbers of audience.
Surface/finishes Area Absorption Sa
Floor -carpet 200 0.25 50
Ceiling - plaster 200 0.02 4
Walls- brick 240 0.02 4.8
Audience 100 0.46 46
Total absorption (A) 104.8

RT = 0.16 x 1200
104.8 = 1.83 s

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Reverberation Time
International Islamic University Malaysia
Calculation

If the reverberation time for the hall is required to be

1.5s, calculate the area of acoustic tiling needed on
the walls to achieve the desired RT. (a of tiles = 0.56
at 500Hz)

Surface/finishes Area Absorption Sa

Tiles X 0.56 0.56X
Floor -carpet 200 0.25 50
Ceiling - plaster 200 0.02 4
Walls- brick 240 - X 0.02 4.8 – (0.02X)
Audience 100 0.46 46
Total absorption (A) 104.8 + 0.54X
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Reverberation Time
International Islamic University Malaysia
Calculation

If the reverberation time for the hall is required to be 1.5s, calculate

the area of acoustic tiling needed on the walls to achieve the
desired RT. (a of tiles = 0.56 at 500Hz)

If 1.5s is required:
1.5 = 0.16 x 1200
104.8 + 0.54(X)
» 1.5 (104.8 +0.54(X)) = 192
» (104.8 +0.54(X)) = 192 ÷ 1.5 (= 128)
» 0.54 (X) = 128 -104.8 = 23.2
» X = 23.2 ÷ 0.54
= 42.96 m2

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Sound Reflectors
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• Sound reflectors are used to improve early reflections

– thus improving the reverberant field for the listeners.

Sound reflectors

• Reasonable minimum dimension to act as a reflector

– 30 times the wavelength (too small – diffusion and
diffraction will occur)
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Sound Reflectors

Acoustic reflection panels are ideal for auditoriums

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 Department of Architecture
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Sound Absorbers
• Aim to reduce noise level from a source and to avoid
unwanted sound reflection and to control
reverberation
• Absorber performance:
– Porosity – the volume of pores connected to the outside air
when compared to the total volume of the material
– Flow resistance – movement of air particles within the material
– Structure factor – air channels running parallel to the surface
have little effect
• The performance of these absorbers is very
dependent on the mounting system

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Sound Absorbers
Reflection here is needed

Unwanted secondary
reflection creates echo or
repeated sounds

Absorbers here help reduce

unwanted reflections

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Types of Absorbers

• Porous
• Panel or membrane
• Resonators

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i) Porous Absorbers

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ii) Panel Absorbers

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iii) Resonator Absorbers

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Auditorium Design
Design strategy for an auditorium includes:
 achieving optimum reverberation time
 reducing noise disturbances and vibration
 avoiding acoustic defects
 enhance quality of sound

Types of Music Reverberation time (s)

March or band 0.8 – 1.0

Chamber 1.0 – 1.5

Orchestra 1.5 – 2.0

Organ and choir > 2.0

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Auditorium Design

 Reverberation requirement for music and speech is

different.

Reverberation time (s) Speech Music

< 1.0 Optimum Too lame

1.0 – 1.5 Good Mediocre

1.5 – 2.0 Mediocre Good

> 2.0 Unsuitable Mediocre

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Auditorium Design
 The optimum geometrical
shape and form of an
auditorium of concert hall will
depend on the main purpose.
 3 main geometrical shapes:
 Longitudinal
 Fan-shape
 Horse-shoe shape
 Angled shape

Eg: Walt Disney Music

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may be Los Angeles
reproduced
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Petronas Philharmonic Hall, Kuala Lumpur and Royal Festival Hall,
London.
• For music and speech

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a) Longitudinal Shapes
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Petronas Philharmonic Hall, Kuala Lumpur

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 Department of Architecture
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Fan Shape
Lincoln Center, New York and Queen Elizabeth Hall, London
• For music and speech

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Auditorium Design
Fan Shapes – Alice Tully Hall, Lincoln Center, New York
• For music and speech

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 Department of Architecture
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Teatro Alla Scala, Milan and Royal Albert Hall, London

• For music and opera

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Auditorium Design

Horse-shoe Shapes

Royal Albert Hall, London

Teatro Alla Scala, Milan
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d. Angled shapes
Angled Shapes
• For music and other performances

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Auditorium Design

Angled Shapes - Sydney Opera House, Sydney

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Auditorium Design
Angled Shapes - Walt Disney Music Hall, Los Angeles

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Department of Architecture
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Shukran Jazilan

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