General Principles of Acoustics Section 4

4 Propagation of Sound
In this unit aspects of outdoor sound propagation are studied. It is worth noting that
whenever reference is made to free field or unobstructed propagation, it may be
taken to cover the propagation within a room with perfectly absorbing walls, even
though sound within rooms will not be discussed until the next unit. In order to make
sense of this section, it is useful to first review and expand upon some of the
previous discussions on the basic properties of sound waves from Section 1.

4.1 More on the Basic Behaviour of Sound Waves

4.1.1 Propagation
A sound wave propagates with a wave velocity which depends on the inertial and
elastic properties of the material through which it is propagating. This velocity is very
nearly independent of the frequency of the sound wave (in cases where there is a
slight dependence of wave velocity on frequency, this phenomenon is referred to as
velocity dispersion). The major interest here is in propagation through air and the
velocity of propagation through a gas is given by the following equation:
c = √(γRT / M)
where R is a constant independent of the gas,
T is the absolute temperature of the gas, Kelvin (°C+273),
γ is a constant close to1 and does vary from one gas to another.
M is the molecular weight of the gas.

From this it can be seen that the velocity of sound in gases with very low molecular
weights - eg helium and hydrogen - at a given temperature is higher than for denser
gases such as carbon dioxide. In fact, a change of a factor of four in the molecular
weight leads to a doubling of the velocity of sound. The velocity of sound for different
gases is shown in Table 4.1.

Table 4.1 Velocity of sound in different gases

Gas Velocity at 0°C, m/s
Oxygen 317.2
Air 331
Hydrogen 1269
Carbon dioxide 258

For any one gas the velocity varies with the square root of the absolute temperature,
T Kelvin. Thus the velocity of sound in a gas increases by 5.3% when the
temperature changes from 273 Kelvin (0°C) to 303 Kelvin (30°C).

4.1.2 Partial reflection

At a change of specific acoustic impedance in the propagating medium, acoustic
energy in an incident wave divides so that some energy goes into a reflected wave
and part into a transmitted wave that propagates on into the second medium. The
greater the change in specific acoustic impedance, the stronger is the reflected wave.

Notes based on the General Principles of Acoustics Module of the Institute of Acoustics, UK
 General Principles of Acoustics Section 4

Consider the boundary between air and water. Air has a specific acoustic impedance
of 413 SI units at room temperature whereas water has a value of about 1.5 million
units. This difference guarantees that a strong reflection of sound occurs at the
boundary, irrespective of the direction of propagation.

4.1.3 Strong reflections and focussing

When the reflecting surface is at least several times larger than the longest acoustic
wavelength of interest, there is the possibility that reflection will be the major effect
and not (as discussed later) diffraction. Where the impedances are very different a
strong reflection can occur, and the behaviour imitates that of light. Then the
interesting possibility of focussing and defocusing of sound waves arises, the
principles of which are shown in Figure 4.1. A practical example would be the simple
form of acoustic direction finder for locating enemy aircraft, such as was used in
World War II. In that device, a parabolic mirror of several metres diameter (ie a
mirror that is several wavelengths wide for wavelengths less than about 60 cm or
acoustic frequencies above 500 Hz) had a microphone at its optical focus. The
mirror was rotated to scan the skies and sound was collected giving a fair degree of
directivity to enable location of the aeroplanes. The concept of a large curved
surface acting as a focussing mirror will be discussing later in relation to the control
of sound in auditoria.

Sound rays

Figure 4.1 Example of parabolic mirror

Microphone
used to focus sound

4.1.4 Absorption vs attenuation

It is important to distinguish between the terms absorption and attenuation.
Attenuation is the more general term and is taken to cover all effects by which a
sound wave becomes weaker. This includes the effect of geometrical dispersion,
in which acoustic energy is distributed over a progressively larger surface as the
distance travelled becomes greater, resulting in a decrease in sound intensity.

It also includes the phenomenon, properly called absorption, which involves the
conversion of acoustic energy into some other form of energy, usually heat. Acoustic
energy does not degrade into random thermal energy spontaneously; instead a
physical process, for example friction, is required. When a sound wave penetrates
into, and propagates through, a material such as polyester or glass fibre, the
movement of air molecules that is intrinsic to the propagation process causes
frictional heating of the fibres encountered, and this heating removes energy from a
sound wave.

If a sound wave travels first through air before encountering a different medium, it
follows that for that medium to function as an efficient frictional absorber, the

GPA Dec 2016 Section 4 page 4.2

 General Principles of Acoustics Section 4

proportion of the incident energy that enters should be as large as possible. This
indicates a requirement that the second medium should have acoustic impedance as
close as possible to that of air. Fibrous sound-absorbing materials satisfy this
requirement as the fibrous structure offers a considerable surface area for the friction
heating to take effect.

A point worth bearing in mind is the rate at which the acoustic intensity falls with
distance in respect of the two phenomena cited here. As sound wave propagates
through a fibrous absorbing medium, the sound pressure level typically shows a
linear fall off with distance, as shown in Figure 4.2. But as shown in Section 1, with
unobstructed propagation from a point source, sound pressure level falls off with
distance according to an inverse square law, i.e. linearly with the log of distance, at 6
dB per distance doubled per Figure 4.3; this is the geometrical dispersion discussed
above. Because of such differences in beam-spreading laws, care is needed when
attempting to combine these two phenomena into a single equation.

Lp

Lp

Distance from
source

Distance from Beam spreading

source
Lp

Figure 4.2 Change in

level from absorption
Logarithm of Distance
from source

Figure 4.3 Change in level

from geometrical dispersion,
i.e. ‘inverse square law’

4.1.5 Refraction
The bending of light passing into a prism and the focussing/ defocusing of light by a
lens are consequences of the fact that light is moving into a second medium, glass,
where the wave velocity is considerably less than the velocity in the initial medium,
air. This causes a bending of the light beam as it crosses the interface between air
and glass, and with curved interfaces this gives rise to lens behaviour.

GPA Dec 2016 Section 4 page 4.3

 General Principles of Acoustics Section 4

There is a corresponding effect with sound waves, but it is not so easy to observe. If
a sound wave crosses a boundary between two media at non-normal incidence so
that it is moving from a fast medium into a slow medium, the sound wave behaves
similarly to light wave moving into a prism. That is to say, the refracted wave moves
at an angle closer to the normal that the incident wave. Refraction is important in any
discussion of long range propagation, where relatively modest changes in
atmospheric temperature with height above the ground change the velocity of
propagation and give rise to similarly modest changes of propagation direction of the
sound beam. Given sufficient source-to-receiver distance, such effects can become
apparent and will be discussed later in this Section.

4.1.6 Interference
Section 1 noted that when two pure tones of the same frequency (e.g. two simple
harmonic or sinusoidal disturbances) simultaneously pass through a point, the
principle of superposition indicates that the instantaneous sound pressure there
comprises a pure tone of the same frequency. But its amplitude can be anywhere
between the sum and the difference of the component amplitudes, depending upon
the phase difference between the two signals. For example, if their phase difference
is zero so that they could be said to be in step, the resultant amplitude is the sum of
the two separate amplitudes but, if their phase difference is a half cycle, the resultant
is the difference in their amplitudes. The nett result is that, with equal component
amplitudes, the resultant amplitude lies between twice the original and zero.

A way of envisaging this in practice is to consider a source (e.g. a loudspeaker)

producing a pure tone, with arrangements made to send the sound to a listening
point via two paths involving a path difference that can be varied. Path differences of
a whole number of wavelengths correspond to the same number of complete cycles,
and similarly for non-integral numbers. Hence, for a chosen geometry and a fixed
path difference, the phase difference will vary as the frequency is varied. Thus at
certain frequencies, in-phase conditions hold and constructive interference occurs
whilst, at other frequencies when out-of-phase conditions hold, destructive
interference occurs. Recording engineers are well aware of this phenomenon. A
microphone carelessly placed near to an acoustically-reflecting wall will give rise to
potentially disastrous signal cancellations at the microphone for certain frequencies.
This phenomenon is often said to produce a comb-filter effect.

In practice, for environmental noise studies involving more than one disturbance
acting at a point, noise sources are essentially uncorrelated. For example, if sound
from two vehicles arrives at a point, instantaneous sound pressures there are not in
any way related, i.e. are uncorrelated. The overall sound pressure level is then
based on the sum of the intensities so that, if the two sound pressure levels have the
same value, their combination will be 3 dB higher.

4.1.7 Diffraction
Diffraction, like interference, is a phenomenon with implications for every aspect of
wave behaviour. When sound reaches an edge of a barrier, every point along that
edge behaves as a point source of sound that radiates with a spherical wavefront.
Thus the sound wave appears to ‘bend over’ the edge of the barrier. The magnitude

GPA Dec 2016 Section 4 page 4.4

 General Principles of Acoustics Section 4

of this diffraction effect increases with the wavelength of the incident sound, which
is why it is common to hear more of the low frequency components of traffic noise
behind a barrier.

Similarly, when sound passes through a slit or narrow gap, their edges behave like
arrays of point sound sources which propagate spherical sound waves on the other
side of the slit. So if a barrier contains more than one slit, sound waves originating
from each slit can form an interference pattern on the other side of the barrier.

4.2 Source mechanisms and types

4.2.1 Source mechanisms

There are really only two major classes of source mechanism, namely sound
generated from vibrating surfaces and sound generated from the movement of air.

Vibrating surfaces. The most commonly occurring source involves a relatively large
surface area that is coupled, via a deliberate or accidental mechanism, to a
mechanically vibrating device. For example, the door panel of a car could be
coupled via the structure of the car to various sources of vibration, such as the
engine itself and vibration from the interaction of the wheels of the car with a rough
road surface. The door panel may act as a radiating device not too different from the
way a loudspeaker works, and can show similar resonant behaviour.

While all solid surfaces are capable of resonant behaviour, an important

consideration is the efficiency with which a panel converts its mechanical vibration
into sound energy. Depending on the boundary conditions imposed by conditions at
the edges, the surface can vibrate with especially large amplitudes (for a given
magnitude of driving force) at particular excitation frequencies. At each of these
resonance frequencies, the surface vibrates in a special pattern or mode in which
individual parts of the surface vibrate with different amplitudes. A simple example
could be a panel on the inside of a car which does not have the proper fixings. When
the car is driven over a particular road surface at a certain speed, a loud sound may
be generated because the complex vibration caused by the wheel/road interaction
has a component at the panels’ resonant frequency, so the panel effectively amplifies
that frequency.

Fundamentally resonance is a consequence of the interplay between the inertial and

elastic properties of a system. Raising the mass and/or lowering the stiffness of a
system have the effect of moving a resonance condition to a lower frequency.
Adding damping (i.e. using any material or process that will cause vibrational energy
to be degraded into heat) squashes out the resonance, making it less prominent and
increasing the frequency range over which it is observed. Resonant vibration of a
panel is, in general, a more effective mechanism for sound generation than non-
resonant or broad-band excitation.

Air-Movement Generated Sound. When air moves quickly in close proximity to air
that is not moving as fast (thus creating a 'velocity shear'), then the resulting

GPA Dec 2016 Section 4 page 4.5

 General Principles of Acoustics Section 4

turbulence may act as a sound source. This is the major sound source in simple jet
noise. Another mechanism is the interaction of a moving fluid with a solid object; an
example would be the sound of air whistling through an air-conditioning grill.

4.2.2 Monopole and dipole sources

Consider a spherical surface arranged so that its radius undergoes a harmonic
excursion about its resting value – imagine a pulsating balloon. The action of the
sphere on the surrounding medium creates local density and pressure fluctuations
that give rise to a spherically-symmetrical propagating sound wave. Such an
idealised source is called a monopole source and, in practical terms, a ball covered
with miniature loudspeakers coupled to a sound generator is a good approximation to
the ideal monopole source

Two adjacent loudspeakers both connected to a pure tone source such that their
cones move in opposition to each other, generate a highly-directional sound field
closely approximating that from an ideal dipole source. And a loudspeaker with no
surrounding enclosure also produces a sound field approximating that of a dipole,
because sounds produced by the two faces of the loudspeaker combine and interfere
as for a dipole source. Figures 4.4 and 4.5 show schematic monopole and dipole
sources (see also http://www.kettering.edu/~drussell/Demos/rad2/mdq.html.)

If a monopole sound source is in a free-field with no reflecting surfaces, the sound

pressure level falls at 6 dB per doubling of distance. On the other hand, dipole free-
field sound pressure levels fall at 12 dB per doubling of radial distance along the
horizontal axis shown in Figure 4.5; the rate of decay increases as the radial direction
rotates, until sound pressure levels are zero perpendicular to that axis.

Figure 4.4 Monopole radiation pattern Figure 4.5 Dipole radiation pattern

4.2.3 Near and far acoustic fields

Close to a source, in the near-field region, the sound field is typically complex and
tends to vary greatly from point–to-point. This region is usually excluded from
discussions of sources and the acoustic fields they produce. However, in the far-field
– at a distance from the source of either several wavelengths of the lowest frequency
sound or several times the source dimensions – the sound field tends to be
characterised by smooth wave fronts along with predictable intensity vs distance
relationships.

GPA Dec 2016 Section 4 page 4.6

 General Principles of Acoustics Section 4

4.2.4 Directivity
Sound sources (except for an ideal point source) normally have a directivity pattern
associated with its radiation, meaning that the acoustic field in some directions will be
stronger than in others at the same distance from the source. This directivity (also
called directionality) is quantified in either of two ways, depending on the problem
under consideration.

The first introduces Directivity Factor Q defined as:

Q = p2θ(r) / p2s(r)
where p2θ(r) is sound pressure squared at a point at radius r in the direction θ being
considered, and
p2s(r) is sound pressure squared at radius r from a notional omnidirectional
(i.e. monopole) source emitting the same sound power.

The second defines Directivity Index DI in decibels as:

DI = 10 logQ= Lpθ – Lp1
where Lpθ is the sound pressure level at a point at radius r in the direction θ being
considered, and
Lp1 is the sound pressure level at radius r from a notional omnidirectional
source emitting the same sound power.

The second definition suggests a practical way of determining DI by measuring the

sound pressure levels around a source. Spatial averaging should be done in such a
way as to ensure that each measurement point represents a constant area on the
measurement sphere. For this purpose recommended sets of Cartesian x, y, and z
co-ordinates are available for points at which to take such measurements. An
example of a set of relative co-ordinates is given in Table 4.2.

Table 4.2 Example of coordinates for measurements around a sphere to achieve

appropriate spatial averaging (extracted from AS 1217.6, which has
been withdrawn and ISO 3745, 2003 would now apply)

GPA Dec 2016 Section 4 page 4.7

 General Principles of Acoustics Section 4

4.2.5 An omnidirectional source near a reflecting plane. A simple directional

source can be created by placing an omnidirectional source on a hard flat surface
which acts as a reflecting plane, as in Figure 4.6.

Figure 4.6 Sound source in the free-field and above a reflecting surface

Clearly the energy that would normally propagate downwards is reflected upwards,
resulting in a doubling of sound intensity in the upper hemisphere. Hence the
Directivity Factor for the source in this location is 2 in all directions above the plane
and it follows that its Directivity Index is 3 dB. This means the sound pressure level
for the source will be 3 dB higher when it is close to the reflecting surface than it
would be if it was in an open space with no reflecting surfaces nearby.

For a similar source placed at the junction of a wall and a floor the Directivity Factor
becomes 4 and the Directivity Index is 6 dB. In the corner formed between two walls
and a floor, the values become 8 and 9 dB respectively.

When both source and receiver are close to the reflecting plane, and the source-to-
plane distance is much less than the receiver-to-plane distance, the sounds received
from the source and its reflected image are more or less coherent. In that case, the
increase in sound pressure level at the receiver compared with the free-field case
might be nearer 6 dB than 3 dB.

Consequently, for the most part, it is adequate to consider the sound power of a
source as characteristic of the source, i.e. independent of the acoustic environment
in which the source is located. It is sufficient for the present to note that it is possible
that the effective sound power of a source may be modified if, for example, it is
placed within a half wavelength of a reflecting plane.

4.2.6 The far-field of a directional source If a source has Directivity Factor Q in a

certain direction, then the inverse square law for the intensity of an omnidirectional
source, namely (see Section 1):

I = W / 4πr2 and Lp = Lw – 20lg r – 11

must be modified to allow for the source’s directivity as follows:

I = WQ / 4πr2 and Lp = Lw – 20lg r – 11 + DI

GPA Dec 2016 Section 4 page 4.8

 General Principles of Acoustics Section 4

4.2.7 Extension to linear and planar sources The simplest form of linear sound
source can be thought of as an infinitely long chain of omnidirectional sources strung
out clear of any reflecting surfaces. Because the line is taken to be infinite in length,
the concept of sound power is not appropriate as it stands, and it is necessary to
introduce the idea of sound power per unit of source length. Clearly the wavefronts
in the far-field will be cylindrical, as in Figure 4.7.

Figure 4.7 Linear source with

cylindrical spreading (from IOA GPA
notes)

Hence, since a cylinder of radius r has an area of 2πr per unit length, it follows that
sound intensity at radius r from an infinite linear source of power W per unit length is:

I = W / 2πr and Lp = Lwl – 10 lg r – 8

where LW1 is the sound power level per unit length.

This implies that the sound field decays at the rate of 3 dB per doubling of distance,
more slowly than for an individual point source. The sound radiating from dense
freely-flowing traffic on a road (i.e. on an acoustically-reflecting plane) produces a
good approximation to cylindrical spreading.

A planar source, such as a large open aperture in the wall of a factory, produces
plane waves in its immediate vicinity. Over that near-field region there is no beam
spreading and the sound pressure level remains more or less constant. But in the
far-field the wavefronts are spherical, and the sound pressure level decays at 6 dB
per doubling of distance. Between these two regions, and as determined by the
relationship between the dimensions of the plane and the wavelength of the sound,
the reduction is around 3 dB per doubling of distance.

4.3 Outdoor sound propagation

Several effects which modify sound propagation in an outdoor situation are often
collectively referred to as aspects of excess attenuation – i.e. excess over beam
spreading or geometrical attenuation. These can be separated into those associated
with absorption (either by the air though which the sound passes or by the terrain
over which the sound travels), with obstacles (e.g. a partial high barrier), with
meteorological effects (e.g. temperature and wind gradients) and with vegetation.

The effects of the above influences may be summed into a single excess attenuation
term, LAtten, to be added as follows to the general far-field equation for a directional
source under conditions of unobstructed propagation:

Lp= Lw – 20lg r – 11 + DI – LAtten

GPA Dec 2016 Section 4 page 4.9

 General Principles of Acoustics Section 4

Algorithms for the various propagation effects can be quite complex, and are
continually being refined in environmental noise modelling packages. The following
sections give some general guidance on the effects.

4.3.1 Absorption in air

The complex molecular processes involved in sound absorption mean that
absorption per unit distance travelled is both frequency and humidity dependant, and
international standards provide comprehensive data on air absorption. Air absorption
is highly frequency dependant, showing high attenuation at high frequencies and
almost zero attenuation at low frequencies. For most practical situations, typical
values for air absorption at 60% relative humidity are about 3dB per 100m at 4,000
Hz, dropping to around 0.3 dB per 100m at 1,000Hz.

4.3.2 Absorption arising from propagation close to the ground

Sound propagating close to the ground creates a reflected wave, and it is common to
analyse such situations using an image source Si (see Figure 4.8). The strength of
this image source is determined by the reflection coefficient of the surface, which is
dependent upon the angle of incidence and the impedance of the ground. For hard
surfaces like pavements the reflected sound can be quite substantial, whilst for
grassed surfaces the reflected component will be considerably less.

Furthermore, phase differences between the direct and reflected sounds can lead to
cancellation by interference, particularly at the higher frequencies. Hence, at
considerable distances and with small angles of incidence, simple theory predicts
that only low frequency sound would be detected. However, atmospheric turbulence
can complicate the simple theory and lead to a much more complex situation.

Source, S
Receiver

Image
Source, Si

Figure 4.8 Reflection of sound from a surface

4.3.3 Temperature effects

Sound velocity depends on the square root of the temperature of the propagating
medium, so when sound waves traverse two layers of the medium where the first
layer has the higher temperature and velocity, the sound path bends towards the
normal (similarly to light moving from air into glass) as shown in Figure 4.9. With a
multi-layered temperature profile, the sound path with respect to the normal becomes
curved, as shown in Figure 4.10 for waves travelling from colder to hotter regions of
the medium.

GPA Dec 2016 Section 4 page 4.10

 General Principles of Acoustics Section 4

Figure 4.9 Change in direction of sound

wave between hot and cold medium due
to the change in the speed of sound

Figure 4.10 Bending of sound waves due

to changes in sound speed in a medium
with a multi-layered temperature profile.

Usually during daytime, air temperature falls with increasing height above the ground
- this is called the temperature lapse. Such atmospheric temperature profiles cause
sound rays from a monopole source to bend upwards, creating partial acoustic
shadows as shown in Figure 4.11a. Conversely, at night-time and occasionally in the
day, temperature inversions mean that air near the ground is cooler and sound
propagation paths bend downwards as shown in Figure 4.11b. Over long distances,
these effects can giving rise to variations in sound pressure level of up to 20 dB(A).

Figure 4.11a Bending of sound under Figure 4.11b Bending of sound under
daytime temperature profile conditions. night-time or temperature inversion
(from IOA GPA notes). conditions. (from IOA GPA notes)

4.3.4 Wind effects

Sound levels are usually greater downwind than upwind from a source, not because
sound is blown by the wind, but as a consequence of the wind speed gradient – wind
speed increases with height above the ground. As noted above, temperature profiles
influence the direction of wavefront propagation, causing “bending” of the waves.
Figure 4.12 shows sound waves are similarly “bent down” (thereby increasing noise
levels) downwind from the source, whilst they are “bent up” (thereby reducing noise
levels) upwind; partial acoustic shadow zones may also be seen upwind. Effects of
wind usually dominate those of temperature at wind speeds exceeding about 3 m/s.

GPA Dec 2016 Section 4 page 4.11

 General Principles of Acoustics Section 4

Figure 4.12 Effect of wind on sound propagation (from IOA GPA notes)

4.3.4 Partial-height barriers

The effectiveness of a barrier is limited by the unavoidable effects of diffraction (see
Section 4.1.7) and Maekawa provided the basic theory of the attenuation provided by
a barrier, i.e. the reduction in signal level compared with what would otherwise have
been found at the observation point. He showed that it depends on the relationship
between the wavelength of the sound and the extra path length needed for the sound
to travel over the barrier and arrive at the listening point (see Figure 4.13).

a b
Source Receiver

Figure 4.13 Additional sound path for the rays travelling over a simple barrier is
given by δ = (a + b) – c

The wavelength, λ, of the incident sound is taken into consideration using the
concept of the Fresnel Number, defined as N = 2δ/λ, leading to the following equation
which gives an approximation to the attenuation achieved by such barriers:
Attenuation = 10 lg(3 + 20N) dB

The equation is consistent with the prediction from diffraction theory that, for a given
barrier, the greatest attenuation is achieved with the highest frequency sound
components, that is to say the smaller wavelengths. In practice, attenuation
achieved with a barrier will be less than that determined from the above equation due
to the combination of effects associated with propagation of sound as discussed
earlier.

Furthermore, it is important to appreciate that the maximum attenuation obtained with

a practical barrier is about 15 to 20 dB for very high barriers or for barriers very close
to either source or receiver. This means it is a waste of resources to use barriers
with surface mass in excess of around 15 kg/m2 as it is then not direct sound
transmission through the barrier which limits its performance, but diffraction over the
top or around the ends.

GPA Dec 2016 Section 4 page 4.12

 General Principles of Acoustics Section 4

Example
Estimate the attenuation for a source with the octave band spectrum shown below, if
a barrier is installed with the following geometry:
height of source is 0.5m
height of receiver is 1.2m
height of barrier is 3m
distance from source to barrier is 10m
distance from barrier to receiver is 20m
First do a sketch and determine the path length difference from the dimensions given
using Pythagoras theorem for the right-angled triangles.
This leads to a = 10.31m and b = 20.08m with c= 30m
So δ = (a + b) - c = 0.39m
Now to determine the attenuation from the barrier – easiest to set up a spreadsheet
Freq, Hz 63 125 250 500 1K 2K 4K 8K
L1 74 79 83 81 76 85 79 79
N=2 δ /λ, m 0.14 0.28 0.57 1.13 2.27 4.53 9.07 18.14
10lg(3+20N) 7.63 9.34 11.58 14.08 16.85 19.71 22.66 25.63
L1-10lg(3+20N) 66.37 69.66 71.42 66.92 59.15 65.29 56.34 53.37
Note how the attenuation from the barrier varies considerably across the frequency
spectrum. The attenuation is given in this table to 2 decimal places. Any summary
comments on the barrier performance should be rounded off to the nearest dB.

90.0
source spectrum
85.0
Sound pressure level, dB

80.0
75.0
70.0
65.0 2m barrier
spectrum with barrier
60.0
3m barrier
55.0
50.0
63 125 250 500 1000 2000 4000 8000
Frequency, Hz

Exercise
Determine the attenuation if the barrier in the example is only 2m high.
Answer: shown graphically on the chart above

4.3.5 More on barriers The above Section sets out the basic principles. A
significant amount of research effort is applied to investigating variations on the basic
theme. Absorbing surfaces facing the traffic, inclined surfaces and barriers with
wide, flat, absorbing tops are among modifications of interest. The goal is often to
achieve a higher noise reduction while limiting the obtrusive nature of a barrier.

GPA Dec 2016 Section 4 page 4.13

 General Principles of Acoustics Section 4

Limitations to the performance of barriers Reflections from nearby surfaces can

partly fill in the acoustic shadow. Similar “filling-in” may occur from turbulence near
the top of the barrier and propagation through the barrier if its mass is not adequate,
or if there are barrier penetrations such as poorly fitting gates, gaps between the
components or even decorative features with holes.

If the barrier has a non-absorbing face, reflections from that face may increase the
levels on the opposite side of the road. In this case other more complicated,
propagation paths could exist involving, for example, the side of a large truck and,
perhaps, a barrier on the opposite side of the road.

It is also important to note that if there was attenuation by soft ground prior the
installation of a barrier, the observed reduction from the barrier will be less than if
there was hard ground. Much of the attenuation previously provided by the soft
ground will be negated by the installation of the barrier.

Vegetation A row or trees or bushes will have an insignificant physical effect on

sound propagation, although it can give a psychological effect. If sufficiently dense to
completely block the view along the noise propagation path, the foliage of trees and
shrubs will provide a small amount of noise attenuation. This attenuation is
dependent on the frequency of the sound source and the distance from the dense
foliage, as shown in Figure 4.14.

Attenuation of Noise Due to Propagation Though Dense Foliage

30

25 8 kHz
Attenuation (dB)

4 kHz
20
2 kHz
15 1 kHz
500 Hz
10
250 Hz
125 Hz
5
63 Hz
0
10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100 110 120 130 140 150 160 170 180 190 200

Propagation Distance (metres)

Figure 4.14 Attenuation of octave band noise due to propagation with distance
through dense foliage. (from International Standard ISO 9613-2 (1996) ‘Acoustics –
Attenuation of sound during propagation outdoors’).

#################################

GPA Dec 2016 Section 4 page 4.14