BUILDING ACOUSTICS

1. References, Guidelines and Regulations

 Stein et al Mechanical and Electrical Equipment for Buildings John Wiley and Sons
2006
 Fraser, S. Building Services Engineering (Student Notes)
 Smith, E. T. Acoustics 101
 Wikipedia Online Encyclopedia
 Winthrop University lecture notes
 Building Regulations Approved Doc E
 Architectural Acoustics – Lisa Egner (2003)
 Architectural Acoustics – Neil A. Shaw (2002)
 Whole Building Design Guide – Acoustic Comfort (2012)
 MIT Open Course Ware – Introduction to building technology: acoustics

2. Introduction

Building acoustics is the science of noise control within buildings. The first application of building
acoustics was in the design of opera houses and then concert halls. More widely, noise
suppression is critical in the design of multi-unit dwellings and business premises that generate
significant noise, including music venues like bars. The more mundane design of workplaces has
implications for noise health effects. Building acoustics includes room acoustics, the design of
recording and broadcast studios, home theaters, and listening rooms for media playback

Since the earliest civilizations, music has been an integral part of our lives as humans. Music has
been used throughout the ages as a supplementary form of communication, a way to stimulate
the mind, as well as for pure entertainment value. Because music has become such a vital
component to our society, it should come as no surprise that humans have been working for
millions of years to create environments more conducive to musical performance. Science has
lent itself to the study of acoustics to accommodate this need for such an environment. This has
become a continuous effort because of the nature of music and the act of listening. Sound quality
is a subjective assessment. What we consider positive aspects of a sound varies from person to
person and also varies over time periods in our history. Design criteria needed to evolve to
accommodate these trends. Aspects of architectural design have also developed to
accommodate for the changing purposes for these structures; the ancient Greeks and Romans
needed a way to project the voice for performances of the great tragedies, whereas now we are
concerned with performance of popular music and theatre. As technology and our knowledge of

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acoustics expand, architects, engineers and physicists continue to modify the designs for concert
halls and theatres to achieve the optimum acoustic experience for today’s audience (Egner,
2003).

Structures with acoustic implications:

 Airports
 Churches
 Theatres
 Concert and opera halls
 Educational structures, including class rooms, lecture halls, libraries, music practice rooms
etc.,

What is the essence and emphasis of acoustic consideration?

Basic Acoustic Goals

1. Provide adequate isolation
2. Provide appropriate acoustic environment
3. Provide appropriate internal function
4. Integrate 1-3 amongst themselves and into comprehensive architectural design

Definition of Sound
Sound may be defined as vibrations or pressure changes in an 'elastic' medium which are
capable of being detected by the ear. Elastic means that the particles of the medium return to
their original position after disturbance by the vibrational wave.

These vibrations travel through solids, liquids and gases but the normal process of hearing
depends on their ultimate transmission through air so that the ear drum is set in vibration and a
sequence of events we call hearing begins.

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 Sound propagation

Noise can be defined as "disagreeable or undesired sound" or other disturbance. From the
acoustics point of view, sound and noise constitute the same phenomenon of atmospheric
pressure fluctuations about the mean atmospheric pressure; the differentiation is greatly
subjective. What is sound to one person can very well be noise to somebody else. The
recognition of noise as a serious health hazard is a development of modern times. With modern
industry the multitude of sources has accelerated noise-induced hearing loss; amplified music
also takes its toll. While amplified music may be considered as sound (not noise) and to give
pleasure to many, the excessive noise of much of modern industry probably gives pleasure to
very few, or none at all.

Hearing
The ear is a complex sensory organ, divided into three parts: external (outer) ear, middle ear, and
inner ear. The outer and middle ear help to protect and maintain optimal conditions for the hearing
process and to direct the sound stimuli to the actual sensory receptors, hair cells, located in the
cochlea of the inner ear.

Hearing is the process by which humans detect and perceive sounds using their ears

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 Biology of hearing

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 Audible band

Effect of age on hearing

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3. Source and characteristics of Sound

The origin of sound is usually the vibrations of a solid body such as a rotating machine causing
vibrations in its associated parts.

A pump motor for example rotates inside a casing and this rotates the impeller also inside a
casing. These two rotating items run on bearings which transfer vibrations to the whole pump
unit which in turn vibrates the pump mounting bracket(s).

If part of the rotating machine is out of balance or damaged it is quite likely that the noise will be
increased as the intensity of vibration increases.

Sound waves can also be caused by air turbulence, by an explosive expansion of air or by a
combination of vibration and air turbulence.

Sound Waves in Air

The figure below represents a vibrating element such as a loudspeaker. It is emitting a pure tone,
that is, a simple vibration of one frequency.

The outward movement of the diaphragm causes a compression in the adjoining particles of air.
When the diaphragm moves back the compressed air expands and causes a compression in the
air at the original centre of compression. This compression in turn disturbs the air in advance of
it, and so on. A 'travelling wave' is therefore set up.

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When the fluctuating pressure waves impinge on the ear drum it, in turn vibrates and the
process of hearing begins. The air between source and listener does not move bodily. At any
point along the sound path the particles of air are merely moving from side to side of their
original position. It is only the sound wave that travels.

The air may in certain situations be moving bodily as in a ventilation duct; nevertheless, the sound
wave will move outwards from the source regardless of the direction of air movement. This is the
same for instances of explosion.

The sound wave shown above illustrates the changes in pressure along the path between source
and listener. The central horizontal line represents air at normal atmospheric pressure. The
waveform represents the increase and decrease of pressure due to the sound wave.

For sounds of average loudness this deviation is only about one millionth (10-6) of normal
atmospheric pressure.

Atmospheric pressure = 1.01325bar = approx. 1.0bar = 100,000Pa.

1millionth of 100,000Pa = 0.1Pa.

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Wavelength
Units – metres
Symbol – l

This is the distance between any two repeating points on a sound wave.
In the previous diagram a wavelength would be between any two compression areas or any two
rarefaction areas.

Frequency
Units – Hertz (Hz)
Symbol - f

This is the number of cycles of vibration per second.

The above figure shows two complete wavelengths or cycles. If these two cycles pass in one
second then the frequency would be 2 cycles per second or 2 Hertz.

Amplitude
Units – metres
Symbol - λ
The amplitude of a sound wave is the height of the wave form.
It is also the maximum displacement for each air particle as it vibrates.
The diagram below illustrates the difference between loud and soft sounds.

Amplitude
Loud

Time
Soft

Amplitude of Sound Waves

Velocity

The velocity is the distance moved by the sound wave per second in a fixed direction.

v = f x l

Where v = velocity (m/s)

f = frequency (Hz)
l = wavelength (m)

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 Table 1
Approximate Speed of Sound in Common Materials

Sound
Velocity
Medium (ft/s) m/s

Air, dry (0°C and 0.76 mm Hg) 1,100 330

Wood (soft - along the fibre) 11,100 3,400

Water (15°C) 4,700 1,400

Concrete 10,200 3,100

Steel 16,000 5,000

Lead 3,700 1,200

Glass 18,500 5,500

Hydrogen (0°C and 0.76 m) 4,100 1,260

Sound waves are characterized by frequency and amplitude, the size of the waves. Low-
frequency waves produce low-pitched sounds (such as the rumbling sounds of distant thunder)
and high-frequency waves produce high-pitched sounds (such as a mouse squeak). Sounds
audible to most humans range from as low as 20 Hz to as high as 20,000 Hz in a young child (the
upper range especially decreases with age).

Loudness is measured in decibels (dB), a measure of the energy content or power of the waves
proportional to amplitude. The decibel scale begins at 0 for the lowest audible sound, and
increases logarithmically, meaning that a sound of 80 dB is not just twice as loud as a sound of
40 dB, but has 10,000 times more power! Sounds of 100 dB are so intense that they can severely
damage the inner ear, as many jack-hammer operators and rock stars have discovered.

4. Sound Waves and Directionality

General Form of Sound Waves

A vibrating surface, such as the one shown below will emit sound waves not only in front and
behind the surface but also in all directions.

Near to the surface, which is emitting the sound, the shape of the sound wave approximates to
the shape of the surface but as the pressure waves expand they will become virtually spherical.

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It is this spherical expansion which causes a rapid reduction in sound intensity as distance form
the source increases. Near a large vibrating surface sound waves approximate to plane waves,
expansion is small and therefore the rate of reduction in intensity is also small.

Directionality of Sound Waves

Most of the individual sources of sound emit sound in all directions but may emit sound with
greater intensity in one direction - examples being the human voice and wind instruments.

This means that the expanding sound waves, though spherical, may vary in intensity in different
parts of their frontal area.

The directionality of sound sources is normally illustrated by 'polar diagrams'.

An example is given in the diagram below for the human voice. The speaker is facing the direction
of the arrow and the difference in intensity level, relative to direction, is shown by the curves on
the graph for the high and middle frequency components of speech. It will be seen that there is a
significant reduction in sound level output in decibels (dB) between the front and back of a
speaker.

The student is encouraged to revise the ‘Doppler effect’

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5. Sound Movement

Building acoustics is the process of managing how both airborne and impact sound is transmitted
– and controlled – within a building design. While virtually every material within a room – from
furniture to floor coverings to computer screens – affects sound levels to one degree or another,
wall partitions, ceiling systems and floor/ceiling assemblies are the primary elements that
designers use to control sound.

Sound moves through building spaces in a variety of ways. Most commonly, it is transmitted
through air. But wall partitions, ceilings and floor/ceiling assemblies can also transmit both
airborne sound, such as human voices and ringing telephones, and impact sound, such as
footsteps on a floor.

Airborne sound and its components

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 Impact sound

Sound travel paths are depicted in the diagram below

1. direct air transmission

2. reverberation
3. lateral transmission of airborne sound
4. re-emission of impact sound
5. transmission of impact sound

Sound waves actually travel through many physical objects faster and with less loss of energy
than they travel through air. Sound waves travel at a rate of 344m/s through air (at 21.1oC);
3,567m/s through wood; and 5,488m/s through steel.

Sound reflection occurs when sound waves bounce off smooth, hard wall, ceiling and floor
surfaces. Concave surfaces tend to concentrate or focus reflected sound in one area. Convex
surfaces do just the opposite; they tend to disperse sound in multiple directions.

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Sound reverberation is the persistence of sound reflection after the source of the sound has
ceased. Reverberation can have both a positive and negative effect in architectural design. For
example, specifying highly reflective ceiling panels directly above the stage area in an auditorium
will help direct sound toward specific seating areas, thus enhancing the room’s acoustical
performance. However, that same reflective performance will become a negative factor if highly
reflective wall and ceiling materials are installed in the rear of the auditorium. That’s because the
sound reflections from the rear of the room take too long to reach the audience, resulting in a
distracting echo effect.

Sound can also diffract or bend and flow around an object or through a small space or opening.
This gives sound waves the ability to “squeeze” through very small openings with little loss of
energy. The small openings under and around doors, floor tracks, electrical boxes and conduit
and HVAC ducting are typical sources of sound diffraction. These are commonly referred to as
“flanking” or “leaking” paths. They can be controlled by the proper application of acoustical
sealant.

In examining room acoustics, we are mainly concerned with sound vibrations through the air,
whereas in the subject of noise control we are equally concerned with vibrations transmitted
through solid materials such as pipework, concrete plinths and building structures.

6. Sound Power and Sound Pressure

The two measurements are not the same.

We can consider the analogy of a flame which gives off heat. The heat is energy proportional to
the power (or combustion properties) of the flame. The effect of the heat is that it raises the
temperature in the room. The temperature is dependent on factors like distance (from the flame),
obstructions, losses (or gain) to the surroundings, etc.

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Sound Power Level (of say a fan) is analogous to the kilowatts of a fire. Sound Pressure Level is
analogous to the temperature dependent on a particular position, based on the dimensions of the
room, the position of the fan, the materials of the room and their absorptive or reflective properties.

Impact of Ferquency

Sound shielding

Unfortunately, both Fan Sound Power Levels and Sound Pressure Levels are expressed in
decibels, but they are not the same decibels.

The decibel is only used to compress a wide range of absolute values into a manageable range.
It is not an absolute unit, but is a ratio. Without a reference level, it means nothing. Its use is not
confined to acoustics and indeed it is widely quoted in electro-technology, vibration and in physics
generally.

The definition of a decibel is:

dB = 10 log10 (Quantity measured/Reference level)

• For Fan Sound Power Levels the reference level is: 10-12 Watts
• For Sound Pressure levels the reference level is: 2 x 10–5 Pa

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Thus, Fan Sound Power Level and Sound Pressure Level are completely different quantities and
should not be confused. For preference, the former is sometimes suffixed with a W (dBW), but
this is rarely observed. With regard to the Sound Pressure Level, it is position or distant dependent
and these need to be stated.

Sound levels of typical sources

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7. Sound Measurement

Decibel
Sound is measured in decibels with the use of a Sound Level Meter.

The sound level meter responds to sound in approximately the same way as the human ear but
it gives an objective measurement of sound level.

The sound to be measured is converted into an electrical signal by a microphone. Normally

condenser microphones are used for precision grade instruments. Since the signal is quite small
it is necessary to amplify it and then convert for display on the meter.

A typical Sound Level Meter is shown below.

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Sound Measurements

When measuring the sound level from a source the meter should be held at a distance of 1 metre
from the source. The sound level in decibels A scale can be measured at each centre frequency
using the filters and a graph can then be drawn for example as shown below.

This gives an indication of sound levels at different frequencies. This can be useful information
and can be used to design appropriate attenuation and acoustic treatment at particular
frequencies.

It will be seen from the above graph that the maximum noise output of 90 dB occurs at 8K (8000)
Hertz. Also, the lowest noise level of 50 dB occurs at a frequency of 63 Hz.

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If sound attenuation is required for the machine in this example then the engineer would
concentrate at the high frequency noise spectrum (8K Hz). The insulation or proposed attenuation
system could be tailored especially for high frequency attenuation rather than low frequency
attenuation.

Perceived sound
(dominant frequencies affect sound perception)

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8. Acoustic Comfort

The acoustical environment of a workspace is typically given little or no attention during project
planning and design. The functionality and aesthetics of the workspace are usually the primary
focus of the designer. Too often overlooked, are the factors contributing to the productivity of
employees occupying the workspace.

Providing a comfortable environment for employees contributes significantly to their optimum

performance and reduced absenteeism. Workspace comfort is really a combination of factors that
includes daylighting and electric lighting, indoor environmental quality, temperature, and
acoustics. The assault on ears in the workplace can come from traffic noise outside, mechanical
equipment in adjacent spaces, and copiers, phones, and voices within the workspace.

The issue of comfort is not limited to the office but also to the homes, places of assembly, etc.
The acoustic problem can be summarized as follows:

 Too much noise from outside the building entering into the space
 Too much noise from adjacent spaces
 Lack of sound control in the space itself
 Issues of privacy

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The above are general to most spaces. When the space is for special or particular functions like
auditoria, cinemas, meeting or conference halls, places of worship, music concerts, etc.,
additional problems include:

 The quality of the sound

 The clarity of the sound
 The feeling of intimacy or presence

Noise

Sound is what we hear. Noise is unwanted sound.

Noise Levels
The table below shows some typical sound pressure levels to be expected in given areas.

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 Sound level in Typical environment Subjective
decibels (dB) description

140 Military aircraft at take-off

130 Mechanical machinery Intolerable
100 Automatic Lathe machine shop
Underground train station at platform Very noisy
90 Heavy lorries at 6 metres
Construction site – pneumatic drilling
80 Kerb side of busy street
70 Loud radio Noisy
60 Restaurant
Department store
50 General office
Speech at 1 metre Quiet
40 Whispered conversation at 2 metres
30 to 10 Very quiet
0 Threshold of hearing

Noise Criteria

The two criteria for noise are risk of deafness and speech interference.

Noise levels above 150 dB (A) will cause instantaneous hearing damage. No one should be
exposed to noise levels above 135 dB (A) without ear protection.

Speech is usually in the frequency range between 600 Hz and 4800 Hz. Any noise in these
frequency bands will interfere with the speech intelligibility.

Noise Criteria (NC) and Noise Rating (NR) curves are used to determine the appropriate Noise
Criterion (NC) levels from the table below. The two curves where primarily designed for speech
interference.

The table below gives Recommended Noise Criterion (NC) levels.

If a source of noise has an NC level higher than given in the table then speech interference is
likely to occur.

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 Environment Range of NC levels
Factory – heavy work 55-75
Factory – light work 45-65
Kitchen 40-50
Sports area, swimming pool 35-50
Shop, department store 35-45
Restaurant, café. 35-45
General office 35-45
Private office, library 30-35
Home 25-35
Hospital ward 25-35
Concert hall 20-25

With time and higher standards of living, another criterion came into force – disturbance and
privacy.

Noise Mitigations
There are differences in the acoustical requirements of offices, classrooms, and conference
rooms. Noise in these occupancies is typically not at a high enough level to be harmful to human
hearing. Rather, the noise is distracting from concentration on work or study and provides less
than ideal working, learning or listening environments
For each of these occupancies, the following may need to be addressed:
 The sources of acoustical problems
 Offer design guidance to control the acoustical problems
 Identify accepted acoustical criteria, and
 Evaluate the value of acoustic comfort

Some problems that occur in private offices

 Inability to have private discussions
 Can hear sounds through partitions
 Too noisy in room
 Can hear sounds from air return registers

In open offices, the issues are slightly different

 Indiscriminate use of speakerphones
 Low partition heights
 Ringing phones
 Noisy copy machines and printers
 Office chatter

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Solutions include:
 Sound can travel over partition walls and through the suspended acoustical ceiling. To be
an effective sound barrier between rooms, partitions or walls need to extend to the
structural deck.
 Insulate partition cavity/increase partition sound transmission class (STC)
 Specify NRC of 0.75 for ceiling tiles
 Employ ducted air return system
 Do not locate mechanical equipment rooms next to offices and conference rooms
 Sound masking (electronic)

Classrooms are environments designated for learning, not just for school-age children, but for
adult training as well. Classrooms have become multimedia communications environments,
further increasing the importance of classroom acoustics.

Sources of noise hampering students' concentration include:

 Outside of the school (vehicular traffic and aircraft flyover)

 The hallways (foot traffic and conversation)
 Other classrooms (amplified sound systems and inadequate partition sound transmission
loss)
 Mechanical equipment (compressors, boilers, and ventilation systems)
 Inside the classroom itself (reverberation)

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To reduce noise from adjoining classrooms, do not have doors adjacent to each other or have
doors directly across from each other. Rather, offset the door locations to extend the sound travel
path from one classroom to the next. This strategy works well with conference rooms and private
offices as well.

Acoustic Design Considerations

1. Using locations

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 2. Using building orientation

3. Planning around sensitivity

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9. Room Acoustics and Concert Halls

In some areas such as lecture theatres, concert halls and conference rooms the acoustic take on
specialized importance. The requirements are more stringent. The sound spectrum must remain
clear without portions distorted or missing

The shape of an auditorium is significant since sound may be directly or indirectly transmitted to
the audience. The diagram below shows an elevation of an auditorium with a shape to give
improved room acoustics.

Reverberation Time

In designing an auditorium to its acoustics demands, the control of reverberation time is the most
important factor. Due to multiple reflections of sound waves from the ceiling, floor, walls of the
enclosures, the sound waves persist for a certain time even after the sound has stopped. This
persistence of sound is called the reverberation time.

The reverberation time is defined as the time the sound takes to decay or fall by 60dB when the
source is stopped. The reverberation time is also defined as the time taken by the sound energy
to fall to 10-6 (one millionth) of its initial value.

The optimum value of the reverberation time varies according to the different types of sounds like
music, speeches, drama, cinema, lecture etc., If the reverberation exceeds its optimum value,
then the speech will be completely unintelligible, and if the reverberation is lower than the optimum
value the auditorium will be somewhat dead.

Reverberation time is represented by the symbol ‘t’ and the units are in seconds. The acoustic
quality of a room or space is determined largely by the reverberation time.

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10. Basic Applications – isolation and insulation

When sound strikes a surface, some of it is absorbed, some of it is reflected and some of it is
transmitted through the surface. Dense surfaces, for the most part, will isolate sound well, but
reflect sound back into the room. Porous surfaces, for the most part, will absorb sound well, but
will not isolate.

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The best way to stop sound transmission through a building structure is to isolate the sound
source from the structure before the structure has a chance to vibrate. Walls need to be isolated
from ceilings and floors, usually by means of dense, pliable rubber.

The main ways to minimize sound transmission from one space to another are adding mass and
decoupling.

Limp mass is most often better than rigid mass (actually, a combination of the two is really what
you are after).

Every object, every construction material has a resonant frequency at which it is virtually an open
window to sound — kind of like a tuning fork that “sings” at its particular resonant frequency.

Different materials have different resonant frequencies.

 Trapped air (a.k.a., air spaces and air gaps) is a very good de-coupler.
 Airtight construction is a key concept. Sound, like air and water, will get through any small
gap. (Sound can leak through openings as small as 1/32” – in some cases even smaller.)

Sound bounces back and forth between hard, parallel surfaces.

One of the single biggest concepts to understand and appreciate is that acoustic foam, is not
going to "soundproof" your room. It is an extremely effective absorber of
ambient, reflected sound and helps make rooms "sound better." Acoustic foam does contribute
some sound isolating properties (mostly high frequencies), but is not sufficient by itself to keep
sound in or out of a room. Thicker acoustic foam is better at absorbing low frequency sounds.

Control Measures

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Acoustic Privacy and Sound Transmission

Two main factors affect the level of acoustic privacy achieved when designing a building:
 The sound insulation performance of the structure separating the two spaces.
 The ambient background noise present within the listening room.

The ambient background noise level can be a useful tool when designing buildings, as it is
possible to mask speech from an adjacent space and hence provide enhanced speech
confidentiality. There are a number of commercially available systems for achieving this and the
technique is referred to as acoustic perfume. It is, however, more common to treat the problem
by specifying appropriate levels of sound insulation. A guide to sound insulation levels is given in
the table below.

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 Guide to sound insulation levels for speech privacy

A sound transmission class (STC) is a standard rating of how well a building partition lessens the
transmission of airborne sound

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 Privacy Nuisance

Glass mineral wool in wall cavities

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 Acoustic improvements

Sound Ratings

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