Basics of Acoustic Science

Vinod V. Kadam and Rajkishore Nayak

Abstract The act of hearing sound is an important communication and sensory

medium with the surroundings. Sound is a wave that can be defined scientifically
similar to the other mechanical waves in physics. The science of sound is acoustics
that deals with the propagation of mechanical waves in various mediums such as
solid, liquid and gases. As modern lifestyle includes the applications of acoustics in
many fields, it is essential to understand the science of sound for people involved in
acoustic applications. Various disciplines of acoustics include musical designs,
vibration, noise pollution control, audiology, speech, vibration, underwater com-
munication, audio signal processing, automotive acoustics, aeroacoustics, structural
acoustics, bioacoustics, ultrasound, vibration control and environmental noise
control. This chapter deals with the concept of sound waves and basic terminologies
associated with acoustic science. Sound generation and propagation is covered in
detail. Furthermore, sound measurement and different sound classification systems
are also covered.

Keywords Sound wave
Propagation
Frequency
Absorption
Decibel

1 Introduction

The most important interactive communication in the social sense of human beings
is to hear [3]. A sensation or a feeling that we hear is a sound. The science of sound
is termed as acoustics. The word acoustics originated from the Greek word meaning
“to hear” [4]. The American National Standard and the Acoustical Society of
America have defined sound as “(a) Oscillation in pressure, stress, particle dis-
placement, particle velocity, etc., propagated in a medium with internal forces (e.g.,

V.V. Kadam
Central Sheep and Wool Research Institute, Avikanagar, Rajasthan 304 501, India
V.V. Kadam
R. Nayak (&)
School of Fashion and Textiles, RMIT, University, Melbourne, VIC 3056, Australia
e-mail: s3514621@student.rmit.edu.au; rajkishore.nayak@rmit.edu.au

© Springer Science+Business Media Singapore 2016 33

R. Padhye and R. Nayak (eds.), Acoustic Textiles, Textile Science
and Clothing Technology, DOI 10.1007/978-981-10-1476-5_2
34 V.V. Kadam and R. Nayak

elastic or viscous), or the superposition of such propagated oscillation. (b) Auditory

sensation evoked by the oscillation described in (a)”. Hence, acoustics is a study of
sound generation and propagation in different media.
Sound originates when a material or object vibrates. These vibrations propagate
in solid, liquid or gas medium in a wave form from the emitter to the receiver. Thus,
a sound wave is the transfer of energy emitted by a source material or object into the
medium as it travels. A sound wave is characterized by its frequency, wavelength
and amplitude. The interaction of sound waves with the receiver’s surface can alter
the wave characteristics depending upon the surface properties of the receiver
material or object. The sound wave can be absorbed, transmitted, reflected,
refracted and diffracted from the surface. The change in sound characteristics due to
the above phenomenon has been utilized in many scientific applications including
acoustic textiles.
Acoustic textiles may be important to reduce noise pollution in modern days. It
is important to understand the basics of sound in order to develop an efficient
product design, say for sound insulation or so. The sound pressure levels, sound
intensity and sound classification systems can help in assessing the performance of
the acoustic structure. This chapter describes the concept of sound generation,
sound wave propagation and the characteristic features. This also includes sound
interference such as absorption, transmission, reflection, refraction and diffraction.

2 Sound Generation

Any source of vibration, which disturbs air molecules, creates sound. It pushes and
pulls air molecules that convert the vibrations into acoustic signals, known as
sound. Sound perceived depends on three things: vibration source to form a sound
wave, wave carrier medium (such as air) and a receiver to detect the sound [5]
(Fig. 1). Sound source oscillates and brings the surrounding air into motion and in
the presence of a recipient, sound can be perceived [6]. Sound is a mechanical
disturbance that travels through an elastic or viscous medium at a speed depending
on the characteristic of that medium [7]. Sound is a wave motion in an elastic media
such as air, water or a rock. While air tubulates, the mass and momentum sources of
a material are ultimately sound generators [8].

Fig. 1 Sound generation Medium

Source Receiver
Basics of Acoustic Science 35

3 Sound Wave Propagation

Sound propagation is essentially a wave phenomenon. Acoustic signals require a

mechanically elastic medium for propagation and therefore cannot travel through
vacuum, unlike electromagnetic light waves. Sound travels more rapidly through
solids, followed by liquids, than through gases [7]. Sound, in a wave form, travels
at 331.29 ms−1 in dry air at a temperature of 0 °C [2].

3.1 Sound Wave Concept

When vibration sound disturbs particles in the air or the other medium, then those
particles displace other surrounding particles. This particle movement goes on
continuously in the outward direction to form a wave pattern. The wave carries the
sound energy through the medium and becomes less intense as it moves away from
the source. The sound energy is also directly associated with the volume of the
sound. Higher sound energy results in loud volume.
There are three aspects of a sound wave that cause different types of sounds to be
produced: frequency, wavelength and amplitude. Sound waves vibrate at different
rates or frequencies as they move through the medium. The wave may have a single
frequency or many frequencies depending upon the vibration source.
Let us consider a sound wave of constant frequency generated by a source with
displacement function on Y-axis and time function on X-axis (Fig. 2). The number
of waves generated per second is the frequency of the sound and expressed in hertz
(Hz). The maximum displacement of a peak is termed as amplitude while the
distance from one peak to the other is the wavelength. The sinusoidal wave gen-
erates only single frequency. A variety of non-repetitive sounds produce waves of
different frequencies.
Sound waves are principally longitudinal waves. It means the wave medium, for
instance, air, oscillates parallel to the wave’s direction. Let us consider a soft coil is
stretched and fixed at one end. If the coil is quickly pushed and pulled from the other

Fig. 2 Sound
displacement-time diagram
36 V.V. Kadam and R. Nayak

end, it will compress and elongate along with the force direction. The same thing
happens in longitudinal sound wave. Air particles get oscillated back and forth in the
direction parallel to the sound wave movement. This create compression and rar-
efaction waves alternately. Longitudinal waves begin with compression followed by
rarefaction. The wavelength can be determined by measuring the distance between
two consecutive compressions, or rarefactions.

3.2 Sound Interference and Doppler Effect

When sound waves from two different sources either cancel or superimpose each
other’s effect, the phenomenon may be termed as interference [5]. The interference
that cancels the waves generates no sound, whereas, noise or intermittent sound
may be produced due to interference where the waves superimpose.
When a sound source is in motion, sound waves of variable lengths are gen-
erated. Wavelength become short in one direction and extends in the other. It causes
change in the pitch of the sound perceived by a stationary receiver. This effect is
commonly known as “Doppler effect” as per the name of Austrian Physicist
Christian Doppler who discovered it [5]. In the Doppler effect, the resultant fre-
quency reaching to the stationary receiver is not the actual output frequency of the
sound source. The frequency is influenced by change in the wavelength depending
on the sound source movement from the receiver. As the sound source moves
towards a stationary receiver, wavelength is reduced causing an increase in the
sound frequency and vice versa.

3.3 Absorption

The sound wave interact with the material or object surface and may be absorbed,
transmitted, reflected, refracted or diffracted form the surface depending on type of
the surface. These phenomenons are described in Fig. 3. When all the emitted sound
waves are absorbed by the receiver, sound absorption occurs. It is exactly like
sponge absorbing water. Sound absorption is an important phenomenon as far as
sound insulation is concerned. There are different materials available for sound
absorption. The sound absorbers may be porous or resonant type. Porous absorbents
are classified as fibrous materials and open-celled foams. Fibrous materials convert
acoustic energy into heat energy when sound waves impinge the absorber. In case
of foam, sound wave displacement occurs through a narrow passage of foam and
causes heat loss. Resonance absorbents are of mechanical type, where there is a
solid plate with a tight air space behind. It is noteworthy that some material such as
foam absorbs sound waves whereas the glass blocks it. The selection of material to
be used depends on the end use application. For example, the office room in a
building can be designed as sound absorbing or sound proofing.
Basics of Acoustic Science 37

Fig. 3 Sound wave interaction with material or object surface

Sound absorption measures the amount of energy absorbed by the material and
expressed as sound absorption coefficient (α). The coefficient ranges between 0 and
1 where 0 is no absorption and 1 is highest or total absorption. The higher coef-
ficient yields lower reverberation time. The reverberation time is persistence of
sound in a space after a sound source has been stopped [1]. It is the time lag, in
seconds, for the sound to decay by 60 dB after a sound source has been stopped.
Sound absorption is important to make the acoustic environment suitable for a
specific purpose; for instance, in recording studios, lecture halls, concert rooms,
lecture theatres, etc. The low frequency sound of 500 Hz is relatively difficult to
absorb than high frequency sound.

3.4 Transmission

Sound waves from the source propagate through the medium and receiver without
being absorbed or reflected and pass through the receiver without any frequency
loss, which is known as sound transmission.

3.5 Reflection

When sound waves impinge on hard or smooth surface they may reflect back with
their full energy without altering their characteristics. The reflection angle of sound
wave from the reflecting surface is equal to the angle of incidence. The angles are
defined between a normal to the reflecting plane and the incident and reflected
waves. The reflected sound waves, thus, follow Huygen’s geometry where both the
incidence and reflection angles are equal [7].
The reflection phenomenon of sound waves finds many applications. For
example, a reflected sound wave is used to measure the depth of water from sea
level with the help of echo produced from the reflective surface. The geological
composition at the bottom of the ocean and inside the earth crust is also identified
38 V.V. Kadam and R. Nayak

using the reflection of sound wave [7]. Echo is a simple example of sound reflection
phenomenon. Echo can be heard when the sound wave, perpendicular to the sound
source, hits a flat and smooth surface.

3.6 Refraction

Refraction occurs when sound waves transmit through the surface and bent away
from the straight line of travel. Sound refraction depends on factors such as the
speed of sound, angle between sound propagation direction and wind direction and
atmospheric conditions such as temperature and relative humidity [9].

3.7 Diffraction

Diffraction involves a change in the direction of sound waves as it strikes through a

surface. Sound waves when impact on a partial barrier, some of them get reflected,
some propagate without any disturbance and some bent or diffract over the top of
the barrier. As sound source moves closer to the barrier, less sound diffraction is
obtained. The sound at lower frequencies tends to diffract more easily than sound at
higher frequencies [7].

4 Octave and 1/3 Octave Band

In acoustics, the sound frequencies are divided into ten standard octave bands. Each
octave band has a centre frequency (fc) and each centre frequency doubles the
previous one (Table 1). The geometric mean of upper band limit (fu) and lower

Table 1 Octave bands

Lower band limit (fL) (Hz) Centre frequency (fc) (Hz) Upper band limit (fu) (Hz)
22.4 Hz 31.5 Hz 45 Hz
45 63 90
90 125 180
180 250 355
355 500 710
710 1 kHz 1.4 kHz
1.4 kHz 2 2.8
2.8 4 5.6
5.6 8 11.2
11.2 16 22.4
Source Raichel [7]
Basics of Acoustic Science 39

Table 2 Sound frequency Sound Frequency

categories
Infrasound <20 Hz
Audible sound 20 Hz–20 kHz
Ultrasound >20 kHz
Hypersound >1 GHz
Source Raichel [7]

band limit (fL) denotes the centre frequency (fc). The band width is the difference
between the upper and lower band limits.
Each octave band is divided into three sub-bands to obtain one-third octave
band. Each successive frequency is higher by a cube root of 2 than the previous
one. The centre frequency for one-third octave band ranges from 20 Hz to 20 kHz.

5 Sound Attributes

There are two attributes of sound: loudness and tone [6]. The physical amount of
loudness is sound pressure, whereas the tone is the sound frequency which is
expressed in Hertz (Hz). The tone may also be termed as pitch of the sound. The
pitch is also expressed as a wavelength which is the sound velocity per unit of
sound frequency [5].
Human ear is not sensitive to all the sound frequencies. The sound may or may
not be audible to the human ear, depending on its frequency and intensity. The
human voice lies within 500–4000 Hz and it is most receptive to sounds within that
range [10]. The audible sound for humans is in the range of 20 Hz–20 kHz [7].
Based on the frequency, sound is categorized as infrasound, audible sound, ultra-
sound and hypersound (Table 2).

6 Sound Pressure Level

Sound pressure level is a measure of volume (loudness) of the sound in terms of the
sound pressure. The level can be determined by measuring the sound pressure
disturbance from the equilibrium pressure value. The pressure disturbance is the
difference between the instantaneous pressure and the static pressure [10]. The
mean pressure deviation from the equilibrium is always zero, since the mean
compression waves are equal to mean rarefaction waves. These positive and neg-
ative effects are converted into positive using the root mean square (RMS) value of
sound pressure (Prms) over a period of time. However, RMS value of sound pres-
sure is not convenient to use as it varies over a wide range of magnitudes. The
40 V.V. Kadam and R. Nayak

Table 3 Sound pressure Source Sound pressure level (dB)

levels of different activities
Aeroplane take off 140
Firecrackers 120
Rock concert 110
Factories 90
Traffic 80
Business places 60
Living room and kitchen 40
Bedroom 20
Natural places 10
Source Ziaran [11]; Department of Environment and Heritage,
Queensland, Australia [12]

decibel (dB) is the easiest and a more convenient way to measure the volume
(loudness) of the sound in terms of the sound pressure.
 
prms
dB ¼ 20log
po

dB Sound pressure level

rms Root mean square value
po Reference pressure.
Decibel is a value on a logarithmic scale and it is based on the capacity of
humans to sense sound pressure. Sound perception by humans is subjective in
nature. Different exposure times of the same sound pressure may have different
effects on hearing [10]. In general, it is recommended that sound pressure levels
should not exceed 30 and 40 dB in resting room and kitchen, respectively (ISO
25267:2004/T1:2009). The sound pressure level beyond 90 dB may be harmful for
human hearing, especially when the exposure time is high. The sound pressure
levels of day-to-day activities are shown in Table 3.

7 Sound Intensity

The sound intensity refers to the transfer of the sound wave energy that is a product
of sound pressure and particle velocity

I ¼ p
u;

where I = sound intensity; p = sound pressure; u = particle velocity.

The sound intensity is associated with the sound power and surface area sur-
rounding the source.
Basics of Acoustic Science 41

Table 4 Sound absorption Sound absorption class Sound absorption coefficient

class and absorption
coefficient A 0.90; 0.95; 1.00
B 0.80; 0.85
C 0.60; 0.65; 0.70; 0.75;
D 0.30; 0.35; 0.40; 0.50; 0.55
E 0.15; 0.20; 0.25
F 0.00; 0.05; 0.10
Source ISO 11654:1997

8 Sound Insulation

Sound insulation is soundproofing of an enclosed space. It is apparent that when all

the sound waves absorbed by the receiver, the enclosed space is said to be sound
insulated. In acoustic science, sound insulation has become important particularly in
modern days to prevent noise pollution. Sound insulation material is inserted in the
place where sound insulation is required; for instance, in residential and business
places. The insulating material such as fibre glass, foam, etc. can be imparted in
ceiling, walls and bottom of the floor. The efficacy of the different sound absorbing
materials can be evaluated using a grade scale. This is referred as sound classifi-
cation system.

9 Sound Classification

In sound classification, as mentioned earlier, sound absorption by different sound

insulation materials are represented by a common value, say, sound absorption
coefficient. Based on the coefficient value, various sound absorption classes are
developed. ISO 11654:1997 have standardized those classes as A–F where A is the
best sound class with the highest sound absorption coefficient and F is the
lowest sound absorption coefficient (Table 4).

10 Conclusion

Sound is a wave similar to other mechanical waves in physics. The science of sound
that deals with the propagation of mechanical waves in various mediums such as
solid, liquid and gaseous is known as acoustics. Sound originates when a material
or an object vibrates. These vibrations propagate in solid, liquid or gas medium in a
wave form from emitter to receiver. Thus, a sound wave is the transfer of energy
emitted by a source material or an object into the medium as it travels. This chapter
has discussed on the fundamentals of sound and its attributes, which will enable
understanding of the other chapters of this book.
42 V.V. Kadam and R. Nayak

References

1. Reverberation time (2009). Oxford University Press

2. Speed of sound (2016). Britannica Academic
3. Blauert J (2005) Analysis and synthesis of auditory scenes. In: Communication acoustics.
Springer
4. Blauert J, Xiang N (2009) Acoustics for engineers: troy lectures. Springer Science & Business
Media
5. Hollar S (2013) Sound. Britannica Educational Publishing, Chicago
6. Möser M (2009) Engineering acoustics: an introduction to noise control. Springer Science &
Business Media
7. Raichel DR (2006). The science and applications of acoustics. Springer Science & Business
Media
8. Williams JF, Hawkings DL (1969) Sound generation by turbulence and surfaces in arbitrary
motion. Philos Trans R Soc Lond A Math Phys Eng Sci 264:321–342
9. Wilson DK (2003) The sound-speed gradient and refraction in the near-ground atmosphere.
J Acoust Soc Am 113:750–757
10. Wintzell L (2014) Acoustic textiles-the case of wall panels in home environment
11. Ziaran S (2005) Acoustics and acoustic measurements. Physical Methods, Instruments and
Measurements. Vol- II, [Ed. Tsipenyuk YM], in Encyclopedia of Life Support Systems
12. Noise measurement manual (2013) Department of Environment and Heritage, The State of
Queensland, Australia
http://www.springer.com/978-981-10-1474-1