BUILDING SERVISES IV - ACCOUSTICS

WHAT IS ACCOUSTICS?
 Acoustic is the science of sound which deals with the properties of sound
waves.
 Some of the important applications in the field of engineering are electro-
acoustics, design of acoustical instruments and architectural acoustics.
Classification of sound
Sound waves are classified in 3 types.
1. Infrasound (f<20 kHz)
2. Audible sound (20 Hz<f<20 kHz)
3. Ultrasound (f>20 kHz)

CLASSIFICATION OF AUDIBLE SOUND

Audible sound is classified in two types.
(1) Musical sound :
The sound which produces pleasing effect on the ear is called musical sound.
Example : Sitar, violin, flute, piano, etc.
Properties of musical sound
The musical sound waveforms are regular in shape.
They do not undergo a sudden change in amplitude.
Characteristics of musical sound
1) Pitch- Related to frequency of sound.
2) Loudness- Related to intensity of sound.
3) Timber- Related to quality of sound.

(2) Noise
The sound that produces a jarring effect on the ear is called noise.
Example:-Sound of airplane, road traffic, crackers, etc.
Properties of noise
The noise waveforms are irregular in shape.
They undergo a sudden change in
amplitudes.

PROPERTIES OF SOUND
 Pitch. the relative highness or lowness we hear in sound measurable by
vibrations per second.
 Dynamics. degrees of loudness or softness in music.

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 BUILDING SERVISES IV - ACCOUSTICS

 Timbre. the quality of a tone that distinguishes it from other tones of the same
pitch.
 Duration. the length of time in which vibration is maintained without
interruption.

Pitch
The frequency of a sound wave is what your ear understands as pitch. A higher
frequency sound has a higher pitch, and a lower frequency sound has a lower pitch.
For instance, the chirp of a bird would have a high pitch, but the roar of a lion would
have a low pitch.
The human ear can detect a wide range of
frequencies.
Frequencies from 20 to 20 000 Hz are audible to
the human ear.
Any sound with a frequency below 20 Hz is
known as an infrasound and any sound with a
frequency above 20 000 Hz is known as
an ultrasound.
Lists the ranges of some common animals
compared to humans.
Loudness
The amplitude of a sound wave determines its loudness or volume.
Larger amplitude means a louder sound, and smaller amplitude means a softer
sound.
The vibration of a source sets the amplitude of a wave.
It transmits energy into the medium through its vibration. More energetic vibration
corresponds to larger amplitude.
The molecules move back and forth more vigorously.
The loudness of a sound is also determined by the sensitivity of the ear.
The human ear is more sensitive to some frequencies than to others.
The volume we receive thus depends on both the amplitude of a sound wave and
whether its frequency lies in a region where the ear is more or less sensitive.

DEFFECTS OF SOUND
When the average sound intensity rises in to a suitable level in every part of the room
or auditorium with no echoes or disturbances or distortions.
This is called acoustic of building. To achieve this, one has to minimize the defects.
Following are the main defects of sound-
1. Formation of Echoes
2. Reverberation of Sound
3. Insufficient loudness
4. Sound focl
5. Dead spots
6. Outside or External disturbance

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 BUILDING SERVISES IV - ACCOUSTICS

FORMATION OF ECHOES-
Echoes mainly produced due to the reflection of sound wave (mainly from the
surface of walls, roofs, ceilings etc.)
Echo is founded when the reflected sound reaches the ear at the same time when a
direct sound reaches. Echo causes disturbance and unpleasant hearing.
When Not all sound is absorbed, Some of it is reflected, That means sound bounces
off the solid matter example- a tennis ball bounces off a wall. Sound reflected back
to its source is an echo.

 Echoes are the reflection of sound

from relatively flat object that is far
enough away that you can discern the time difference.
 Echoes are used to measure distance, velocity, and the shape of objects.
Echoes off gratings result in an unusual pinging sound.
 repetition of sound
 The sensation of sound persists for 1/15th of a second after the source has
ceased. Thus an echo must reach after 1/10th second of the direct sound.
This defect can be removed by selecting proper shape of the hall.
And by providing rough and porous interior surfaces to disperse the energy of
echoes.
And by providing rough and porous interior surfaces to disperse the energy of
echoes.
This defect can be removed by selecting proper shape of the hall.

REVERBERATION
Is the time interval with in which , the intensity of sound produced or reverberation is
the multiple reflection in
an enclosed space .
The sound persists even
when the source of
sound has ceased or
stopped.

This prolongation of
sound in a hall even
though the source of

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 BUILDING SERVISES IV - ACCOUSTICS

sound is cut off is called reverberation.

A sound produced in a hall undergoes multiple reflections from the walls, floor and
ceiling before it becomes inaudible.

1.Depends on the size of room as if room is small reflections will taken place quickly
as waves have to travel less distance, so time will be less.
2. Reverberant sound is the reflected sound , as a result of improper absorption.
3. Reverberation may results in confusion with the sound created next.
The time during which the sound persists is called the reverberation time of sound in
the hall.
reverberation time ‘t’ is given by formula :-
t= 0.16V /A where V=volume of room in cubic meters
A= total absorbing power of all the surfaces of room/ hall.
Reverberation time: Amount of time at a specific frequency that a sound in an
enclosed space takes to decrease 60 decibels in level after the source sound has
stopped.
Reverberation time & quality of sound
Reverberation time should remain within limits as per Indian Standard Code: 2526-
1963.

The time taken by the sound in a room to fall from its average intensity to inaudibility
level is called the reverberation time of the room.
Reverberation time is defined as the time during which the sound energy density falls
from its steady state.

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 BUILDING SERVISES IV - ACCOUSTICS

SABINE’S FORMULA
Sabine defined the reverberation time as the time taken by the sound intensity to fall
to one millionth of its original intensity after the source stopped emitting sound.

t = reverberation time in second

V = volume in m3
A = (a1s1+a2s2+a3s3+……….) absorption unit of individual object
Material Absorption coefficient per m2

Open window 1.00

Ventilators 0.10 to 0.50

Brick wall 400 mm thk 0.03

Plaster on wall surface 0.02

Glass against solid surface 0.03

Marble 0.01

Stage curtain 0.20

Linoleum / concrete floor 0.03

Solid wooden floor 0.09

Framed wooden floor 0.13

Plywood on battens 0.17 to 0.26

Window glazed 0.18

Curtains in heavy fold 0.40 to 0.75

Metal 0.01

Audience, adults in wooden seat 0.46

Plain seat 0.02

Covered seat 0.10 to 0.20

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 BUILDING SERVISES IV - ACCOUSTICS

INSUFFICIENT LOUDNESS
In case of theater or large auditoriums the speakers voice or music from the stage
should be easily audible in all parts of the hall at the uniform of intensity of loudness.
To achieve this,
 the sound waves should be properly reflected and uniformally spread all over
the interior part of the auditorium.
 But due to the lake of sound reflecting flat surfaces near the sound source or
stage and excessive absorption of sound in the hall resulting the defect of
insufficient loudness.
This defect can be minimized by providing hard surface near the stage absorbent
material should be provided as per the requirements.
Also the location of loudspeakers should be adjusted. So that there is no dead spots
and sound focl.

SOUND FOCL
Reflecting concave surfaces cause concentration of
the reflected sound wave at certain spot, creating a
sound of large intensity. These spots are called sound
focl.
This defect can be remove by :-
1. Geometrical designed shapes of the interior faces,
including ceilings.
2. Providing highly absorption materials on focusing
areas.

DEAD SPOTS
This defect is an outcome of the formation of sound focl.
Because of high concentration of the of reflected sound at spot focl, there is
deficiency of reflected sound at some other points.
These points are known as dead spots, where sound intensity is so low that is
insufficient for hearing.
This defect can be remove by Installation of suitable
diffuser and reflectors so that there is even distribution of
the sound in the hall.

OUTSIDE OR EXTERNAL DISTURBANCE

External noise from vehicles, traffic engines, factories,
cooling plants etc. may enter the hall either through the
openings such as doors windows, ventilators etc. or
through the walls and other structural elements having
improper sound insulation.
This defect may be removed by-
By using sound insulation material on the walls with
respect to the surroundings.

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 BUILDING SERVISES IV - ACCOUSTICS

Sources of outdoor noises

Road traffic.
Railways.
Climatic conditions.
Aero planes.
Moving machines.
Machines in nearby factories or buildings etc.

Sources of in door noises

Indoor noises are those which are caused either in the same room or adjacent
rooms.
And these are due to:-
Conversation of peoples.
Moving of peoples .
Moving of furniture.
Crying of babies.
Playing of radios/ other musical
instruments.
Operations of water closets and
cisterns.
Noise of type writer
Banging of doors etc.

NOISE
Noise is unwanted sound which masks the satisfactory hearing of speech and music.
There are mainly three types of noises that are to be minimized.
They are
(i) air-borne noise,
(ii) structure-borne noise and
(iii) internal noise.

Air-Borne NOISE
The noise that comes into building through air
from distant sources is called air-borne noise.
A part of it directly enters the hall through the
open windows, doors or other openings while
another part enters by transmission through
walls and floors.
Remedies
The building may be located on quite sites
away from heavy traffic, market places,
railway stations, airports etc.
They may be shaded from noise by
interposing a buffer zone of trees, gardens
etc.

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 BUILDING SERVISES IV - ACCOUSTICS

Structure-Borne NOISE
The noise which comes from impact sources
on the structural extents of the building is
known- as the structure-borne noise. It is
directly transmitted to the building by
vibrations in the structure.
The common sources of this type of noise
are footsteps, moving of furniture, operating
machinery etc.
Remedies
The problem due to machinery and
domestic appliances can be overcome by
placing vibration isolators between machines and their supports.
Cavity walls, compound walls may be used to increase the noise transmission loss.

Internal NOISE
Internal noise is the noise produced in the hall or office etc.
They are produced by air conditioners, movement of people etc.
Remedies
The walls, floors and ceilings may be provided with enough sound absorbing
materials.
The gadgets or machinery should be placed on sound absorbent material.

ACOUSTICAL MATERIALS
COMMERCIAL and CUSTOM DESIGNED building materials and surface treatment
which contribute significantly to acoustical control or to noise reduction
METHODS of ABSORPTION

GENERAL CLASSIFICATIONS
• Porous Materials
• Panel or Membrane Absorbers
• Cavity (Helmholtz) Resonators

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 BUILDING SERVISES IV - ACCOUSTICS

POROUS MATERIALS
Soft, porous materials are very good sound absorbers. The basic acoustical
characteristic of these materials is a cellular network of interlocking pores. Within
these pores, incident sound energy is converted into heat.

Examples of these include acoustical boards, diffusers, soft plasters, mineral wool,
and acoustical blankets, among others.

Characteristic:
Their sound absorption is more
efficient at high, rather than
low frequencies. However,
their acoustical efficiency
improves in the low frequency
range with increased
thickness and with distance to
their solid backing.
Categories of Commercial Materials
Pre-fabricated Acoustical Units
Various types of perforated, fissured, or textured materials constitute typical units in
this group, Commonly used materials include
1. Acoustical boards:
These can be installed in several ways
Cemented to a solid backing
Nailed or screwed to wood framing
Laid in a ceiling suspension system

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 BUILDING SERVISES IV - ACCOUSTICS

Advantages
Trade catalogs contain detailed
specifications
Easy installation & maintenance
Flexible absorption
Disadvantages
Difficult to conceal joints
between units
Soft structure subject to damage
Paint redecoration harmful to
absorption

2. Acoustic hangers
Acoustic Hangers or baffles- a system of fiber-board panels that are wrapped
with insulation and are hung freely using wire or rope.

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 BUILDING SERVISES IV - ACCOUSTICS

3. Geocoustic tiles & panels

Geocoustic Tiles- special prefabricated units for random application on walls
and ceilings.

4. Diffusers
Absorptive material that have, irregular surfaces, or angled or curved fronts,
so when mounted on a wall or the ceiling they stop parallel wall interference
and prevent standing waves

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 BUILDING SERVISES IV - ACCOUSTICS

PLASTERS and SPRAYED-ON MATERIALS

Acoustical Plasters and Sprayed-on Materials: Absorbent paint applied in a
semiplastic consistency. There are two types:
Type I: composed of a cementitious material such as gypsum, cement, or lime
Type II: Fibrous materials combined with a binder agent, sprayed on with an air gun
or blower
Advantages
May be used for irregular surfaces
Aesthetic and decorative qualities
Disadvantages
Difficult application
Difficult maintenance

ACOUSTIC BLANKETS-
Also referred to as “Isolation Blankets”. Materials manufactured from rock wool, glass
fibers, wood fibers, hair felt, etc.

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 BUILDING SERVISES IV - ACCOUSTICS

ACOUSTIC FOAM BOARDS

High density blankets with covering; also act as diffusers

CARPETS and FABRIC

PANEL ABSORBERS
Also referred to as “Membrane Absorbers”. Impervious material installed in a solid
backing but separated from it by an air space.

CAVITY RESONATORS
Also referred to as “Helmholtz Resonators”. Materials that consist of an enclosed
body of air, confined within rigid walls and connected by a narrow opening to the
surroundings space.

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 BUILDING SERVISES IV - ACCOUSTICS

Classifications
a) Individual Cavity Resonators
Standard concrete blocks, using regular concrete mixture, but with slotted cavities

b) Perforated Panel Absorbers

Perforated panels spaced away from a solid backing

c) Slit Resonators
Isolation blankets (or alternative) covered with slits, the whole system forming a
resonator

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 BUILDING SERVISES IV - ACCOUSTICS

SPACE ABSORBERS-
Sound absorbing objects which are suspended from the ceiling, used when regular
boundary enclosures of an auditorium do not provide a suitable or adequate area
for conventional acoustical treatment.

VARIABLE ABSORBERS-
Sliding, hinged, movable, and rotatable panels constructed to expose either
absorptive or reflective surfaces.

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 BUILDING SERVISES IV - ACCOUSTICS

Details to be examined in the selection of sound absorbing finishes

Sound Absorption / Noise Reduction Coefficient
Possible installation methods
Maintenance
Durability
Integration with room elements
Attraction to Vermin
Thermal Insulation values
Fire resistance
Cost and Availability
Aesthetics

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