Architectural acoustics is the science of controlling sound within buildings.

The first application of architectural 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. Architectural acoustics includes room acoustics, the design of recording and broadcast studios, home theaters, and listening rooms for media playback. Building skin envelope This science analyzes noise transmission from building exterior envelope to interior and vice versa. The main noise paths are roofs, eaves, walls, windows, door and penetrations. Sufficient control ensures space functionality and is often required based on building use and local municipal codes. An example would be providing a suitable design for a home which is to be constructed close to a high volume roadway, or under the flight path of a major airport, or of the airport itself. Inter-space noise control The science of limiting and/or controlling noise transmission from one building space to another to ensure space functionality and speech privacy. The typical sound paths are room partitions, acoustic ceiling panels (such as wood dropped ceiling panels), doors, windows, flanking, ducting and other penetrations. An example would be providing suitable party wall design in an

apartment complex to minimise the mutual disturbance due to noise by residents in adjacent apartments. Interior space acoustics This is the science of controlling a room's surfaces based on sound absorbing and reflecting properties. Excessive reverberation time, which can be calculated, can lead to poor speech intelligibility. Sound reflections create standing waves that produces natural resonances that can be heard as a pleasant sensation or an annoying one. [1] Reflective surfaces can be angled and coordinated to provide good coverage of sound for a listener in a concert hall or music recital space. To illustrate this concept consider the difference between a modern large office meeting room or lecture theater and a traditional classroom with all hard surfaces. Interior building surfaces can be constructed of many different materials and finishes. Ideal acoustical panels are those without a face or finish material that interferes with the acoustical infill or substrate. Fabric covered panels are one way to heighten acoustical absorption. Finish material is used to cover over the acoustical substrate. Mineral fiber board, or Micore, is a commonly used acoustical substrate. Finish materials often consist of fabric, wood or acoustical tile. Fabric can be wrapped around substrates to create what is referred to as a "prefabricated panel" and often provides the good noise absorption if laid onto a wall. Prefabricated panels are limited to the size of the

substrate ranging from 2'x 4' to 4' x 10'. Fabric retained in a wallmounted perimeter track system, is referred to as "on-site acoustical wall panels" This is constructed by framing the perimeter track into shape, infilling the acoustical substrate and then stretching and tucking the fabric into the perimeter frame system. On-site wall panels can be constructed to accommodate door frames, baseboard, or any other intrusion. Large panels (generally, greater than 50 square feet) can be created on walls and ceilings with this method. Wood finishes can consist of punched or routed slots and provide a natural look to the interior space, although acoustical absorption may not be great.

There are three ways to improve workplace acoustics and solve workplace sound problems the ABCs.

A = Absorb (usually via ceiling tile) B = Block (via workstation panels, wall placement and workspace layout) C = Cover-up (via electronic sound masking) While all three of these are recommended to achieve optimal results, C = Cover-up by increasing background sound produces the most dramatic improvement in speech privacy with the least disruption and typically the lowest cost.

Building Acoustics Measurements

Building acoustics is the name given to many different types of noise measurements that are carried out in buildings to test the construction of houses, offices, cinemas etc. It can also be used to study the performance of various materials that might be used to control the amount of noise within an enclosure such as a large factory space as part of a noise control program. Noise nuisance problems that at first appear to be caused by excessively noisy neighbors may in fact turn out to be partly due to under-performing building elements and a good understanding of the characteristics of walls and floors will very often assist the noise control engineer in his investigation of an initial domestic noise complaint. Suitable instruments to measure the characteristics of noise within enclosed spaces are the new CEL400 and CEL-500 series of real time analyzers.

CEL-500 series used for the investigation of room acoustics

One of the primary measurements required in this type of work is to find the reverberation time in an enclosed space. This is important because it helps to describe the liveliness of the enclosed space. The reverberation time varies with frequency and so these measurements are almost always taken in third octave bands or octave bands at the very least. Results of these types of measurements are used to measure the effectiveness of a partition such as a wall or a floor at keeping unwanted noise out of another room. Results of building acoustic measurements are also used to measure the absorption coefficient of various types of materials used in the construction of the room. This information can also be used in industrial situations to reduce the noise level in a factory where there is a large amount of reverberant noise at typical worker stations. A controllable electronic noise source is used as a stimulus signal for these measurements which are then measured under the control of the measurement instrument. This is usually done with a real time analyzer because a large number of measurements are required at a number of different positions in the enclosed room in order to get an average result which is representative of the room as a whole. At least 6 measurement positions are usually required from 100 Hz to 3150 Hz third octave band center frequencies. This is at least 96 results for

reverberation time decay curve on CEL-500 series analyzer

third octave band real time analysis from 12.5 to 20 kHz

reverberation time analysis and nearly 400 when transmission loss measurements have to be acquired across a partition. Using serial or sequential frequency filters in this situation would be extremely time consuming so real time or parallel frequency analyzers are almost always used. The benefits of real time analysis are the speed at which the multiple data sets can be acquired. This helps to keep the time on site down to a minimum and the interruptions to any other persons in the area is also minimized. Warnings should always be given to other people when high levels of steady or impulsive noise are going to be generated. The measurements are obtained over all the frequency bands in the instrument giving a complete picture from 20 Hz to 20 kHz. The CEL-513 Pink noise generator is an ideal accessory for any of the CEL-500 real time analyzers fitted with the building acoustics option.

pink noise generator to act as controllable noise source

Measurements consist of finding the transmission loss across a part of the building elements such as party walls or from a floor through a ceiling. Noise sources typically used are pink noise generators which produce noise energy over the whole audio bandwidth of interest. This broadband signal is fed into a high power amplifier and loudspeaker so that accurately controlled noise levels may be produced. The real time analyzer turns the noise source on and off at the right time and uses special switching signals to gather the correct measurements for the analysis of the raw data. As an alternative, a high noise level impulse is often used as the stimulus signal. This type of noise source has the advantage of being easier to carry around and can be generated from a starting pistol or a helium balloon but the noise level produced may not contain enough energy at all the frequencies of interest. Impulses generated like this are also somewhat variable in output and so may not trigger the data capture reliably and correctly every time. Spectral noise levels are required on both sides of a common party wall or from outside to inside when assessing the impact of traffic noise on a building facade. Frequencies cover the range from 100 Hz up to 4 or 5 kHz typically when carrying out the measurements to international standards. Methodologies are laid down in many ISO and ASTM

measuring the reverberation time in a room

standard documents. Reference should be made to these standards to ensure that the correct measurement results are collected before leaving site so that the calculations can be carried out when results have been transferred to a laptop computer. Special software is available to perform these calculations according to the appropriate methods for each task.

Building acoustics The sound absorption coefficient of a material is = (1 r), where r, the sound energy reflection coefficient, is the ratio of sound energy reflected from the surface of the material to that incident upon it. Values for a specific material depend upon frequency and upon the angle of incidence of the sound. When the sound field is approximately diffuse the corresponding quantity is denoted by s; this may be determined in accordance with BS 3638:1987. The values in the table overleaf have been taken from Evans and Bazley (1978) which predates the current standard. Absorption depends on mounting and other details of construction and the following values should be regarded only as typical.

Reverberation absorption coefficients Material Th Frequency ick /Hz

ne 125 ss 250 (m 500 m) 000 . . . 13 123 505 000 . . . 18 137 050 000 . . . 25 136 005 000 . . . 000 223 00 . . 8 01 55 00 . . 14 02 50

1 0 0 0 0 . 6 0 0 . 7 5 0 . 8 5 0 . 0 4 0 . 3 0 0 . 4 0

2 0 0 0 0 . 6 0 0 . 6 5 0 . 8 5 0 . 0 5 0 . 4 5 0 . 6 0

4 0 0 0 0 . 5 0 0 . 5 0 0 . 8 0 0 . 0 7 0 . 5 5 0 . 6 5

Acoustic plaster

. . . . . . . . . . . .

Acoustic tiles (perforated fibreboard) . .

Asbestos (sprayed). . . . . . . . . . .

Brickwork

. . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Carpet (Axminster) . . . . . . . . . .

Carpet on underlay . . . . . . . . . . Curtain (velour, draped) . . . . . . .

0000 0 0 . . . . . .

1357 7 6 4552 0 5 000 . . . 25 125 055 000 . . . 25 124 055 000 . . . 25 125 050 000 . . . 13 001 550 000 . . . 13 014 550 0 . 7 0 0 . 6 0 0 . 7 0 0 . 1 5 0 . 3 5 0 . 9 5 0 . 8 0 0 . 7 0 0 . 8 5 0 . 1 5 0 . 2 0 0 . 9 0 0 . 8 5 0 . 7 0 0 . 8 5 0 . 2 0 0 . 2 0 0 . 9 0

Glass fibre (resin-bonded) . . . . . .

Glass wool (uncompressed) . . . . .

Mineral wool . . . . . . . . . . . .

Polystyrene, expanded (rigid backing)

Polystyrene, expanded (on 50 mm battens)

Polyurethane foam 000 (flexible)gdsghdsgdgdgsgdgsagdgdgfdhgfhdhHBSH . . . GFHSBABFHGSHBFBHGHSDBFHDSBHFJBDSHBFGD 50 258 HSJGBHDSBVGBDSHJNFJBHSGAHFSAHGFHSABHGF 505 HSABFG Snow . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

25 0 0 0 0 0 0 . . . . . . 1467 8 8

5055 0 5 000 . . . 13 210 005 0 . 0 5 0 . 0 5 0 . 0 5

Wood panelling (oak, on 25 mm battens)

Insulation against airborne noise. The sound reduction index (R) is the ratio of sound energy incident on a partition to that which is transmitted through it, expressed in decibels (BS 2750: 1980). The values vary with frequency and angle of incidence; for comparative purposes a single value ( Rw) can be derived from the data over the frequency range 1003150 Hz according to BS 5821: Part 1: 1984. Although mass is the main determinant of R above the resonant frequency, the relationship is not a simple one, due to coincidence effects associated with flexural waves in the partition (Fahy 1985). For single, homogeneous partitions, however, the mean value of R over the range 1003150 Hz can be estimated to be approximately Ravg =10 + 15 log10(m) dB, where m is the surface mass density in kgm2. For some types of partition Rw Ravg + 3 dB. The table opposite gives laboratory values of R and Rw obtained at the Building Research Establishment and the Building Test Centre of British Gypsum Ltd (Dr L. C. Fothergill, private communication).

Sound Reduction Indices (dB) Type of M element a s s 1 Rw dB

Octave Band Centre Frequency/Hz 3

k g / 10 12 16 20 25 31 40 50 63 80 10 12 16 20 25 3150 m 0 5 0 0 0 5 0 0 0 0 00 50 00 00 00
2

Thermal 1 double 22 23 19 17 21 26 28 30 32 33 33 32 30 28 30 glazing (6-126), timber frame As 1, plus 4 2 mm 35 30 31 27 32 38 40 44 47 49 49 44 41 43 43 seconda ry pane spaced 150 mm, reveal lined with absorbe nt 3 Brick, 200 33 35 33 34 34 33 36 39 42 44 46 48 49 51 52 100 mm thick, no

33 30

45 42

53 44

finish Lightwei ght 4 260 15 13 15 15 14 15 17 17 19 20 22 23 27 28 31 aggrega te blockwo rk 215 mm thick, no finish (perme able block) As 4 with 5 plaster 280 36 31 33 35 38 42 47 49 52 55 59 61 63 65 66 finish both sides Two leaves 6 100 mm 390 28 27 31 33 35 35 41 42 47 52 55 59 63 66 69 blockwo rk, 50 mm

37 22

67 51

70 46

cavity, no finish As 6 with 7 plaster 410 41 37 37 38 38 41 46 49 54 59 63 67 72 76 79 finish both sides Two leaves 8 133 35 40 44 44 43 42 42 41 44 49 53 58 61 64 66 100 mm aerated concret e blockwo rk, 50 mm cavity, no finish

82 52

71 50

As 8 with 9 plaster 153 37 42 46 43 38 38 40 43 47 51 56 60 66 68 71 finish both sides

76 49

Floor 1 18 mm 19 15 20 25 28 29 34 37 37 42 43 44 44 42 40 0 chipboa rd 194 45 mm joists at 450 mm centres, 12.5 mm plasterb oard ceiling As 10 but 600 1 mm 17 26 32 38 35 35 37 37 41 45 47 49 51 49 45 1 joist spacing 12.5 mm 1 11. plasterb 21 21 23 25 25 26 28 28 29 31 33 34 35 35 29 2 8 oard sheet 12.5 mm 1 plasterb 3 oard each side

41 38

40 42

26 31

17 18 27 37 34 27 35 33 37 37 42 46 48 49 46

38 38

of 75 mm 38 mm timber studs As 13 with 25 1 mm 4 mineral wool in cavity As 14 1 with no 5 layers of plasterb oard each side Two 1 leaves 6 of 12.5 mm + 19 mm plasterb oard on metal studs, separat

13 15 28 35 31 32 37 37 42 43 47 50 53 53 46

41 40

24 24 33 42 35 37 42 44 47 48 51 54 57 58 52

48 46

43 47 55 56 59 64 67 71 72 72 75 80 83 84 86

86 70

ed by 250 mm cavity with 100 mm mineral wool