NOISE IN VENTILATION DUCTS

Sound in ducts
The primary source of noise is the fan. It will radiate tonal sound at frequencies related to the motor,
rotational, frequency and the blade frequency. It will also radiate broadband sound due to any
turbulent airflow off the blades. The sound power is constrained within the ducting. The sound
power propagating along the duct will reduce only where energy has been:
- absorbed by the duct walls (and possibly then radiated outside the duct)
- reflected back up the duct by a sharp bend
- divided between ducts where branches diverge
- reflected back up the duct due to changes in the cross-sectional area of the duct
In the simplest possible case of a long straight duct with very rigid walls, the power will be the
same at all points along the duct.
Fan Noise
Noise energy generated by the fan rotation is dependent on the diameter and the rotational speed of
the fan, typically proportional to the fifth or sixth power of the linear velocity at the tip of the fan
blades. Generally a large diameter fan at low rotational speed produces low frequency and
comparatively low noise level. The same volume flow rate can be achieved by increasing the
rotational speed and reducing the diameter. In this case the frequency and the level of the noise are
higher but the higher frequency noise can be more effectively attenuated by lining the duct with
sound absorbing materials. In general the SWL (Sound power level) of fans varies greatly with
types, sizes, and speeds. It should be chosen carefully to ensure low noise levels. Manufacturers
data on the source SWL of a fan should always be sought.
Flow generated noise:
- In empty straight ducts noise from turbulence is generally very small compared with other
factors, especially with velocity, u<10 m/s.
- Bends, Branches, Junctions and Turns cause abrupt changes in flow conditions. Noise level
increases approximately 15 (power
5

7
) dB per doubling of flow
speed depending heavily on the duct size and configurations. Noise can be reduced by
rounding the bends or introducing streamlined turning vanes.
- Interaction with Obstacles, e.g. silencers etc causes turbulence wakes. Noise level again
depends approximately on u
5
, and also on the size and geometry of the obstacle. Shapes that
create abrupt changes in the flow are best to be avoided.
- Inlet/Outlet Grilles, (air) Diffusers and dampers. Similar noise generating mechanisms as
other obstacles









For Low Flows Noise Design:
- Avoid abrupt changes. Graduate transitions are preferred to minimise the generation of
turbulence.
- Avoid grouping duct/flow changes near each other. Spread out changes to straighten the
flow before hitting another transition.
- Porous absorptive duct linings should generally be used to attenuate flow noise in high
specification cases. Significant flow noise generated by a duct fitting/change should be
attenuated by a secondary attenuator placed immediately downstream of the fitting.
- Most importantly, since flow generated noise are generally ~u
5
or higher, the flow velocity
must be kept low. For example, for a NC20 design, the flow speed in the main ducts, branch
ducts, and final run out sections should respectively be lower than 4.5 m/s, 3.5 m/s, and 2
m/s. For a fixed volume flow rate, a lower flow velocity can be achieved by using larger
duct sections.
Predicting the sound power level of the ventilation grille
In order to determine the sound pressure level in a room due to the noise emitted from an air inlet or
air extraction grille of a ventilating system, the sound power level, LW of the grille as a noise source
in the room has to be determined. The sound pressure level in the room can then be calculated from:
|
|
.
|

\
|
+ + =
c
R
r
Q
L L
4
4
Log 10
2
grille W, p
t

duct the in n attenuatio L L =
fan W, grille W,

Q Example of grille location
Grille
radiates
into
1
In the centre of the volume of the room (e.g. a long duct down
from a high ceiling)
Whole
space
2 In the middle of a plane surface (e.g. the ceiling or a wall) Half space
4
At the junction of 2 plane surfaces (e.g. where a wall meets
the ceiling)
Quarter
space
8
At the junction of 3 plane surfaces (e.g. a corner where 2
walls and the ceiling meet)
Eighth
space

The sound power level of the fan is usually acquired from the manufacturers data.
Attenuation in the duct will be due to a combination of the following:
i. Straight duct runs;
ii. Bends in the duct;
iii. Branches in the duct; and
iv. Duct termination at the grille.






i. Straight duct runs
Duct walls are not rigid and, consequently, absorb sound power whilst vibrating in response to
sound pressures in the air in the duct. Some of the absorbed power is then radiated as airborne noise
outside the duct and some is converted into heat due to the internal friction of the duct wall
material. Both lead to a reduction in the sound power inside the duct. The table below shows typical
attenuation in dB/metre for unlined sheet metal ducts.

Attenuation due to a straight duct run (in dB/m duct)
Duct dimension (mm)
O.B.C.F.(Hz)
63 125 250 500 1k 2k
Round 100 - 300 0.1 0.1 0.1 0 0 0
Round > 300 0 0 0 0 0 0
Rectangular 150 x
150
0.65 0.65 0.5 0.35 0.35 0.35
Rectangular 600 x
600
0.65 0.65 0.35 0.15 0.15 0.15
Rectangular 1800 x
1800
0.35 0.35 0.15 0.03 0.03 0.03

Rectangular ducting gives higher attenuation than circular ducting because the flat walls of the
former are less rigid and vibrate more readily. Notice how the flat duct walls attenuate more at low
frequencies, reflecting the absorbent behaviour of panel (or membrane) absorbers. It follows from
the last sentence that duct break-out is greater at low frequencies.

ii. Bends in the duct

At bends sound power is reflected back towards the fan. The effect is greater for 90 bends. In
addition to the reflection there is also resonant behaviour for frequencies where the wavelength is
twice the duct width. The tables below show typical attenuation/bend for unlined and lined sheet
metal 90 bends.

Long radius, curved, bends give much less attenuation and is usually assigned 0dB attenuation. 90
bends may well create turbulent flow and generate additional sound power inside the duct; one
solution is to place turning vanes in the bend to encourage the air to flow through the corner in a
streamlined way.












Attenuation due to a bend in the duct (in dB per bend)

Duct
type
Width
B
(mm)
O.B.C.F (Hz)
125 250 500 1k 2k 4k 8k
Without
absorber
125 0 0 0 6 8 4 3
250 0 0 6 8 4 3 3
500 0 6 8 4 3 3 3
1000 6 8 4 3 3 3 3
Absorber
in front
of elbow
125 0 0 0 6 8 6 8
250 0 0 6 8 6 8 11
500 0 6 8 6 8 11 11
1000 6 8 6 8 11 11 11
Absorber
after the
elbow
125 0 0 0 7 11 10 10
250 0 0 7 11 10 10 10
500 0 7 11 10 10 10 10
1000 7 11 10 10 10 10 10
Absorber
in front
and after
the
elbow
125 0 0 0 7 12 14 16
250 0 0 7 12 14 16 18
500 0 7 12 14 16 18 18
1000 7 12 14 16 18 18 18

iii. Branches in the duct
There is no net loss of sound power from the ventilation system at a branch. Rather, the sound
energy divides between the main and take-off ducts in the same way that the airflow does.
Consequently, the power entering a branch is less than that in the run of duct immediately before
the branch. The attenuation, i.e. the reduction in sound power level in going from the feeding main
duct into the branch, can be calculated from:
|
.
|

\
|
=
duct main the of area
branch the of area
Log 10 n Attenuatio
The sound power level in the main duct after the branch will be less than that prior to the branch
and may be determined by decibel subtraction.








iv. Duct termination at the grille

When the sound waves finally reach the grille not all of the power passes out into the room. Some
of it is reflected back into the duct. The reason is the change in acoustic impedance between the air
in the duct and the air in the room. This behaviour is frequency dependent. Low frequency sounds
have long wavelength which are greater than the cross-sectional dimensions of the duct and are
more prone to attenuation due to impedance change. High frequency sounds tend to propagate along
the axis of the duct and radiate freely into the room. The table below shows typical data for an open
duct termination attenuation.

Attenuation due to end reflection (in dB per termination)
Duct dimension (mm)
O.B.C.F. (Hz)
63 125 250 500 1k 2k
125 17 12 8 4 1 0
250 12 8 4 1 0 0
500 8 4 1 0 0 0
1000 4 1 0 0 0 0
2000 1 0 0 0 0 0

Duct silencers
The propagation of acoustic power along a duct may be reduced by the use of duct silencers. This
may involve simply lining the inner surfaces of the duct with acoustic absorber. The following
graphs show the attenuation achieved, per metre of rectangular cross-section sheet metal duct, by
lining it with porous absorber 25 mm and 50 mm thick respectively.










Duct silencers may be classified as:

Silencer
Classification
Comment
Active
Microphones and electronics to determine and attenuate (tonal) noise. Not
often used.
Diffuser
Perforated pepper pots that slow down velocity and are mainly used for
nozzles, jet engines etc.
Dissipative
Based on porous absorbers, the dissipative part, and widely used for
HVAC duct systems.
Packless
Used for clean room activities and in zones where acoustic materials can
cause fire hazards.
Reactive
Tuned cavities or membranes which are designed to attenuate low
frequency noise from machines.












Splitter silencers

The commonest form of silencer is the splitter silencer, which is inserted into a straight duct run.




Splitter silencer with a cross-sectional diagram of its construction

The following is taken from the manufacturers description of the diagram.
(1) Die-formed single-piece splitter construction throughout.
(2) Acoustic baffles designed for maximum attenuation at low frequencies, the toughest job of all
(3) Straight-through air passages designed for maximum air handling at minimum pressure drop.
(4) Solid, rounded noses increase noise reduction.
(5) Bell-mouth entrance and exit minimize turbulence.
(6) No protruding fastener heads to cause turbulence or self-noise.
(7) Solid air-impingement surfaces and self-cleaning air passages minimize dirt entrapment.
(8) Acoustic fill protected against erosion by perforated-metal containments.

Insertion Loss
Installing a silencer in a duct will lead to a reduction in the sound power level in the duct, when
measured at a point beyond the silencer away from the fan. The reduction in the sound power level
at that point is called the insertion loss. It is quoted in dB and is frequency dependent.

Self-Noise
Close examination of the manufacturers text for the eight points listed above, shows that attention
is paid to maintaining laminar air flow through the silencer. Any turbulence in the flow will
generate noise. Self-noise is the sound power level generated by the turbulent air flow through the
silencer. The sound power level of the self-noise will add (by decibel addition) to the sound power
level of the fan noise.

Active silencers
Active silencers make use of noise-cancelling technology, whereby an acoustic signal is injected
into the duct. The signal has identical amplitude and frequency to the duct noise, but is in anti-phase
(180 degrees out of phase) with the duct noise. Destructive interference occurs when the duct noise
and acoustic signal combine, thereby reducing the level of the duct noise. This technology is most
appropriate for persistent tonal noise..




Positioning silencers

Break-out is the transmission of duct noise through the duct walls into the surrounding spaces.
Break-in is the reverse process. Plant rooms can be very noisy spaces and if the silencer is
positioned close to the fan, the noise break-in into the duct before it passes out of the plant room
may lead to noticeable plant room noise radiating from the room grilles. The break-in problem may
be addressed either by lagging the exterior of the duct to reduce break-in, or by positioning the
silencer as close as possible to the point where the duct passes out of the plant room.


Structure-borne noise

Vibration from the fan and motor may be transmitted into the structure of the building, either
directly from the fan and motor, via their supports, or via transmission along the steel ducts and
their hangers and supports. The vibrating building structure (the building elements) would then
radiate sound into the rooms.

The way to reduce structure-borne noise is to provide vibration isolation between the ventilation
system and the building structure. This implies having no rigid connection between the two.

Commonly, the fan and motor assembly will be supported on vibration
isolation mounts. This is often a heavy platform resting on resilient
mounts (e.g. helical steel springs).

The ratio of the driving frequency of the fan motor to the natural
frequency of the assembly should be in the region of 3 to 4, depending
upon the percentage isolation required..




The flexible duct coupler helps to isolate the metalwork of the duct from the
structural vibration of the fan and motor; but could cause turbulence in the
air flow due to irregularities in the inner wall of the coupler..

Where vibration is transmitted along the metal of
the duct, rigid supporting hangers would convey
the vibration into the building structure. In this
case, use is made of resilient hangers which may
include rubber blocks or helical springs as the resilient element. The
latter are shown to the left.


Submitted By:
Ashu Airan
Deepak Lamba