Science of sound dealing with wanted and unwanted sounds, assures optimum conditions for producing and listing

to speech , music..
Hearing/Listening communication channel

Next to vision Unwanted scenes Vs Unwanted sounds

Need To Study Acoustics

Optimum speech intelligibility Sound quality Uniformity Loudness Richness Clarity Minimum background noise Freedom from echoes

lHistory of Acoustics

Galileo Galilei (1564-1642) discovered the general principles of sympathetic vibrations, or resonance, and the correspondence between the frequency of vibrations and the length of a pendulum. Leonhard Euler and Daniel Bernoulli's studies of vibrating cords in the 18th century eventually led to the development of Fourier analysis, one of the most important tools of mathematics and mathematical physics.

Acoustics, one of the oldest branches of physics, originated with Pythagoras's studies of music over 2,500 years ago. Scientific milestones abound in this field:

 Sir Isaac Newton and Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz independently developed the theory of calculus, which in turn allowed the derivation of the general wave equation by the French mathematician and scientist Jean Le Rond d'Alembert in the 1740s. Hermann von Helmholtz's On the Sensations of Tone As a Physiological Basis for the Theory of Music (1863) made substantial contributions to understanding the mechanisms of hearing and to the psychophysics of sound and music.

 John

William Strutt's The Theory of Sound (1877/78), a monument of acoustical literature, was the first treatise to examine questions of vibrations, the resonance of elastic solids and gases, and acoustical propagation in material media.

Jean Baptiste-Joseph Fourier, a 19th-

century French mathematician, established his theory about the analysis of a complex periodic wave into its spectral components.

 German physicist Georg Simon Ohm hypothesized that the human ear is sensitive to these spectral components. His Law of Hearing stated that the ear is sensitive to the amplitudes, but not the phases, of the harmonics of a complex tone. 20th-century American physicist Wallace Sabine initiated the science of modern architectural acoustics by finding ways to correct the acoustics of noisy rooms. Hungarian-born American physicist Georg von Bksy validated Helmholtz's theory of hearing with his Experiments in Hearing (1960), the classic of the modern theory of the ear.

Generation, Propagation, Transmission of sound

Sound results from vibrations in the medium

gas, liquid and solid. e.g :tunnning fork, musical instruments etc Speech is produced-complicated interaction of the lungs, vocal cords and passages in the throat The number of vibrations which occur in one second is called the frequency of the sound and is given the name Hertz

 Normal speech contains frequencies ranging

from 20 Hz to 20,000 Hz, which is also the range of human hearing.

When the vibrations occur at frequencies less

than 20 Hz they cannot be heard and are called infrasonic

while ones above 20,000 Hz, which are also

inaudible, are referred to as ultrasonic.

Audible ranges of frequencies /intensity

Acoustics involves three aspects

Production of the sound or vibration
Transmission of the sound through some
medium

Reception or detection of the sound

Different levels of sound and their subjective effects

65 db Annoyance (psychological) 90 db Permanent hear loss(long

duration) 100 db Aural acuity (short duration)and damage to Auditory Organs (long duration) 120 db Pain 150 db instant loss of hearing

Ears Sensitivity
Average persons ears capacity

Hz

- 20 20,000

(decreasing with age and subjective factors)

Sound Emitted - rate of energy flow

(power) in watts Lowest intensity Threshold of Audibility(10^-12 w/sq.m) Highest intensity Threshold of Pain(1 w/sq.m)

Decibel scale
Ear - Self defense mechanism Ears sensitivity decreases high intensity
sound Proportionate logarithm of intensity N(db) = 20 Log I (measured intensity) Io(threshold of audibility 10 w/sq.m)

Behaviour of sound Enclosed space

Reflected (r)

Absorbed(a) Transmitted(t)
If source I = 1, r+a+t=1

Absorption Co-efficient
Absorption Co-efficient = a + t
(all thats not reflected : 1-r )

Absorption (A) = a x s a = absorption co-efficient s = Area of given surface

Total Sound components:

Direct component

Reverberant component

Sound types:
Airborne

Structure borne

Reverberation Time
Reverberation time is defined as the time for
the sound to die away to a level 60 decibels below its original level Reverberation Time = RT 60 = time to drop
60db below original

level Sabines Formula:

RT=(0.16)V/Se in metres=(0.049)V/Se in feet's V = Volume , Se = effective absorbing area

Reverberation for different uses

Acoustical Requirements :
Floors : Carpets,wooden,elevated floors Ceiling : Wooden, Acoustical tiles(reflective)

Side Walls : Wooden (Reflective ),acoustical

boards Rear walls :Perforated acoustical boards(Absorptive ), soft boards with upholstery

Effects of Geometry and shape pleasing if it is evenly dispersed, with no Sound is more

prominent echoes, no significant "dead spots" or "live spots" in the auditorium. This even dispersion is usually achieved by avoiding any focusing surfaces and avoiding large flat areas which reflect sound into the listing area. Sometimes it is desirable to add some anti-focusing surfaces

Focusing Surfaces

Acoustical Properties of Building Materials

Wood Reflective Gypsum Reflective , Perforated Gypsum Reflective cum

Absorption Concrete Reflective Glass Reflective Metal Reflective Perforated gypsum board Absorptive Acoustical Tile, Glass wool Absorptive Fabric (carpet, seat upholstery, draperies)Absorptive

Shilpa kala Vedika, Madhapur

GREAT EMPHASIS IS LAID
ON ACOUSTICS TO CREATE A FOOLPROOF SOUND SYSTEM FOR THE AUDITORIUM. THE PERFORATED ALUMINUM PANELS ON THE SIDES ARE IMPORTED FROM ITALY. ACOUSTICAL MATERIAL GLASS WOOL BEING USED IN THE CHECKERED FALSE CEILING OF ENTRANCE LOBBY

Characteristics of sound
Frequency-no.of vibrations per second,

measured in cycles per sec or Hertz Intensity or Loudness-measurement of quantity of sound energy, measured as below(intensity physical quantity, loudness depends on human ear) Measurement of sound- very sophisticated so measured as logarithm of intensity of sound i.e decibels.

Outdoor Noise Levels

Air Traffic Rail traffic Heavy road traffic Medium road traffic Light road traffic
100-110 db 90-110 db 80-90 db 70 80 db 60 70 db

Acceptable indoor Noise levels

Radio and T.V studios 25- 30db Music room 30- 35 db Hospitals 35-50db Apartments, hotels, homes 35-40db Conference rooms, small offices, libraries 3540db Class rooms 40-45 db Public offices, banks 45-50db Restaurants 50-55db

Optimum reverberation time and audience factors for acoustical design

Type of building
Cinema theatres
Churches Conference rooms Music concert Hall Assembly hall Lecture hall Large halls

Reverberation time

Audience factor

1.3-1.5s
1.8-3s 1-1.5s 1.6-2s 1-1.5s 1.5-2s 2-3s

2/3
2/3 1/3 Full Quorum(probable size) 1/3 full

General principles in acoustical design

Site selection and planning Volume, i.e size and height Shape Treatment of interior surfaces Reverberation time Seat, Seating arrangements, audience Sound absorption

Auditorium Acoustics
Acoustic separation is necessary at the entrance of the auditorium and also between projection room and auditoria. At entrances, this is achieved with lobbies and sound reducing door sets.

Sound Propagation in an Auditorium Sound waves travel at about 345 meters/second, so that the sound coming directly from a source within an auditorium will generally reach a listener after a time of anywhere from 0.01 to 0.2 seconds.

 Shortly after the arrival of the direct sound, a

series of semi-distinct reflections from various reflecting surfaces (walls and ceiling) will reach the listener. These early reflections typically will occur within about 50 - 80 milliseconds.

The reflections which reach the listener after

the early reflections are typically of lower amplitude and very closely spaced in time. These reflections merge into what is called the reverberant sound or late reflections.

 If the source emits a continuous sound, the

reverberant sound builds up until it reaches an equilibrium level. When the sound stops, the sound level decreases at a more or less constant rate until it reaches inaudibility.

For impulsive sounds, the reverberant sound

begins to decay immediately.

Direct sound and early Reflections the single Early reflections are
most overlooked opportunity for developing good sounding speech in todays auditoriums and sanctuaries, live theaters, lecture halls and even classrooms. These most desirable reflections can be mechanically induced by appropriate positioning and shaping of sound reflecting surfaces. They can be electronically emulated using a time delayed distributed sound system.

Direct , Early Reflections , late reflections

 Good sounding auditoriums dont misuse their

sound systems to create overly loud sounds. They use sound systems to generate a comfortable loudness for the direct sound and then compliment this with a bevy of early reflections, immediately followed by a distinct absence of late reflections and finally backfilled with a groundswell of distant sounding reverberation. Early reflections cant be distinguished from the direct sound and thats why they are the only reflections that actually add to clarity of speech.

Echoes
Echoes can be fun but they also ruin the understanding of speech Early reflections are those that bounce off nearby objects.
But when the object is located some distance away, the situation changes, you can hear the reflection off of it and we call this acoustic event an echo. An echo can be great fun at times but when its time to pay attention to someone talking, it also makes listening very difficult. The echo is a good example of a late reflection because it is a reflection that can be distinguished as being separate from the direct signal. A good, clear and bright sounding auditorium provides ample opportunity for many early reflections to reach each seat in the hall.

Types of noises/ methods to control

External noises

Distance Screening Planning Positioning of opening Noise insulating building envelope

Internal noises

Reduction at source Enclosing and isolating source by

absorbent screens Planning :separating noisy spaces from quiet ones Placing of noise equipment massive part of the building. Covering surfaces resilient materials Noise in space- by absorbent surfaces Airborne-airtight and insulating construction, Structure borne discontinuity.

Kala Akademi, panaji,Goa. Ar.Charlea Correa

Visual construction of Acoustically transparent materials- Auditorium Interior