NOISE CONTROL
Units and Levels
6.1
6.
6.1
UNITS AND LEVELS
LEVELS AND DECIBELS
Human response to sound is roughly proportional to the logarithm of sound intensity. A logarithmic level (measured in decibels or dB), in Acoustics, Electrical Engineering, wherever, is always: power 10 log10 reference power (dB)
Figure 6.1 Bells 1876 patent drawing of the telephone
An increase in 1 dB is the minimum increment necessary for a noticeably louder sound. The decibel is 1/10 of a Bel, and was named by Bell Labs engineers in honor of Alexander Graham Bell, who in addition to inventing the telephone in 1876, was a speech therapist and elocution teacher.
Sound power level: LW = 101og10 Sound intensity level:
W Wref
Wref = 10 12 watts
LI = 10 log10
Sound pressure level (SPL):
L p = 10 log 10
I I ref
I ref = 10 12 watts / m 2
2 Prms P = 20 log 10 rms 2 Pref Pref
Pref = 20 Pa = .00002 N / m 2
Some important numbers and unit conversions:
1 Pa = SI unit for pressure = 1 N/m2 = 10Bar 1 psi = antiquated unit for the metricly challenged = 6894Pa kg c = characteristic impedance of air = 415 = 415 mks rayls (@20C) s m2 c= speed of sound in air = 343 m/sec (@20C, 1 atm)
J. S. Lamancusa
Penn State
12/4/2000
NOISE CONTROL
Units and Levels
6.2
How do dBs relate to reality?
Table 6.1 Sound pressure levels of various sources
Sound Pressure Level (dB re 20 Pa) 140 120 100 80 60 40 20 0 Description of sound source moon launch at 100m, artillery fire at gunners position ships engine room, rock concert in front and close to speakers textile mill, press room with presses running, punch press and wood planers at operators position next to busy highway, shouting department store, restaurant, speech levels quiet residential neighborhood, ambient level recording studio, ambient level threshold of hearing for normal young people Subjective description intolerable, hazardous
very noise noisy quiet very quiet
6.2
COMBINING DECIBEL LEVELS
Incoherent Sources Sound at a receiver is often the combination from two or more discrete sources. General case sources have different frequencies and random phase relation. These are called incoherent sources. Total energy from two incoherent sources equals the sum of the energy from each. (remember that intensity is proportional to p2).
Since the total intensity is the sum of the intensity from each individual source, we can calculate the total pressure:
PT2 =
n i =1
P12 +
P12 + P22 + ...Pn2
and in dB:
10 log 10 PT Pref
2
= 10 log 10
n i =1
Pi Pref
= 10 log 10
n i =1
10
LPi / 10
Example: What is the combined sound pressure level due to two incoherent sources of 90 and 88 dB respectively? Answer 92.1 dB
Or you can use the graph in Figure 1.6 in our text to combine the levels.
J. S. Lamancusa
Penn State
12/4/2000
NOISE CONTROL
Units and Levels
6.3
Special Cases to Remember : If two incoherent sources have equal levels, the total SPL is 3dB more than each alone. A second source which is 10 dB less than the first will add less than .5 dB to the total SPL. Coherent Sources If sources are coherent (exactly the same frequency), phase must be considered. The total, combined pressure is:
2 2 PT2 = P 1 +P 2 + 2P 1P 2 cos( 1 2 )
2 2
10 log10
PT Pref
= 10 log10
n i =1
Pi Pref
Addition of two coherent sources (totally in phase) adds 6 dB to the level of either alone. Example Problem: Possible noise sources of an industrial saw include: aerodynamic, mechanical, (motor, blade vibrations). It measures 98 dB @ 1 meter (very loud). In order to determine the contribution of aerodynamic noise, a blade with no teeth is made and measures 91 dB @ 1 meter. How much does the aero noise contribute? Answer: 97dB, therefore the
aerodynamic noise is the dominant source
6.3
FUNDAMENTAL RELATIONS
I= p2 =
2 Prms c
Intensity (far field, no reflections) Power
W = I dS
S
Note: In free field, both power and intensity are proportional to p2
Table 6.2 Variation with distance Source geometry Sound Power point independent of r cylinder independent of r plane independent of r Intensity 1/r2 1/r independent of r Pressure 1/r 1/r1/2 independent of r
SPL varies
3dB/Doubling Distance 6dB/Doubling Distance
cylindrical spreading spherical spreading
J. S. Lamancusa
Penn State
12/4/2000
NOISE CONTROL
Units and Levels
6.4
6.4
RELATIONS BETWEEN LP, LW, AND LI
If intensity is uniform over area S (assuming spherical spreading) for a spherical source: W = I S
LW = 10 log10 W I S = 10 log10 WREF WREF I I REF + 10 log10 S S0
= 10 log10
S 0 = 1 .0 m 2
since: WREF = 10 12 watts = 10 12 watts / m 2 x1.0m 2 = I REF x1.0m 2 So: LW = LI + 10 log10
S S0 ( LI = LW @ S = 1.0m 2 )
and since W =
2 PRMS 4r 2 = I S c
2 2 PRMS 4 r 2 PREF LW = 10 log10 2 + 10 log10 PREF WREF c
using c = 415 N sec/ m 3 , WREF = 10 12 watts, PREF = .00002 Pa , we get:
LW = LP + 20log10 r + 11 dB
This equation is extremely useful. We can use it to: 1) calculate the SPL at any range if we know the sound power 2) calculate the sound power if we know the SPL at one range
Equation A
We can also derive a useful equation for relating the sound pressure at any two distances: r SPL = LP1 LP2 = 20 log10 2 r1
Source, Lw Lp1 r1 r2 Lp2
Figure 6.2 Spherical sound propagation
Example problem: How does the SPL change as the distance is doubled for a spherical source?
J. S. Lamancusa Penn State 12/4/2000
NOISE CONTROL
Units and Levels
6.5
6.5
SOURCE DIRECTIONALITY
Most sources do not radiate equally in all directions. Example a circular piston in an infinite baffle (which is a good approximation of a loudspeaker).
Infinite Baffle
Moving Piston Figure 6.3 A circular piston in a rigid infinite baffle
ka=1 360 Hz for 12 diameter 1080 Hz for 4 diameter
ka=10 3600 Hz for 12 diameter 10800 Hz for 4 diameter
Figure 6.4 Directivity patterns for a circular piston of radius
a in an infinite baffle
Penn State 12/4/2000
J. S. Lamancusa
NOISE CONTROL
Units and Levels
6.6
Define a directivity factor Q (called D in some references)
Q=
2 P I = 2 PS I MEAN
where: P = actual rms sound pressure at angle PS = rms sound pressure of a uniform point source radiating the same total power W as the actual source Directivity Index DI:
DI = 10 log10 Q = 10 log10 P2 10 log10 PS2
If DI and W are known, the actual pressure can be calculated by:
P2 = Q PS2 = Q W c 4 r 2
Special Cases: Hemispherical radiation (point source on a perfectly reflecting surface), DI=3 dB
Source at the intersection of two planes, DI = 6dB
Source in a corner (intersection of three planes, DI = 9 dB
Source above a perfectly reflecting plane
Receiver
Image source
J. S. Lamancusa
Penn State
12/4/2000
NOISE CONTROL
Units and Levels
6.7
In this case, we have effectively two equal sources with exactly the same phase (the real source and its image). These are coherent sources which will constructively add. The net effect is that the sound pressure will be doubled (assuming that the path length from each source is approximately the same). They can also cancel each other if the path length difference is wavelength. Doubling pressure is equivalent to adding 6 dB to the sound level. Assuming the worst case scenario of perfect constructive addition, equation A becomes:
LP = LW 20log10 r 5 dB for source above a perfectly reflecting plane
Analytical solutions for DI Analytical solutions for DI are available for some simple sources, such as: piston in infinite baffle, unbaffled piston, cylinders, dipoles. (ref. Acoustics by Beranek)
Example: For a baffled piston or radius a, the pressure distribution is:
Now we can update our previous Equation A to include directional effects. For free-field (no reflections, in the far field) propagation from a directional source
L P = LW 20 log 10 r 11 + DI
For the special case of hemispherical propagation (source located on a perfectly reflecting plane, DI = 3), the apparent power is doubled by the reflection (3 dB increase):
LP = LW 20 log 10 r 8
J. S. Lamancusa
Penn State
12/4/2000