Unit 2: Acoustic evaluation techniques MECE 3103

Chapter2 : Acoustic evaluation techniques

CHAPTER 2:
Acoustic evaluation techniques
I- Levels And The Decibel
The range of the quantities used in acoustics, such as acoustic pressure, intensity, power, and energy density,
is quite large.
It was found that the response of the human ear to sound was more dependent on the ratio of intensity of
two different sounds, instead of the difference in intensity. For these reasons, a logarithmic scale called the
level scale was defined.

The level of any quantity is defined as the logarithm to the base 10 of the ratio of an energy-like
quantity to a standard reference value of the quantity
An energy-like quantity (for example, p) is used, because energy is a scalar quantity and an additive
quantity. This means that all levels may be combined in the same manner, if an energy-like quantity is used.
Although the level is actually a dimensionless quantity, it is given the unit of bel, in honor of Alexander
Graham Bell. It is general practice to use the decibel (dB), where 1 decibel is equal to 0.1 bel. The history
of the development of the bel unit is described by Huntley (1970). The level is usually designated by the
symbol L, with a subscript to denote the quantity described by the level. For example, the acoustic
power level (or PWL) is designated by ‫ܮ‬ௐ . The acoustic power level is defined by:

dB (2.1)

The factor 10 converts from bels to decibels. The reference acoustic power Wref is 10-12 Watts or 1 pW.
The sound intensity level and sound energy density level are defined in a similar manner, since both of
these quantities (I and D) are proportional to energy:

(2.2)

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where the reference quantities are:

(2.3)

The reference quantities were not completely arbitarily selected. At a frequency of 1000 Hz, a person with
normal hearing can barely hear a sound having an acoustic pressure of 20 mPa. For this reason, the reference
acoustic pressure was selected as:
Pref=20ߤPa=20.10-6Pa
The characteristic impedance for air at ambient temperature and pressure is approximately Zo=400 rayl.
The acoustic intensity corresponding to a sound pressure of 20ߤPa moving throug hambient air is
approximately
Iref=(20× 10ି଺ ) /400=10ିଵଶ W/m [Link] acoustic power corresponding to the reference intensity and
a‘‘unit’’area of 1m2 is Wref=10ିଵଶ ܹ or 1pW
We note that the acoustic pressure is not proportional to the energy, but instead ܲଶ ,is proportional to the
energy(intensity or energy density). For this reason,the sound pressure level (SPL) is defined by:

(2.4)

The expressions for the various‘‘levels’’and the reference quantities, according to ISO and ANSI,are given
in Table2-1. Table 2.1 : Reference Quantities for AcousticLevels

For the acoustic intensity,we obtain: (2.5)

The acoustic pressure is related to the acoustic power:

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We may introduce the reference pressure and reference power:

(2.6)

If we take the common logarithm of both sides of Eq. (2.6) and multiply both sides by 10, the sound
pressure level and the sound power level are related by:

(2.7)

The quantity DI is the directivity index, defined by: where Q is the directivity factor
. If we express the radial distance r in meters and take the properties of air at 25°C (778F), we may
determine the numerical value for the last term in Eq. (2-7):

For sound transmitted from a directional source (or spherical source, with DI=0 or Q=1) outdoors in air at
25°C, the sound pressure level and the sound power level are related by:
(2.8)
Example 2.1
The quantities are as follows: acoustic pressure, p=0.20 Pa, acoustic particle velocity, u=0.488mm/s,
acoustic intensity, I= 97.6 ߤW/m2, acoustic energy density, D = 0.282 ߤJ/m3.
Determine the corresponding levels for these quantities. sound pressure level, velocity level, intensity
level and energy density level.
solution
• The sound pressure level is:

• The velocity level is:

• The intensity level is:

• The energy density level is:

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Remark:We note that, for sound transmitted in air at ambient conditions, the intensity level and the sound
pressure level have approximately equal values. This is a consequence of the definition of the reference
quantities for acoustic pressure and intensity. For sound transmitted in water, on the other hand, the sound
pressure level and intensity level have quite different values.
II- Combination Of Sound Sources
There are many situations in ingineering in which we need to determine the sound level produced by
several sources of sound acting at the same time. For example, we may need to determine the sound level
produced by two machines in a room, but we may have only information about the sound level produced by
each machine separately.
2.1) Incoherent Sounds

The total intensity, for example, is the sum of the intensities for the individual sources, if the sources
produce sound waves that are not exactly in-phase or out-of-phase. It is quite likely that the noise
generated by machinery is not correlated, because the noise involves a wide range of frequencies and not a
single frequency only.
Suppose we have two sources of sound that produce the following intensity levels when operating
alone:

(2.9)

We may solve for the individual intensities to obtain these values:

The total intensity when the two sources are operating at the same time is the sum of the intensities:

The combined intensity level is:

The general expression for determining the combination of any set of ‘‘level’’ quantities is:

(2.10)

This expression is valid for all types of levels including sound pressure levels. Because the total pressure
is not the sum of the individual pressures. If the waves are not correlated. The square of the pressure is

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proportional to energy(the intensity,for example),so the individual sound pressures must becombined in
an‘‘energy-like’’manner.
Example
For sound pressure levels in the 1/3-octave bands of 200 Hz, 250 Hz and 315 Hz of 78 dB, 73 dB and 80 dB
respectively, what is the 250 Hz octave band sound pressure level?
solution
From Equation
2.2) Coherent Sounds
The summation of tonal sounds of the same frequency is strongly dependent upon their phase relationship.
Such sounds are known as coherent sounds.
Two such sounds, characterised by pressures p1and p2, add together wing equations.

Example:
Two identical speakers driven by a pure tone signal through the same amplifier channel each produce a
sound pressure level of 85 dB at a microphone location equally distant from both speakers. What would be
the sound pressure level if both speakers operated together, in phase? What would it be if a 45 phase shift
were introduced in one channel?
Solution
Use Equation as the two signals will be coherent.

IV An introduction to room acoustics

Room acoustics has been of interest since man first began to gather in auditoriums and churches. There was
little information about the technical design of interior spaces for effective acoustic behavior until the
beginning of the 20th century when Wallace Clement Sabine (Sabine, 1922) made extensive experimental
studies of the acoustical properties of rooms.

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We will examine the techniques that may be used to limit reverberation of sound in a room or to control
the steady-state sound level in a room. The design of acoustic enclosures and acoustic barriers will also be
considered
4.1 Sound Waves In Rooms
a) Standing waves in a rectangular room
A rectangular room has the dimensions lx, ly, and lz. The wave equation can then be written

(2.11)

where p is the sound pressure and k = ߱ /c is the angular wave number, ߱ is the angular frequency and c is
the speed of sound in air. The equation can be solved by separation of the variables and it is assumed that the
solution can be written in the form:
(2.12)

Insertion in (2.11) and division by p gives

(2.13)

This can be separated, and for the x-direction it yields

(2.14)

Similar equations hold for the y- and z-directions. The angular wave number k has been divided into three

(2.15)
The general solution to the above one-dimensional equation is

in which the constants Cx and ߮x are determined from the boundary conditions.
The room surfaces are now assumed to be rigid, i.e. the normal component of the particle velocity is zero at
the boundaries

This means that ߮x = 0 and

Therfore for a rectangular room with the dimensions ݈‫ݔ‬, ݈‫ ݕ‬and l‫ݖ‬, the sound pressure has the form

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(2.16)

The time factor ݁ ௝ఠ௧ is understood. The amplitude of the sound pressure does not move with time, so the
waves that are solutions to (2.16) are called standing waves. They are also called the modes of the room,
and each of them is related to a certain natural frequency (or eigenfrequency) given by

or

(2.17)

The modes can be divided into three groups:

Axial modes are one-dimensional, only one of nx, ny, nz is > 0.
Tangential modes are two-dimensional, two of nx, ny, nz are > 0.
Oblique modes are three-dimensional, all three of nx, ny, nz are > 0.
The set of numbers (nx, ny, nz) indicate the number of modes (places with p = 0) along each coordinate axis.

Calculated natural frequencies in a rectangular room with dimensions 5.7 m, 7.0 m, 4.8 m.
b) Transfer function in a room
The transfer function is the frequency response from a source position to a receiver position in a
room .
c) Density of natural frequencies
A closer inspection of equation (2.16) shows that the natural frequencies of a rectangular room
may be interpreted in a geometrical way. A three-dimensional frequency space is shown in Fig.
(2.1). The natural frequencies of the one-dimensional modes are marked on each of the axes,representing
the axial modes of the length, the width and the height, respectively. The interesting observation is now that

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the points in the grid represent the oblique modes, and the distance to each point from the origin is the
natural frequency of that mode. So, the number of oblique modes below a certain frequency f is equal to the
number of grid points inside the sphere with radius f.
The volume is 1/8 of the sphere with radius f, i.e. ሺ4ߨ݂ ଷ /3ሻ/8 = ߨ݂ ଷ /6 Each mode occupies a volume
ܿ ଷ /8݈௫ ݈௬ ݈௭ = ܿ ଷ /8ܸ .

The number M of the resonance frequencies, which occur up to a certain frequency f( i.e the number of
oblique modes below f), is approximately given by the volume of an eighth of a sphere with the radius f,
divided by the volume of a cube
(2.18)

At high frequencies the oblique modes dominate, and eq (2.18) is a good approximation for any room, not
only for rectangular rooms.
For high frequencies, the modal density in a room is
∆ே (2.19)
≈
∆௙

4.2 Statistical Room Acoustics

a) Incident sound power on a surface

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The diffuse sound field is defined as a sound field in which:

• The energy density is the same everywhere
• All directions of sound propagation occur with the same probability
In a plane propagating sound wave the relation between rms sound pressure p1 and sound intensity I1 is

(2.20)

In a diffuse sound field the rms sound pressure pdiff is the result of sound waves propagating in all
directions, and all having the sound intensity I1. By integration over a sphere with the solid angle
߰ = 4
the rms sound pressure in the diffuse sound field is

(2.21)

In the case of a plane wave with the angle of incidence ߠ relative to the normal of the surface, the
incident sound power per unit area on the surface is

(2.22)

where pdiff is the rms sound pressure in the diffuse sound field. This is just the sound intensity in
the plane propagating wave multiplied by the cosine, which is the projection of a unit area as seen
from the angle of incidence, see Fig. 2.2

Figure 2.2. a: Plane wave at oblique incidence on a surface. b: Diffuse incidence on a surface.

The total incident sound power per unit area is found by integration over all angles of incidence
covering a half sphere in front of the surface. The integration covers the solid angle
߰ = 2ߨ.

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(2.23)

It is noted that this is four times less than in the case of a plane wave of normal incidence.
4.3 Surface Absorption Coefficients
Sound-absorbing materials are used to reduce the sound levels in a room or to reduce the reverberation.
surface absorption materials do not change the sound coming directly from the source to the receiver.
The absorption coefficient a is defined as the ratio of the acoustic energy absorbed by the surface to the
incident sound energy on striking the surface.

(2.24)

It can take values between 0 and 1, and ߙ = 1 means that all incident sound energy is absorbed in the
surface.
The energy absorbed at the surface may be transmitted through the material Or may be dissipated with in
the material. The surface absorption coefficientis generally a function of the Frequency of the incident
soundwave. Some representative values of the Surface absorption coefficients for some various interior
surfaces are given in appendix 1
4.4 Equivalent absorption area
The product of area and absorption coefficient of a surface material is the equivalent absorption area of that
surface, i.e. the area of open windows giving the same amount of sound absorption as the actual surface. The
equivalent absorption area of a room is

(2.25)

Where S is the total surface area of the room. The unit of A is m2. In general, the equivalent absorption
area may also include sound absorption due to the air and due to persons or other objects in the room
4.5 Average Absorption Coefficient
In general, the various surfaces in a room will not have the same value of surface absorption coefficient at
the same frequency. In this case, we need to determine an average value for the absorption coefficient for
use in acoustic design.
The appropriate average surface absorption coefficient is the surface-weighted average:

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(2.26)

The quantity So is the total surface area of the room. When people or furniture are present in the room, the
absorption will be increased. To take this effect into account, the total absorption capacity ሺߙS) for the
people and furniture is added in the numerator of Eq. (2-26), but the surface area of the people and furniture
is not included in the total surface area of the room So in the denominator.
The subjective acoustic characteristics of a room may be estimated from the value of the average surface
absorption coefficient
4.6 Steady-State Sound Level In A Room
When a source of sound is turned on in a room, some of the energy emitted from the source is absorbed at
the surfaces of the room and some energy is reflected back into the room. Steady-state conditions are usually
achieved after at time on the order of 0.25 seconds for most rooms. For a room having floor dimensions of 8
m ×8 m, a sound wave will cross the room in (8 m)/(347 m/s)= 0.023 seconds. The sound wave will cross
the room 0.25/0.023=10+times in 0.25 seconds. When steady-state conditions have been achieved, the
energy supplied by the sound source is equal to the energy absorbed by the room surfaces. For steady-state
conditions, we may divide the acoustic field in the room into two parts, as shown in Fig2.3:

Fig 2.3 The reverberant and the direct

sound fields.
1. The direct sound field, which consists of the acoustic energy associated with sound waves that have not
struck surfaces in the room.
2. The reverberant sound field, which consists of the remainder of the energy.
The reverberant sound field is associated with all of the sound waves that have been reflected one or
more times from the various surfaces in the room.
The acoustic energy density associated with the direct sound field is given by
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(2.27)

The quantity Q is the directivity factor for the sound source, W is the acoustic power radiated by the sound
source into the room, r is the distance between the source of sound and the receiver, and c is the speed of
sound in the air in the room
To calculate the reverberant sound field, let us consider the element shown in Fig. 7-5. The acoustic
energy contained in the small elemental volume is equal to the product of the energy per unit volume
(acoustic energy density) and the element volume:
(2.28)
The sound power radiated from the small area dS toward the
Surface element ∆S is equal to the change in energy of the element per unit time,
where c=dr/dt
(2.29)

For a uniform reverberant sound field, the intensity of the

acousticenergy radiated from the small area dS is the
sound power per unit area:

(2.30)
Fig 2.3 Reverberant sound field incident on a small element
of the surface of the room ∆[Link] fields.
The acoustic power incident on the room surface area increment ∆S from the small elemental area dS is the
product of the energy per unit area and the projected area in the direction of the element dS:

(2.31)

The differential area on the spherical surface is given by the following expression in spherical coordinates:
(2.32)
If we make the substitutions from Eqs (2.30), (2.31), and (2.32) and integrate, we obtain the total reverberant
acoustic power incident on the small surface ∆S:

(2.33)

Assuming a uniform reverberant sound field, we may integrate Eq.( 2.33) over the surface area of the room
So to obtain the total reverberant acoustic power incident on the room surface:
(2.34)
The acoustic power absorbed by the room surface is given by ( ߙതWin) according to the definition of the
surface absorption coefficient in Eq. (2.24).
In steady state, the acoustic power absorbed is equal to the power that is supplied by the reverberant

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sound field:
(2.35)

We may solve for the reverberant acoustic energy density from Eq. (3.35):

(2.36)

The quantity R is the room constant, defined by the following expression, for negligible energy attenuation
in the room air:
(2.37)

The total acoustic energy density in the room in steady state is the sum of the contributions due to the
direct sound field and the reverberant sound field:

(2.38)

The steady-state sound pressure may be found from Eq. (2.38)

(2.39)

Equation (2.39) may be written in an alternative form by introducing the acoustic reference quantities:

This expression may be converted to ‘‘level’’ form by taking log10 of both sides and multiplying through by
10:

(2.40)

The value of the last term in Eq.(2-40) for air at 101.3 kPa and 300K is 0.1 dB. The final form for the
expression for the steady-state sound pressure level in a room may be written as follows:
(2.41)
The room constant R must be expressed in m2units, and the distance between the source and receiver r must
be expressed in m units in Eq. (2-41).
An important observation may be made from Eq. (7-18). The term 4/R is associated with the reverberant
sound field, which is dependent on the absorption characteristics of the room. The term Q/4ߨr2 is associated
with the sound coming directly from the sound source or the direct sound field, which is independent of the
properties of the room. If the second term predominates, or if the direct sould field is much larger than the
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reverberant sound field, very little reduction in the sound pressure level can be achieved by adding more
acoustic absorptive material to the room surfaces. In fact, it would be a waste of money and effort to buy and
install acoustic material on the wall or ceiling, for this case. Other noise control techniques, such as using
an acoustic barrier or enclosure, would be required in cases where the direct sound field is predominating.
On the other hand, if the first term predominates, or if the reverberant sound field is much larger than the
direct sound field, the steady-state sound pressure level can be reduced by adding acoustic material on the
surfaces of the room.
Example 2.2
A room has dimensions of 6.20m ×6.00m ×3.10m high, as shown in [Link] room has one solid wood
door (1.20m× 2.20m) in the 6-m [Link] walls are plaster
ଵ
on [Link] ceiling is in acoustic tile on hard backing,
ଶ

and the floor is covered with a 3/8-in carpet on concrete

floor,with no pad. A machine (sound power levels given
in Table) is located in the room,and the directivity factor
for the machine is Q=4 for all frequencies. There are
six adults standing in the room. For the500Hz octave band,
Determine the octave band steady-state sound pressure level
in the room at a distance of 6.00m from the machine.

Table

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Solution
• Walls:

The room constant at 500Hz is calculated from Eq.(2.37):

The steady-state sound pressure level in the 500Hz octave band is found from Eq.(2-41):

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It is noted that the sound pressure level could be decreased by adding Sound absorption material on the
walls, because the reverberant sound field Contribution (0.08626) is much larger (almost10 times larger)
than the direct Sound field contribution (0.00884).

4.7 Measurements In The Impedance Tube

It represents a measurement device which can be used to characterize partially absorbing and partially
reecting structures at normal sound incidence. The resulting sound field in the tube, when excited using pure
tones, consists of one component travelling toward the sample, as well as one reflected component
(2.42)

where r is the pressure reflection coefficient, which is equal to the ratio of the sound pressures ܲି /ܲା of the
wave travelling in the positive direction
(2.43)

and the wave travelling in the negative direction

(2.44)

at the position x = 0 of the sample. Generally, the reection can also include a phase shift between the two
wave components which results in a reection coefficient
(2.45)

(R is real), which is a complex number. In (2.42), a wave field is expressed by the sum of two waves
travelling in opposite directions, where the reflected component ି (due to R≤1) can have a smaller
amplitude. This includes the case of incomplete reflection. To illustrate the space dependence of the sound
field, the positive wave p+ is decomposed into a totally reected part plus a remainder:
(2.46a)

The total sound field

(2.46b)
is therefore composed by the sum
(2.47)

of a standing wave
(2.48)

and a wave travelling in x-direction

(2.49)

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The combination of standing and progressive waves is seen in the ripple of the locally measured rms-value
(root mean square). When there is total reection r = 1, the sound field is dominated by the standing wave
only, with the
rms-value ෩ܲ
(2.50)

(see also Fig. 6.5) which represents a space dependence with large fluctuations. Without any reflection r = 0,
the wave field is only given by the progressive wave

(2.51)

with a constant local rms-value. A ripple ෩ min / ෩ max develops in the spatial dependency between these
two extrema ripple. This is explained by the combination of standing and progressing waves. Obviously, the
ripple ෩ min /‫݌‬෤max of the space dependence of ෩ (x) is a direct measure of the reection coefficient which can
thus be determined from the measurement of this pressure ratio.

4.9 Mini-max procedure

The measurement procedure can be deduced easily. First, the space dependence of the squared rms-value is
calculated from (2.42)

(2.52)

The maximum values obviously occur at 2kx + φ= 0; ±2π; ±4π….. The maxima are then given by

(2.53)
The minima occur at 2kx + ߮ = ± π; ±3ߨ …. The sound pressure minima are given by

(2.54)

Thus, the ratio of the extrema becomes

(2.55)

Or
(2.56)

Equation (2.56) directly states the measurement procedure for determining the reflection coefficient.
The minima and maxima of the rms-value can easily be detected.

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Instead of the reection coefficient R, the loss factor ߚ is often specified for the characterization of samples.
It is defined by the ratio of the sound power owing through the sample surface ܲఉ and the incident sound
power ܲା

(2.57)

In general, the sound power P , which is lost from the tube, is composed of a loss component Pఈ which
actually results from sound energy being transformed into heat, as well as a component Pτ whose value may
also contain sound energy transmitted to the exterior (e.g. an open or `nearly open' tube).

(2.58)

Similar to the loss factor , the definitions are

• the absorption coefficient and

• the transmission coefficient

Obviously, it is
(2.59)

For most applications, however, the interpretation is quite simple:

• For absorbing samples with a rigid termination, β = α; these are the samples of practical interest.
• For thin and light terminations without an absorbing sheet, β =τ.
The latter are seldom found in practice; they are mentioned here for completeness.
The relationship between the reection coefficient R and the loss factor can be deduced from the energy
balance equation
(2.60)

where ‫ ି݌‬denotes the reflected sound power. For plane progressive waves it is

ܲି = ܴ 2 ܲା
and, using the definition of ߚ, it follows that

or (2.61)

After inserting (2.56), the relationship between and the ripple parameter is finally defined:

(2.62)

4.10 Energy balance in a room

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The total acoustic energy in a room is the sum of potential energy and kinetic energy, or twice the potential
energy, since the time average of the two parts must be equal. The total energy E is the energy density
multiplied by the room volume V:
(2.6 3)

Here and in the following, p denotes the rms sound pressure in the diffuse sound field (called pdiff). The
energy absorbed in the room is the incident sound power per unit area
multiplied by the total surface area and the mean absorption coefficient, i.e. the equivalent absorption area,

(2.64)

If Pa is the sound power of a source in the room, the energy balance equation of the room is

(2.65a)

With a constant sound source a steady state situation is reached after some time, and the right side of the
equation is zero. So, the absorbed power equals the power emitted from the source, and the steady state
sound pressure in the room is

(2.65b)

This equation shows that the sound power of a source can be determined by measuring the sound pressure
generated by the source in a room, provided that the equivalent absorption area of the room is known

4.11 Reverberation time. Sabine´s formula

When the source of sound in a room is suddenly turned off, a certainperiod of time is required before the
sound energy is practically all absorbed by the surfaces in the room. For many applications, the duration of
this time Period is important for effective use of the space. It is therefore obvious that the way to quantify
the loss properties of the room is to calculate the reverberation time.
After an initial onset of the reverberation, which is not of interest here, the energy content of the room does
not change anymore, the first term in the energy balance equation (2.64b) is zero, and the rms sound
pressure is now a function of time

The solution to this equation can be written

where ps is the mean square sound pressure in the steady state and t = 0 is the time when the source is
turned off. It is seen that the mean square sound pressure, and hence the sound energy, follows an
exponential decay function. On a logarithmic scale the decay is linear, and this is called the decay curve,
If instead the source is turned on at the time t = 0, the sound build-up in the room follows a

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similar exponential curve .

The reverberation time T60 is defined as the time it takes for the sound energy in the room to decay to one
millionth of the initial value, i.e. the time required for the sound pressure level to decrease by 60 dB. Hence,
for t = T60 ,

So, the reverberation time is

This is Sabine’s formula named after Wallace C. Sabine, who introduced the reverberation time concept
around 1896. He was the first to demonstrate that T60 is inversely proportional to the equivalent absorption
area A.
Note: Sabine’s formula is often written as T60 = 0.16 V/A. However, this implies that V must be in
m3 and A in m2
a) Industrial method of Reverberation time
Let us consider the room shown in Figure. The acoustic energy density associated with the sound after one
reflection is given by the following expression:

Figure2.4 Reverberant sound field after

the sound source has been turned off
for various numbers of reflections.

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The expression for the acoustic energy density in the room as a function of the time after the source of sound
has been turned off may be found

NOTE : In architectural work, if the units of the surface area are expressed in ft2, then the units for the
absorption are called sabins, in honor of W. C. Sabine, who conducted the initial work in laying a foundation

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Chapter2 : Acoustic evaluation techniques

for the rational design for architectural acoustics. On the other hand, if the room surface area is expressed in
m2, the absorption units are sometimes called mks sabins.
To avoid any confusion, we will express the absorption units directly in units of area. The acoustic pressure
and acoustic energy density are related by Eq.

The quantity po is the original acoustic pressure before the sound source is turned off. Equation may be
written in terms of the acoustic pressures:

Taking log10 of both sides of Eq. (7-32) and multiplying by 10, we obtain the following result:

The reverberation time Tr is defined as the time required for the sound pressure level to decrease by 60 dB.
Setting Lpo-Lp = 60 dB in Eq. we may solve for the reverberation time, t =Tr:

This expression is called the Norris–Eyring reverberation time (Eyring,1930), which is a modification of
the expression originally developed by Sabine, who used a=ߙതSo.
If the walls of a room have significantly different surface absorption coefficients from those of the floor–
ceiling combination, sound waves traveling between the walls will decay at a different rate from those
traveling in the vertical direction. To take this phenomenon into consideration, it was proposed that the
number of absorption units be expressed as three terms: for reflections between the side walls, the end walls,
and the floor–ceiling combination (Fitzroy, 1959). The Fitzroy expression for the number of absorption
units is given by the following expression:

The quantity Sx is the side-wall surface area, Sy is the end-wall surface area, Sz is the floor–ceiling area, and
So is the total surface area. The quantities α ̅x,α ̅y, and ഥ z are the surface absorption coefficients for the
side-wall surfaces, the end-wall surfaces, and the ceiling–floor area, respectively. If any of the three average
surface absorption coefficients exceed 0.60, the corresponding
term, ln(1-ߙത), is replaced by (-ߙതሻ for that surface combination. The effect of people and furniture in the
room may be introduced by adding the absorption capacity of the empty room ao, given , to the absorption
of the people and furniture:

It has been shown (Fitzroy, 1959) that the reverberation time calculated from the Fitzroy equation, is in
better agreement with experimental data for rooms with nonuniform absorption. If the average absorption
coefficients of the surfaces are approximately the same, either relationship will predict values of
reverberation time near that measured.

Dr Desire NDJANFANG National Higher Polytechnic Institute (Nahpi);UBa

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For design purposes, the optimum reverberation time for the 500Hz octave band may be estimated from
the following empirical expression :

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Unit 2: Acoustic evaluation techniques MECE 3103
Chapter2 : Acoustic evaluation techniques

TUTORIALS CHAPTER 2
Exercise 1
A small spherical sound source is radiating 1 watt of single frequency (1000Hz) sound power into free
space. Calculate the following at a distance of 0.3m.
(a) r.m.s. sound pressure
(b) sound pressure level
(c) r.m.s. particle velocity
(d) phase between pressure and particle velocity (what leads what?)
(e) mean active sound intensity
(f) reactive sound intensity amplitude
(g) sound intensity level
(h) If the source also radiated 1 watt of acoustic power at 1500Hz simultaneously with the 1000Hz signal,
what would be the total r.m.s. sound pressure?
Exercise 2
Write out definitions (words only) of the following terms
(a) Specific acoustic impedance
(b) characteristic impedance
(c) phase speed
(d) sound power
(e) particle velocity

Exercise 3

Exercise 4

Exercise 5
Assume that three sounds of different frequencies (or three incoherent noise sources) are to be combined to
obtain a total sound pressure level. Let the three sound pressure levels be (a) 90 dB, (b) 88 dB and (c) 85 dB
(re 20 µPa).
Exercise 6

Dr Desire NDJANFANG National Higher Polytechnic Institute (Nahpi);UBa

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Unit 2: Acoustic evaluation techniques MECE 3103
Chapter2 : Acoustic evaluation techniques

The sound pressure level measured at a particular location in a factory with a noisy machine operating
nearby is 92.0 dB (re 20 µPa). When the machine is turned off, the sound pressure level measured at the
same location is 88.0 dB (re 20 µPa). What is the sound pressure level due to the machine alone?
Exercise 7
a) Two signals B cos(ωt) and B cos(ωt + ß) represent pressures at a point, P, causedby two separate
sources. Using the same notation, determine the amplitudes of theseparate pressures at point, P,
their RMS values and the phase difference, in radians, between them
b) Derive an expression for the RMS value of the combined pressure in question (a) above. Hence
find the difference in sound pressure level, ∆L (dB), between the combined pressure at point, P,
and the pressure due to either source alone. Evaluate ∆L for a phase difference of 60

Exercise 8
Two 400 Hz tones from different parts of the same machine combine to produce a sound pressure level of
103.0 dB (re 20 µPa).

(a) Calculate the peak combined sound pressure in Pascals.

(b) Calculate the relative phase between the two tones at the measurement location
if the level with one switched off is 105.0 dB and with the other switched off is 107.0 dB.

Exercise 9
An auditorium has dimensions of 15 m×12 m×4 m. The walls are 3/8-inch plywood paneling, the floor is
covered with indoor–outdoor carpet on the concrete slab, and the ceiling is 3/4-inch perforated ceiling tile on
a furring backing. There are 10 windows of ordinary glass, each 1.75 m×1.00 m and the windows are
closed. There are no draperies on the windows. When the auditorium is in use, there are 100 people seated in
the wood theater chairs. A ventilating fan (directivity factor, Q=2) located in the room has a sound power
level of 72 dB in the 500 Hz octave band.
Determine the steady-state sound pressure level in the 500 Hz octave band at a distance of 8.00 m from the
fan for the following conditions:
(A) for the empty room, without the chairs and people, and
(B) for the room with the chairs and people present.
Exercise 10
Two identical speakers driven by a pure tone signal through the same amplifier channel each produce 85dB
at a microphone location equally distant from both speakers. What would be the sound pressure level if both
speakers operated together? What would it be if a 45 degree phase shift were introduced in one channel?
Exercise 11
The maximum and minimum sound pressure levels measured in an impedance tube at 250Hz are 95dB and
80dB respectively. The distance from the face of the sample to the nearest pressure minimum is 0.2m.
Calculate the following:
(a) the normal incidence absorption coefficient of the sample at 250Hz
(b) the normal specific acoustic impedance of the sample at 250Hz
(c) the random incidence absorption coefficient of the sample at 250Hz

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(d) the sound intensity in the tube.

Exercise 12
A simple point source of sound radiates spherical waves into free space at 400Hz with a power of
10mWatts. Calculate at a distance of 0.5m (where applicable) from the source:
(a) the sound intensity
(b) the acoustic pressure amplitude
(c) the acoustic particle velocity amplitude, after showing that it is related to the acoustic pressure by:

You may start with the potential function solution of the wave equation for harmonic spherical waves.
(d) the sound pressure level
(e) the sound power level
(f) the source strength (rms volume flux at the source surface).

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