Building Services – IV (Architectural Acoustics)

Sound is a vibration that typically propagates as an audible wave of pressure, through

a transmission medium such as a gas, liquid or solid.

Formula: c=υxλ
Where, υ = Frequency
λ = Wavelength
c = Velocity of Sound (c = 343 m/s at 20°C)

Frequency Vs Wavelength
c=υxλ
υ∝1
λ

Amplitude is the fluctuation or displacement of a wave from its mean value.

Ambient noise – It is any sound other than the sound being monitored. Ambient noise
is a form of noise pollution or interference.

Hearing Range – 20-20,000Hz (for a healthy young person)

Attenuation – It is a measure of the energy loss of sound propagation in media. When
sound propagates, there is always thermal consumption of energy caused by
viscosity.

Damping – It is the process of making machinery quieter by damping the vibrations to

prevent them from reaching the observer.

Diffusion – It is the efficacy by which sound energy is spread evenly in a given

environment.

Noise Reduction – It is a process of removing noise from a signal.

Decibel – A unit to measure the intensity of the sound or the power level of an
electrical signal by comparing it with a given level on a logarithmic scale.

Unit of intensity of Sound is Watt/m²

Sound level – It is usually defined in terms of something called SOUND PRESSURE LEVEL
(SPL). SPL is a ratio of absolute, sound pressure and a reference level.
It is measured in decibels (dB).
6dB reduction on doubling the distance from the source.

Addition of 3dBA on doubling the source of same SPL

Sound transmission loss – It is the no of decibels that are stopped by a wall or other
structure at a given frequency.

Echo is a reflection of sound that arrives at the listener with a delay after the direct
sound.

The human ear cannot distinguish echo from the original direct sound if the delay is
less than 1/10 of a second.

Reverberation

Reverberation is the persistence of sound in an enclosed space after the original

excitation sound has ceased. It consists of a series of very closely spaced reflections,
or echoes, whose strength decreases over time due to boundary absorption and air
losses.
Reverberation Time
The interval between the initial direct arrival of a sound wave and the last audible
reflected wave is called reverberation time

RT60
The standard method for specifying reverberation time, RT60 is the amount of time it
takes for the reverberant energy in an enclosed space to drop by 60 dB from its initial,
steady-state value after the original sound has ceased. Large rooms with hard, highly
reflective surfaces (like cathedrals) have long reverberation times, while smaller rooms
with absorptive surfaces have short reverberation times.

RT60 = k x V / A = 0.161 · V / A
(typical RT for school and auditorium range from 1.8 – 12.2 seconds)

RT30 & RT20

As defined earlier, the RT60 is the time taken for the sound to decay by 60 dB when
the source is removed. In a real environment this can be difficult to achieve, so it is
more common to use the RT30 or RT20. These are based on the time taken for the
sound to decay by either 30 or 20 dB respectively, and this is then extrapolated to 60
dB

Early Decay Time (EDT)

A measure of reverberation, EDT is the time that it takes for the reverberant energy in
a room to decrease by 10 dB from its steady-state value.

The reverb time is affected by the size and shape of the room, the building materials
and techniques used and all objects (including people) within the room. Long
reverberation times can make speech unintelligible, short reverberation times can
make music sound "dead". The ideal reverb time depends on the size and intended
use of the space.

RT CALCULATION

RT60 = 0.161V
ΣSa

where:
RT60 = reverberation time (sec)
V = room volume (m³)
S = surface area (m²)
= absorption coefficient of material(s) at given frequency

To use this formula, the volume of the room, surface area of each material in the room,
and absorption coefficients for those materials must be known.

Sound absorption

Sound waves striking an arbitrary surface are either reflected, transmitted or

absorbed; the amount of energy going into reflection, transmission or absorption
depends on acoustic properties of the surface.

The reverberation time is strongly influenced by the absorption coefficients of the

surfaces

Sound absorption coefficient

Absorption coefficients are measured in specialized laboratories, and represent the

fraction of sound energy (not sound level-dB) the material will absorb as a decimal
from 0 to 1

Noise Reduction Coefficient NRC

It is simply the average of the absorption coefficients at 250, 500, 1000, and 2000 Hz
This simple, one-number rating can be useful for comparing the relative absorption of
two materials; however, examining absorption coefficients in each octave band gives
a better idea of the performance of a material at various frequencies.

NRC value of any materials varies from 0 to 1

Where;
NRC value 0 indicates 100% Reflection and 0% Absorption
NRC value 1 indicates 0% Reflection and 100% Absorption

Desirable Reverberation Time

The optimum reverberation time for an auditorium or room of course depends upon
its intended use. Around 2 seconds is desirable for a medium-sized, general purpose
auditorium.

Educational buildings Recommended design Recommended

sound level DB(A) RT
Type of occupancy/activity Satisfactory Maximum RT60
Teaching spaces Primary Schools 35 45 0.4 to 0.5
Teaching spaces Secondary 35 45 0.5 to 0.6
Schools
Audio Visual areas 30 35 0.6 to 0.8
Art Studios 40 45 0.6 to 0.8
Computer Rooms 40 45 0.4 to 0.6
Conference Rooms 35 40 0.6 to 0.7
Corridors & Lobbies 45 50 0.6 to 0.8
Libraries 40 45 0.4 to 0.6
Music Practice Rooms 40 45 0.7 to 0.9
Music Performance Room 40 45 1.0 to 1.5
Office Areas 40 45 0.4 to 0.6
Lecture theatre less than 50 30 35 <0.8
people
Lecture theatre more than 50 35 45 <1.0
people
Assembly Halls, Multi-Purpose 45 55 0.8 To 1.2
Halls
Indoor Sports Hall 45 55 <1.5
Gymnasiums 45 55 <1.5

Health Buildings Recommended design Recommended

sound level DB(A)
Type of occupancy/activity Satisfactory Maximum Reverberation
time
Casualty Areas 40 45 0.4 to 0.6
Corridors & Lobbies 40 50 0.4 to 0.6
Consulting rooms 40 45 0.4 to 0.6
Wards 35 40 0.4 to 0.7
Waiting rooms, Reception areas 35 50 0.4 to 0.7
Office Buildings

Board & Conference Rooms 30 40 0.6 to 0.8

Call Centers 40 45 0.1 to 0.4
General Office areas 40 45 0.4 to 0.6
Private Office areas 35 40 0.6 to 0.8
Corridors & Lobbies 45 50 0.4 to 0.6
Public Buildings

Municipal Building public 40 50 0.4 to 0.6

spaces
Library reading areas 40 45 0.4 to 0.6
Post Offices & Banks 40 45 0.6 to 0.8
Corridors & Lobbies 45 50 0.4 to 0.6
Restaurants & Cafes 35 50 <1.0
Clarity (C80)

The amplitude of the reverberant sound relative to the direct sound is referred to as
fullness. Clarity, the opposite of fullness, is achieved by reducing the amplitude of the
reverberant sound. Fullness generally implies a long reverberation time, while clarity
implies a shorter reverberation time.

A fuller sound is generally required of Romantic music or performances by larger

groups, while more clarity would be desirable in the performance of rapid passages
from Bach or Mozart or in speech.

C80 is often called a clarity ratio. It is defined as the difference (in dB) of the sound
energy received at a listener in the first 80 milliseconds minus the (late) reverberant
energy (all remaining sound energy).

C80 = 10*Log (energy to 80 milliseconds)/ (remaining impulse energy)

Clarity provides a look at the room's musical performance

The scale for interpreting C80 follows:

 0 +/- 2 dB is ideal for organ or blown instruments played at a slow rate of speed.
This is perfect for organ recital halls

 2 +/- 2 dB is ideal for bowed instruments and is best shown by a room made for
classical or symphonic instrumental music. The speed of the music is quicker. The
music of live choirs is also good at this level. This would be good for traditional
churches

 4 +/-2 dB is ideal for plucked instruments. The speed of the music is quicker as well
as more modern. This would be described as folk music or in churches as Light
Contemporary. This would also cover light popular music such as Light Jazz

 6 +/-2 dB is ideal for percussive instruments. This can be described best as Rock
and Roll. In churches this would be known as Full Contemporary.

 For good musical performance, the number should not exceed +8 dB at any
location.

Intelligibility / Definition (D50)

It is used to project speech intelligibility.

If a room has a long reverberation time, spoken words will not die out before the next
words reach the listener. These results in poor speech intelligibility and it will be difficult
for the listener to understand what is said.
However, if the sound is absorbed, resulting in a short reverberation time, this provides
a good acoustic environment and a high level of speech intelligibility.

D50 = (energy to 50 milliseconds)/ (total impulse energy)

Any value above 0 dB in a room with normal reverberation represents good

intelligibility. In rooms with higher than normal reverberation, any value above -5 dB is
considered good.

Speech Intelligibility
The understanding of speech (speech intelligibility) is directly dependent of the
background noise level, of the reverberation time and of the size of the room.

For the rating of the understanding of speech, STI and %ALcons are established

Speech Transmission Index STI

The Speech Transmission Index STI is a machine measure of intelligibility

It is a numeric representation measure of communication channel characteristics

whose value varies from 0 = bad to 1 = excellent. On this scale, an STI of at least 0.5 is
desirable for most applications.

BAD POOR FAIR GOOD EXCELLENT

0 to 0.3 0.3 to 0.45 0.45 to 0.6 0.6 to 0.75 0.75 to 1.0

CIS = 1 + log (STI)), where, CIS = Common Intelligibility Scale

Percentage Articulation loss of consonants ALCons

Percentage Articulation Loss of Consonants is an indication of the loss of speech

intelligibility that occurs in difficult acoustic environments.

BAD POOR FAIR GOOD EXCELLENT

100 to 33% 33 to 15% 15 to 7% 7 to 3% 3 to 0%

Speech Transmission Class STCc

Sound Transmission Class (or STC) is an integer rating of how well a building partition
attenuates airborne sound.
Sound Transmission Class (or STC) is an integer rating of how well a building partition
attenuates airborne sound.

Adjacency Combinations STCC

Residence (within a multi-family Residence or Hotel/Motel Room 55

residence) or Hotel/Motel Room
Residence or Hotel/Motel Room Common Hallway/Stairway 50

Residence or Hotel/Motel Room Retail 60

Retail Retail 50

Standard Office Standard Office 45

Executive Office Executive Office 50

Conference Room Conference Room 50

Office/Conference Room Hallway/Stairway 50

Mechanical Equipment Room Occupied Area 60

Intelligibility conversation

STI = 1 – 0.46 x log(Alcons)