The Acoustic Environment

Factors effecting Acoustic Environment

 Inverse Square Law: The geometrical
spreading of sound from a coherent source is
changing in level 6 dB for each doubling of
distance. L p at measurement point
Dr
 L p at ref. point  20 log
Dm
 Attenuation due to atmospheric absorption
Reflection and diffraction around solid objects
Refraction and shadow formation by wind and
temperature.
Reflection and absorption by the ground
surface itself.
 Sound Field
 Free Fields
A sound field is said to be a free field if it is uniform, free of
boundaries, and is undisturbed by other sources of sound. In
practice, it is a field in which the effects of the boundaries are
negligible over the region of interest. The flow of sound energy
is in one direction only. Anechoic chambers and well-above-
the-ground outdoors are free fields.
The direct sound level from a sound source in a free field is labeled
LD
 Diffuse (Reverberant) Fields
A diffuse or reverberant sound field is one in which the
time average of the mean square sound pressure is the
same everywhere and the flow of energy in all directions is
equally probable. This requires an enclosed space with
essentially no acoustic absorption.
The reverberant sound level is labeled LR.
MWL Lab, KTH Sweden

Finding sound power (ISO 3745)

 Semi-reverberant Fields
A Semi-reverberant Fields is one in which sound energy in both
reflected and absorbed. The flow of energy is in more than one
direction
 Pressure Field
A Pressure field is one in which the instantaneous pressure is
everywhere uniform. There is no direction of propagation. Used for
microphone calibration.
 Near field
The near field of a source is the region close to a source where the
sound pressure and acoustic particle velocity are not in phase. In this
region the sound field does not decrease by 6 dB each time the
distance from the source is increased
The near field is limited to a distance from the source equal to about a
wavelength of sound or equal to three times the largest dimension of
the sound source
 Far field
The far field of a source begins where the near field ends and extends
to infinity. Note that the transition from near to far field is gradual in the
transition region. In the far field, the direct field radiated by most
machinery sources will decay at the rate of 6 dB each time the
distance from the source is doubled.

 Ambient Noise field

The ambient noise field is comprised of those sound source not
contributing to the desired LD .
 Outdoor Acoustic

The ambient noise level is 70dB and a sound system

generate SPL of 110dB at 4ft. How far the sound will
travel before it submerged with noise.
Room Acoustics
 Room Acoustics

 Much of basic acoustics is a simplified model that

assumes that free field conditions exist.
 In free field the SPL or SIL drops off 6 dB every time
distance from the source is doubled. (Review example).
 The presence of an enclosure alters free field conditions:
– Multiple reflections lead to reverberation (>200 Hz)
– Closed path reflections lead to standing wave resonances—
Room Modes (<200 Hz)
 Room parameters

• Dimensions—height, width, length and shape of the

room (these values imply room volume).
• How the surfaces reflect sound is determined by the wall
material and its preparation. This quantity is described
by the absorption coefficient a.
• The properties of the whole room are described by the
sum of absorption coefficients weighted by their areal
contribution to the room--the absorptivity A.
 Absorptivity
Absorptivity formula
A  a1S1  a2 S 2  a3 S3
A
Average Absorptivity a 
S
Example: Room 3 m tall with floor and ceiling 8
m x 5 m. aceil=0.3, aflr=0.6, awalls=0.12.
– What is A?
– What is weighted average a?
– Remember a depends on frequency.
 Statistical model of reverb time
• Statistical model assumes that the entire room is
uniformly filled with sound energy. The sound has
repeated collisions with the walls losing energy with
each collision as determined by a.
• In a room with volume V and interior surface area S
the average number of reflection(RPS) per second, N,
is given by c Sc
N  
MFP 4V
4V
MFP 
S

Mean free path is the average distance between reflection in a space

 A Simple Model for the growth of sound in a room
When a source of sound is started in a live room, reflection at the
walls produce a sound energy distribution that become more and
more uniform with increasing time. Ultimately except close to
the source or to the absorbing surface, this energy distribution
may be assumed to be completely diffuse.

Where  is the energy density

Acoustic energy in dV dV
dV
The amount of energy strike s s cos 
4r 2
 Let dV be part of a
hemispherical shell of thickness
r and radius r centered on s.

The acoustic energy E contributed to s by this entire shell is

obtained by assuming that energy arrived from any direction with
equal probability. Integrating over the hemisphere with
dV  2r sin rrd 
 /2
sr sr
E 
2 
0
sin  cos d 
4

E cs
The energy arrived during time interval t= r/c 
t 4
E c
The rate of energy falls on a unit area 
t 4
Assume that at any point within the room (1) energy is arriving
and departing along individual ray paths and (2) the ray have
random phase.
So the energy density at the point is the sum of the energy
densities of each of the ray.
2
Pr
   j 
0c 2

The total sound absorption by the surfaces of the room is A. so the

rate at which energy is being absorbed is Ac
4
The rate of absorption of energy by the surfaces plus the rate at
which it increase in volume V must equal the input power.
d Ac
V   
dt 4
If the sound source is started at t=0, solution gives
4
 ( )(1  e t /  E )
Ac
4V
E 
Ac

Equilibrium energy density

2
P ( ) 4
 ( )  r 2 
0c Ac
 Reverb time definition
Assume that in a live room a sound source has been turned on long
enough to establish a steady state energy density 0 and it then
turned off at time t=0  t / E
   0e
Reverb time, RT60, is defined as the time for the sound energy to
drop by 60dB. Thus 55.3V
RT60  13.82 E 
Ac
If V is in cubic meters and A is in metric sabin and c=343m/s then
0.161V
RT60 
A
If V is in cubic feet and A is in english sabin and c=1125ft/s then
0.049V
RT60 
A
Mean Free Path (MFP) is the average distance between reflection in
a space 4V
MFP 
S
Average number of reflection(RPS) per second
c Sc
RPS  
MFP 4V
Let V=500,000ft3
S=42000ft2
à=0.128

a) Calculate MFP and RPS and RT60

b) Total number of reflection during RT60

 Let
P0 is the Pressure at t=0 and Average Absorptivity is a

Sound pressure after n reflections

P 2 (t )  P02 (1  a ) n  P02 e n.ln(1 a )
c
. ln(1 a ) t
Total path   l j  c.t  n.lmean P (t )  P e
2 2 l mean
0
j

lmean Is the mean free path (MFP) RT  0.161V

60
c
A
. ln(1 a )T60
6
At t=T60 P (t )  P 10
2
0
2 6
10  e l mean
c
 6 ln(10)  ln(1  a )T60
lmean
c c c 0.161V 4V
lmean  ln(1  a )T60  a T60  a 
13.8 13.8 13.8 Sa S
 Total number of reflection during the 60dB decay is n

P 2 (t )  P02 e n.ln(1 a )

10 6  e n.ln(1 a )  6 ln(10)  n. ln(1  a )  6 ln(10)  n.a

6 ln(10)
n
a
From c
6
. ln(1 a )T60  6 ln(10)lmean 13.8
10  e l mean
 T60   lmean
c ln(1  a ) ca
n n
 T60  lmean 
c RPS
 Some Absorption Coefficients

Frequency (Hz)
Material 125 250 500 1000 2000 4000

Concrete/brick 0.01 0.01 0.02 0.02 0.02 0.03

Glass 0.19 0.08 0.06 0.04 0.03 0.02
Plasterboard 0.20 0.15 0.10 0.08 0.04 0.02
Plywood 0.45 0.25 0.13 0.11 0.10 0.09
Carpet 0.10 0.20 0.30 0.35 0.50 0.60
Curtains 0.05 0.12 0.25 0.35 0.40 0.45
Acoustical board 0.25 0.45 0.80 0.90 0.90 0.90
 Absorptions (in sabins)

Frequency (Hz)
Material 125 250 500 1000 2000

Unupholstered seat 0.15 0.22 0.25 0.28 0.50

Upholstered seat 3.0 3.1 3.1 3.2 3.4
Adult person 2.5 3.5 4.2 4.6 5.0
Adult/upholstered seat 3.0 3.8 4.5 5.0 5.2
Suitable Reverberation Time (RT)
When does the statistical model apply?
• Statistical model applies to “large” rooms ones
in which the reverberant field dominates the
properties of the room.
– A reverberant or diffuse field is one in which the
time-averaged sound pressure is equal everywhere
in the room. Sound energy flow is equally
probable in all directions.
• In a “small room” the resonant standing waves
—the so-called room modes dominate the
response.
 What is the large room
RT
FL  K
V
FL is the large room frequency
K=2000 in SI
RT is the reverberation time
V is the volume of the room
Low frequency limit for speech is 80Hz and for music
is 30 Hz.
Let RT=1.6
2
K RT
V 2
FL
 Room modes

• Room modes refer to the standing wave resonances

that exist in an enclosed space.
• To visualize the standing wave modes recall the
resonant modes on a string. When a resonant
frequency excites the string a standing wave is set up
with nodes and antinodes. The resonant frequencies
are harmonic.
• In 2 and 3 dimensions similar standing waves exist
but the resonant frequencies are not harmonically
related.
 What is an Eigen Mode
An Eigen mode is the European name for a standing wave.
Standing wave are dependent upon the internal dimensions
of an enclosure. The first mode will be

c c
f0  
2l 
• Modes are described by mode numbers n1, n2, n3
• Room dimensions are L (length), W (width), and H
(height). 2 2 2
c n1 n2 n3
f n1n2 n3  2
 2 2
2 L W H
 Examples
• Large room 12mx4mx8m

Frequency of mode resonance

 Example
• Small room 4m x 5m x 3m

Frequency of mode resonance

 Modes Definition

Axial Mode: the component wave parallel to an axis

(one dimensional), Nx,0,0
Tangential Mode: component waves are
tangential to one pair of surfaces but oblique to
other two pair (Two Dimensional) i.e N x,0,Nz
Oblique mode: the component wave are oblique to all
three pairs of the walls (three dimensional) Nx,Ny,Nz
 Small room Geometry

ASHRAE
1: 1.17:1.47
1:1.45:2.10
BOLT
1:1.28:1.54
IAC
1:1.25:1.60

Acceptable room ratio

Semi-reverberant room calculations
• A room that has a mix of reverberant sound and
direct sound from a source is called semi-
reverberant.
• Note that most real rooms are semi-reverberant.
• The sound in many parts of the room is
reverberant with energy flow equal in all
directions (far from the sound source); however,
near the source, the sound flow is directional.
 Loudness

• Perception of sound pressure level

• Ability to hear sound source
• Ear integrates sound (in impulse
response)

Direct Sound only Direct + Sound reflections

 Sound source calculations
• Non-directional sound source in free field. At
distance R from source, direct sound is
 1 
L p  LW  10 log  2
 4R 
• Directional sound source (Q is directivity)
 Q 
L p  LW  10 log  2
 4R 
• Where W is the watts of acoustic power from
W
source and W0=1x10 Watts
-12 LW  10 log
W0
 Directivity factor
• The directivity factor Q is a measure of the
directional nature of a sound source. Q is
defined as the ratio of intensity from the
directional source, Id, divided by the intensity
of an omnidirectional source, I0.
Id
Q
I0
• Directivity Index (DI) is Q expressed in dB.
DI  10 log(Q)
Q due to wall and corner
reflections
 Reverberant sound
• Far from the source the decibel level of the
reverberant sound is given by

4
LR  LW  10 log  
 A
• Example—noise reduction. Change A from 45
Sabins to 120 Sabins. What is the change in
reverberant sound of a 10-3 Watt source.
 Direct and reverberant sound
• Combined formula for both direct and
reverberant sound LT  LW  10 log  Q 2  4 
 4R A 
 
 Critical distance
• The critical distance, Dc, is the distance at
which the direct and reverberant sound levels

are equal. LT  LW  10 log  Q 4
 
 4R
2
A

• Equal when Q 4

4Dc
2
A

• Thus,  QA  2
Dc  
16 
 Why is critical distance important?
• Speech intelligibility
– For distances from the source much greater than the critical
distance, speech becomes increasingly more difficult to
understand because most of the sound energy comes from
reflections. %ALCONS measures the loss of understanding
of consonants. A room with a Reverberation time exceeding
1.6s there will be no listener beyond 3.16Dc. If time raises
the multiplier become lower.
• Microphone placement
– General rule: microphone should be no more that 0.3Dc for
omni-directional mic. 0.5Dc for directional mic.
– The loudspeaker and the microphone should be at least as far
as Dc
 Effect of critical distance

 It determines maximum acoustic separation (maximum

acoustic gain)
 It determines the ratio of direct-to-reverberant sound
 It determines the required directivity of loudspeaker in
an already existing room
 It determines the determine the required room
characteristic in a space being planned is a chosen
loudspeaker is desired
%Articulation Loss of Consonants
• %ALCONS formula
200 R 2TR (n  1)
% ALCONS 
QV
– R Distance from speaker to listener
– Tr Reverb time
– Q directivity factor
– V room volume
– n number of reinforcing loudspeakers
 %Articulation Loss of Consonants
• What does the %ALCONS number mean?
– Low numbers are good, that means very few (as a
percentage) misunderstood consonants.
• 10% is good
• 15% is the limit beyond which intelligibility
decreases
• As we will show later (and Wheel of Fortune proves
every night) language is redundant—we don’t need
all the consonants to get meaning.
 Large Room Example
• Room dimensions 12 m x 14 m x 6 m
• a = 0.2
– Calculate A and Tr.
– What are the lowest 5 standing wave frequencies?
– If a 3x10-2 W average output acoustic source is placed
in the center of the front wall find
• The reverberant level in dB
• The total dB at a distance of 3 m from the source
• The critical distance
• %ALCONS at R=3 m, 9 m, and at 15 m from the source.
 Initial signal delay gap(ISD)

It is the time between the arrival of direct sound LD at a

listener’s ears and the arrival of first significant
reflection.

This is the fundamental room parameter.

For small room ISD is in the order of 1 to 5 ms

 Live End Dead End(LEDE)

For design of control rooms for monitoring recording studio this is

used

Front half of the room was made as absorptive as possible and the
other half (the half to the near of the listener) was made as
reflective and diffusive as possible.
LT  10 log(10 LD / 10  10 LR / 10  10 Ln / 10 )
LT   Is the total sound in decibels
LD   Is the direct sound in decibels
LR  Is the reverberant sound in decibels
Ln   Is the ambient noise level in decibels
 Factors to watch for in room

Curved surfaces, especially concave curved

surfaces
 Absolutely parallel walls such wall cause
flutter echo.
Absorption on the ceiling. Unless the ceiling is
very high (over 60 feet) the placement of
absorption on its means the sound system lost
some useful reflecting surfaces.
Potential ambient noise sources
Extra wide or round audience seating
 Early Reflections
• The timing of the first reflection is an important
aesthetic parameter in auditorium acoustics.
• If the first reflection is delayed by greater than
about 35 ms then we hear an echo—an
undesirable effect.
• Best values obtained by evaluating “good”
concert halls are less than 35 ms. 20 ms for an
“intimate” hall.
 Precedence or Haas effect
• Even in the presence of reflections we can localize the
sound source. If similar sounds arrive at the ear within
35 ms the direction of the source is the direction of the
first arriving sound. Note that we only hear one sound
—not an echo which would need a longer delay of 65
ms or so.
• Localization review—for frequencies up to 1kHz
localization is due to inter-aural differences in phase
(continuous signal) or in time delay (clicks). For
>4kHz inter-aural intensity difference (diffraction
around the head). In between some combination.
 Acoustical Characteristics
1. Liveness
2. Intimacy
3. Clarity
4. Warmth and Brilliance
5. Texture
6. Blend
7. Ensemble
 Liveness

Measure of reverberation time

 Intimacy
Sense of closeness – occupying the same
space as the source

Room said to be “intimate” when the first

reverberation arrives within 20 ms of the
direct sound.
 Clarity
• Ability to distinguish and articulate individual sound

Refers to the amount of reflected sound

relative to the amount of direct sound
 Warmth & Brilliance
Richness or fullness of sound in low & high frequencies
Bass Ratio = (RT125 + RT250)/(RT500 + RT1000)

• Heavy massive materials

• Multiple scales of
articulation
 Texture

“Good texture” when at least

five reflections arrive within
60ms of direct sound
 Blend and Ensemble
Ability to hear the entire performing
group on the stage (ensemble) and in
the audience (blend)
 Ensemble
Blending of sounds to form holistic composition
• Surface articulation
• Ceiling and side wall reflections
• Surfaces near musicians
 Diffusers
• Diffusers are used to minimize strong specular
reflections in a small room.
• Aim: eliminate specular reflection and replace
it with diffuse scattering.
 How do diffusers work?
• Two basic methods
– Random scattering from a roughened or textured
surfaces. Easy to make but not predictable in
response.
– Diffraction by profiles that possess “all” necessary
grating spacing to ensure a uniform diffraction
pattern.
 Quadratic residue method

• A method of designing a multilevel diffuser

that operates over a greater wavelength range.
• Sequence of depths dn is generated by
0
dn  sn
2p
• Where the sequence sn is defined by
sn  n mod( p )
2
Well width and diffuser bandwidth
• Maximum well depth should be 1.5 times
wavelength of lowest frequency of operations
• Well width should be 0.5 the wavelength of
the highest frequency of operation
• Highest frequency to lowest frequency define
the operating bandwidth of the diffuser
 Slot Absorber
• One example of absorber based on Helmholtz
resonator
• Slotted panel that is spaced away from one of
the walls of the enclosure.
 Helmholtz Resonator
• Trapped air acts
as a spring
• Air in the neck
acts as the mass.

c A
f 
2 Vl

(vs is the speed of sound)

 Slot absorber is a HR!
• Fraction of open area, e
Aopen 2r
e 
Atot W  2r
• In one repeat distance V=AtotD, thus
Aopen e

V D
 Slot absorber
• Resonance frequency f is given by

c Aopen c e
f  
2 Vd 2 dD

2r
f  54.8
dD( w  2r )
 Uses of the Slot Absorber
• Reduce low frequency reverb time without
affecting high frequency reverb time.
• Suppress low frequency standing wave
resonances
• Absorption can be varied by placement of foam
either close to opening or set back between the
wall and the slats.
 Perforated panel absorber
• Yet another version of the damped Helmholtz
resonator
• p=perforation percentage; D=air space;
t=effective hole length (panel thickness
+0.8*hole diameter) Use meters for all
measurements.

p
f  5 .4
Dt
 Industrial Panel absorber
• Absorption coeff.
– 125 Hz 0.22
– 250 Hz 0.77
– 500 Hz 1.12
– 1000 Hz 1.00
– 2000 Hz 0.78
– 4000 Hz 0.57
 Panel absorber
• Thin flexible plate (e.g. plywood) clamped at
the edges. Low frequency pressure amplitude
waves oscillate the plate—absorbing backing
turns vibration to heat. 60
f 
• Plate has vibrational mD
resonant frequencies.
• Not an HR!
• m mass per m2, D depth m
• Room treatment depends greatly on the
purpose of the space—classroom, musical
auditorium, small vs large space…
• Main parameters that affect experience—
reverb time (large spaces), early reflections,
standing wave resonances (small spaces).
• Control methods—absorptivity, diffusers, low
frequency traps