CHAPTER 1 SOUND

Prepared by :

Norazura Bt Mizal Azzmi

Building Surveying Department

At the end of this lecture students will able to :

Explain principle of sound Define and elaborate properties of sound Calculate sound intensity and sound pressure level Explain nature of hearing

PRINCIPLE OF SOUND
Nature Of Sound Origin Of Sound
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Sound is a sensation produced in the ear by variations in the pressure of the air. These pressure variations transfer energy from a source of vibration. Air can be vibrated by a variety of methods as shown in the following examples:

Examples:
Loudspeakers, guitar strings, wall panels and human vocal chords. horns, organ pipes, mechanical fans and jet engines.

Properties Of Sound
Sound has five quantifiable properties: Wave motion Velocity Frequency Intensity and Diffuseness.

The Nature of Sound

Sound is produced by vibration Sound is waves in the air (or water!) Sound has pitch and loudness The waves can interfere with each other
They add or cancel

The waves are directional High frequencies are more directional than low The waves can be reflected or absorbed...
Just like light

Absorbed by just travelling through the air

Sound is a Mechanical Wave

Sound is a wave which is created by vibrating objects and propagated through a medium from one location to another. wave can be described as a disturbance that travels through a medium, transporting energy from one location to another location. The medium is simply the material through which the disturbance is moving; it can be thought of as a series of interacting particles.

WAVE MOTION
Wave is a disturbance or variation which travels through a medium. The medium through which the wave travels may experience some local oscillations as the wave passes, but the particles in the medium to not travel with the wave. The wave are longitudinal in type because the particles of the medium carrying the wave vibrate in the direction of travel of the wave

Have you ever "done the wave" as part of a large crowd at a football or baseball game? A group of people jumps up and sits back down, some nearby people see them and they jump up, some people further away follow suit and pretty soon you have a wave travelling around the stadium. The wave is the disturbance (people jumping up and sitting back down), and it travels around the stadium. However, none of the individual people the stadium are carried around with the wave as it travels - they all remain at their seats.

Longitudinal sound waves in air behave in much the same way. As the wave passes through, the particles in the air oscillate back and forth about their equilibrium positions but it is the disturbance which travels, not the individual particles in the medium.

Transverse waves on a string are another example. The string is displaced up and down as the wave travels from left to right, but the string itself does not experience any net motion.

SOUND LEVELS

THE SOUND WAVE PRODUCES SOUND PRESSURE CHANGES

The pressure changes produced by a sound wave are known as the sound pressure. Compared with atmospheric pressure (about 100 000 pascals) they are very small (between 20 micropascals and 200 pascals) and are superimposed on it.

Sound pressure superimposed on atmospheric pressure

The changes in sound pressure at a point over time can be depicted on a graph

TERMS USED TO DESCRIBE SOUND WAVES

Wavelength is the distance between two successive pressure peaks. Its symbol is l and it is measured in units of metres (m for short). Period is the time taken for one vibration cycle. Its symbol is T and its unit is seconds (s). Frequency is the number of vibration cycles per second. Its symbol is f and it is measured in units called hertz (Hz) (named after Heinrich Hertz 1857-1894 the German physicist who studied electromagnetic waves).

FREQUENCY RATE
Sounds over a large range of frequencies can be produced. The lowest note on the piano is 28 Hz, the highest is 4186 Hz , whilst Middle C is 262 Hz. The range audible to young people with undamaged hearing is about 20 Hz to 20 000 Hz and for adults 20 to 16 000 Hz. Sound with a frequency below 20 Hz is called infrasound. Sound with a frequency above 20 000 Hz is called ultrasound.

Illustration based on figure in 'Noise Control - A Guide for Workers and Employers ' US Department of Labor, 1980

SOUND PRESSURE AND FREQUENCY

A sound may contain waves of only one frequency, in which case it is called a pure tone.

Noise is made up of waves of many different frequencies and magnitudes superimposed on one another.

RELATIONSHIP OF SPEED, FREQUENCY AND WAVELENGTH OF SOUND

Wave velocity is the speed with which sound travels through the medium. Its symbol is v and its unit meters per second (m/s). It is related to the frequency (f) and wavelength ()by: v = f So, if you know the speed and frequency of a sound, you can work out the wavelength by: = v/f Similarly, for frequency, f = v/

Sound Pressure
Sound Pressure is the force per unit area and gives the magnitude of the wave. Its symbol is p and its unit is pascal (Pa). (Named after Blaise Pascal 1623-1662, French physicist and philosopher who was first to measure altitude by barometric pressure.)

Sound power
A sound source can be characterized by the sound power which it emits to the surrounding medium. This is a fundamental property of the source and is not affected by the surroundings, such as reflecting surfaces. Hence it is often specified by machine manufacturers so different sources can be compared. Sound power (P) is the rate at which sound energy is produced at the source (unit: watt). Sound power is the energy emitted by a sound source per unit time. The symbol for sound power is W and its unit is the watt. (Named after the Scottish mechanical engineer James Watt, 1736-1819, of steam engine fame.)

Cont..
A source that emits power equally in all directions is called an omni directional source. Any other source is called a directional source. Sound power is a fundamental property of sound source but is difficult to measure directly. The maximum energy output of a voice is about 1mW. The sound power of a typical jet engine is only several kilowatts.

Sound intensity
Sound intensity (I) is the sound power distributed over unit area (unit: watts per square metre). For a point source, the radiating sound spreads out in all directions in the shape of a sphere. The sound intensity follows the inverse square law.

Wave velocity
Wave velocity is the speed with which sound travels through the medium. Its symbol is v and its unit meters per second (m/s).

The cowboy will hear the train noise via the rails before he hears it through the air

PROPAGATION OF SOUND
SPHERICAL WAVE FRONTS - 6dB DECREASE WHEN DISTANCE DOUBLES

When sound spreads out from a point source in a free space the wave fronts are spherical and the sound pressure level will decrease 6 dB for each doubling of distance.

CYLINDRICAL WAVE FRONTS - 3dB DECREASE WHEN DISTANCE DOUBLES

When sound spreads out from a line source (such as a road with constant traffic or a pipe carrying fluid), the wave fronts are cylindrical and the sound pressure level will decrease 3 dB for each doubling of distance.

PERPENDICULAR WAVE FRONTS - SOUND PRESSURE DOES NOT DECREASE WITH DISTANCE

When sound spreads out from a plane source (such as close to a large, vibrating panel or sound travelling down a duct) the wave fronts are perpendicular to the direction of propagation and the sound pressure level does not decrease with distance.

OTHER FACTORS DO NOT PLAY A SIGNIFICANT ROLE IN OCCUPATIONAL NOISE EXPOSURES

The above relationships hold true only in ideal conditions. In reality the decrease in sound levels will be affected by: absorption by the air and moisture in it; wind and temperature gradients; absorption of the ground; and reflection and absorption by obstacles in the path. The first three of these are significant over long distances and are important in the study of environmental noise annoyance. However, they do not play a significant role in occupational noise exposures and so will not be considered further here.

Threshold of hearing
The threshold of hearing is the weakest sound that the average human ear can detect. It varies slightly from person to person.

Threshold of pain
The threshold of pain is the strongest sound that the human ear can tolerate.

LARGE RANGE OF SOUND INTENSITIES

the sound intensity of the threshold of hearing (the quietest sound we can hear) is 0.00000000001 watts/m2 (often written 10-12 watts/m2 );

whilst the sound intensity at the threshold of pain is about 10 watts/m.

Audio Range

Decibel
The decibel (dB) is a logarithmic ratio of two quantities (either values of sound intensity or sound pressure). In the measurement of sound levels, the decibel ratio is always made with reference to the standard value for the threshold of hearing. By using a logarithmic scale, a wide range of pressure measurements are compressed into the scale. 0 dB corresponds to the threshold of hearing. 140dB corresponds to the threshold of pain. A sound pressure expressed using the dB scale is termed the sound pressure level (SPL) and is the most frequently used metric in acoustics. More about decibels

Sound Level Meter

is an instrument designed to respond to sound in approximately the same way as the human ear. is an electronic instrument that provides a real-time reading of noise intensity (loudness) levels. The meter converts changes in the air's sound pressure into electronic signals. The signals then run through an electronic filter network, which removes particular frequencies. The meters are usually hand-held devices equipped with a microphone, electronic-filter network, and a visual display unit. Sound level meters are typically used for surveying noise pollution in an area.

The Decibel Scale - some typical sound levels

ATTENUATION OF SOUND
INVERSE SQUARE LAW Sound intensity from a point of source of sound decreases in inverse proportion to the square of the distance from the source. Or can be expressed:

I I / d2
I is the sound intensity measured at distance d from the source Or by using this formula: I 1 = d2 2 I 2 = d1 2 I1 is the sound intensity measured at distance d1, from the source and I2 is the sound intensity measured at distance d2, from the source.

EXAMPLE
A microphone measures sound at a position in a free field 5m

from a point source. Calculate the change in SIL if the microphone is moved to a position 10m from the source. Let L1 = SIL at distance d1 = 5m L2 = SIL at distance d2 = 10m Using formulae L1 - L2 = 10 log (I1/I2) and I1/I2 = (d22 / d12) L1 - L2 = 10 log { d22 / d12} = 10 log { 102 / 52} = 10 log {100 / 25} = 10 log 4 = 10 x 0.6021 = 6.021 So change in SIL = 6 dB decrease Gives

Attenuation of sound from a line source

The attenuation from a line source in a free field can be shown by the general relationship

I I
d
I 1 = d2 I2 d1
Where : I1 is the sound intensity measured at distance d1 from the source I2 is the sound intensity measured at distance d2 from the source

Attenuation of air
Attenuation caused by spreading out sound from a point or line source is an effect of energy distribution. There are several factors that may affect the passage of sound in the open air :
Air Absorption Temperature Gradients Wind Effects Ground Attenuation

Air Absorption
Some energy of wave is spent in alternately compressing and expanding air. The effect is negligible at low frequencies and at 2000 Hz causes a reduction of about 0.001 dB/m of travel. Attenuation increased at low humidities

Temperature Gradients
Velocity of sound greater in warm air than in cold air. Open air has layers at different temperatures and sound waves crossing these layers are deflected by the process of refraction. Eg: Sound travels along the ground better at night than during the day

Wind Effects
Wind blows between the source and the receiver affect the sound waves. Velocity of wind increases with height above the ground and this gradient deflects the sound waves upwards or downwards.

Ground Attenuation
The sound energy is possibly can be absorbed by passing over the surface of the ground. Only applies within 6m of the ground, which must be free of obstructions. Hard surfaces like paving provide little attenuation, grassland provide a reduction of overall noise level of up to 5dB.

HEARING NATURE

EAR

OUTER EAR

MIDDLE EAR

INNER EAR

Human Ears

The ear is situated in the temporal bone of the skull. The diagram below shows its three main parts:

the external ear - which collects the airborne sound waves the middle ear - which transmits the sound waves as a vibration the inner ear - which changes the sound waves to electrical impulses and sends them via the auditory nerve to the brain.

How it is work???
Understanding how humans hear is a complex subject involving the fields of physiology, psychology and acoustics We will attempt to understand how the human ear serves as an astounding transducer, converting sound energy to mechanical energy to a nerve impulse which is transmitted to the brain. The ear's ability to do this allows us to perceive the pitch of sounds by detection of the wave's frequencies, the loudness of sound by detection of the wave's amplitude and the timbre of the sound by the detection of the various frequencies which make up a complex sound wave.

Deafness
Middle Ear Deafness
Due to stiffening of the system of connecting bones. Caused by various infections or by a broken ear drum. Affects the transmission of low tones rather than high tones and usually be cured by drugs or by surgery.

Nerve Deafness
Due to the damage of nerve endings in the inner ear or to the nerve carrying information to the brain. Can be caused by infections, by head injuries and by exposure to high levels of noise.

TEMPORARY THRESHOLD SHIFT (TTS) is a temporary loss of hearing which recovers in 1-2 days after the exposure to noise. PERMANENT THRESHOLD SHIFT (PTS) is a permanent loss of hearing caused by longer to exposure to noise. Presbyacusis is a gradual loss of hearing sensitivity due to age and is experienced by everybody (65 years and above).

Loudness

LOUDNESS LEVEL (LN) of any sound is numerically equal to that SPL, in decibels of a 1000 Hz pure tone which an average listener judges to be equally loud. UNIT : phon For example 60 phons =60 dB at 1000 Hz but, 60 phons = 78 Db at 50 Hz The sone scale of loudness is a re numbering of the phon scales so that the sone values are directly proportional to the magnitude of the loudness. For example, 2 sones is twice as loud as 1 sone. 1 sone = 40 phons Loudness, in sones, is doubled each time the loudness level is increased by 10 phons.

Equal loudness contour