Unit–II

(ii) Noise: A noise produces an unpleasant effect

in our ears. The wave form produced by a noise
is irregular in shape, lacks in periodicity and
undergoes sudden changes in amplitude as
shown in figure.

:

A musical sound is a
sound wave which produces a pleasing
effect to our ears.

The musical sounds are characterised by

the following properties:








 
   

  

 
   

  








 
   

  

 
   

  

1. The reverberation should be quite proper i.e. neither too large nor too small.
The reverberation time should be 1 or 2 seconds for music and 0.5 to 1
second for speech.
2. There should be no concentration of sound in any part of the hall.
: 3. There should be no echelon effect.
4. The boundaries should be sufficiently soundproof to exclude extraneous
noise.
5. There should be resonance within the building.
6. There must be full of audience.

Basic requirements for acoustically good halls:

A hall or room is said to be acoustically good if it satisfies the following
:
conditions:








 
   

  

 
   

  

SABINE’S FORMULA FOR REVERBERATION TIME:

Factors controlling the reverberation time:

The reverberation time of a hall depends on the following factors. They are

Arrangement of element ds in a plane wall

Let us consider a small element ds on a plane wall AB as shown in figure.

Coefficient of Absorption:


 
   

  

 
   

  








 
   

  

 
   

  

Equation (4.40) gives the growth of sound

energy E, with time in a room of volume V and
absorption A. the graph is a rising exponential
function as shown in figure.

Growth of energy

Equation (4.43) represents decay of sound after the

source is cut-off. The curve is exponentially
decreasing as shown in figure below.

Decay of energy








 
   

  

 
   

  

Measurement of Absorption coefficient:

Method 1:

Method 2:








 
   

  

 
   

  

Factors effecting acoustics of an auditorium and their remedies:

In an acoustically good hall every syllable or musical note reaches an audible level
of loudness at every point of the hall and then quickly dies away to make room for
the next syllable or group of notes. Any deviation from this makes the hall
defective acoustically. Following factors affect the architectural acoustics.

1) Reverberation: The persistence of sound in the hall even though the source
of sound is cut off is called reverberation. This is due to successive
reflections taking place on the walls of the hall. So that a pulse of previous
note of sound is heard for a short definite interval of time even though the
second note is originated.

When reverberation is large, there is overlapping of successive sounds which

results in loss of clarity in hearing. On the other hand, if the reverberation is very
small, the loudness is inadequate. Thus the time of reverberation for hall should be
neither too large nor too small. It must have a definite value which may be
satisfactory both to the speaker as well as to the audience. The preferred value of
the time of reverberation is called the “optimum reverberation time”, a formula for
standard time of reverberation was given by W.C. Sabine.



Which is T= =



Where A = total absorption coefficient of the hall,

V = volume of the hall in cubic metre and

S = surface area in square metre.
Experimentally it is observed that the time of reverberation depends upon
the size of the hall, loudness of sound.
The optimum reverberation time for speech is 1 to 2 seconds and for
music it is 0.
5 to 1 second.








 
   

  

 
   

  

Remedies: 3. Focussing and Interference effect:

If the walls are reflecting too much the reverberation time is great. If the walls are If there are focusing surfaces such as concave, spherical, cylindrical (or) parabolic
lined with sound absorbing materials like felt, the reverberation time will be ones on the walls or ceilings of the hall, they produce concentration of sound in
reduced. particular regions while in some other parts no sound reaches at all. In this way
there will be regions of silence or poor audibility.
The sound absorbing material should have porous structure, light weight and rough
surface. The porous structure and light weight conditions are useful to absorb the If there are extensive reflecting surfaces in the hall, the direct and reflected sound
sound energy efficiently and rough surface is used to avoid reflections. waves may form stationary waves thus creating maximum intensity of sound in
some places and minimum intensity in other places.
Examples:
Remedies:
i. By lining the walls and ceiling with absorbing materials like thermocool,
wood panel, straw based light weight concrete cork, rubber cardboard, felt i. There should be curved surfaces. If such surfaces are present, they should be
and fur etc. covered with absorbent material.
ii. By providing many openings (or) open windows, the reverberation time of ii. A paraboloidal surface arranged with the speaker at the focus is also helpful
that hall is automatically reduced. in sending a uniform reflected beam of sound in the hall.
iii. Using heavy curtains with folds
4. Echoes:
iv. By covering the floor with carpets
v. The presence of audience in the hall reduces the time of reverberation. An echo is heard when the direct and reflected sound waves coming from the same
Cushioned chairs are provided to keep the absorption same whether they are source reach the listener with a time interval of about 1/7 second. The reflected
occupied by audience or not. sound arriving earlier than this time helps in rising the loudness while those
arriving latter produce echoes and cause confusion.
2. Loudness:
Remedies:
Improper (or) non–uniform loudness in hall will affect the quality of music or
lecture in that hall. Sufficient loudness at every point in the hall is an important i. The surfaces of the walls should be rough and are not polished.
factor for satisfactory hearing. ii. The echo effect is avoided by lining the surfaces with sound absorbing
materials and by providing a good number of doors and windows.
Remedies:
5. Echelon effect:
i. To get optimum loudness in a hall (or) an auditorium, proper amplification
of sound should be made through sound power amplifiers. Echelon effect refers to the development of a separate musical note due to
ii. Using large sounding boards behind the speaker and facing the audience is combination of echoes having regular phase difference.
helpful.
iii. Low ceilings are also of great help in reflecting the sound energy towards If there is staircase within the hall, the reflections from equally spaced steps at
the audience. regular intervals of time, produce a separate sound. This effect is called echelon
effect. This makes the original sound confused or unintelligible. Hence this must
be avoided.








 
   

  

 
   

  

Remedies: Structure borne noise: The noises which are conveyed through the structure of
the building are known as structural noises. These noises may be caused due to
i. There is no staircase inside the halls.
structural vibration due to operating machinery, moving of furniture, footsteps etc.
ii. If the staircase is must, then the steps of the staircase may be made
unequally spaced and covered with sound absorbing material like coir Remedies:
carpet.
i. Using anti–vibration mounts,
7. Resonance:
ii. Soft floor finish (carpet, rubber etc.),
Hollows and crevices select their natural frequencies from the sound unequally iii. Mechanical equipments such as refrigerators, lifts, fans etc. produce
produced in the hall and reinforce them there by producing a jarring effect or vibrations in the structure. These vibrations can be checked by insulating the
resonance. equipments properly.

Remedies: Inside noise: The noises which are produced inside the hall or rooms in big offices
are called as inside noises. They are produced due to machinery like air
There should not be any hollow or crevice or cavity inside the hall to avoid
conditioners, type writers etc. in the hall.
resonance.
Remedies:
8. Noise:
i. Noise free air conditioners are to be used.
There are three types of noises. They are
ii. The machinery like type–writers etc. should be placed on absorbent pads.
a) Air–borne noise iii. Any engine inside the hall should be fitted on the floor with a layer of wood
b) structure borne noise and or felt between them.
c) inside noise

Air–borne noise: The noise which commonly reaches the hall from outside
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through open windows, doors and ventilators is known as Air–borne noise (since it
is transmitted through air, it is called air–borne).

Remedies:

i. By allotting proper places for doors and windows.

ii. Using double doors and windows with separate frames and heavy insulating
material between them.
iii. By constructing double walls with air space between them and breaking the
continuity by interposing layers of some acoustical insulators like fibrous
materials and cork.