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l9 Room Acoustics

Room acoustics aims to provide optimal sound conditions for production and reception by controlling reverberation, echoes, and noise levels. Key factors include room shape, surface materials and finishes, which influence sound reflection, absorption, and distribution. The reverberation time, measured by how long it takes for sound level to decrease 60 decibels, is an important metric and depends on room volume, surface absorption, and frequency of sound. Proper acoustics design prevents defects like flutter echoes between parallel surfaces.

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Angela Mega
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263 views15 pages

l9 Room Acoustics

Room acoustics aims to provide optimal sound conditions for production and reception by controlling reverberation, echoes, and noise levels. Key factors include room shape, surface materials and finishes, which influence sound reflection, absorption, and distribution. The reverberation time, measured by how long it takes for sound level to decrease 60 decibels, is an important metric and depends on room volume, surface absorption, and frequency of sound. Proper acoustics design prevents defects like flutter echoes between parallel surfaces.

Uploaded by

Angela Mega
Copyright
© Attribution Non-Commercial (BY-NC)
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PPT, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
  • Introduction to Room Acoustics: Provides an overview of what room acoustics entail, focusing on controlling sound in enclosed spaces.
  • General Principles: Outlines the main principles of room acoustics, including sound distribution and control of acoustic defects.
  • Acoustic Defects: Identifies common acoustic defects such as echoes and sound shadows that can affect room acoustics.
  • Geometric Acoustics: Discusses the role of geometry in managing room acoustics, focusing on sound travel and design implications.
  • Room Shape: Explores the influence of room shape on acoustics, including the effects of concave and convex surfaces.
  • Sound Path in a Room: Explains how sound interacts within a room, considering reflection, absorption, and diffraction.
  • Behaviour of Sound: Covers how sound behaves when it reflects, focusing on angles and the role of reflectors.
  • Long Delayed Reflections: Addresses the issue of long delayed sound reflections and how they can be managed.
  • Flutter Echoes: Discusses the phenomenon of flutter echoes and strategies to minimize them.
  • Absorption: Examines sound absorption techniques and their impact on controlling reverberations.
  • Total Absorption: Explains how to measure total absorption in a room, using area and material coefficients.
  • Reverberation: Explores the concept of reverberation and the factors leading to its presence in an enclosed space.
  • Reverberation Time: Describes reverberation time and its significance in evaluating acoustic quality.
  • Reverberation Time Formula: Presents the Sabine Formula for calculating reverberation time in a space.

ROOM ACOUSTICS

What is room acoustics?


Subject concerned with the control of sound in an enclosed space Aim to provide the best conditions for the production and the reception of desirable sounds.

General Principles

An adequate level of sound evenly distributed to all listeners in the room A rate of decay (reverberation time) suitable for the type of room Background noise and external noise reduced to acceptable levels Absence of echoes and similar acoustic defects.

What are acoustics defects?

Long delay echoes Flutter echoes Sound shadows Distortion Sound concentrations

Geometric Acoustics
Practical to handle room acoustics with geometrics acoustics i.e the shape and the finishes of the room.

Sound travel and hearing


In an enclosed spaced, the listener will received the sound from the source: - directly (direct path) - indirectly (indirect path) The main means of modification by architectural design (room shape and finishes) will be mostly an indirect path (esp. the reflected sound)

Room Shape a fundamental factor in room acoustics


Hard walls or ceiling and floor Concave surface Convex surface

Sound Path in a Room

The effects of sound inside an enclosed spaced Reflect Absorb Transmit Diffract Reflection and absorption are important in room acoustic

Behaviour of Sound

When sound reflects, the angle of incident being equal to the angle of reflection. Reflectors must be at least the same wavelength of sound concerned. To avoid long delayed reflections and focusing effects. Eg. of focusing effects in an concave shapes when it can produce places with very loud sound or hot spots. Convex surfaces with diffusing surfaces reflects the sound evenly. Reflectors used to distribute sound evenly in an enclosure and to increase the overall sound level.

Long delayed reflections

For large halls, average speech is about 15 to 20 syllables per sec. Walls and ceiling surfaces are important to prevent delayed reflections. Strong reflections can be prevented by covering surfaces with absorbent materials or making them into diffusing surfaces by means of a convex shape. Reflections from corners can be overcome by using an acoustic plaster or absorbent materials.

Flutter echoes

Rapid succession of noticeable echoes Can be avoided by not having the sound source between parallel reflecting surfaces. In small rooms, it can be avoided by avoiding parallel walls and parallel ceilings and floors.

Absorption

Sound absorption is a reduction in the sound energy reflected from the surface. Sound absorption means of controlling reverberation. Absorption coefficient is a measure of the amount of sound absorption provided by a particular type of surface.

Total Absorption

The effective absorption of a surface depends on the area and the absorption coefficient of the material. absorption of a surface = area of surface (m2) x abs. coeff. of the surface. Unit: m2 sabins The total absorption of a room is the sum of the absorptions provide by each surface in the room; Total Absorption = (area x absorption coeff.)

Reverberation

A continuing presence of sound after the source of the sound has been stopped. Caused by rapid multiple reflections between the surfaces of a room. As the number of reflection increases the distance travelled increases and the sound energy becomes weaker. The multiple reflections reach the listener too fast for them to be heard as separate sound . Reverberations are heard as an extension to the original sound.

Reverberation time

If the sound source stops the reverberant sound level dies away with time. The rate at which the sound decays is a useful indication of the reverberation quality and is measured by a reverberation time.

Reverberation time is the time taken for a sound to decay by 60dB from its original level.
The time taken for decay (rate of decay) in an enclosed space depends on the following factors a) the distances between the surfaces of the room b) the absorption of the surfaces c) the frequency of the sound

Reverberation time

Reverberation time is an important index for describing the acoustical quality of an enclosure. RT = 0.16V A where: RT = reverberation time V = volume of the room A = total absorption of room surfaces

Sabine Formula:

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