Pocket

Handbook
Sound and Vibration
Contents
UNITS OF MEASUREMENT
International System of Units (SI) 7
Conversion Table 9
Decibel Formulas and Notation (ISO 1683) 12
dB to Pressure Ratio 13
dB to Power Ratio 13

ACOUSTICS
Glossary of Acoustic Terms 15
Community Noise Criteria 21
Speed of Sound in Various Media 23
Wavelength 23
Static Pressure vs Altitude 23
Sound Level Meter Weighting Filters 23
"G" Infrasound Weighting Filter 24
Sound Fields 24
Sound Attenuation in Air 25
Predicting Sound Level in Semi-reverberant Fields 25
Acoustic Formulas 26

4
SOUND INTENSITY AND ACOUSTIC IMAGING
Glossary of Sound Intensity Terms 29
Basic Formulas 31
Practical Measurements 33
Glossary of Array Acoustic Terms 35

ELECTROACOUSTICS
Glossary of Electroacoustic
and Communication Audio Terms 39
Communication Systems Acronyms and Terminology 42
Relationship Between Electrical and Acoustical Quantities 45
Dimensions for Anechoic Room Design 45

UNDERWATER ACOUSTICS
Speed of Sound in Water 47
Wavelength 47
Intensity Comparison to Air 47
Reference Pressure 48
Pressure vs Depth 48
Sound Absorption in Sea Water 49
Source Level as a Function of Radiated Power 49
Peak Pressure as a Function of Explosive Charge 50
Time Constant of Shock Waves 50
Time Interval from Shock Wave to First Bubble Pulse 51
Glossary of Hydrophone Terms 51

VIBRATION
Glossary of Vibration Terms 54
Amplitude Relationships (Sinusoids) 58
Displacement, Velocity,
Acceleration Relationships (Sinusoids) 58
Dynamic Measurements 59
Vibration Nomogram 62
Transmissibility Curves 63
Frequency Range for Shock Measurements 66
Machine Vibration Severity 66
Tolerances for Human Body Vibration 67

FREQUENCY ANALYSIS
Glossary of Frequency Analysis Terms 69
Confidence Limits 73
Third-octave and Octave Passbands 74
Preferred Frequencies 75
Why a Logarithmic Amplitude Scale? 75

SHOCK RESPONSE
Glossary of Shock Response Terms 77

5
Units of
measurement

6
 UNITS OF MEASUREMENT

International System of Units (SI)

BASIC UNITS
Unit Symbol
Length metre m
Mass kilogram kg
Time second s
Electric Current ampere A
Thermodynamic Temperature kelvin K
Amount of Substance mole mol

SUPPLEMENTARY UNITS
Plane Angle radian rad
Solid Angle steradian sr

Spherical surface = 1 m2 1m

π rad = 90º
2
1 rad

1 sr 1m
≈65º 1m

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DERIVED UNITS (SELECTED LIST)

SI

Quantity Name Symbol
Formula
Acceleration metre per second squared m/s2 –
Area square metre m2 –
Celsius temperature degree Celsius ºC K
Density, mass density kilogram per cubic metre kg/m3 –
Electric capacitance farad F A·s/V
Electric inductance henry H V·s/A
Electric potential difference volt V W/A
Electric resistance ohm Ω V/A
Quantity of electricity coulomb C A·s
Energy joule J N·m
Force newton N m·kg·s2
Frequency hertz Hz 1/s
Magnetic field strength ampere per metre A/m –
Magnetic flux weber Wb V·s
Magnetic flux density tesla T Wb/m2
Power watt W J/s
Pressure pascal Pa N/m2
Velocity, speed metre per second m/s –
Volume cubic metre m3 –

PREFIXES
Multiple Prefix Symbol
101 ten times deca da
102 hundred times hecto h
103 thousand times kilo k
106 million times mega M
109 milliard times giga G
1012 billion times tera T
1015 billiard times peta P
10
18
trillion times exa E
10–1 tenth part deci d
10–2 hundredth part centi c
10–3 thousandth part milli m
10–6 millionth part micro μ
10–9 milliardth part nano n
10–12 billionth part pico p
10–15 billiardth part femto f
10
–18
trillionth part atto a

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 UNITS OF MEASUREMENT

Conversion Table
(*indicates exact conversion)
LENGTH
Name Symbol Multiply by to obtain
angstrom Å 10 –10 m*
micrometre μm 10 –6 m*
inch in 2.540 cm*
foot ft 30.48 cm*
yard yd 0.9144 m*
fathom fm 1.829 m
mile (statute) 1.609344 km*
mile (nautical) 1.852 km*
light year 9.461·1015 m

AREA
square inch in2 6.4516 cm2*
square foot ft 2 9.290·10 –2 m2*
square yard yd2 0.8361 m2*
acre ac 4047 m2*
square mile – 2.590 km2*

VOLUME
cubic inch in3 16.39 cm3
cubic foot ft 3 28.32 m3
litre L 10 –3 m3*
quart liq. (US) qt 0.9464 L
gallon (US) US gal 3.785 L
gallon (UK, Imperial) UK gal 4.546 L
fluid ounce (fluid, US) fl oz 29.57 cm3
fluid ounce (fluid, UK, Imperial) fl oz 28.48 cm3

MASS
grain gr 6.480·10 –2 gram
ounce oz 28.35 gram
pound = 16 oz lb 453.6 gram
Stone (UK) – 6.35 kg
long hundredweight cwt 50.80 kg
tonne, metric ton t 1000 kg

FORCE
dyne dyn 10 –5 N*
pound – force lbf 4.448 N
kilogram – force kgf 9.807 N

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TORQUE
Name Symbol Multiply by to obtain
dyne centimetre dyn cm 10 –7 N·m
ounce-force inch ozf · in 7.062·10 –3 N·m
pound-force inch lbf · in 0.1130 N·m
pound-force foot lbf · ft 1.356 N·m

PRESSURE
atmosphere (normal) atm 1.013·105 Pa
bar 105 Pa*
dyne per square centimetre dyn/cm2 0.1 Pa*
inch of water (4 ºC) 249.1 Pa
millimetre of mercury (0 ºC) mmH 133.3 Pa
g

pound-force per square foot lbf/ft 2 47.88 Pa

pound-force per square inch lbf/in2 6.895 Pa

VELOCITY
foot per minute ft/min 5.080·10 –3 m/s*
foot per second ft/s 0.3048 m/s*
inch per second in/s 2.54·10 –2 m/s*
knot 0.5144 m/s
knot 1.852 km/h
mile per hour (international) mi/h 1.609 km/h

ACCELERATION
acceleration of gravity
(standard) g 9.807 m/s2

ANGLE
cycle (360º) 6.283 rad
degree 1.745·10 –2 rad
hertz 6.283 rad/s
revolution per minute rpm 1.047·10 –1 rad/s
revolution per second rps 6.283 rad/s

ENERGY
British thermal unit (IT) BtuIT 1.055·103 J
calorie (IT) calIT 4.187 J
erg 1.000·10 –7 J*
watt hour W · h 3.600·103 J*
foot-pound force ft · lbf 1.356 J

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 UNITS OF MEASUREMENT

POWER
Name Symbol Multiply by to obtain
British thermal unit per hour (IT) BtuIT/h 2.931·10 –1 W
horsepower (electric) 7.46·102 W*
erg per second erg/s 1.000·10 –7 W*
calorie per second
(thermochemical) calth/s 4.184 W*

TEMPERATURE
Celcius to kelvin K = ºC + 273.15
Fahrenheit to Celcius ºC = (ºF – 32)/1.8
Fahrenheit to kelvin K = (ºF + 459.67)/1.8

Fahrenheit Celsius Kelvin

(ºF) (ºC) (K)

Boiling Point + 212 ºF + 100 ºC 373.15 K

(Water)

Body + 98.6 ºF + 37 ºC 310.15 K

Temperature

Freezing
Point + 32 ºF ± 0 ºC 273.15 K
± 0 ºF – 17.78 ºC 255.37 K

Absolute
Zero – 459.67 ºF – 273.15 ºC 0K

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Decibel Formulas and Notation

(ISO 1683)
Quantity Symbol Formula Reference
Levela
Sound pressure Lp 20 log(p/p0) dB 20 μPa (in air)
level 1 μPa (in other media)
Acceleration
level L a 20 log(a/a0) dB 1 μm/s2
Velocity level Lv 20 log(v/v 0) dB 1 nm/s
Force level LF 20 log(F/F0) dB 1 μN
Power level LW 10 log(P/P 0) dB 1 pW
Intensity level LI 10 log(I/I 0) dB 1 pW/m2
Energy density
level Lw 10 log(w/w 0) dB 1 pJ/m3
Energy level LE 10 log(E/E0) dB 1 pJ

a. p 0, a 0, ...

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 UNITS OF MEASUREMENT

dB to Pressure Ratio

P ressure Pressure Pressure Pressure
Ratio –dB+ Ratio Ratio –dB+ Ratio

1.000 0.0 1.000 0.501 6 1.995

0.989 0.1 1.012 0.447 7 2.239
0.977 0.2 1.023 0.398 8 2.512
0.966 0.3 1.035 0.355 9 2.818
0.955 0.4 1.047 0.316 10 3.162
0.944 0.5 1.059 0.251 12 3.981
0.933 0.6 1.072 0.200 14 5.012
0.923 0.7 1.084 0.158 16 6.310
0.912 0.8 1.096 0.126 18 7.943
0.902 0.9 1.109 0.100 20 10.000
0.891 1.0 1.122 0.0316 30 31.62
0.841 1.5 1.189 0.0100 40 100
0.794 2.0 1.259 0.0032 50 316.2
0.708 3.0 1.413 10 –3 60 103
0.631 4.0 1.585 10 –4 80 10 4
0.565 5.0 1.778 10 –5 100 105

dB to Power Ratio
Power Power Power Power
Ratio –dB+ Ratio Ratio –dB+ Ratio

1.000 0.0 1.000 0.251 6 3.981

0.977 0.1 1.023 0.200 7 5.012
0.955 0.2 1.047 0.158 8 6.310
0.933 0.3 1.071 0.126 9 7.943
0.912 0.4 1.096 0.100 10 10.000
0.891 0.5 1.122 0.0631 12 15.849
0.871 0.6 1.148 0.0398 14 25.119
0.851 0.7 1.175 0.0251 16 39.811
0.832 0.8 1.202 0.0158 18 63.096
0.813 0.9 1.230 10 –2 20 10+2
0.794 1.0 1.259 10 –3 30 10+3
0.708 1.5 1.413 10 –4 40 10+4
0.631 2.0 1.585 10 –5 50 10+5
0.501 3.0 1.995 10 –6 60 10+6
0.398 4.0 2.512 10 –8 80 10+8
0.316 5.0 3.162 10 –10 100 10+10

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Acoustics

14
 ACOUSTICS

Glossary of Acoustic Terms

ABSORPTION
The conversion of sound energy into another form of energy,
usually heat, when passing through and acoustical medium.

ABSORPTION COEFFICIENT
Ratio of sound absorbing effectiveness, at a specific frequency,
of a unit area of acoustical absorbent to a unit area of perfectly
absorptive material.

ACOUSTICS
The science of the production, control, transmission, reception
and effects of sound and of the phenomenon of hearing.

AMBIENT NOISE
All-pervasive noise associated with a given environment.

AMPLITUDE DISTRIBUTION
A method of representing time-varying noise by indicating the
percentage of time that the noise level is present in a series of
amplitude intervals.

ANECHOIC ROOM
A room whose boundaries effectively absorb all incident sound
over the frequency range of interest, thereby creating essentially
free-field conditions.

AUDIBILITY THRESHOLD
At a specified frequency, the sound pressure level above which
persons with normal hearing begin to perceive sound.

BACKGROUND NOISE
Noise from all sources other than the noise source under test. Backg-
round noise includes contributions from airborne noise, structu-
re-borne vibration noise and electrical noise in the instrumentation.

CUMULATIVE DISTRIBUTION
A method of representing time-varying noise by indicating
the percentage of time that the noise level is present above (or
below) a series of amplitude levels.

DAMPING (1)
The action of frictional or dissipative forces on a dynamic system
causing the system to lose energy and reduce the amplitude of
movement.

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DAMPING (2)
Removal of echoes and reverberation by the use of sound-
absorbing materials.

DECIBEL SCALE
A linear numbering scale used to define a logarithmic amplitude
scale, thereby compressing a wide range of amplitude values to a
small set of numbers.

DIFFRACTION
The scattering of radiation at an object smaller than one
wavelength and the subsequent interference of the scattered
wavefronts.

DIFFUSE FIELD
A sound field in which the sound pressure level is the same
everywhere and the flow of energy is equally probable in all
directions.

DIFFUSE SOUND
Sound that is completely random in phase; sound which appears
to have no single source.

DIRECTIVITY FACTOR
The ratio of the mean-square pressure (or intensity) on the axis of
a transducer at a certain distance to the mean-square pressure
(or intensity) that a spherical source radiating the power would
produce at that point.

FAR FIELD
Distribution of acoustic energy at a significantly greater distance
from a sound source than the linear dimensions of the source
itself, and where the sound pressure level obeys the inverse-
square law (the sound pressure level decreases 6 dB with each
doubling of distance from the source).

Also, in this region the sound particle velocity is in phase with the
sound pressure. In the far field, the sound waves can be con-
sidered planar.

FREE FIELD
An environment in which there are no reflective surfaces within
the frequency range of interest.

HEARING LOSS
An increase in the threshold of audibility due to disease, injury,
age or exposure to intense noise.

16
 ACOUSTICS

HERTZ
The unit of frequency measurement, representing cycles per
second.

IMPEDANCE, ACOUSTIC
The complex ratio of dynamic pressure to particle velocity at a
point in an acoustic medium, measured in rayls (1 rayl =1 Ns/m3).

INFRASOUND
Sound at frequencies below the audible range, that is, below
about 16 Hz. It is sometimes referred to as low-frequency sound.

ISOLATION
Resistance to the transmission of sound by materials and
structures.

LOUDNESS
Subjective impression of the intensity of a sound. Equal-loudness
contours are a measure of sound pressure over the frequency
spectrum, for which a listener perceives a constant loudness
when presented with pure steady tones. Equal-loudness
contours are defined in ISO 226.

MASKING
The process by which the threshold of audibility of one sound is
raised by the presence of another (masking) sound.

NEAR FIELD
That part of the sound field, usually within about two wave-
lengths from a noise source, where there is no simple relationship
between sound level and distance.

NEWTON
The force required to accelerate a 1 kg mass at 1 m/s2.
Approximately equal to the gravitational force on a 100 g mass.

NOISE EMISSION LEVEL

The dB(A) level measured at a specified distance and direction
from a noise source, in an open environment, above a specified
type of surface. Generally follows the recommendation of a
national or industry standard.

NOISE REDUCTION COEFFICIENT, NRC

The arithmetic average of the sound absorption coefficients of a
material at 250, 500, 1000 and 2000 Hz.

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NOY
A linear unit of noisiness or annoyance.

PARTICLE VELOCITY
The velocity of air molecules about their rest position due to a
sound wave.

PASCAL, Pa
A unit of pressure corresponding to a force of 1 newton acting
uniformly upon an area of 1 square metre. Hence 1 Pa = 1 N/m2.

PHON
The loudness level of a sound. It is numerically equal to the sound
pressure level of a 1 kHz free progressive wave that is judged by
reliable listeners to be as loud as the unknown sound.

PINK NOISE
Broadband noise whose energy content is inversely proportional
to frequency (–3 dB per octave or –10 dB per decade).

POWER SPECTRUM LEVEL

The level of the power in a band one hertz wide referred to a
given reference power.

RANDOM NOISE
Noise whose instantaneous amplitude is not specified at any
instant of time. Instantaneous amplitude can only be defined
statistically by an amplitude distribution function.

REVERBERATION
The persistence of sound in an enclosure after a sound source
has been stopped. Reverberation time is the time, in seconds,
required for sound pressure at a specific frequency to decay
60 dB after a sound source is stopped.

ROOT MEAN SQUARE (rms)

The square root of the arithmetic average of a set of squared
instantaneous values.

SABINE
A measure of sound absorption of a surface. One metric sabine is
equivalent to 1 m2 of a perfectly absorptive surface.

HEMI-ANECHOIC FIELD
A free field above a reflective plane.

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 ACOUSTICS

SONE
A linear unit of loudness. The ratio of loudness of a sound to that
of a 1 kHz tone 40 dB above the threshold of hearing.

SOUND
Energy that is transmitted by pressure waves in air or other
materials and is the objective cause of the sensation of hearing.
Commonly called noise if it is unwanted.

SOUND INTENSITY
The rate of sound energy transmission per unit area in a specified
direction.

SOUND INTENSITY LEVEL

The fundamental measure of sound intensity. Defined as:

LI = 10 log (I/I 0) dB

where I is the rms value of sound intensity in W/m2 and I 0

is IpW/m2.

SOUND LEVEL
The level of a sound measured with a sound level meter and one
of its weighting filters. When A-weighting is used, the sound
level is given in dB(A).

SOUND LEVEL METER

An electronic instrument for measuring the rms and peak levels
of sound in accordance with an accepted national or inter-
national standard, such as IEC 61672.

SOUND POWER
The total sound energy radiated by a source per unit time.

SOUND POWER LEVEL

The fundamental measure of sound power. Defined as:

LW = 10 log (P/P 0) dB

where P is the rms value of sound power in watts and P 0 is 1 pW.

SOUND PRESSURE
A dynamic variation in atmospheric pressure. The pressure at a
point in space minus the static pressure at that point.

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SOUND PRESSURE LEVEL

The fundamental measure of sound pressure. Defined as:

Lp = 20 log (p/p 0) dB

where p is the rms value (unless otherwise stated) of sound

pressure in pascals, and p 0 is 20 μPa for measurements in air.

SOUND TRANSMISSION CLASS, STC

A single-number rating for describing sound transmission loss of
a wall or partition.

SOUND TRANSMISSION LOSS

Ratio of the sound energy emitted by an acoustic material or
structure to the energy incident upon the opposite side.

SOUNDSCAPE
A description of the human perception of sounds heard in an
environment.

SOUND QUALITY
The rating of peceived sound in terms of quality.

STANDING WAVE
A periodic wave having a fixed distribution in space that is the
result of interference of progressive waves of the same frequency
and kind. Characterized by the existence of maxima and minima
amplitudes that are fixed in space.

ULTRASOUND
Sound at frequencies above the audible range, that is, above
about 20 kHz.

WAVELENGTH
The distance measured perpendicular to the wave front in the
direction of propagation between two successive points in the
wave that are separated by one period. Equals the ratio of the
speed of sound in the medium to the fundamental frequency.

WEIGHTING FILTER
An electronic filter in a sound level meter that approximates,
under defined conditions, the frequency response of the human
ear. The A-weighting filter is the most commonly used.

WHITE NOISE
Broadband noise having constant energy per unit of frequency.

20
 ACOUSTICS

Community Noise Criteria

LAeqT (LAeq)
Equivalent continuous sound level. The steady dB(A) level that
would produce the same A-weighted sound energy over a stated
period of time as the specified time-varying sound.

LAr,Tr Rating Level

The A-weighted equivalent continuous noise level (L AeqT) during a
specified time period with specified adjustments for tonal or
impulsive noise, and for time of day and type of source.
L Ar,Tr = L AeqT + K I + K T + KR + K S

Lden
A Rating Level based on the 24-hour L AeqT, with a 5 dB
adjustment for levels during evening (for example, 18:00 – 22:00)
and 10 dB for levels during the night (for example, 22:00 – 07:00).
Often used to determine dose-response realtionships to
determine community noise limits.

Ldn
A 24-hour L AeqT except 10 dB is added to all levels measured at
night, typically defined as being between 22:00 – 07:00.

LAE
Sound Exposure Level (also known as SEL) Single Event Noise
Exposure Level. The dB(A) level that, if it lasted for one second,
would produce the same A-weighted sound energy as the actual
event.

LN (LAFN,T)
The dB(A) level exceeded N% of the time. For example, L 90, the
level exceeded 90% of the time, is commonly used to estimate
the ambient (background) noise level while L5 or L10 is used to
indicate the levels of noise events.

LEPN
Effective Perceived Noise Level. A complex rating used to certify
aircraft types for fly-over noise. Includes corrections for pure
tones and for duration of the noise.

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LNP
Noise Pollution Level. A variation of L AeqT that accounts for
short-term variability in noise level. For a gaussian distribution of
dB(A) level, it is defined as:
LNP = Leq + (L10 – L 90)

NEF
Noise Exposure Forecast. A complex criterion for predicting
future noise impact of airports. The computation considers
Effective Perceived Noise Level of each type of aircraft, flight
profile, number of flights, time of day, etc. Generally used in plots
of equal NEF contours for zoning control around airports.

Speed of Sound in
Various Media
Medium Speed of Sound (m/s)
Air, 21 ºC 344
Alcohol 1213
Lead 1220
Hydrogen, 0 ºC 1269
Water, fresh 1480
Water, salt, 21 ºC 1520 (3.5% salinity)
Human body 1558
Plexiglas 1800
Wood, soft 3350
Concrete 3400
Mild steel 5050
Aluminium 5150
Glass 5200

Wavelength
λ= speed of sound
frequency

22
 ACOUSTICS

Static Pressure vs Altitude

1,000

800
Pressure, millibars

600

400

300

250
0 2 4 6 8 10

Height above sea level, km

Sound Level Meter

Weighting Filters
+20

+10
Z
0
B, C
-10 C
Relative response, dB

-20 D A

-30 B

-40

-50

-60

-70
10 2 5 103 2 5 103 2 5 104 2

Frequency, Hz

Note: The current sound level meter standard uses A, C and Z-weighting.

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"G" Infrasound Weighting Filter

+20

+10

-10
Relative response, dB

-20

-30

-40

-50

-60

-70

-80

-90
0.2 0.5 1 2 5 10 20 50 100 200 500
Frequency, Hz

Sound Fields
Near field Semi-reverberant field

–6 dB per doubling
of distance
SPL

Near field Far field

log T

The graph above illustrates the fundamentals of noise gener-

ation and propagation that must be kept in mind when meas-
uring noise emission. In the near field, the darker area shows that
noise emission cannot be measured reliably. But further away, in
the far field, measurements are reliable and the level decreases
with 6 dB per doubling of distance (spherical spreading due to
inverse-square law) as long as the environment is effectively free
field. When the environment becomes semi-reverberant due to
reflections that add to the level of the direct sound wave, noise
emission measurements again become unreliable.

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 ACOUSTICS

Sound Attenuation in Air

0
300 - 600 Hz

-10 150 - 300

75 - 150
-20 25 - 75
Attenuation, dB

-30

600 - 1.200 Hz
-40
1.200 - 2.400

-50 2.400 - 4.800

4.800 - 9.600
-60
Relative humidity less than 50%
Temperature above 15 ºC
-70
30 100 1.000 3.000

Distance, in metres, using 30m reference measurement

Approximate correction for air attenuation including the inverse-

square law.

Predicting Sound Level in

Semi-reverberant Fields
4 S×
R
= 1–
R=50
0
100
-4
200
Fr
-8 ee 400
Relative sound level, dB

fie
ld
R
= 500
-12 ∞
1000
-16
3000

-20 6000
Semi-reverberant field decay
10000
-24
20000

-28

1 2 5 10 2 5 100
Distance from source, metres

Relative sound level with respect to source level in a semi-

reverberant field

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Acoustic Formulas
NOISE REDUCTION AND TRANSMISSION LOSS

NR = Lp1 – Lp2

TL = LW1 – LW2

where:

subscript 1 represents the source and

subscript 2 the receiver

In free field: NR = TL
For wall in source room:
1 – A
NR = TL – 10 log 4 R 2 dB

where:

A is the area the wall and

R 2 is the room constant of the receiving room

PREDICTING SOUND PRESSURE LEVEL FROM SOUND POWER

LEVEL:

In a free field:

Lp = LW + 10 log Q – 20 log r – 10.8 dB

Over a hard reflecting plane:

Lp = LW + 10 log Q – 20 log r – 7.8 dB

In a reverberant room:

Lp = LW – 10 log R + 6.2 dB

where:

r is distance in metres
Q is directivity factor of the sound source
R is the room constant in square metres

26
 ACOUSTICS

ROOM CONSTANT

St ×
R = 1 –
where:

R is the room constant in square metres

St is the total area of the room in square metres
is the average absorption coefficient
S + 2S2 + ... + nSn
1 1
= S1 + S2 + ... + Sn
where:

n
is the absorption coefficient of component surface Sn
S is the area of the surface in square metres

or
St 0.161 V
R = =
T × St T
–1
0.161 V

where:

T is the reverberation time in seconds

V is the room volume in cubic metres
St is the total area of the room in square metres

27
Sound Intensity
and Acoustic
Imaging

28
 SOUND INTENSITY

Glossary of Sound Intensity Terms

SOUND INTENSITY
The time-averaged rate of energy flow per unit area. The real
part of the complex intensity and the propagating part of the
sound field (sometimes called the active part).

COMPLEX INTENSITY
Complex intensity is the combined active and reactive intensity,
as real and imaginary parts.

REACTIVE INTENSITY
Reactive intensity is the amplitude of the non-propagating part
of the sound field.

ACTIVE SOUND FIELD

A sound field in which the particle velocity is in phase with the
sound pressure. All acoustic energy is transmitted, none is stored.
A plane wave propagating in a free field is an example of a purely
active sound field and constitutes the real part of the complex
sound field.

REACTIVE SOUND FIELD

A sound field in which the particle velocity is 90º out of phase
with the pressure. An ideal standing wave is an example of this
type of field, where there is no net flow of energy, and
constitutes the imaginary part of a complex sound field.

PHASE MISMATCH
The relative phase mismatch between the two channels in an
intensity measuring system.

PRESSURE-INTENSITY INDEX
In a given direction at a point, the difference between the sound
pressure level and the sound intensity level. In practice, FpI is
normally positive.
Note: The pressure-intensity index is an important indicator of the character of the sound
field as it is measured and is used for evaluating the accuracy of sound intensity
measurements.

RESIDUAL INTENSITY
The sound intensity level measured when the same signal is
fed to both channels of a sound intensity measuring system.

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PRESSURE-RESIDUAL INTENSITY INDEX, δpI0

The pressure-residual intensity index for a given measurement
system is defined as the difference between the measured sound
pressure level and the indicated intensity level when the intensity
probe is placed in a zero intensity sound field.
It is expressed in decibel and the index will normally be positive.

DYNAMIC CAPABILITY, Ld
The dynamic capability of an intensity measurement system is
determined by substracting K which is 7 dB (survey grade) or 10
dB (engineering and precision grades) from the pressure-residual
intensity index, Ld= δ pI -K.
0

The relationship between sound field and measurement system

indicators for a given microphone spacing ∆r using the two
pressure microphone method is shown below.

Ratio in dB

Lp L p0
0 dB
Ll
FpI
Ld = δ pF0 – FpI
δ pI0
Ll
K

FpI = Lp – LI
Ll0
δ pI0 = Lp0 – LI0
Ld = δ pI0 – K

Frequency

Useful frequency range

LP = Sound pressure level of the sound field

LI = Sound intensity level of the sound field
FpI = Pressure intensity index for the sound field
Lp = S ound pressure level measured with an intensity
0
measuring system during calibration
LI = S ound intensity level measured with an intensity
0
measuring system during calibration
δ pI = Pressure-residual intensity index for the measuring system
0

30
 SOUND INTENSITY

Basic Formulas
In a medium without mean flow, the intensity vector equals
the time averaged product of the instantaneous pressure
and the corresponding instantaneous particle velocity at
the same position:

I = p(t) . u(t)

where:

I is the sound intensity

p(t) is the instantaneous sound pressure

u(t) is the instantaneous particle velocity

The sound intensity can be measured directly according to the

above definition by use of the formula:
1 .
îr = p . ur = (pA + pB) ∫ (pA – pB) dt
2 ∆r

where:

îr is the estimated sound intensity in direction r

p is the sound pressure at the measuring position
ur  is the particle velocity at the measuring position in
direction r
is the density of the medium
∆r is the transducer separation (typically 0.012 m)
pA, pB are the sound pressures at the two transducer
positions

The sound intensity can also be estimated using a dual-channel

analyzer (frequency domain formulation), from the imaginary
part of the cross-spectrum:

1
îr = – Im GAB
Ѡ ∆r

where:

Ѡ is the angular frequency

Im GAB is the imaginary part of the cross-spectrum

31
[Link]

In a purely active sound field (that is a plane wave propagating in

a free field), the actual intensity is given by:

| I | = p . u = p2 / c = p2rms / c

where c is the impedance of the medium

Under standard conditions (20 °C and 1013 mbar):

Where c = 343.2 m/s and = 1.204 kg/m3

LI = Lp – 0.146 dB

where

LI is the sound intensity level measured in the direction
of propagation
Lp is the sound pressure level

The relationship between the various quantities in which

intensity can be expressed is given by:
.
Intensity = Power = Energy = Force Distance
Area Area . Time Area . Time
= Pressure · Velocity

32
 SOUND INTENSITY

Practical Measurements
CALIBRATION
Calibration of a sound intensity analysis system involves a
pressure amplitude calibration of the two channels, a phase
match check and phase compensation. The phase match is
checked by measuring the pressure-residual intensity index of
the system. Knowledge about microphone spacing and density
of the medium are also required.
dB Intensity index nomogram
∆r
Lp – LI + 0.15 = –10 log10 [ 1 . c . Ф ]
12 ∆r f 360
mm

–10

20
0 0º
10
0º
50
º
10 20
º
10
º
5º
20 2º
1º
0.5
º
30 0. 2
º
Minimum phase match for a class 0.1
1 system according to IEC 1043 is
0 .0 0 .0 0 .0 0 .0 º
indicated by dashed line. 01º 0 0 0 . 01º 0 .02 5 º
2º 5º º
2.5 Hz 5 10 20 40 80 160 315 630 1.25 2.5 5 10 20
2 4 8 16 31.5 63 125 250 500 1kHz 2 4 8 16 31.5
3.15 6.3 12.5 25 50 100 200 400 800 1.6 3.15 6.3 12.5 25

HIGH-FREQUENCY LIMITATIONS
The two-microphone technique imposes limitations at high
frequencies due to the approximation of the pressure gradient by
the finite pressure difference. The high-frequency approximation
error is given below.

L e = 10 log10 [ ÎI ] = 10 log [ sink(k∆r∆r)] dB

10

Le dB 0.63 1.25 2.5 5.0 10.0 kHz

6 mm
-2

-4
12 mm

-6

50 mm
-8
Approximation error, L ε , at high frequencies for various spacers
Note: The high-frequency limit can be raised by an octave by compensating for the resonance
phenomenon between the spacer and the microphones at high frequencies.

33
[Link]

LOW-FREQUENCY LIMITATIONS – PHASE MISMATCH

At low frequencies, the phase mismatch of the system becomes
comparable with the actual phase to be measured. Therefore, an
intensity error is introduced in the measurement. This error can
be expressed directly as a function of the difference between the
pressure-residual intensity index (measured during calibration)
and the pressure-intensity index of the sound field at the
measuring position and direction. If phase compensation is
available in the systems, the phase mismatch can be minimized.

dB
3

2
δ pF0 – FpI
1

–1 5 10 15 dB

–2

–3

–4

–5

–6

RANDOM ERROR
When measuring in reactive environments, a higher BT product is
necessary to obtain the same confidence level as in active sound
fields. The relationship between the reactivity index of the sound
field and the BT product for a given confidence level is given below.

dB Random Error (68% Confidence Level)

106
dB
0.2
105 dB – B
% + 0.2 B – 0.5 d
5 d B
% + 0.4 – 1.0 d
104 10 d B B
+ 0.8 .2 d
20% d B–2
103 + 1.5
40%

102

101

10 0
0 –5 –10 –15 –20 dB
LI – LP

34
 SOUND INTENSITY

Glossary of Array Acoustic Terms

ACOUSTIC HOLOGRAPHY
A method that is used to estimate the 3D sound field (pressure,
particle velocity and intensity) near a source by measuring acoustic
parameters on a surface away from the source via an array of
pressure and/or particle velocity transducers.

ACOUSTIC CAMERA
A common term for an array system which can superimpose
measured acoustical data onto a photograph.

ARRAY
A microphone array is any number of microphones arranged in
a known configuration operating together. There are many
applications. For noise source identification a typical array
consists of 18 to 150 microphones arranged in a 2D (single or
double layer) or 3D grid.

BEAMFORMING
Noise source identification using an array at medium to long
distances to resolve sound incidence from different directions. A
set of different algorithms exist for establishing the directionally
sensitive “beam pattern”, characterized by a main lobe in the focus
direction and side lobes in other directions. A narrow main lobe
will provide high directional resolution. The side lobes produce
unwanted sensitivity in other directions than the selected focus
direction, so the side-lobe level should be minimized.

COMBO ARRAY
An array that can be used for a combination of beamforming and
acoustic holography techniques in order to measure over a wide
frequency range. Examples are sector rectangular and sector
wheel arrays.

CONFORMAL MAPPING
Conformal mapping provides a map of sound field quantities
directly on the actual surface geometry of an arbitrary shaped
object. Conformal maps are easier to interpret and more
understandable than 2D maps to non-acousticians. Typically
measured with a small hand held array by means of SONAH or
ESM algorithms.

35
[Link]

DAS, DELAY AND SUM

DAS is the most common algorithm for beamforming. The various
microphone signals provided by the array are computationally
delayed in a way to align in time the signal components coming
from the focal point. Subsequent summation will cause these
signal components to add up coherently, while suppressing signals
from other points. The algorithm can also be implemented in the
frequency domain.

ESM, EQUIVALENT SOURCE METHOD

Acoustic holography method where the sound source is modelled
by a number of monopoles behind the surface of the source. ESM
is typically used in conformal mapping and in wideband
holography applications.

FAS, FILTER AND SUM

Filter and Sum is used for spherical beamforming, having some
similarity to Delay and Sum. It provides better suppression of side
lobes, i.e., larger dynamic range, than the SHARP algorithm.

GRID ARRAY
An array with a fixed distance in both x and y directions
between transducers. Examples are single layer and double
layer hand held arrays.

NSI, NOISE SOURCE IDENTIFICATION

Noise source identification is typically performed using either a
single sound intensity probe in combination with a (manual or
automatic) positioning system or array techniques such as
beamforming or/and acoustic holography.

NAH, NEAR-FIELD ACOUSTIC HOLOGRAPHY

A technique for establishing a model of the sound field by applying
a 2D spatial Fourier Transformation to the measured array signals.
This is the classical implementation of holography and requires a
regular grid array.

MOVING SOURCE BEAMFORMING

A planar beamforming technique that continuously adjusts the
focal direction in order to track moving targets, such as moving
cars, trains and airplanes or the blades of wind turbines.

36
 SOUND INTENSITY

REFINED BEAMFORMING
Also called deconvolution beamforming. A beamformer has a
finite spatial resolution given by the width of its main lobe.
Compensating for the width of the main lobe by deconvolution
techniques results in beamforming results with an improved
resolution.

PLANAR BEAMFORMING
Beamforming performed with a planar array.

SHARP, SPHERICAL HARMONIC ANGULAR

RESOLVED PRESSURE
A spherical beamforming technique where the sound field is
decomposed into spherical harmonics.

SONAH, STATISTICALLY OPTIMISED, NEAR-FIELD

ACOUSTIC HOLOGRAPHY
SONAH establishes a model of the sound field by applying
correlation techniques to the measured array signals. Avoids the
leakage and windowing artefacts of the 2D spatial Fourier
Transform as used in NAH.

SPHERICAL BEAMFORMING
Beamforming performed with a spherical array.

STSF, SPATIAL TRANSFORMATION OF SOUND FIELDS

An older Brüel & Kjær but now obsolete term for near-field
acoustic holography combined with Helmholtz integral equation
formulation for far-field calculations.

WBH, WIDE BAND HOLOGRAPHY

Holography based on ESM techniques and enforcing sparsity in
the source model. It covers a wide (full) frequency range as
opposed to traditional holography which covers low to medium
frequencies and traditional beamforming which covers medium to
high frequencies.

WHEEL ARRAY
An array consisting of a set of identical line arrays arranged as
spokes on a wheel, also known as Spoke Wheel Array. The typical
application is DAS or Refined Beamforming. For many applications
such as vehicle pass-by or in wind tunnels, a half wheel array is
used, placed on a reflective mirror ground.

37
Electro-
acoustics

38
 ELECTROACOUSTICS

Glossary of Electroacoustic and

Communication Audio Terms

COMB FILTERING
In signal processing, a comb filter adds a delayed version of a
signal to itself, causing constructive and destructive interference.
The frequency response of a comb filter consists of a series of
regularly spaced spikes, giving the appearance of a comb. In
room acoustics, comb filtering results from reflected sound (or
multiple speakers) arriving at the listener at a delayed time from
the direct sound and the combination results in a similar effect at
the listener.

CRITICAL DISTANCE
The distance at which the level of the direct sound is equal to the
level of the diffuse sound

DBM
Power level in decibels, relative to a power of 1 mW (milliwatt).

DISTORTION
The alteration of the waveform of a signal in amplitude and/or
spectral characteristics.

DUT
Device Under Test.

DRUM REFERENCE POINT (DRP)

A point located at the end of the ear canal, corresponding to the
eardrum position.

EAR REFERENCE POINT (ERP)

A virtual point for acoustic and geometric reference located out-
side the entrance to the ear canal. The exact location is specified
for each type of ear simulator.

FREQUENCY RESPONSE
Electrical, acoustic, or electroacoustic sensitivity (output/input),
or gain, as a function of frequency.

FULLBAND (FB)
Nominally 20 – 20,000 Hz. Usually refers to a device or trans-
mission channel.

39
[Link]

HAAS EFFECT
A binaural psychoacoustic effect, where a sound is followed by
another sound separated by a sufficiently short time delay (below
the listener’s echo threshold), so that the listener perceives a
single “fused” auditory image; its perceived spatial location is
dominated by the location of the first-arriving sound (the first
wave front). The lagging sound also affects the perceived loca-
tion. However, its effect is suppressed by the first-arriving sound.

HARMONIC DISTORTION
The simplest form of Non-linear Distortion where some part of
the energy of the input signal is translated to harmonics (integer
multiples) of the input signal frequency.

INTERMODULATION DISTORTION
Amplitude modulation of one signal by another signal, caused
in an electroacoustic system where its amplification varies with
level (i.e., it is non-linear) so that one signal causes another
signal being reproduced to vary in level at a rate determined
by the “modulating” frequency. This effect expresses itself as
“sidebands” (sums and differences) of the signal and modulating
signal around the higher frequency.

LINEAR DISTORTION
Time- and frequency-dependent characteristics of the amplitude
and phase response of the transfer function, e.g., an ideal equal-
izer. This occurs with no changes in the frequency content of the
input signal such that one frequency at the input results in only
one frequency at the output.

MOUTH REFERENCE POINT (MRP)

A point on the axis of the mouth simulator, 25 mm in front of the
centre of the external lip plane.

NARROWBAND (NB)
Nominally 100 – 4000 Hz. Usually refers to a device or transmis-
sion channel.

NON-LINEAR DISTORTION
Changes in the frequency content of the input signal such that
energy is transferred from one frequency at the input to more than
one frequency at the output. Non-linear distortion products
usually have a fixed frequency relationship to the excitation

40
 ELECTROACOUSTICS

frequency.

RUB AND BUZZ

A type of harmonic distortion found in some dynamic systems
such as loudspeakers, often caused by the voice coil rubbing
against the pole piece or other mechanical component. Mani-
fested at high harmonics, it is a very audible form of distortion.

SUPERWIDEBAND (SWB)
Nominally 50 – 16,000 Hz. Usually refers to a device or trans-
mission channel.

SENSITIVITY
The ratio of the output to the input of a transducer or system. For
example, a loudspeaker will have a sensitivity of Pa/V (acoustic
pressure it produces as a function of the voltage provided) or dB
re 1 Pa/V. Often specified at a 1 metre distance.

SIMULATED FREE FIELD

A family of techniques to provide approximate anechoic
measurements without the need of an anechoic chamber. Also
known by the acronyms TSR (Time Selective Response), TDS
(Time Delay Spectroscopy) or other terms, they use advanced
mathematical techniques to “time- window” the direct energy
from the DUT and thereby eliminate the effect of reflections from
surfaces in the test room.

TOTAL HARMONIC DISTORTION (THD)

A measurement of distortion as the ratio of the power sum of the
harmonics to the power sum of the harmonics and the fundamental.

TRANSDUCER
A device for converting one form of energy to another. In
electroacoustics, it is typically an electromechanical device for
converting electricity to sound (loudspeaker) or sound to electri-
city (microphone).

WIDEBAND (WB)
Nominally 100 – 8,000 Hz. Usually refers to a device or trans-
mission channel.

41
[Link]

Communication Systems
Acronyms and Terminology
1G,2G,3G,4G Terms used to describe the various generations
of mobile terminals or mobile phones and the
supporting networks.

Active Long-term average speech level that does not

speech level include pauses or silences. It is the time integral
of the instantaneous power over the active time,
divided by active time, in decibels relative to the
appropriate reference. See ITU-T P.56 for details.

Active time Time during which the speech in question is

present, excluding pauses or noises below a
defined threshold.

AMPS Advanced Mobile Phone Service. Analog FDMA

cellular system used in North America. (Legacy)

CDMA (General): Code Division Multiple Access. Digital

transmission using spread-spectrum techniques.

CELP Code Excited Linear Prediction. A class of digital

voice coding schemes using LPC for voiced
speech and codebooks for unvoiced speech.
Coefficients and codes are transmitted instead
of speech.

Codec “Code-Decode.” A combination of analogue-

to-digital encoder and digital-to-analogue
decoder operation in opposite directions of
transmission within the same equipment.

dBm0 Power level in dBm, relative to a reference point

called the zero transmission level point, or 0 TLP.
A signal level of X dBm at the 0 TLP is designated
X dBm0. In a codec, 0 dBm0 is specified in
relationship to the full-scale digital level or
saturation. However, digital saturation is
generally not 0 dBm0. For µ-law codecs 0 dBm0
is 3.17 dB below digital full scale. For A-law
codecs 0 dBm0 is 3.14 dB below digital full scale.
For the L16-256 wideband codec, 0 dBm0 is 3.17
dB below digital full scale.

42
 ELECTROACOUSTICS

Double-talk Two talkers speaking simultaneously in opposite

(DT) transmission directions.

FDMA Frequency Division Multiple Access. Transmission

allowing many users to access a group of bands
without interference.

GSM Groupe Speciale Mobile (Global Standard or

System for Mobile) – Pan-European digital
cellular system using FDMA+TDMA techniques

ISDN Integrated Services Digital Network

Listener The signal present at the receiver due to sound

sidetone in the environment where the terminal is used.

LR Loudness Rating. Usually refers to international

loudness ratings defined in ITU-T P.79.

LSTR Listener Sidetone Masking Rating – a measure

for how much of the noise in a room is
transmitted to the person listening. (Legacy)

MOS Mean Opinion Score. A subjective measurement

giving score of 1 – 5.

MOS-LQO MOS – Listener Quality Objective

OLR Objective Loudness Rating. Usually refers to

legacy North American loudness ratings defined
in IEEE-661. (Legacy)

PCM Pulse Code Modulation. Technology used for

coding in digital phones.

PESQ Perceptual Evaluation of Speech Quality. An

objective method for end-to-end speech quality
assessment of narrow band telephone networks
and speech codecs.

[Link] Perceptual Objective Listening Quality

Assessment

POTS Plain Old Telephone System. Refers to corded

analogue telephones.

43
[Link]

PSQM Perceptual Speech Quality Measurement – a

means for objective assessing how much the
quality of speech has been degraded by a
Telephone Network. (Legacy)

PSTN Public Switch Telephone Network. Technology

used for transmission in analogue corded
phones.

RLR Receive Loudness Rating. A measure of loudness

loss in the receiving direction. (International)

Send Speech transmission from mouth to the

network.

Sidetone Speech transmission path from the microphone

to the receiver of the handset or headset. See
definitions for listener sidetone (LSTR) and talker
sidetone (STMR).

SLR Send Loudness Rating. A measure of loudness

loss in the sending direction. (International)

STMR Sidetone Masking Rating. A measure of

loudness loss in the sidetone path. (Inter-
national)

Talker The direction of speech transmission from

sidetone mouth to ear of the terminal user.

TCLw Weighted Terminal Coupling Loss

TCLt Temporally Weighted Terminal Coupling Loss

TDMA (General): Time Division Multiple Access Digital

transmission allowing many users to access a
single channel without interference by
multiplexing in the time domain

UMTS Universal Mobile Telecommunications System

VoLTE Voice over Long Term Evolution – speech

transmission using packet speech in true 4G
mobile network

44
 ELECTROACOUSTICS

Relationship Between Electrical

and Acoustical Quantities

Electrical Loudspeaker 1 metre Microphone Meter

Source Q=1 free field

Electrical Electroacoustic Acoustical

efficiency
Impe- Impe-
Level Voltage Power Level Pressure
Power W dance % dance
dBW V mW dBSPL Pa
Ohms Rayls*

1 0 2 4 3 30 94 1 407

2 3 √2 2 4 3 60 97 √2 407

* Units of N s /m3 for plane wave, free field, standard atmosphere.

Dimensions for Anechoic

Room Design
Anechoic Room

λ4

λ hmin
=1.5λ

λ4

dtotal = hmin + dobject + dtest

(about 6.5m for small objects tested at 1 m)

45
Underwater
Acoustics

46
 UNDERWATER ACOUSTICS

Speed of Sound in Water

The speed of sound in seawater is very complex.
The simple formula below was given by Medwin in 1975 and is
accurate within a few tenths of a m/sec in the temperature range 0
to 22 °C, salinity less than 35 ppt and ocean depth down to 1000 m.

c = 1449.2 + 4.6 . T – 0.055 . T 2 + 0.00029 . T3

+ (1.34 – 0.01 . T) . (s – 35) + 0.016 . z

where:

c is the speed of sound in m/s

T is the temperature in °C
S is the salinity in parts per thousand (ppt)
Z is the depth in m

Wavelength
At 20 °C and 3.5% salinity:
c 1521,5 m
λ = =
f f

where:

f is the frequency in Hz

Note: The speed of sound in water is about 4.4 times its speed in air. Therefore, the
wavelength in water will be 4.4 times the wavelength in air at any given frequency.

Intensity Comparison to Air

lwater (p2 / c)water ; ( c)air 1
= =
lair (p2 / c)air ( c)water 3570

For an identical source intensity in water and air, the acoustic

pressure generated in water will be about 60 times greater than
in air ( is the density).

47
[Link]

Reference Pressure

1 Pascal = 1 N/m2
20 dB

0.1 Pascal = 0.1 N/m2

= 1 dyne/cm2
= 1 μbar

74 dB
120 dB
100 dB

20 μ Pascal
= 2 × 10 -5 N/m2

26 dB

1 μ Pascal = 1 μN/m2

Pressure vs Depth for

Fresh Water 4 ºC
Depth (m)
10 20 30 50 100 1000
Pressure

kg/cm2 1 2 3 5 10 100

Atmospheres 1 2 3 5 10 100

psi 15 30 45 75 150 1500

The density of seawater is typically 2.7% higher than that of

fresh water and the pressure correspondingly higher.

48
 UNDERWATER ACOUSTICS

Sound Absorption in Seawater

10.000

1000
22.5 ºC
15 ºC
Absorption, , in dB per 1000 metres

100 5 ºC

10

1.0

0.1

0.01 5 ºC
15 ºC
22.5 ºC
0.001

0.0001
102 103 104 105 106 107
Frequency, Hz

Source Level as a Function of

Radiated Power
240

B
0d
=3
Source level, SL, in dB re 1 μPa at 1 m

220
DI
ex,
nd
ivi ty i B
ec t 0d
D ir =2
DI )
rce
d B s ou
200
= 10 io na l
DI ec t
i d ir
mn
d B (O
=0
DI

180

SL = 170.77 + 10 log P + DI
dB re 1 μPa at 1 m {P in watts

160
10 -2 1 10 102 103 104
Acoustic power output, P, watts

SL = 10logW + DI + 170.77 dB re 1 μPa, where W is the power in

Watts. DI is the directivity index.

49
 [Link]

Peak Pressure as a Function of

Explosive Charge
for TNT charges
1014 280
p0

1013 260

Peak pressure, po, in dB re 1 μPa

Peak pressure, po, dB re 1 μPa

1012 240
M = 1 kg
M = 0.454 kg
M = 0.100 kg
1011 220

1010 200

( )
M1/3
{
μPa M in kg
1.13
po = 5.216 × 10 13
r r in m
109 180
1 10 100 1000
Range, r, metres

Time Constant of Shock Waves

for TNT charges
1000

po to

po
e
Time constant, t0 , μs

M = 1 kg
100
M = 0.454 kg

M = 0.1 kg

(Mr ) {
μs M in kg
1/3 –0.22
to = 92.5 × M1/3 r in m
10
1 10 100 1000
Range, r, metres

50
 UNDERWATER ACOUSTICS

Time Interval from Shock Wave

to First Bubble Pulse
for TNT charges
1000
τ

100 M = 1 kg
M = 0.454 kg
M = 0.100 kg
Time interval, τ, ms

10

1
M 1/3
{
M in kg

τ = 2.11 × 103 ms
(d + 10)5/6 d in m

0,1
10 100 1000 10000
Depth + 10, metres

Glossary of Hydrophone Terms

Definitions partly from IEC 60565:2006

FREE-FIELD SENSITIVITY OF A HYDROPHONE

Paragraph 3.15. Ratio of the open-circuit voltage of the
hydrophone to the sound pressure in the undisturbed free field in
the position of the reference centre of the hydrophone if the
hydrophone were removed.
Note 1: The unit is volt per pascal, VPa –1
Note 2: The pressure is sinusoidal
Note 3: The term ’response’ is sometimes used instead of ’sensitivity’

PRESSURE SENSITIVITY OF A HYDROPHONE

Paragraph 3.22. Ratio of the output voltage to the actual sound
pressure existing over the region of the hydrophone designed to
receive sound.
Note: The unit is volt per pascal, VPa –1

TRANSMITTING RESPONSE TO CURRENT OF A PROJECTOR

Paragraph 3.28. Ratio of the sound pressure at a reference
distance from the reference centre of a projector (at a given fre-
quency and in a specified direction), multiplied by the reference
distance, to the current flowing through the electrical terminal.
Note 1: Reference distance is 1 m.
Note 2: The unit is pascal metre per ampere, Pa·m·A –1

51
[Link]

TRANSMITTING RESPONSE TO VOLTAGE OF A PROJECTOR

Paragraph 3.29. Ratio of the sound pressure at a reference
distance from the reference centre of a projector (at a given
frequency and in a specified direction), multiplied by the
reference distance, to the voltage across the electrical terminals.
Note 1: Reference distance is 1 m.
Note 2: The unit is pascal metre per volt, Pa·m·V–1

DIRECTIONAL RESPONSE
Paragraph 3.5. Description, generally presented graphically, of
the response of an electroacoustic transducer, as a function of
the direction of propagation of the radiated or incident sound in
a specified plane through the reference centre and at a specified
frequency.

TRANSMITTING DIRECTIVITY INDEX

A ratio measurement, at a point on the axis of the beam pattern,
between the intensity generated by the projector and the
intensity that would be produced by a nondirectional projector
radiating the same acoustic power.

52
Vibration

53
[Link]

Glossary of Vibration Terms

Definitions partly from ISO 2041

ACCELERATION
Rate of change of velocity.

ACCELEROMETER
A sensor whose electrical output is proportional to acceleration.

CHARGE AMPLIFIER
An amplifier whose output voltage is proportional to the output
charge from a piezoelectric transducer. Has the advantage that
the charge output is not affected by the length of the connecting
cable to the transducer.

COMPLIANCE
Reciprocal of Stiffness.

CRITICAL DAMPING
For a single-degree-of-freedom system, the amount of damping
that corresponds to the limiting condition between an oscillatory
and a non-oscillatory transient state of free vibration.

DISPLACEMENT
Time-varying quantity that specifies the change in position of a
point on a body with respect to a reference frame.

DAMPING
Dissipation of energy with time or distance.

DAMPING RATIO
Ratio of the actual damping coefficient to the critical damping
coefficient.

DEGREES OF FREEDOM
Minimum number of generalized coordinates required to com-
pletely define the configuration of a mechanical system.

DYNAMIC MASS
Complex ratio of force to acceleration.

DYNAMIC MODULUS
Complex ratio of stress to strain under vibratory conditions.

54
 VIBRATION

EXCITATION
External force (or other input) applied to a system that causes the
system to respond in some way.

FORCE
Dynamic influence that changes a body from a state of rest to
one of motion or changes its rate of motion.

IMPACT
Single collision of two bodies.

IMPULSE
Integral with respect to time of a force taken over the time during
which the force is applied.

INTEGRATOR
An electrical frequency filter used to convert a vibratory acceler-
ation signal to one whose amplitude is proportional to velocity or
displacement.

JERK
Rate of change of acceleration.

MECHANICAL IMPEDANCE
Complex ratio of force to velocity at a specified point and
degree-of-freedom in a mechanical system.

MOBILITY
Complex ratio of the velocity, taken at a point in a mechanical
system, to the force, taken at the same or another point in the
system.

MODAL ANALYSIS
Vibration analysis method that characterizes a complex structural
system by its modes of vibration, that is its natural frequencies,
modal damping and mode shapes, and based on the principle of
superposition.

NATURAL FREQUENCY
Frequency of free vibration of an undamped linear vibration
system.

55
[Link]

PERIODIC VIBRATION
Vibration where the values of the vibration parameter recur for
certain equal increments of the independent time variable.

RANDOM VIBRATION
Vibration where the instantaneous value cannot be predicted.
Pseudo, periodic and burst random are all special forms.

RESONANCE
State of a system in forced oscillation when any change, however
small, in the frequency of excitation causes a decrease in a
response of the system.

RESPONSE
Output quantity of a system.

SHOCK
Sudden change of force, position, velocity or acceleration that
excites transient disturbances in a system.

SIMPLE HARMONIC VIBRATION

Periodic vibration where the values of the vibration parameters
can be described as sinusoidal functions of the independent time
variable.

STIFFNESS
Ratio of change of force (or torque) to the corresponding change
in translational (or rotational) deformation of an elastic element.

TRANSMISSIBILITY
Non-dimensional complex ratio of the response of a system in
forced vibration to the excitation.

VELOCITY
Rate of change of displacement.

VIBRATION ISOLATOR
Isolator designed to attenuate the transmission of vibration in a
frequency range.

VIBROMETER
Instrument with one or more outputs (typically voltage) that are
proportional to either displacement or velocity.

56
 VIBRATION

VIBRATION SEVERITY
Value, or set of values, such as a maximum, average or rms value,
or other parameters that are descriptive of the vibration, refer-
ring to instantaneous values or to average values.

VOLTAGE PREAMPLIFIER
A preamplifier that produces an output voltage proportional to
the input voltage from a piezoelectric accelerometer. The input
voltage depends on cable capacitance.

WHITE FINGERS
A disorder of the hands caused by using hand-held tools such as
chainsaws and jackhammers. Results in reduction of the hand’s
ability to feel or to regulate its temperature. May also result in
numbness and excessive sensitivity to low temperatures. Called
Raynaud’s disease.

WHOLE-BODY VIBRATION
Vibration of the human body as a result of standing on a vibra-
ting floor or sitting on a vibrating seat. Often encountered near
heavy machinery and on construction equipment, trucks and
buses.

57
[Link]

Amplitude Relationships
(Sinusoids)

Average

rms

Peak

Peak-to-peak
π 1
rms = × average = × peak
2√2 √2
rms = 1.1 × average = 0.707 × peak

peak = 1.57 × average = 1.414 × rms

Average = 0.9 × rms = 0.637 × peak

peak-to-peak = 2 × peak

Crest Factor = Peak/rms

Form Factor = rms/Average

Displacement, Velocity, Acceler-

ation Relationships (Sinusoids)
displacement = d0 sin 2 π ft
where d0 = peak displacement
f = frequency in Hz
velocity = 2 π f d0 cos 2 π ft
= 2 π f × displacement (with 90° phase shift)
acceleration = – (2 π f)2 d0 sin 2 π ft
= – (2 π f)2 × displacement

58
 VIBRATION

Dynamic Measurements
MECHANICAL IMPEDANCE

F F ωF
Z = = =
v ωd a

lb∙sec newton∙sec Ns
having units of or =
inch metre m

F F
dynamic mass: Z a = dynamic stiffness: Zd =
a d

where all terms are phasors, having a magnitude and direction.

MOTION OF A SINGLE-DEGREE-OF-FREEDOM SYSTEM

ω 1 k 1 g
natural frequency: fn =

2π
=

2π

√ =
m
st
2π √
δ
where: δst = static deflection
ѡ = angular frequency in radians/second
force ma
k = =
deflection d

1 1
transmissibility : T = =
1 – ω2 / ω n2 1 – f2 / fn2
(undamped)

critical damping : cC = 2 √ km

c c
damping ratio : ζ = =
cC 2 √ km

amplification
1
factor : for ζ <0.1, Q =
2ζ
(at resonance)

59
[Link]

TRANSIENT MEASUREMENTS

Pulse Minimum Minimum Minimum

Shape RC Resonance Low frequency
T Frequency Response, f 5
(1) (2) Hz (3) Hz (4)

5 0.03
16 7
T
T T
Half-sine

2.5 0.03
16 7
T
t t T
Sawtooth

2.5 0.01
T 50 20
t t
t Square T
where: RC = low-frequency time constant in seconds
1 1
= ≈
2πfc 2 f5
fc = frequency for –3 dB response
f5 = frequency for –5% response
T = pulse duration in seconds
t = rise or fall time in seconds
(1) for 2% accuracy in peak amplitude
(2) for 5% accuracy in peak amplitude
(3) f or transducer (based on ratio indicated peak to actual peak
approximately 1.1 maximum)
(4) f or signal conditioner or associated electronics, for 2%
accuracy in amplitude

SPRING CONSTANT OF MATERIALS

EA
k=
t
where: E = elastic modulus
A = area of material
t = thickness of material

60
 VIBRATION

VELOCITY CHANGE DURING IMPACT

∫ a dt = (2 g h )
t2
∆v = 1
1/2
+ (2 g h2)1/2
t1

for half-sine pulse : ∫ a dt = 0.636 a dt

for sawtooth pulse : ∫ a dt = 0.5 a dt
where : h1 = height of drop
h2 = height of rebound
a = peak acceleration
t 2 – t1 = duration of pulse

RANDOM EXCITATION

a = √ B a0
where: a = rms level (m/s2)
B = frequency bandwidth in Hz
a0 = acceleration density ((m/s2)2/Hz)
peak magnitude
crest factor =
rms magnitude

RESONANCE FREQUENCY OF FIRST BENDING MODE

(unloaded beams)

fn = C
√ LE lWg
4

where: C = constant, function of

method of support
E = elastic modulus
l = moment of inertia of
cross section
g = acceleration of gravity
L = length
W = weight per unit length

Support Method C
Cantilever 0.56
Point support each end 1.57
Both ends fixed 3.56
Totally unsupported 3.56

61
 [Link]

Vibration Nomogram

10

10
5

00.
m

0
1
0.

m
/s
2
2 m

1
01
0.

1.
0
00
5

m
m

/s
2
1
00
0.

10

2
0
m
/s
2
m

0.1
01
00
Velocity, m/s

0.
10

5
m

m
/s
2

1
00
00

2
0.
1
m
/s
2

0.01
m
0.
1

01

5
m

00
/s
2

00
0.

2
0.
01
m

0.001
/s
2

0.0001
1 10 100 1k
Frequency, Hz

Frequency, acceleration, velocity, displacement nomogram

(for rms, peak-to-peak, or peak values)

62
 VIBRATION

Transmissibility Curves
ζ =0
10
0.05

5 0.1

3 0.2
Transmissibility

0.5
1.0
1.0

ζ=
1.
0
0.5
0.
5

0.3

0.2
0.2

0.10
0.1

0.05
0.0
5

0.03
ζ=

0.02
0

0.01
0.1 0.2 0.3 0.5 1.0 2 3 5 10
Forcing frequency, f
Undamped natural frequency, f0

To produce isolation, select vibration isolators with f0 such that

the lowest machine forcing frequency is greater than 1.4 f0. High
damping ratio, ζ, protects best against vibration transmission as
a machine passes through isolator resonance to attain operating
speed. Low damping ratio gives best protection at high forcing
frequencies.

63
[Link]

MACHINE VIBRATION MONITORING

Many defects in rotating machinery manifest themselves in specific
vibration patterns or signatures. Spectrum analysis of running
vibration can give important clues to causes within the machinery.
A recorded spectrum (signature) taken on the new (presumably
non-defective) machine is extremely helpful for later analysis
and diagnosis.

Frequency Possible Cause

1 × operating speed Imbalance
Misalignment
Bent shaft
Looseness
Electrical

2 × operating speed Misalignment

Bent shaft

Harmonics of operating speed Loose mounts or bearing caps

Subharmonics of Oil whirl

operating speed Bearing cage defects

Non-integer multiples of Rolling element bearings

operating speed Gears
Belts
Blades or vanes

Powerline frequency harmonics Electrical

BLADES OR VANES
Missing or cracked blades can cause an imbalance that produces
vibration; a large number of harmonics around the blade passing
frequency (operating speed × number of blades) indicates a
broken or missing blade.

ELECTRICAL
Vibration components at 2× powerline frequency, or sidebands
around the operating speed at 2× slip frequency often indicate a
shortened stator or broken rotor bar. Induction motors normally
produce frequency components at the number of poles times the
operating speed.

64
 VIBRATION

GEARS
Gear mesh frequencies (gear rotational speed × number of teeth)
are always present to some extent. Gear defects cause these
components to greatly increase in amplitude. Also, sidebands
around the gear mesh frequency often appear at the rotational
speed of the defective gear.

IMBALANCE
A large component at operating speed is usually considered to
indicate an imbalance condition. Severe imbalance can also cause
harmonics. Load variation and pump cavitation can also cause
similar symptoms.

MISALIGNMENT
Large component at 2 × operating speed accompanied by
high-level axial vibration characterizes misalignment.

OIL WHIRL
Fluid film bearings experiencing oil whirl exhibit components at
around 0.45 × operating speed.

ROLLING ELEMENT BEARINGS

Ball or roller bearings can produce many frequency components,
depending on the design of the bearings. These are functions of
the number of rolling elements, pitch diameters, ball or roller
diameters, and operating speed. They are often accompanied by
harmonics and operating speed sidebands. Formulas commonly
used are given below.

P = Pitch diameter N = Number of rolling elements

D = Rolling element diameter C = Contact angle
f = Frequency S = Operating speed (rpm)
N S D
Outer Race f = ( )( ) (1 - cos C)
2 60 P

N S D
Inner Race fn = ( )( ) (1 + cos C)
2 60 P

Ball Defect

P S
fn = ( ) ( )
2D 60 [B
1 + ( )2 cos C2
D ]
1 S B
Fundamental Train f = ( ) ( ) (1 - cos C)
2 60 D
(Worn cage)

65
 [Link]

Frequency Range for Shock

Measurements
100,000
5
2
10,000
5
High-frequency cut-off
2
1,000
5 Frequency response should
2 be flat within these limits
Frequency, Hz

100
5
2
10
5
2
1
5
2 Low-frequency cut-off
0.1
5
2
0.01
1 0.2 0.5 1 2 5 10 20 50 100 200 500
Pulse duration, ms

Suggested instrument frequency range for measuring shocks of

known pulse duration

Machine Vibration Severity

45

28 NOT PERMISSIBLE
NOT PERMISSIBLE
18 NOT PERMISSIBLE
NOT PERMISSIBLE
11.2 JUST TOLERABLE

7.1 JUST TOLERABLE

rms velocity, mm/s

4.5 JUST TOLERABLE ALLOWABLE

2.8 JUST TOLERABLE ALLOWABLE

1.8 ALLOWABLE GOOD
GOOD
1.12 ALLOWABLE Large machines
GOOD
0.71 Large machines operating at
GOOD with rigid and speeds above
0.45 Medium machines heavy foundations foundation
15 – 75 kW or up to whose natural natural frequency
0.28 Small machines, 300 kW on special frequency exceeds (eg., turbo
up to 15 kW foundations machine speed machines)
0.18

Vibration criteria, from VDI 2056, for rotating machines

66
 Yh Zh
in
100 Motion sickness Whole body m
30
to
Hand-arm up ns
50 tio
ra nd
v ib ha Xh
or he
s f o t rs
rie d t u
n da itte ho
20 u m -8
Bo ans 4
in tr
m
1
10 ay
1 gn peak
ax
Body Vibration

5 in
m rt
1 fo
m
Severe co min
discomfort ed -4
2 d uc 1
30 min Re

Acceleration m/s 2 rms

Tolerances for Human

1 t
m for s az
co ur az
ed ho
d uc 24
0.5 Re z
z
Fatigue decreased proficiency boundary

u rs
0.2 ho Reduced comfort boundary is 10 dB lower
24 Exposure limits are 6 dB higher

0.1
VIBRATION

67
0.1 0.2 0.5 1 2 5 10 20 50 100 200 500 1000 Hz
Frequency
Analysis

68
 FREQUENCY ANALYSIS

Glossary of Frequency
Analysis Terms
ALIASING ERROR
An error in digital sampling in which two frequencies cannot be
distinguished. Caused by sampling at less than twice the
maximum frequency in the signal.

BANDWIDTH (–3 dB)

The spacing between the frequencies at which a filter attenuates
by 3 dB. Normally expressed as frequency difference for constant
bandwidth filters and as percentage of centre frequency for
constant percentage bandwidth filters.

BANDWIDTH (EFFECTIVE NOISE)

The bandwidth of an ideal filter that would pass the same amount
of power from a white-noise source as the filter described. Used
to define bandwidth of third-octave and octave filters and for
calculation of PSD.

CENTRE FREQUENCY
The arithmetic centre of a constant bandwidth filter, or the
geometric centre (midpoint on a logarithmic scale) of a constant
percentage bandwidth filter.

CONSTANT BANDWIDTH FILTER

A filter that has fixed frequency bandwidth, regardless of centre
frequency.

CONSTANT PERCENTAGE BANDWIDTH (CPB) FILTER

A filter whose bandwidth is a fixed percentage of centre frequency.

DEGREES OF FREEDOM, STATISTICAL

A measure of the statistical reliability of random signal data.

DISCRETE FOURIER TRANSFORM

A version of the Fourier transform applicable to a finite number
of discrete samples.

69
[Link]

ENERGY SPECTRAL DENSITY (ESD)

An energy spectral density scale is the correct scale to use for
displaying spectral content of transient signals. Power has no
meaning in relation to transient signals, since the signal only lasts
for a short period of time. However, the energy of transient
signals is meaningful. What is actually measured is the ESD,
which is the energy of the transient as a function of frequency,
normalized both for analysis bandwidth and the duration of the
record length. ESD is measured in units squared times seconds per
hertz.

EXPONENTIAL WEIGHTING
Used in impact testing on lightly damped systems or for system
analysis using burst random excitation when the signals do not
decay sufficiently within the time records. A decaying exponen-
tial weighting function specified by a starting point and a time
constant.

FAST FOURIER TRANSFORM (FFT)

A fast method for computing the discrete Fourier transform.

FLAT-TOP WEIGHTING
A smooth, narrow time-weighting function that is zero at the
beginning and end of the time record and is used for calibration
measurements. Named for the low ripple (0.01 dB) in the
passband of ±½ line of the centre frequency. Low ripple gives
only small errors in amplitude measurements. The maximum
picket-fence error is 0.01 dB, which gives very high amplitude
accuracy in analysis of discrete frequency components.

FOURIER TRANSFORM
A mathematical operation for decomposing a time function into
its frequency components (amplitude and phase). The process is
reversible, and the signal can be reconstructed from its Fourier
components.

HANNING WEIGHTING
An amplitude weighting of the time signal. Used in FFT analysis
of continuous signals to give them a smooth onset and cut-off in
the FFT record in order to reduce the generation of side lobes in
their frequency spectrum.
The maximum picket-fence error is 1.4 dB.

70
 FREQUENCY ANALYSIS

IDEAL FILTER
A filter having a rectangularly shaped characteristic, unity amplitude
transfer within its passband and zero transfer outside its passband.

KAISER-BESSEL WEIGHTING
This is a smooth weighting function similar to Hanning. It is zero
at the beginning and end of the time record. Compared to
Hanning it has better selectivity but a wider effective noise
bandwidth. The maximum picket-fence error is 1.0 dB.

OCTAVE FILTER
A filter whose upper-to-lower passband limits bear a ratio of 2.
Relevant standards include IEC 1260, DIN 45651, ANSI S1.11 and
ISO  266.

ORDER ANALYSIS
A form of frequency analysis, used with rotating machines,
where the amplitude of the signal frequency components is
plotted as a function of multiples of the rotating frequency.

PASSBAND
The range of frequencies between the filter cut-off frequencies.

PINK NOISE
Broadband noise whose energy content is inversely proportional
to frequency (–3 dB/octave or –10 dB/decade).

PREFERRED FREQUENCIES
A set of standardized octave and third-octave centre fre-
[Link] standards include ISO 266, IEC 1260 and
ANSI  S1.11.

POWER SPECTRAL DENSITY (PSD)

A power spectral density scale is the correct scale to use for
displaying spectral content of random signals. Since random
signals have continuous spectra, the amount of power transmitted
by the analysing filter will depend on the filter bandwidth. Hence,
it is usual to normalize the measurement with respect to the
analysis bandwidth, and measure PSD. PSD is measured in units
squared per hertz.

71
[Link]

POWER (PWR)
A power scale is useful for displaying stationary deterministic
signals. The power of a signal is the mean value of the squared
signal. This is the square of the rms value.

ROOT MEAN SQUARE (RMS)

A root mean square (rms) scale is useful for displaying determini-
stic signals. Deterministic signals are frequently described in
terms of their rms amplitude as a function of frequency. For a
voltage signal, the rms is measured in volts (V). The rms is the
square root of the averaged power.

SAMPLING THEOREM
A theorem that states that a signal is completely described if it is
sampled at a rate twice its highest frequency component.

THIRD-OCTAVE FILTER
A filter whose upper-to-lower passband limits bear a ratio of 21/3.
Relevant standards include IEC 1260, DIN 456551, ANSI S1.11
and ISO 266.

TRANSIENT WEIGHTING
Used when performing impact testing to apply a transient
window to the excitation force pulse. The transient window is
uniform and all samples outside the window are set to zero.
This has the effect of improving the signal-to-noise ratio for
the measurement.

UNIFORM WEIGHTING
Also known as rectangular, flat or box-car. It has unity value
within the record length and zero value outside. The time record
remains unchanged.

WHITE NOISE
Broadband noise having same power spectral density at all
frequencies.

72
 FREQUENCY ANALYSIS

Confidence Limits
Confidence limits describe the uncertainty in measuring the level
of random signals in finite periods of time. Confidence limits are
a function of the number of statistical degrees of freedom, 2BT,
where B is the filter bandwidth and T is the effective measure-
ment time (integrating time or recording duration, whichever is
shortest) in seconds.

Assume a bandwidth of 5 Hz and an integrating time of 1 s,

that is 10 degrees of freedom. The graph below shows that
there will be 99% confidence that the measured value is within
about +6/–4 dB of the true rms level, or 90% confidence that it
is within about +4/–3 dB. For ±0.5 uncertainty, 200 degrees of
freedom are required at 90% confidence.
+10
+8
+6
99%
+4
+2
Uncertainty, dB

0 90%
-2
-4
-6 99%
-8
-10

1 2 5 10 20 50 100 200 500 1000

Degrees of freedom, 2 BT

Confidence limits as a function of degrees of freedom

Effective measurement
time, seconds

10 1 95% Confidence limits

Uncertainty, dB

2
4
8
0

-10

20 31.5 50 80 125 200 315 500 800

16 25 40 63 100 160 250 400 630 1000
Third-octave frequency band

Confidence limits for third-octave analysis

73
[Link]

Third-octave and Octave

Passbands
Band Nominal 1/3-octave Octave
No. Centre Passbands Passbands
Frequency (Hz) (Hz) (Hz)
1 1.25 1.12 – 1.41
2 1.6 1.41 – 1.78
3 2 1.78 – 2.24 1.41 – 2.82
4 2.5 2.24 – 2.82
5 3.15 2.82 – 3.55
6 4 3.55 – 4.47 2.82 – 5.62
7 5 4.47 – 5.62
8 6.3 5.62 – 7.08
9 8 7.08 – 8.91 5.62 – 11.2
10 10 8.91 – 11.2
11 12.5 11.2 – 14.1
12 16 14.1 – 17.8 11.2 – 22.4
13 20 17.8 – 22.4
14 25 22.4 – 28.2
15 31.5 28.2 – 35.5 22.4 – 44.7
16 40 35.5 – 44.7
17 50 44.7 – 56.2
18 63 56.2 – 70.8 44.7 – 89.1
19 80 70.8 – 89.1
20 100 89.1 – 112
21 125 112 – 141 89.1 – 178
22 160 141 – 178
23 200 178 – 224
24 250 224 – 282 178 – 355
25 315 282 – 355
26 400 355 – 447
27 500 447 – 562 355 – 708
28 630 562 – 708
29 800 708 – 891
30 1000 891 – 1120 708 – 1.41 k
31 1250 1120 – 1410
32 1600 1410 – 1780
33 2000 1780 – 2240 1.41 k – 2.82 k
34 2500 2240 – 2820
35 3150 2820 – 3550
36 4000 3550 – 4470 2.82 k – 5.62 k
37 5000 4470 – 5620
38 6300 5620 – 7080
39 8000 7080 – 8910 5.62 k – 11.2 k
40 10k 8910 – 11200
41 12.5k 11.2 – 14.1k
42 16k 14. 1 – 17.8k 11.2 k – 22.4k
43 20k 17.8 – 22.4k

74
 FREQUENCY ANALYSIS

Preferred Frequencies
Octave and third-octave filters are centred at preferred
frequencies defined in ISO 266. Although nominal frequencies are
used to identify the filters, the true centre frequencies of
third-octave filters are calculated from 10 n/10, where n is the
band number.

Band Exact Frequency Band Exact Frequency

No. (Hz) No. (Hz)
0 1 6 3.9811
1 1.2589 7 5.0119
2 1.5849 8 6.3096
3 1.9953 9 7.9433
4 2.5119 10 10
5 3.1623 11 12.589

Because of the way their centre frequencies are generated,

third-octave filters are often referred to as one-tenth decade fil-
ters. Octave filters are successive sets of three third-octave filters,
starting with bands 2 – 4.

Why a Logarithmic
Amplitude Scale?
10 10 140
Acceleration, m/s2

Acceleration, m/s2

8 3 130
dB re 1 μm/s2

6 1 120
4 0.3 110
2 0.1 100
0 0.03 90
Frequency, Hz Frequency, Hz

Critical vibration components can occur at low amplitudes com-

pared to the rotational frequency vibration. These components
are not revealed on a linear amplitude scale because low ampli-
tudes are compressed at the bottom of the scale. But a logarith-
mic scale shows prominent vibration components equally well at
any amplitude. Moreover, percentage change in amplitude can
be read directly as a dB change. Therefore, noise and vibration
frequency analyses are usually plotted on a logarithmic ampli-
tude scale.
75
Shock
Response

76
 SHOCK RESPONSE

Glossary of Shock
Response Terms
COMPOSITE SHOCK RESPONSE SPECTRUM
Envelope of the primary and residual shock response spectra.

CRITICAL DAMPING
Critical damping is the minimum viscous damping that will allow
a displaced system to return to its initial position without oscil-
lation.

DAMPING RATIO
The fraction of critical damping for a system with viscous
damping. It is the ratio of the actual damping coefficient c to the
critical damping coefficient.

DRIFT
Acceleration can also contain a drift that can be estimated from
data obtained after the shock when the acceleration should have
returned to zero. This drift can be mathematically removed from
the input data prior to computing the shock response. This
technique does not consider the shock itself and is not influenced
by asymmetric shocks like the half-sine.

EQUIVALENT STATIC ACCELERATION

A quantity computed from the relative displacement response by
multiplying it by the square of the angular natural frequency. It
has the dimensions of acceleration.

FREE VIBRATION
Free vibration is the vibration that occurs after the removal of an
excitation or restraint.

MECHANICAL SHOCK
Mechanical shock is a non-periodic excitation of a mechanical
system that is characterized by a suddenness and severity. It
usually causes significant relative displacements in the system.

NEGATIVE SHOCK RESPONSE SPECTRUM (NEGATIVE SRS)

SRS where the maximum value is taken in the negative direction
of the response.

77
[Link]

POSITIVE SHOCK RESPONSE SPECTRUM (POSITIVE SRS)

SRS where the maximum value is taken in the positive direction
of the response.

PRIMARY SHOCK RESPONSE SPECTRUM (PRIMARY SRS)

SRS where the maximum value is taken during the time of the
shock (looking at the forced response of the structure). Also
called the initial shock response spectrum.

PSEUDO ACCELERATION
See Equivalent Static Acceleration.

PSEUDO VELOCITY
A quantity computed from the relative displacement response
by multiplying it by the angular natural frequency. It has the
dimensions of velocity.

RESIDUAL SHOCK RESPONSE SPECTRUM (RESIDUAL SRS)

SRS where the maximum value is taken after the shock has taken
place. The structure is in free vibration. Also called the secondary
shock response spectrum.

SINGLE DEGREE OF FREEDOM SYSTEM (SDOF)

Single Degree of Freedom is used for a simple mechanical system
for which the motion can be described with a single coordinate. This
system is characterized by a lumped mass m, a linear spring with
stiffness, k, and a viscous damper with damping coefficient, c.

SHOCK RESPONSE
Response of a mechanical system to a shock. The response can
be acceleration, velocity or displacement depending upon the
model selected.

SHOCK RESPONSE SPECTRUM (SRS)

The maximal response of the SDOF system subject to a given
shock. It is computed as function of the resonance frequency of
the system, usually for a fixed damping value. The resulting table
or plot is the shock response spectrum. The response can be
expressed in terms of acceleration, velocity or displacement.

78
 SHOCK RESPONSE

VELOCITY SHOCK
Velocity shock is a particular type of shock motion characterized
by a sudden velocity change of the base of a structure.

VISCOUS DAMPING
Viscous damping is the dissipation of energy that occurs when a
particle in a vibration system is resisted by a force with a
magnitude proportional to the magnitude of the velocity of the
particle and direction opposite to the moving direction of the
particle.

ZERO SHIFT
The quality of accelerometer data can be adversely affected
during shock events. The sensing elements can be overstressed,
which may lead to a zero shift in the acceleration time history.
This in turn distorts the low-frequency region of the shock
response spectrum. This should be avoided in the data
acquisition stage, but a DC offset from the acceleration input can
still be removed before computing the shock response spectrum.
When this is desired, the input to the SRS should contain some
data before the shock starts. The average of these first samples
provides an estimate of the DC offset.

ZERO VELOCITY CHANGE

For pyroshock applications, it can be desirable to force the end
velocity of the input to zero before computing the shock
response. The velocity is computed by integrating the acceleration
signal over the total record. If there is a residual velocity, it is
forced to zero by adjusting the average acceleration.

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