NOISE

Fundamentals of Noise
 What is NOISE?
Noise is generated by a sound source
 What is NOISE?
Noise is generated by a sound source
 What is NOISE?
Noise is generated by a sound source
 What is NOISE?
Noise is generated by a sound source
 What is NOISE?
Noise is generated by a sound source
 What is NOISE?

The vibration of the source compresses and

decompresses the ambient air

Time
 What is NOISE?

The vibration of the source compresses and

decompresses the ambient air

+
+

Time
 What is NOISE?

The vibration of the source compresses and

decompresses the ambient air

++
++

Time
 What is NOISE?

The vibration of the source compresses and

decompresses the ambient air

+
+

Time
 What is NOISE?

The vibration of the source compresses and

decompresses the ambient air

Time
 What is NOISE?

The vibration of the source compresses and

decompresses the ambient air

-
-

Time
 What is NOISE?

The vibration of the source compresses and

decompresses the ambient air

--
--

Time
 What is NOISE?

The vibration of the source compresses and

decompresses the ambient air

-
-

Time
 What is NOISE?

The vibration of the source compresses and

decompresses the ambient air

Time
 What is NOISE?

The vibration of the source compresses and

decompresses the ambient air

+
+

Time
 What is NOISE?

The vibration of the source compresses and

decompresses the ambient air

++
++

Time
 What is NOISE?

The vibration of the source compresses and

decompresses the ambient air

+
+

Time
 What is NOISE?

The vibration of the source compresses and

decompresses the ambient air

Time
 What is NOISE?

O
One fluctuation
fl t ti off the
th sound d wave is
i called
ll d a cycle
l
The number of fluctuations per unit of time is called
frequency
The unit of frequency is cycles per second or Hertz
(Hz)
Cycle

Time
 What is NOISE?

These pressure waves of the air are radiated

The
Th human
h eardrum
d is
i a membraneb that
th t
moves forwards and backwards as the air
pressure waves reach it
it. This movement is
sensed as hearing.
 What is NOISE?

Th
The loudness
l d off the
th sound
d is
i detemined
d t i d by
b
the amplitude of the soundwave

quiet loud

+p +pp

-p Time
-p Time
 What is NOISE?

Th
The pitch
it h off the
th sound
d is
i detemined
d t i d by
b the
th
frequency of the soundwave

low pitch high pitch

Time Time
 What is Noise?
Sound Pressure is the quadratic mean value
of the fluctuating pressure variances
It can be measured with a suitable
microphone

+p
SP= ( + p ) + ( p )

-p Time
 What is NOISE?
Sound Power is the total acoustic energy
which radiates from the sound source.
source
Although the radiated power is extremely
small,
ll comparedd with
ith the
th total
t t l power usedd
by the source, it is, in general, proportional
to the size and horsepower of the source.
source
Once established, sound power level is a
constant for a given source and is not
affected by the environment
the so
soundnd po
power
er cannot be directly
directl
measured, it has to be derived from the
sound pressure
Typical Sound Power values
of different sources:
Source Sound Power in W atts
p
Jet airplane at take-off 10,000
,
1000
Large Orchestra 100
10
Blaring Radio 1
0,1
Shouting Voice 0 001
0.001
0.0001
Conversational Speech 0.00001
0 000001
0.000001
Electric Clock 0.0000001
0.00000001
Soft W hisper 0.000000001
0.0000000001
Human Breath 0.00000000001
 Decibel

B
Because off th
the broad
b d range off sound
d power
encountered, sound power is usually
expressed in dimensionless units called
decibels (dB), rather than Watts, and is then
called Sound Power Level
The decibel scale is a logarithmic ratio that
makes the numbers much more manageable
The ratio refers to the threshold of hearing:
P0 = 10-12
12 Watt

Lw in dB = 10 log P/P0
 Decibel
Sound Pressure is the quantity y which ears
detect as sound
Sound Pressure is also usually y expressed
p
in decibels and is then called Sound
Pressure Level
Sound Pressure Level is not a constant - it
varies with both environment and distance
from the source
The scale ratio refers to the threshold of
hearing: p0 = 2*10-5 Pa
Lp in dB = 20 logg p/p
p p0
 Decibel

A conversion of Sound Pressure into Sound

Power is possible with the following
formula:
Lw = Lp + 10 log S/S0 S0 = 1 m
m

S = surface area of the measurement surface in square meters

 Decibel

Sound waves travel out from an object that

stands on the floor on a reflective plane in
concentric hemispheres

S = 2 * * R
R

e.g. R = 10 m S = 2 * 3,14 * (10m) S = 628m

 Decibel
In accordance with ISO 3774 the imaginary
g y
surface can also be a rectangular box
(parallelepiped method)
H = Height of Sound Source
R W = Width of Sound Source
D = Depth
p of Sound Source
D S1 = (H+R) * (W+2R)
H S2 = (H+R) * (D+2R)
S3 = (W+2R) * (D+2R)
W S = 2*S1 + 2*S2 + 1*S3
e.g. R = 10 m, H = 1m, W = 2m, D = 1m
S = 1408m
 Decibel
Lets assume the sound power of the source is
100 dB
A conversion with the formula Lp = Lw - 10 log
S/S0 yields
i ld in
i case off a hemispheric
h i h i surface:
f
Lp = 100dB - 10 log 826 = 100 - 28 = 72dB
and yields in case of a rectangular box:
Lp = 100dB - 10 log
l 1870 = 100 - 31.5
31 5 = 68.5dB
68 5dB
Although
g the Sound Power and the given
g
distances are the same the parallelepiped
surface g
gives a lower Sound Pressure Level!
 Decibel
In case of the hemispheric surface we double
the distance R (the Sound Power remains
constant)
Lp = Lw - 10 llog S/S0
Lp1 = Lw - 10 log (2**R) Lp2 = Lw - 10 log (2**(2R))
l (2**R) - Lw + 10 log
Lp1 - Lp2 = Lw - 10 log l (2**(2R))
Lp1 - Lp2 = 10 log (2**(2R)) - 10 log (2**R)
Lp1 - Lp2 = 10 llog [(2**(2R)) / (2**R)]
Lp1 - Lp2 = 10 log [4] = 6 dB

By doubling the distance, the Sound

Pressure Level is reduced byy 6 db
 Decibel

Addition of Sound Sources

dB =10 + log n

5 10 15 20 25
Number of Sources
 Decibel
Addition of 2 Sound Sources
3
und Level dB

2
dB =10 + log (1 + 10(L2-L1)/10)
Increase in Sou

0
0 5 10 15 20
Difference in Sound Level
 Decibel

Th
The logarithmic
l ith i characteristic
h t i ti off the
th Sound
S d
Level yields the following rules:

Adding two Sound sources of equal Sound

L
Levell means tot add
dd 3 dB on the
th total
t t l
value!
Addi two
Adding t Sound
S d sources with
ith a
difference in Sound Level more than 10 dB
means that
th t the
th lower
l level
l l is
i negligable
li bl
 Frequencies
q
Except for pure tones (single frequencies of
sound), most sounds consist of a combination
of many thousands of frequencies.
Separating these frequencies into various
divisions is termed "Spectral
p Analysis".
y
The common form is the octave band analysis.
Each octave band is identified by its center
frequency.
Each successive octave center frequency is
double the previous one.
 Frequencies
q
Upper and Lower Center Band No.
Limits - Hz Frequency -Hz
45
63 1
90
125 2
180
250 3
355
500 4
710
1000 5
1400
2000 6
2800
4000 7
5600
8000 8
11200
 Frequencies
q
The human ear detects frequencies in the range
between 20 and 20,000
20 000 Hz
Hz.
The intensity by which the sound is perceived
d
depends
d on the
th emitted
itt d frequencies
f i

A hi
high
h frequency
f
hissing noise is
experienced
i d more
disturbing as
compared d to
t low
l
frequency rumbling
noise
i
 Frequencies
q

M
Methods
th d have
h been
b developed
d l d to
t evaluate
l t the
th
noise by its frequency pattern
The
Th two most common methods h d are the
h dB(A)
evaluation and the NC (Noise Critera) curves.
 dB(A)-Evaluation
( )

F
For the
th different
diff t frequency
f octave
t bands
b d off
the sound an analysis is made
The sound is split into octave frequency
bands and fixed dB values are subtracted for
the different bands
Octave Band 63 Hz 125 Hz 250 Hz 500 Hz 1 kHz 2 kHz 4 kHz 8 kHz
A Scale
A-Scale -26.2
26 2 dB -16.1
16 1 dB -8.6
8 6 dB -3.2
3 2 dB -0
0 dB +1 2 dB +1
+1.2 +1.0
0 dB -1.1
1 1 dB

Afterwards the frequencies are added up

again i.e. to obtain the total noise level
 dB(A)-Evaluation
( )
For example the following sound analysis is
made
Octave Band 63 Hz 125 Hz 250 Hz 500 Hz 1 kHz 2 kHz 4 kHz 8 kHz
Sound Split 50.2 dB 56.1 dB 59.6 dB 52.2 dB 49.0 dB 43.8 dB 35.0 dB 30.1 dB
A-Scale -26.2 dB -16.1 dB -8.6 dB -3.2 dB -0 dB +1.2 dB +1.0 dB -1.1 dB
corrected 24 dB 40 dB 51 dB 49 dB 49 dB 45 dB 36 dB 29 dB
 dB(A)-Evaluation
( )

Additi
Addition off 2 Sound
S d Sources
S
3
dB
nd Level d

dBtotal =10 * log (10(L1/10) - 10(L2/10))

2
3 dB is added
ase in Soun

1
Increa

0
0 5 10 15 20
Difference in Sound Level
 dB(A)-Evaluation
( )
For example the following sound analysis is
made
Octave Band 63 Hz 125 Hz 250 Hz 500 Hz 1 kHz 2 kHz 4 kHz 8 kHz
Sound Split 50.2 dB 56.1 dB 59.6 dB 52.2 dB 49.0 dB 43.8 dB 35.0 dB 30.1 dB
A-Scale -26.2 dB -16.1 dB -8.6 dB -3.2 dB -0 dB +1.2 dB +1.0 dB -1.1 dB
corrected 24 dB 40 dB 51 dB 49 dB 49 dB 45 dB 36 dB 29 dB

52 dB
 dB(A)-Evaluation
( )
Addition of 2 Sound Sources
3
und Level dB

dBtotal =10 * log (10(L1/10) - 10(L2/10))

2
2.54 dB is added
Increase in Sou

0
0 1 5 10 15 20
Difference in Sound Level
 dB(A)-Evaluation
( )
For example the following sound analysis is
made
Octave Band 63 Hz 125 Hz 250 Hz 500 Hz 1 kHz 2 kHz 4 kHz 8 kHz
Sound Split 50.2 dB 56.1 dB 59.6 dB 52.2 dB 49.0 dB 43.8 dB 35.0 dB 30.1 dB
A-Scale -26.2 dB -16.1 dB -8.6 dB -3.2 dB -0 dB +1.2 dB +1.0 dB -1.1 dB
corrected 24 dB 40 dB 51 dB 49 dB 49 dB 45 dB 36 dB 29 dB

52 dB

54.5 dB
 dB(A)-Evaluation
( )
Addition of 2 Sound Sources
3
und Level dB

dBtotal =10 * log (10(L1/10) - 10(L2/10))

2
0.5 dB is added
Increase in Sou

0.5

0
0 5 9.5 10 15 20
Difference in Sound Level
 dB(A)-Evaluation
( )
For example the following sound analysis is
made
Octave Band 63 Hz 125 Hz 250 Hz 500 Hz 1 kHz 2 kHz 4 kHz 8 kHz
Sound Split 50.2 dB 56.1 dB 59.6 dB 52.2 dB 49.0 dB 43.8 dB 35.0 dB 30.1 dB
A-Scale -26.2 dB -16.1 dB -8.6 dB -3.2 dB -0 dB +1.2 dB +1.0 dB -1.1 dB
corrected 24 dB 40 dB 51 dB 49 dB 49 dB 45 dB 36 dB 29 dB

52 dB

54.5 dB

55 dB
 dB(A)-Evaluation
( )
Addition of 2 Sound Sources
3
und Level dB

dBtotal =10 * log (10(L1/10) - 10(L2/10))

2
addition negligable
Increase in Sou

0
0 5 10 15 20
Difference in Sound Level
 dB(A)-Evaluation
( )
For example the following sound analysis is
made
Octave Band 63 Hz 125 Hz 250 Hz 500 Hz 1 kHz 2 kHz 4 kHz 8 kHz
Sound Split 50.2 dB 56.1 dB 59.6 dB 52.2 dB 49.0 dB 43.8 dB 35.0 dB 30.1 dB
A-Scale -26.2 dB -16.1 dB -8.6 dB -3.2 dB -0 dB +1.2 dB +1.0 dB -1.1 dB
corrected 24 dB 40 dB 51 dB 49 dB 49 dB 45 dB 36 dB 29 dB

52 dB

54.5 dB

55 dB Total scaled value:

55 dB(A)
55 dB
 NC-Evaluation
Another, more graphical, method to evaluate the
noise is plotting the values on the NC-diagram
80 NC value:
max. value is touching
70 the NC 50 curve 50 NC
NC 65
60
NC 60
NC 55
50
NC 50
NC 45
dB

40
NC 40
NC 35
30
NC 30
NC 25
20
NC 20
NC 15
10

0
1000

2000

4000

8000
63

125

250

500

Octave Band Frequencies in Hz

 Room-Effect
Perhaps the best way to explain the Room-Effect is by
means of an example. Consider a car horn. You are sitting in
your car inside your garage and you blow the horn. It sounds
loud doesn't
loud, doesn t it? In fact
fact, it sounds much louder than it would if
you were to blow it while travelling down the open highway.
What is the difference? Well, what you hear is sound
pressure, and d it varies
i withith th
the environment.
i t HHowever,
the sound power emitted by the
horn is the same in both cases;; it
doesn't vary.
 Room-Effect
The radiated noise on the open highway emits in a
hemisphere called free field
hemisphere, field, as explained before
before. The noise
in the garage is reflected and absorbed by the walls. The
conversion from sound p power into sound p pressure within the
room can be calculated as well.
und

Incident
bed Sou

Sound
Absorb

Transmitted Reflected
Sound Sound
A
 Room-Effect
The formula to do so is rather complicated:
p
Lw - Lp = 10 * log[Q/(4**a)+4/A]-1
Lw......Sound Power in dB
Lp.......Sound Pressure in dB
Q
Q........Factor
F t off di
direction
ti
a.........Distance from sound source
A........Reveberation Area in m Sabin
A = 0.164 * V/T
V........Room Volume
T........Reveberation Time
or A = am * A1
am......Absorption Factor of the room
A1......Total inner surface of the room
 Room-Effect

Factor of direction Q: Lw - Lp = 10 * log[Q/(4**a)+4/A]-1

1 = spherical Q=1
2 = hemispherical Q = 2
4 3 = quadrospherical Q = 4
4 = octospherical Q=8
2
1

3
 Room-Effect
Factor of direction Q:

Assume a p person is equal

q
distant to every noise source

5m
5m

5m 5m
 Room-Effect
Factor of direction Q

1 = spherical
p Q=1

Sound radiates in every

direction is partly reflected by
remote walls before it reaches
the listener
 Room-Effect
Factor of direction Q

4 = octospherical Q=8

The possibility of the sound to

emit is reduced to 1/8 of the
sphere and sound is radiated in
a more direct way to the
listener.
Thus the room attenuation is
less.
 Room-Effect
Type of Room T (s)
Reveberation time T: A t
Apartmentst 05
0,5 0 33
0,33
Restaurants 1 0,16
Hospitals
g[ ( p ) ]-1
Lw - Lp = 10 * log[Q/(4*p*a)+4/A] Private Rooms 1 0,16
0 16
Corridors, Public Areas, Wards 2 0,08
A = 0.164 * Operating rooms 3 0,05
V/T Offices
A=a*V Office Areas 0,5 0,33
Conference Rooms 1 0,16
School Lecture and Classrooms 1 0,16
The reveberation time M
Museum 15
1,5 0 11
0,11
is defined as the time Cinemas 1 0,16
Theaters and Operas 1 0,16
,in seconds, needed for
Libraries 1 0 16
0,16
the reveberation to Churches 3 0,05
decrease by 60 dB Sports Halls 1,5 0,11
Swimming Halls 2 0,08
 Room-Effect
Reveberation coefficient a:
A = 0.164 * V/T A=a*V
If you theoretically divide the inner surface of a room into
total reflective surface and total absorptive surface then the
reveberation coefficient
ff is a value that represents the total
absorptive surface.
For example you have a tiled floor
floor. This floor
is mainly reflective. If you put a carpet there, this floor is
converted into a mainlyy absorptive
p surface. Thus the a-
value will increase.
 Room-Effect

After determining the Q

Q-value,
value the reveberation
surface (in Sabine) and the distance from the
source you can use the following chart i.e.
i e to
find the dB-correction for the room effect. The
curves are derived from the given formula
formula.
 Room-Effect
0 A=
10 m
5
20 m
10 50 m

100 m
15
200 m
20 500 m
dB =
1000 m
25
2000 m

30 5000 m

10000 m
35
A=~
40
Q=8

Q=4

Q=2
Q=1
a = 1m 2m 5m 10m 12m
 Noise Sources

The primary sources of noise in air

conditioning systems are the compressors
and the fans
The amount of sound energy produced is
dependent on the component type
Noise values, which are split into octave
bands are given for most A/C-products
bands, A/C products
For a combination of compressors and fans
in general the fan noise is the dominant one
 Noise Sources

In general,
general fans selected at the required
airflow and static pressure, for the lowest
RPM at or near the maximum efficiency,
RPM, efficiency will
produce the lowest sound power values
At different RPMs the fan will produce
different noise levels
That means the emitted noise of a fan can
be reduced by reducing the fan speed (e.g.
by multiple speed motors or frequency
inverters)
 Noise Sources

The generated sound of Air Cooled Chillers

or outdoor Air Handlingg Units can be
reduced by reducing the fan speed. With
lower ambient temperatures
p e.g.
g during
g the
night there is no need to run the fans at
high
g speed
p anyway.
y y

In accordance with the fan laws the airflow is

reduced proportional with the fan RPM
 Noise Sources
Sound Power Reduction
at reduced Fan RPM
40.0 n ref = 500 rpm
wer

30.0
n ref = 1000 rpm
Deviatiion in Sound Pow

20.0 n ref = 1500 rpm

10.0 n ref = 2000 rpm

n ref = 2500 rpm
0.0 n ref = 3000 rpm
-10.0

-20.0

-30.0

-40.0
0 500 1000 1500 2000 2500 3000
n2
RPM L w 2 = L w 1 + 5 0 lg
n1
 Noise Reduction
Before we introduce the possibilities to
reduce the sound we look at the
transmission paths from the source to the
receiver
a) through the duct
d) b) through
th h th
the opening
i
a)
b) c) radiated by the wall
d) radiated by the duct
e) vibration of the floor

c)

e)
 Noise Reduction
a) through the duct
Use Attenuators and Duct Lining
 Noise Reduction
Former example with attenuators
Octave Band 63 Hz 125 Hz 250 Hz 500 Hz 1 kHz 2 kHz 4 kHz 8 kHz
Sound Split 50.2 dB 56.1 dB 59.6 dB 52.2 dB 49.0 dB 43.8 dB 35.0 dB 30.1 dB
Attenuator 1 -15 dB -10 dB -5 dB 0db 0db 0db 0db 0db
AS l
A-Scale -26.2
26 2 dB -16.1
16 1 dB -8.6
8 6 dB -3.2
3 2 dB -0
0 dB +1.2
1 2 dB +1.0
1 0 dB -1.1
1 1 dB
corrected 9 dB 30 dB 46 dB 49 dB 49 dB 45 dB 36 dB 29 dB
Lw = 54dB(A)
Octave Band 63 Hz 125 Hz 250 Hz 500 Hz 1 kHz 2 kHz 4 kHz 8 kHz
Sound Split 50.2 dB 56.1 dB 59.6 dB 52.2 dB 49.0 dB 43.8 dB 35.0 dB 30.1 dB
Attenuator 2 0db 0db -10 dB -15 dB -5 dB 0db 0db 0db
A Scale
A-Scale -26.2
26 2 dB -16.1
16 1 dB -8.6
8 6 dB -3.2
3 2 dB -0
0 dB +1 2 dB +1.0
+1.2 +1 0 dB -1.1
1 1 dB
corrected 24 dB 40 dB 41 dB 34 dB 44 dB 45 dB 36 dB 29 dB
Lw = 49dB(A)
Both attenuators have the same values but in different
frequency bands. A spectral analysis is always necessary to
evaluate the q
quality
y of the attenuator.
 Noise Reduction
b) through the opening
Reduce Opening Size and use Attenuators
 Noise Reduction
c) radiated by the wall
Use a good Enclosure to reduce the Noise
Radiation of the Unit
 Noise Reduction
d) radiated by the duct
Use a stiff (spiral) Duct located above a
Suspended Ceilings
 Noise Reduction
e) vibration of the floor
Use Isolators
 Noise Reduction

The best way to minimise noise

problems is to optimise the efficiency =
duty/BHP of the machine and place the
machine as remote as possible from the
receiver!
 Vibration
Due to the inbalance of a machine a mechanical
force is transmitted into the floor
Force is defined as mass * acceleration F = m m*a
a
The inbalance of the machine forces the floor to
vibrate as well and to radiate the noise at a
remote place
Therefore isolators are used that are deflected
by the mechanical force. The deflection
absorbes the mechanical energy to a certain
degree and thus reduces the transmitted force.
 Vibration
inbalanced weight m1
F = m1*a

l1
m l2
m

springs absorb the biggest part of the energy and

convert it into heat
 Vibration
The ratio of transmitted force versus the
disturbing force is called permeability.
Ftrans 1 + 4*D*
D = =
Fdist (1 - ) + 4*D*
D......Isolation Factor of the used material
.......Frequency Ratio fdist / f0

The vibration isolation factor I is defined as:

= 1 D
 Vibration
Typical values for the isolation factor D are:
Material Factor D
Steel 0,0002
Rubber 0.025...0.15
Cork 0.05...0.1
Felt 0.1...0.15 For small values of D as for steel

1 + 4*D* 1 1
D = = =
(1 - ) + 4*D* (1 - ) (1 - )
 Vibration
A very critical form of vibration is the one
near the
th resonance frequency
f f0 off the
th
machine
1 c
f0 = m d
2* m

c...... spring constant in N/m

m......mass on the spring in N/(s2/m)

spring constant c = (m*g)/d

m*g = weight of machine
 Vibration
Abstimmung
100

unktionY

10
grerungsfu

1
keit D (Verg

0.1
Durchlssigk

0.01
D

0.001
0.1 1 10 100 1000
Ab ti
Abstimmung (F
(Frequenzverhltnis)
hlt i ) h = fs/fo
f /f
 Vibration
A good isolation is achieved if I > 90%
To
T obtain
bt i that
th t isolation
i l ti factor
f t the
th disturbance
di t b
frequency should be at least three times as large
as the resonance frequency
The RPM for resonance frequency can be
calculated
1 c 1 (m*g)/d 1 9.81
f0 = = =
2* m 2* m 2* d
300
n0 = f0 * 60 n0 ~
d
 Vibration

Th
The resonance RPM n0 is i defined
d fi d by
b the
th
static spring deflection
With the operating RPM nop minimum 3 times
as large as n0

300
nop = 3*n
3* 0 = 3 * d = (900 / nop))
d
d in
i cm
 Vibration
Vibration Isolation
10000
RPM
M

1000

Isolation = 95%
Isolation = 90%
Isolation = 80%
Rubber Isolation = 70%
Isolation = 60%
Spring Isolators
100 Resonance
0.1 1 10 100
Deflection in mm
 Resum

Th
The purpose off this
thi presentation
t ti was to
t give
i
you a general view on the subject noise, which
terms are used and what they mean.
mean
Certainly you cannot solve all noise problems
with the given knowledge
knowledge.
If noise problems occur, or you need to know
th noise
the i limits
li it for
f your area, the
th best
b t idea
id is
i
to contact a local noise engineer.