UNIT-4

ROOM
ACOUSTICS
BEHAVIOUR OF SOUND IN ENCLOSED
SPACES
An enclosed space is a room or area bounded on every of its sides.
The materials for enclosure may be classified into two:
• Those that allow sound rays to pass through and
• Those that do not allow sound rays to pass through. Areas bounded
with materials that allow sound rays to pass through tend to enjoy
good acoustic as the effect of indirect sound from reflection is
reduced within the space. In this space, sound from external source
can pass through the material into the enclosure as background
noise. The vibration of some of the materials can be a source of noise
within the space and this can be a bane to the achievement of clear
and audible speech and music.
The effect of indirect sound may be pronounced in spaces enclosed
with materials that do not allow the passage of sound rays through
them. Adjustments to the material to aid diffusion will improve the
acoustic of the space. Some of these materials can absorb sound,
reducing the effect of indirect sound.
The effect of indirect sound may be pronounced in spaces enclosed
with materials that do not allow the passage of sound rays through
them. Adjustments to the material to aid diffusion will improve the
acoustic of the space. Some of these materials can absorb sound,
reducing the effect of indirect sound.

On encountering barriers posed by the enclosure, sound waves are

likely to behave in the following ways:
• Reflection
• Absorption
• Refraction
• Diffusion
• Diffraction
• Transmission .
FACTORS THAT AFFECT THE BEHAVIOUR OF SOUND IN AN
ENCLOSED SPACE.
The way in which sound behaves in an enclosed space depends on
many factors which include:
• Reduction in its intensity of sound – This can results due to the
distance between its source and the receiver.
• Absorption of direct sound by the audience – The listeners of the
sound absorb some of the sound in the process of hearing.
• Absorption of direct and reflected sound by surfaces – The walls,
ceiling and floor of the enclosure absorbs and reflect sound waves
thereby controlling the way the sounds behave.
• Reflection of sounds from right-angled corners - Sound incident to a
right-angled corner of room will be reflected back towards source if
surfaces are acoustically reflective. This can in turn produce echoes
especially in large spaces. • Dispersion of the sides of an enclosure -
Reflections can be controlled by making one surface dispersive i.e. not
at right angle to each. This would have affected the reflection of the
sound thereby affecting its behaviour.
• Edge diffraction of sound - Edge diffraction results in the curvature of
part of a sound wave around the edge of a barrier. This causes the
obstacles to scatter the sound waves making it behave like a source of
sound.
• Sound shadow - Any barrier interrupting a sound wave will create a
shadow, synonymous to light rays. However, because of edge
diffraction some sound will creep into this but such penetration is
frequency dependent - high frequencies are less diffracted than
low frequencies. Such problems can occur in auditorium with
balconies.

• Primary reflection – This depends on the angle of incidence which

is equal to the angle of reflection. Also, the nature of sound
reflector is important. • Panel resonance - Sound waves can
propagate "through" a solid material by panel vibration. The sound
does not actually penetrate the material but rather causes this to
vibrate and act as a sound source itself. The panel will be vibrated
by both direct and reflected sound waves.
Sound Absorption
Coefficients:
All materials constituting the
boundaries of an enclosure
will absorb and reflect sound.
A fraction α of the incident
energy is absorbed and the
balance (1 – α) is reflected.
Reflection is indicated by the
reflection coefficient r
defined as
r =amplitude of reflected
wave amplitude of incident
wave.
Because the energy in a sound wave is proportional to the square
of the amplitude, the sound absorption coefficient α and the
reflection coefficient are related by α = 1−r2 The value of the sound
absorption coefficient α will vary with the frequency of the incident
ray and the angle of incidence. Materials comprising room surfaces
are subject to sound waves that impinge upon them from many
different angles as are- sult of multiple reflections. Hence, published
data for absorption coefficients are for “random” incidence as
distinguished from “normal” or “perpendicular” incidence.
The angle–absorption correlation appears to be of somewhat
erratic nature, but at high frequencies the absorption coefficients in
some materials is roughly constant at all angles. At low frequencies
the random-incidence absorption tends to be greater than for
normal incidence.
However, as Table shows, α varies considerably with frequency for
many materials, and the absorption coefficients are generally
measured at six standard frequencies: 125, 250, 500, 1000, 2000,
and 4000 Hz. Absorption occurs as the result of incident sound
penetrating and becoming entrapped in the absorbing material,
there by losing its vibrational energy that converts into heat through
friction.
Ordinarily the values of α should fall between zero for a perfect
reflector and unity for a perfect absorber. Measurements of
α>1.0 have been reported, owing possibly to diffraction at low
frequencies and other testing condition irregularities. Let α1, α2,
α3,...α i denote the absorption coefficient of different materials
of corresponding areas S1, S2, S3,....Si forming the interior
boundary planes (viz. the walls, ceiling and floor) of the room as
well as any other absorbing surfaces (e.g. furniture, draperies,
people, etc.). The average absorption coefficient α for an
enclosure is defined by
α = α1 S1+α2 S2+α3 S3+···+αi Si S1+S2+S3+···+Si = A/S
where A represents the total absorptive area(αi Si, and S the total
spatial area.
SOUND RAYS- DIAGRAMS
• Reflections from a flat
surface :
Figure illustrates the
geometry of sound reflections
from a flat surface. The
reflected wave fronts are
spherical and their center of
curvature is the ‘image’ of the
source of sound. The image is
on a line normal to the surface
and at the same distance
from the surface as the
source.
SOUND RAYS- DIAGRAMS
• Reflected sound rays :
The first drawing in fig 8 shows
that a reflected ‘sound ray’ is on a
radial from the image in the case
of a flat surface. The angle of
reflection of the ray is equal to the
angle of tis incidence to the
surface. The second drawing
shows that rays striking a curved
surface are each reflected so that
the angle of reflection is equal to
the angle of incidence opt radials
drawn at their points of contact.
Each ray will in effect have its own
image, the wave front will not be
spherical, and must be obtained
by drawing each ray of equal
total length and joining their ends.
• Reflections from curved surfaces :
Figs 9, 10 and 11 make a direct comparison between the reflections from
flat, convex and concave surfaces. The distance from the source to the
reflector is the same in each case, the cone of sound considered is the
same, and the time interval at which the wave fronts are drawn is the
same.
It will be seen, however, that the wave front from the convex surface is
considerably bigger than that from the flat surface, and the wave front
from the concave surface is considerably smaller. If follows then that
sound waves reflected from convex surfaces are more attenuated (and
therefore weaker) and sound waves reflected from concave surfaces are
more condensed (and therefore stronger) than is the case with a flat
surface. Sound reflected from a concave surface may eventually pass
through a region of focus if the curvature of the surface is sufficient relative
to the position of the source. Sound heard within this region may well be as
loud as that heard close to the source.
• Dispersion:
Sound striking a modeled surface will
be broken up into a number of small and
weak waves, providing the modeling of
the surface is bold enough. The first
drawing in figure shows this, and it should
be noted that the distance between the
breaks in the surface must be at least a
tenth of the wave length of the sound
considered. Thus a surface with 6-inch
breaks will disperse sound of 220 cycles
per second and above, but will act like a
flat reflector for sounds of lower
frequency.
The scattering effect of dispersive
surfaces can be employed to assist in
the prevention of echoes or unwanted
cross reflections.
Reflections from re-entrant
angles :
Sound entering a right-angled
corner of a room will be
reflected back towards the
source, as shown at A in Fig 13, if
the adjacent surfaces are of
reflective material.
In cases where this is undesirable
the corner may be treated in
any of the three ways shown: B:
it may be made other than a
right angle, C: one surface may
be made absorbent, or D: one
surface may be made
dispersive.
Sound absorption:
Sound generated in an auditorium is absorbed in four ways:
a: in the air,
b: at bounding surfaces,
c: in furnishings,
d: by the audience.

• Air absorption
A small amount of sound is absorbed in the passage of direct and
reflected sound through the air of a room. This is caused by the frication of
the oscillating molecules or air and, although negligible at low
frequencies, should be taken into a count at frequencies above 1000
cycles per second when calculating reverberation periods.

• Surface absorption
Absorption takes place whenever sound waves strike the bounding walls
or surfaces or a room, and it occurs in a number of different ways, as
follows:
a: by friction at the surface,
b: by ‘penetration’ in porous materials,
c: by molecular friction in resilient materials,
d: by molecular friction in a material during resonance,
e: by transmission ‘through’ the wall by resonance,
f: by conduction through the structure.
It follows that smooth, hard, dense and heavy materials absorb
Least sound, and rough, soft, porous and light materials absorb
most. The structure on which surface finishes are applied will
naturally affect the total absorption occurring, as will be seen by
reference to the factors listed above. This however, is taken into
account for average conditions when a material is tested, and
the stated coefficient of absorption will include for this
sufficiently fro most practical will include for this sufficiently for
most practical purpose. In some cases the method of fixing and
the backing material is stated.
A further type of absorption is provided by special acoustic
materials based on the “Helmoltz principle’. These are
perforated or slotted materials backed by porous materials,
such as wood or glass fibre. Absorption takes place by the
resonance of the pocket of air in or behind each perforation.

• Absorption by furnishings:
Sound is also absorbed by furniture, curtains and any other
such items which are present in the room. Coefficients of
absorption are published for a limited range of furnishings, and
manufacturers of theatre seats in some cases publish figures for
the seat as a whole.
• Absorption by the audience:
The absorption of the audience itself is in most cases the largest single
factor of a absorption in a room, and is mainly due to the absorption of
their clothing. Because of this, room acoustics change perceptibly in
accordance with the number of people present on various occasions.
Since, however, each member of the audience is covering, and making
inoperative, the absorption of a seat, a well upholstered seat will partly
take his place acoustically, when he is absent. The introduction of highly
absorbent seating will thus greatly reduce the variation in acoustic
conditions due to changing numbers of audience.

• Sabine standard source of sound:

For comparison purposes, however, a given loudness of sound is
assumed, thus leaving the other two factors only to enter into the
calculation and definition of reverberation. This ‘standard sound’ is still
the one adopted by Professor Sabine in his first experiments, namely 60
decibels. Thus ‘time of reverberation’ means the time taken for a sound
of 60 decibels to decay to inaudibility.
Calculation of reverberation time:
From the analysis of experimental results Sabine deduced the
following formula for the calculation of reverberation time:
t = V x 0;05. A where t is the time of reverberation in seconds,
V is the volume of the room in cubic feet, and A is the total absorption
of the room in open-window-units (or sabins). It will be seen that the
disposition of the factors V and A in the formula agrees with what has
been stated under ‘Factors Affecting Reverberation” above.
This formula is sufficiently accurate for most cases. It beams
inaccurate.
a: when used for rooms with a very high proportion of absorbent
material, and
b: when used in rooms of ‘megaphone design’ where nearly all sound
is projected towards the absorbent audience and rear wall.
The more recent Eying formula is an improvement as regards
condition (a), but no formula can take into account the shape of the
room. Apart from very ‘dead’ rooms, the simple Sabine formula will be
sufficiently accurate for rooms designed correctly from other points of
view.
• Application of the Sabine formula
In most cases the best way to use the formula is as follows:
✓ a: Design the room having all other acoustic considerations in
mind, and in accordance with the requirements of the room
generally.
✓ b: Choose appropriate materials in order to prevent echoes, and
to suit general architectural requirements.
✓ c: Tabulate all materials, furnishings and occupants in order to
arrive at a sum total of absorption for the room.
✓ d: Invert the formula to read: A = V x 0.05 and find the required
figure for A by inserting the volume of the room as designed, and
the time of reverberation required.
✓ e: Modify the materials employed in the room, or add absorbent
materials, so that A, as designed, becomes A as required.
✓ f: In some cases a modification of the volume may also be
necessary. It is usually sufficient if reverberation time is calculated
at three frequencies: 125 c/s, 500 c/s and 2000 c/s. The aim is, in
fact, to achieve an approximately constant period of
reverberation over the whole musical range of frequencies.
• Resonance:
When sound waves strike the enclosing structure of a room it is set into
vibration to a greater or less extent according to its nature. The materials
vibrate at the same frequency as the incident sound waves, and in turn
emit sound on both sides of the partition. This is how sound is heard
‘through’ a wall. Walls, partitions, floors, ceilings, paneling, etc., respond
in this way – by sympathetic vibration or resonance. Heavy walls
respond less than light partitions, and partitions less than paneling. On
the other hand, any give material will respond to a varying extent
according to the frequency of the sound waves striking it. All materials
have a ‘dominant response
frequency’, the frequency at which they respond best, and if this is too
sharply defined it may be disturbing acoustically.
Wood paneling responds over a range of frequencies in the lower
register and, if the size of the panels is varied in a room, this frequency
band can be broadened. In rooms for music, advantage is taken of this
characteristic by the employment of extensive areas of wood paneling
to give richness of top. In concert halls it is an essential part of the
design.
THANK U