THEORY REFERENCE NOTES

COURSE: B.Arch
SEMESTER: SEMESTER – 6
AUTHOR NAME: Ibrahim sir

ARCHITECTURAL
ACOUSTICS
CONTENT

S.No CHAPTERS PAGE#

1. PREVIOUS YEAR QUESTION PAPERS 01
2. BASIC THEORY OF SOUND 02

CREDITS

Source: Internet, Civil Content contributors:

engineering textbooks,
architectural textbooks,
JNAFAU library
Editor: Ibrahim sir
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IBRAHIM SIBGATULLAH’S ARCHITECTURAL ACADEMY
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QUESTIONS FROM PREVIOUS YEARS

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2. BASIC THEORY OF SOUND

SYLLABUS:
Basic theory: Generation, propagation, transmission, reception of
sound; Frequency, wavelength and velocity of sound; sound
intensity; inverse–square law; decibel scale, decibel addition,
small numerical examples in intensity of sound.

Sound: A sound is a vibration in an elastic medium which can be

registered by the ear. The elastic medium is a medium of
transmission of sound and it can be solid, liquid or gas. A sound can
be pleasant or unpleasant, loud or soft, high or low.
When a body vibrates, or moves back and forth, the oscillation
causes a periodic disturbance of the surrounding air or other
medium that radiates outward in straight lines in the form of a
pressure wave. The effect these waves produce upon the ear is
perceived as sound.
BASIC THEORY:
Generation of sound: Sound is generated by any vibrating body in
the form of waves. There are two basic types of wave, transverse
and longitudinal, differentiated by the way in which the wave
moves.
In a transverse wave, such as the wave generated in a stretched
rope when one end is wiggled back and forth, the motion that
constitutes the wave is perpendicular, or transverse, to the
direction (along the rope) in which the wave is moving.
A longitudinal wave can be created in a coiled spring by squeezing
several of the turns together to form a compression and then

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releasing them, allowing the compression to travel the length of the

spring.
Propagation of sound: Propagation means “movement through.”
The travelling of sound is called propagation of sound. Sound is
propagated by the to and fro motion of particles of the medium.
Sound is propagated in air, much like blowing up a large balloon
which expands equally in all directions.
Transmission of sound: Transmission of sound is the movement
of sound through and between materials, including air, wall, and
musical instruments. The most usual medium of sound
transmission is air
FREQUENCY, WAVELENGTH AND VELOCITY OF SOUND:
Frequency: Frequency in a sound wave refers to the rate of the
vibration of the sound travelling through the air. This parameter
decides whether a sound is perceived as high pitched or low
pitched. In sound, the frequency is also known as Pitch. The
frequency of the vibrating source of sound is calculated in cycles
per second.
The frequency of a sound wave describes the number of
oscillations that a particle undergoes in 1 second. A complete
oscillation is called a cycle. The unit of frequency is known as Hertz
Wavelength: The wavelength of light is defined as the distance
between the crests or troughs of a wave motion. A sound wave is
usually represented graphically by a wavy, horizontal line; the
upper part of the wave (the crest) indicates a condensation and the
lower part (the trough) indicates a rarefaction .Wavelength is the
distance a sound wave travels during each complete cycle of
vibration.

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IBRAHIM SIBGATULLAH’S ARCHITECTURAL ACADEMY
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Velocity of Sound: It is the speed at which sound waves propagate

through different materials. The sound velocity through a given
material is the distance that the sound energy will propagate in
that material in a given time, and it is a function of material density,
acoustic impedance and temperature.
SOUND INTENSITY:
Sound intensity is defined as the sound power per unit area. The
usual context is the measurement of sound intensity in the air at a
listener's location. Sound intensity describes the rate of energy
flow through a unit area. Sound intensity measurement is a
powerful technique that allows us to measure the flow of sound
energy as a time-averaged vector quantity. The properties of sound
intensity allow us to separate sound sources and to distinguish
direct sound from reverberant sound in a room.
INVERSE SQUARE LAW:
The inverse square law states that the intensity of sound decreases
by approximately 6 dB for each doubling of distance from the
sound source. The mathematical relationship between intensity
and distance is referred to as an Inverse Square Law. The sound
intensity from a point source of sound will obey the inverse square
law if there are no reflections or reverberation. The intensity varies
inversely with the square of the distance from the source. If the
distance from the source is doubled (increased by a factor of 2),
then the intensity is quartered (decreased by a factor of 4).
Similarly, if the distance from the source is quadrupled, then the
intensity is decreased by a factor of 16.
In an open area, sound drops off according to the inverse square
law. In an auditorium where the front seats are 6 meters away from
the sound source and the back seats are 60 meters away from the
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IBRAHIM SIBGATULLAH’S ARCHITECTURAL ACADEMY
FOR ADMISSIONS, ENQUIRIES AND COLLABORATIONS CONTACT
79 9393 7711 | www.ibrahimsacademy.com | [email protected]
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sound source, the sound intensity would drop by a factor of 100

(=20 decibels) between the front and back seats.

DECIBEL SCALE, DECIBEL ADDITION AND DECIBEL

SUBTRACTION:
The decibel (dB) is a logarithmic unit used to measure sound
intensity and amplitude using the decibel (dB) scale. It is also
widely used in electronics, signals and communication. Decibels
provide a relative measure of sound intensity. The higher the
decibel level, the louder the noise. The scale for measuring
intensity is the decibel scale.
Since the range of intensities that the human ear can detect is so
large, the scale that is frequently used by physicists to measure
intensity is a scale based on powers of 10. This type of scale is
sometimes referred to as a logarithmic scale. The scale for
measuring intensity is the decibel scale.
On the decibel scale, the smallest audible sound (near total silence)
is 0 dB. A sound 10 times more powerful is 10 dB. A sound 100
times more powerful than near total silence is 20 dB. A sound 1,000
times more powerful than near total silence is 30 dB.

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IBRAHIM SIBGATULLAH’S ARCHITECTURAL ACADEMY
FOR ADMISSIONS, ENQUIRIES AND COLLABORATIONS CONTACT
79 9393 7711 | www.ibrahimsacademy.com | [email protected]