Seminar and Field

Trips
(ECE 511)

Reaction Paper on the Seminar:

Acoustics and Basic
Principle of Sound proofing

Submitted by:
Stephen Jhune Buizon
BsECE 5
Submitted to:
Engr. Myra B. Borreros
Instructor
 REACTION PAPER

Last January 11, 2016, the ECE department held a seminar on Acoustics and
The Basic Principle of Sound proofing , sponsored by the 5 th year ECE students,
Acoustics is a science which deals with the production, control, transmission,
reception and effects of sound in an enclosed space. Sound is the human ears
response to pressure fluctuations in the air caused by vibrating objects. For
example, a tap on the wall produces sound because the tap makes a wall vibrate.
The vibrating wall produces pressure fluctuations in the air. Sound travels in space
by a phenomenon called wave motion. Wave motion in air is similar to the motion of
a ripple produced by dropping a pebble into a water pond.

Those topics are very much related to our course, and can teach us and help
us a lot in this field of our course, electronics and communications engineering.

Our resource speaker is Mr.Patopatin graduated from Capiz State University

and he is a licensed Architect.

First, he introduced to us the topic about Acoustics and Sound. Acoustics is

the interdisciplinary science that deals with the study of all mechanical waves in
gases, liquids, and solids including topics such as vibration, sound, ultrasound and
infrasound. And he said the types of sounds are speech, music and noise. We
produce sounds by doing something. The motion of materials or objects causes
vibrations. A sound originates in the vibration of an object, which makes the air or
another substance around the object vibrate. In sound theres 2 Characteristics of
Sound first is the Loudness of sound means is a measure of the intensity of sound
and is expressed in decibels (dB). It is a quantity called the sound intensity level
(IL). Second is Pitch. Pitch means is the frequency of sound wave perceived by the
human ear. A high-pitched sound means that it has a high frequency. The female
voice is slightly higher pitched than the male voice.

He explain first about the acoustic so that we may understand the next topic
that he discussed. The second part of the seminar is discussing about The Basic
Principe of Sound Proofing. Sound isolation is science, not magic, and as such it is
possible to outline a foundation of basic principles that define noise reduction in any
given situation. In this case, there are 5 basic principles that govern the sound
isolation of any partition. The first principle of sound isolation is mass. Mass
impedes the transmission of sound in a simple way - its harder for the sound to
shake a very heavy thing than a very light thing, no different than saying its harder
to push a shopping cart full of bricks than an empty cart. However, to make large
changes in performance you have to make very large changes in mass. In theory
doubling the mass of a panel without an air cavity will improve things by 6dB.
Typically, on the common single wood stud wall, doubling the number of drywall
layers yields 4-5dB of improvement. Next is damping. Damping mean is
accomplished with damping compounds such as Green Glue Noise proofing
Compound, a viscoelastic adhesive. For the damping compound to work, it needs to
be applied between two stiff panels (drywall, plywood, or subflooring, for instance),
which are then screwed together, forming a Constrained Layer Damping system.
One of the most familiar of the 5 basic Principles is mechanical decoupling. Sound
clips, resilient channel, staggered studs, and double stud walls. All of this function
by inhibiting the movement of sound from one side of the wall to the other through
mechanical paths (like studs or joists). Instead, the vibration has to pass through
the air cavity in the wall, where some of it will be lost, and through the
insulation/absorbing material, where (at some frequencies) much of it will be lost.
Decoupling is most easily accomplished during a building's construction, for
example by staggering stud beams so that the two wall panels are supported by
two different sets of studs, rather than having both walls use the same studs and
thus being connected by them. It is used less often than the other three elements
when soundproofing is added to an existing structure. Also, it must be planned
carefully and installed correctly, because it can actually worsen low-frequency
noise, by creating a new resonance chamber. Next is Absorption.
Installing insulation in a wall or ceiling cavity increases the sound loss due by
eliminating/removing/destroying some sound. Another benefit of insulation in a
cavity is to lower the resonant frequency of decoupled walls. All that noted,
insulation loses its effectiveness at very low frequencies. Put some fiberglass in
front of a centre channel and youll hear badly muted dialogue (the insulation is
effective), put it in front of a subwoofer and you might not hear any difference at all.
Fourth is resonance. This works against the good things done by Principles #1, #2
and #3 above by making it very easy for sound to vibrate a wall. At resonance
frequencies even a massive decoupled wall with insulation will vibrate very easily
(as we saw above in the decoupling section). Since a vibrating wall vibrates air on
the other side, resonance increases the ease with which sound is transmitted. This
is not a good thing. Last is Conduction. The last important principle of sound
isolation is conduction. Conduction plays a role in keeping common wood stud walls
(not decoupled walls) from attaining a high level of performance. The drywall
conducts vibration to the studs, which transfer it to the other side, keeping
performance low. Outside of the performance of walls, conduction plays a large role
in flanking noise noise traveling from one room to another by some path other
than the direct. To reduce the conduction of a structure, you can either insert
mechanical breaks (like cuts), or raise the damping of the structure (damping
dissipates the energy as it travels, lowering conduction considerably, often to the
point where it is irrelevant).
 The third topic that he discussed is about Effective Sound proofing Materials.
Drywall Also called wallboard, plasterboard, or gypsum board, An excellent and
inexpensive source of mass, which is a key element in soundproofing. Damped
Drywall incorporates a sound damping layer. Examples are SilentFX, QuietRock,
and Supress. These panels have superb soundproofing properties. Sound Deadening
Fiberboard Also called soundboard or acoustical board Because of their low mass,
these are not the best choice for soundproofing walls, but are sometimes useful in
floors as a spacing layer if additional mass is not needed. They don't provide
damping, decoupling, or absorption. Mass Loaded Vinyl A highly dense, flexible
membrane .A good source of mass, but expensive. Good for filling gaps, and for
wrapping ducts, pipes, and metal columns, where a flexible sound barrier is needed.
Insulation loosely packed fiber provides excellent sound absorption, which is a
factor in soundproofing. Standard fiberglass insulation is as effective as mineral
wool, and much less costly. Sound curtains while ordinary curtains or blankets won't
help with soundproofing, there do exist noise control curtains, which are industrial
products that incorporate a HEAVY LAYER OF MASS-LOADED VINYL. Damping
compound Used as the damping layer between layers of drywall, plywood, or
subflooring. This substance is a highly effective and economical noise reducer and
is one of the few ways to address the low-frequency noise from music, home
theaters, construction machinery, etc. Acoustical sealant sometimes called
acoustical caulk. Important for sealing seams, to prevent sound leakage. Hardware
for decoupling Includes resilient sound clips and drywall furring channel or "hat
channel Correct installation of decoupling hardware is very important. Decoupling
is a highly effective element of soundproofing, note that it can actually increase
transmission of low-frequency noise, by creating a new resonance chamber. Pre-
Built Units In addition to raw building supplies, there are also pre-built units such
as windows and doors engineered to be soundproof, which work very well and can
save you time and money. You can even get a complete portable miniature
soundproof room.