ACOUSTICS

FUNCTIONAL PLANNING OF A
BUILDING
BASIC FUNCTIONAL REQUIREMENTS
Adequate STRENGTH
Sufficient STIFFNESS
Good Performance

HOW TO SATISFY THE BUILDING BASIC

FUNCTIONAL REQUIREMENTS
For this the Building should satisfy the
following requirements
Strength and Stability
Dimensional Stability
Comfort
Moisture Control
Fire Resistant

Strength and Stability

Strength Ability of the materials to
withstand stresses
Stability-Resistance of the Structural
Elements for large deformations

Dimensional Stability
Resistance to Dimensional Changes due
to material deformations

Comfort
Achieved by Proper Planning of the
Building and its Units.
Grouping of Rooms for better Circulation
Orientation of a building as a whole for
better utilization of natural gifts
While Planning due weightage should be
given to the conditions of the Occupants.

Moisture Control
Keep the Building dry especially in the
Rainy season
Provision of impermeable membranes like
DPC , Asphalt etc.

Fire Safety
Fire Safety- Reduce the chances of
catching a fire in building units in
horizontal and vertical directions
Building should be planned in such a way,
the occupants can leave safely
The Building contents should not ignite
easily.

ACOUSTICS
OUTLINE OF PRESENTATION
ACOUSTICS
CONDTIONS FOR GOOD ACOUSTICS
SOUND
PROPERTIES
ABSORPTION OF SOUND

Using Sound
What is Acoustics?
Acoustics is the study of sound and ways to optimize
the hearing of sound inside various structures.

Conditions For Good Acoustics

The Initial Sound should possess
adequate loudness
i.e. The Source of Sound should have

sufficient Sound Energy to Fill the Building

Conditions For Good Acoustics

The Sound Should be Clear and Distinct
The Energy loss due to Absorption by Audience
should be minimised
To improve this the Speaker should be at a
higher level than the Audience
Audience should be made to sit on sloping floor
This allows every Audience to Receive More
Portion of Spherical Waves.
The Sound passing on the back of Speaker
should be reflected by providing Hard surface
Audience Should be Arranged in Semi-Circular
Form

Conditions For Good Acoustics

The Sound Should be Evenly Distributed
Good Reflecting Surface causes
interference of Sound waves
This Reflection may also cause Echo
Provide Good Absorbent on Rear Walls to
avoid Echo
No Audience should be placed beyond
10m from a Good Reflecting Surface

Conditions For Good Acoustics

The Sound should reach the Audience in
the same pitch and Tone as it is provided

What is Sound
Sound is a form of Energy contains series
of Compressional waves, that travel
through air or other materials.

What Is Sound?

When matter vibrates or moves back

and forth very quickly, sound is
produced.
Example: When you hit a drum, parts
of the drum will vibrate creating sound.

ABOUT SOUND
Volume is the loudness or the softness of
a sound.
Example: The harder a drum is hit, the
more the drum will vibrate . The more an
object vibrates, the louder the sound it
makes.

ABOUT SOUND

Pitch is the highest or lowest sound an

object makes.
Objects that vibrate slowly, make a low
pitch. Example-drum.
Objects that vibrate quickly, make a higher
pitch. Example-recorder

ABOUT SOUND

Musical instruments make different

sounds by plucking the strings.
The shorter the string, the quicker it
vibrates producing a high sound.
The longer the string, the slower it vibrates
producing a low sound.

The Ear
Sound is carried to our ears through
vibrating air molecules.
Our ears take in sound waves & turn them
into signals that go to our brains.
Sound waves move through 3 parts of the
ear; outer ear, middle ear, & inner ear.

Middle Ear

Human Hearing
sound wave
vibrates ear drum

amplified by bones
converted to nerve
impulses in
cochlea

Sound Wave
Sound Waves are Created by the
Vibration of Objects.

Vibration
- Back and forth movement of molecules of
matter
- For example,

Sound Waves
Transverse Wave Motion
In this the Particles of the medium Vibrate in a
direction perpendicular to the direction of
Propagation of the Wave

Sound Waves
Longitudinal Waves
In this the particles of the medium vibrate in a
direction parallel to the direction of propagation
of the wave

Properties of Sound
Velocity
Vibration
Time Period (T)
Wavelength ()
Amplitude
Frequency (n)

Intensity
Reflection
Reverberation

What are the parts of a wave?

Transverse wave
The crest is the highest point
on a transverse wave. The
trough is the lowest point on a
transverse wave.
The rest position of the wave
is called the node or nodal
line.
The wavelength is the
distance from one point on
the wave to the next
corresponding adjacent point.

Compressional
On a compressional wave
Longitudinal wave the area squeezed
together is called the
compression. The areas
spread out are called the
rarefaction.
The wavelength is the
distance from the center of
one compression to the
center of the next
compression.

What is wavelength?
Wavelength is a measure of distance, so the units for
wavelength are always distance units, such as meter,
centimeters, millimeters, etc.
The Wavelength is measured in Angstrom unit ()
1 = 10-10m

Wave Frequency
What is wave frequency?
Frequency is the number of waves that pass
through a point in one second. The unit for
frequency is waves per second or Hertz (Hz).
One Hz = One wave per second.
Wavelength and frequency are inversely related
The smaller the wavelength, the more times it
will pass through a point in one second. The
larger the wavelength, the fewer times it will
pass through a point in one second.

Frequency is the number of waves

(vibrations) that pass through a point in one
second.
Period is the time it takes for one full
wavelength to pass a certain point.
Frequency is waves per second.
Period is seconds per wave.

1
frequency
period

1
f
T

A wave moving through a medium travels at a certain

speed. This is Wave Speed.
Wave speed is usually measured in meters/second, but
may be measured using other distance units (such as
centimeters per second).
How is Wave Speed calculated?
Wave speed is calculated as the product of a waves
frequency and wavelength.
Wavelength is represented by the Greek letter lambda
() and frequency is represented by (f)

What is the amplitude of a wave?

The amplitude of a wave is directly related to the
energy of a wave.
The amplitude of a compressional wave is
determined by the closeness of the
compressional waves. The closer the
compressional waves and the farther the
rarefaction lines.

The amplitude of a transverse wave is determined by

the height of the crest or depth of the trough

Velocity of Sound
It is the Speed of Travel of Sound in a
medium at a particular temperature
Since Air is an Ideal gas, the Velocity is
V = 331.5 + (0.6 T) m/s
Properties of Sound in Air at a Temperature 20C
Wave length () =
Frequency (Hz) =
Velocity of Sound (m/s) =

Characteristics of Sound

Sound is reflected by Harder Surface

Sound is Absorbed by Soft Objects
Sound Can bend around Corners
Sound Travels Faster in hot air than in
Cold Air
Sound Travels Faster in Solids and
Liquids than in Air.

Sound Travels Through

Gases (air)
Liquids (sound travels 4 times faster through liquid
than it does through air)
Solids (sound travels the fastest in solids because
the molecules are packed tightly together)

Outer Space
Sound cannot travel through outer
space because there are no air
molecules to carry the sound waves.

Sound travels through different media.

We hear sound which usually travels through air. Sound
travels through other media as well, such as water and
various solids.
Sound travels different speeds in different media. Sound
typically travels faster in a solid that a liquid and faster in
a liquid than a gas.
The denser the medium, the
faster sound will travel.
The higher the temperature, the
faster the particles of the
medium will move and the faster
the particles will carry the sound.

What is sound intensity?

Sound intensity is the energy that the sound
wave possesses. The greater the intensity of
sound the farther the sound will travel and the
louder the sound will appear.
Loudness is very closely related to intensity.
Loudness is the human perception of the sound
intensity. The unit for loudness is decibels.

Loudness in Decibels

Human Hearing
DECIBEL SCALE

100
70
40
0

10

18

80

110

120

Pitch
A measure of how high or low a sound is
Pitch depends on the frequency of a sound wave
For example,

- Low pitch

- High pitch

- Low frequency

- High frequency

- Longer wavelength

- Shorter wavelength

How is frequency related to pitch?

The pitch of a sound wave is directly related to
frequency. A high-pitched sound has a high
frequency (a screaming girl). A low-pitched sound
has a low frequency (a fog-horn).
A healthy human ear can hear frequencies in the
range of 20 Hz to 20,000 Hz. Humans cannot
hear below 20 Hz. Sounds below this frequency
are termed infrasonic.
Sounds above 20,000 Hz are termed ultrasonic.
Some animals, such as dogs, can hear
frequencies in this range in which humans cannot
hear.

Human and Other

Animals Hearing
ultrasonic waves

subsonic waves