Science of sound Sound - mechanical wave that is an oscillation of pressure transmitted through a solid, liquid, or gas, composed of frequencies

within the range of hearing Mechanical wave -wave that is not capable of transmitting its energy through a vacuum. Mechanical waves require a medium in order to transport their energy from one location to another

Longitudinal waves The disturbance are in the direction of travel of the disturbance, then the wave is longitudinal- sound waves through the air or compression waves through some solid object Eg sound, slinky spring Vibrations are along the same direction as wave travel

Transverse Waves A disturbance that is perpendicular to the direction of travel are called transverse waves The wave itself travels along the string or water surface Eg light, water, strings Vibrations are at 90 to the direction of wave travel The wave speed, for example, is the speed at which the disturbance moves

Wave Propagation Speed Properties of the medium More rigid the medium, the faster the wave propagation speed The higher the mass density - the slower the wave speed. Water is nearly like a solid with respect to compressions- sound travels faster through water than through air

1. Solid fastest-closely packed molecules 2. Water almost like solid 3. Air-sparsely placed

Wavelength
- distance that a disturbance travels along the medium in one complete wave cycle

When subject to vibration, each air particle moves to and fro about its average position along an axis parallel to the direction in which the wave propagates

The distance between successive peaks is called the wavelength.

Amplitude
or height of a sound wave is a measure of the amount of energy in the wave

The intensity of a sound

is the amount of energy it has. intensity is loudness

A pleasant sound has a regular wave pattern-repeated over and over. Waves of noise are irregular. They do not have a repeated pattern

Frequency
How often the particles of the medium vibrate when a wave passes through the medium unit for frequency is the Hertz 1 Hertz = 1 vibration/second If a particle of air - 1000 longitudinal vibrations in 2 seconds= 500 vibrations per second

Sound propagation
Air particles themselves do not move very far, they simply transfer pressure changes by what is referred to as sound propagation. 'sound wave' which moves away from the sound source at a velocity determined by the medium Air - 344 m/s water - 1437 m/s. Sound waves move out spherically from a point source of sound- they become less intense

Obstacles change in medium

A portion of the sound wave is reflected from the surface. That portion not reflected is absorbed and continues to be propagated through the new medium the sound wave changes direction in the second medium, and it changes wavelength

Refraction
Sound waves change speed when they pass across the boundary between two substances with different densities, such as air and glass. This causes them to change direction and this effect is called refraction Wave closest to the ground -the fastest Part of the wave farthest above the ground is traveling the slowest

SOUND PRESSURE
When a vibrating body moves in air, it creates slight disturbances of the AMBIENT atmospheric pressure. Maximum displacement from the ambient atmospheric pressure is called the sound pressure variation

SOUND LEVEL METER

Measuring the level of sound pressure in DECIBELs. Such measurements are called sound level readings. contain different weighting networks designated A, B, C, D The PHON scale was devised to express this subjective impression of loudness the DECIBEL scale alone refers to actual sound pressure or sound intensity levels.

Amplitude
Maximum amount by which the instantaneous SOUND PRESSURE differs from the AMBIENT pressure

Music
Beats- a way of counting time when playing a piece of music- regular rhythmic pattern

Beats are grouped together in a measure, the notes and rests corresponds to a certain number of beats. The grouping of strong and weak beats is called meter

Constructive interference: increases loudness

Equidistant - Simultaneous identical sound waves of constant frequency.

then the waves are in phase and have constructive interference Increase in amplitude Increase in intensity or loudness

Destructive interference: decreases loudness

not equidistant from speakers-so that the paths from the speakers differ by a half-wavelength....then the waves are out of phase & have destructive interference decreased amplitude....decreased intensity or loudness

INTENSITY
The energy transmitted per unit time and area by a sound wave. Magnitude of a sound Unit of measurement -erg per second per square centimeter, or the watt per square meter

THRESHOLD OF HEARING -10-12 watts/m2 THRESHOLD OF PAIN -1 watt/m2.

DECIBEL (dB) - one tenth of a bel

A unit of a logarithmic scale of power or intensity called the power level or intensity level The decibel is defined as one tenth of a bel where one bel represents a difference in level between two intensities I1, I0 where one is ten times greater than the other. Intensity level = 10 log10 (I1 /I0) (dB) Eg - 10-8 watts/m2 and 10-4 watts/m2,

difference =10,000 units, can be expressed as a difference of 4 bels or 40 decibels.

LOUDNESS
The subjective impression of the intensity or magnitude of a sound dependent on FREQUENCY, WAVEFORM and duration, as well as SOUND INTENSITY or SOUND PRESSURE.

VOLUME
The psychological measure of the magnitude of a SOUND or SOUND OBJECT including its SPECTRUM (frequency and intensity), harmonic content, duration and spatial properties. Affected by REVERBERATION and RESONANCE, as well as by the presence of OVERTONEs or PARTIALs. An increase or decrease - affect the total perceived volume of a sound or sound environment.

Temperature lapse-Daytime
wave speed -changes gradually over a given distance. Day Time the air is warmest right next to the ground and grows cooler above the ground. This is called a temperature lapse. Since the temperature decreases with height, the speed of sound also decreases with height.

"shadow zone" region into which the sound wave cannot penetrate. A person standing in the shadow zone will not hear the sound even though he/she might be able to see the source. The sound waves are being refracted upwards and will never reach the observer As a result, the wave changes direction and bends upwards. This can create a "shadow zone" region into which the sound wave cannot penetrate

Temperature inversion
When the temperature is coolest right next to the ground and warmer as you increase in height above the ground.

Happen at night after the sun goes down when the ground (or water in a lake) cools off quickly, while the air above the ground remains warm. This downward refraction of sound is why you can hear the conversations of campers across the lake, when otherwise you should not be able to hear them.

Ear and sound

Hearing- to convert physical vibration into an encoded nervous impulse conscious appreciation of vibration perceived as sound The outer ear gathers sound and transmits it to the timpanic membrane.The outermost visible portion is called the Pinna. It aids somewhat indirectionality detection (for high frequency). Some echolocating bats havevery developed pinnae with high directional sensitivity. Dogs and cats can turn their pinna to locate sounds. The deep central portion of the pinna is called the concha (cave). The auditory canal - ~ 7 mm dia, 27 mm long, acts like an organ pipe to amplify sounds reaching ear drum. It provides approximately a 10-15 dB gain from 2000-6000 Hz. The resonant frequency of the auditory canal is ~ 4000 Hz, while the resonance of the concha is around 5000 Hz. The middle ear transfers sound energy (in the form of mechanical vibrations) from the tympanic membrane, on to the cochlea. Because of its transformer action, the middle ear matches the low impedance of air to the high

impedance of the cochlear fluid, thereby causing a much more efficient transfer of energy into the inner ear. The middle ear cavity is about 2 cc in volume. It is connected by a 35-38mm long tube (eustachian tube) to the nose cavity. The eustachian tube provides for pressure equalization and prevents the eardrum from bursting due to static pressure differentials across it. Muscles of the middle ear: Two small muscles are attached to the hammer and stirrup. They contract in response to: loud noises (>75 dB above threshold), vocalization, or general body movement. When contracted, they stiffen the chain and attenuate low frequency transmission (<2 kHz). This reflex action can occur in as little as 10 ms for high intensity sounds. This is too slow to greatly attenuate impulsive type sounds. The action of these muscles are thought to serve a number of useful functions, such as:

a) protect the inner ear from damage b) provide an automatic gain control for loud, low frequency sounds c) because they contract due to vocalization, or body movement, they reduce the perception of self-generated sounds (such as your own voice, or noises due to movements) d) since low frequency sound can mask sounds of higher frequency (more about this later), selective attenuation of low frequencies can improve the perception of complex stimuli, such as speech.

The inner ear

is where hearing actually takes place. Here, the mechanical vibrations transmitted through the bones of the middle ear to the oval window are converted into pressure fluctuations in the cochlear fluid, which are in turn converted by the hair cells of the basilar membrane into nerve impulses sent to the brain. An alternative sound transmission path is directly through the skull bones to the inner ear Action of the basilar membrane: Motions of the oval window induce a disturbance in the cochlear fluid and a traveling wave in the basilar membrane. The distance this disturbance travels depends on the frequency of the sound

Motions of the basilar membrane cause shear between the stereocilia and and the tectorial membrane. Each hair cell is connected to a number of nerve fibers. The shearing action of the cilia causes the nerve cells to fire, sending signals to brain.

Threshold of hearing
20 Hz to 20 000 Hz Infrasound- less than 20 Hz Ultrasound- more than 20 000 Hz scale for measuring intensity is the decibel scale. logarithmic scale- multiples of 10 Source Threshold of Hearing (TOH) Rustling Leaves Whisper Normal Conversation Busy Street Traffic Vacuum Cleaner Large Orchestra Walkman at Maximum Level Front Rows of Rock Concert Threshold of Pain Military Jet Takeoff Intensity Intensity Level 0 dB 10 dB 20 dB 60 dB # of Times Greater Than TOH 100 101 102 106

1*10-12 W/m2 1*10-11 W/m2 1*10-10 W/m2 1*10-6 W/m2

1*10-5 W/m2 1*10-4 W/m2 6.3*10-3 W/m2 1*10-2 W/m2

70 dB 80 dB 98 dB 100 dB

107 108 109.8 1010

1*10-1 W/m2 1*101 W/m2 1*102 W/m2

110 dB 130 dB 140 dB

1011 1013 1014

Instant Perforation of Eardrum

1*104 W/m2

160 dB

1016

Animals
Dogs -50 Hz -45 000 Hz Cats- 45 Hz -85 000 Hz Bats- 120 000 Hz Dolphins can detect frequencies as high as 200 000 Hz

Pitch
sensation of a frequency high pitch sound -high frequency sound lowpitch sound -low frequency sound

music
When two sounds with a frequency difference of greater than 7 Hz are played simultaneously -complex wave pattern resulting from the interference and superposition of the two sound waves.

Consonant- pleasant sensation Any two sounds whose frequencies make a 2:1 ratio are said to be separated by an octave Frequency Ratio 2:1 5:4 4:3 3:2 Examples 512 Hz and 256 Hz 320 Hz and 256 Hz 342 Hz and 256 Hz 384 Hz and 256 Hz

Interval Octave Third Fourth Fifth

Range
Normal conversation -20 to 60 decibel range-the " speech banana." Higher frequencies (2,000 8,000 hz) The lower frequencies (125 1,000 hz) Bird chirping is softer and higher-pitched Dog barking is louder and lower-pitched.

Intensity- inverse square relationship

intensity -decreases with increasing distance from the source.

OTHER SOUND PROPERTIES

Steady sound-we almost cease to hear it after a while, unless it is too loud to ignore-eg fan Intermittent sound-more annoying than steady sounds because they repeatedly interrupt periods of relative quiet-eg flight Sudden or impulsive sound, such as a gunshot-startling or even frightening-can cause hearing loss

Voice
The source energy usually comes from air expelled from the lungs. At the larynx, this flow passes between the vocal folds. In voiced speech, the vocal folds vibrate The vibrations produced in voiced speech usually contain a set of different frequencies called harmonics Whispering, the folds do not vibrate, but are held close together - produces a turbulent (irregular) flow of air - mixture of very many frequencies, which is called broad band sound

one produces an initial sound and another modifies Voice box Larynx- sound whose spectrum contains many different frequencies Articulators - tongue, teeth, lips, velum sound over time modify the spectrum of that

Sound Spectrum
different frequencies present in a sound complicated mixture of vibrations a graph of either power or pressure as a function of frequency

Harmonics
The spectrum of a single note from a musical instrument usually has a set of peaks at (approximately) harmonic ratios Example : frequency f, there are peaks at f, and also at (about) 2f, 3f, 4f

Musical instruments
bowed strings and winds have harmonic spectra

plucked strings have almost harmonic spectra tuned percusion have approximately harmonic spectra untuned percusion have non harmonic spectra the low register of the clarinet has mainly odd harmonics bowed strings have harmonics that decrease relatively slowly with frequency brass instruments often have spectra whose harmonics have amplitudes that increase with frequency and then decrease

Speech sounds
A phoneme is an element of speech sound Voiced -meaning that the vocal folds vibrate- viz, bid Unvoiced- f and ss fuss Fricatives -tongue, palate, teeth, lips or a combination Plosives - opening and/or closing of the tract with the lips or the tongue vowels voiced unvoiced normal vowels whispered vowels fricatives z ss j sh v f plosives b p d t g k

Vowels
vowels are in a sense less important than consonants : you can often understand a phrase even f ll vwl nfrmtn s bsnt.

On the other hand, vowels are more important in singing, because the vowel is sustained to produce a note.

OUTDOOR SOUND PROPAGATION

Outdoor environment is anything but uniform Changing meteorological conditions can easily cause fluctuations in sound levels by 10-20 dB The longer the transmission path, the larger are the fluctuations in levels

Outdoor sound propagation is affected by many mechanisms, including: a) Source geometry and type (point, line, coherent, incoherent) b) Meteorological conditions (wind and temperature variations, atmospheric turbulence) c) Atmospheric absorption of sound d) Terrain type and contour (ground absorption of sound, reflections) e) Obstructions (buildings, barriers, vegetation, etc)

Propagation in a Real Atmosphere

Sound propagation deviates from spherical due to a number of factors Including absorption of sound in air Non-uniformity of the propagation medium due to meteorological conditions (refraction and turbulence), And interaction with an absorbing ground and solid obstacles (such as barriers).

Atmospheric Absorption Aabs

Sound energy is dissipated in air by two major mechanisms: Viscous losses due to friction between air molecules which results in heat generation (called classical absorption) Relaxational processes sound energy is momentarily absorbed in the air molecules and causes the molecules to vibrate and rotate. These molecules can then re-radiate sound at a later instant (like small echo chambers) which can partially interfere with the incoming sound.

Meteorological Conditions A weather Effects of Wind

A sound wave propagating in the direction of the wind will be bent downward Upwind direction the sound speed decreases with altitude , sound waves are directed upward, away from the ground, forming a shadow zone into which no direct sound penetrates This process is called refraction, whereby the path of sound waves curves in the direction of the lower sound velocity

Sound always refracts toward the lower sound speed

Temperature Effects
A similar refractive effect results from vertical temperature gradients In the presence of a temperature gradient, the effect is to refract sound waves in the direction of lower sound velocity Sunny afternoon - sound waves will be bent upward in all directions from the source, forming a circular shadow zone- positive lapse

Night -The reverse situation often occurs at night, when a positive gradient is common. This is caused by the rapid cooling of air at the surface as heat is now absorbed by the ground- negative lapse

Ground Interaction Aground

Can seldom be considered perfectly rigid or totally reflective (with the possible exceptions of open water, ice, or concrete).

Typical soil surfaces with or without vegetation tend to absorb energy from incident acoustic waves

Incident acoustic energy is transformed into vibrational energy and is transmitted along the surface layer. This vibration disturbance can propagate for long distances, before dissipating or re-radiating as sound

Ground Interaction Aground

Depending on their relative phases and amplitudes, they may constructively add or destructively interfere. In the limit, for both source and receiver near the ground and perfect reflection and no atmospheric turbulence (coherent addition), the sound level at the receiver will be increased by 6 dB (an excess attenuation of 6dB). Effectively, the receiver sees two sources, the actual source, and a reflected or image source and the sound pressure is doubled.

Atmospheric Turbulence Aturbulence

Random fluctuations of wind and temperature cause fluctuations in amplitude and phase. This may translate into measured sound pressure fluctuations of 10 dB of more over a period of minutes

Vegetation Avegetation
The combined effect of scattering and absorption is called attenuation. Vegetation and foliage provides a small amount of attenuation, but only if it is sufficiently dense to fully block the view along the propagation path. The attenuation may be due to vegetation close to the source, close to the receiver, or both.

Barrier
A sound attenuation barrier is most effective when located closest to the source of the sound

Landscape and acoustics

Plants reduce noise by reflection, refraction, absorption, interference and diffraction Crossing arrangement has more effect on attenuation Density, height, length, width of trees and arrangement Shrubs have the highest ability due to their dense spread foliage -Especially the higher frequencies can be blocked where scattering is enhanced Deodar cedar blocking low frequency noises Noise reducing spectrum different for different species Leaf shape, length, width, density varying species- more effective

Obstructions and Barriers Abarrier

When the line of sight between a source and receiver is obstructed by a rigid, non-porous wall or building, appreciable noise reductions can occur. Sound waves must diffract around the obstacle in order to reach the receiver.

This phenomena is used to great advantage in the attenuation of highway noise by barriers in congested urban areas

Highway traffic noise barriers

Noise barriers are solid obstructions built between the highway and the homes along a highway. They do not completely block all noise they only reduce overall noise levels.

Effective noise barriers typically reduce noise levels by 5 to 10 decibels (dB), cutting the loudness of traffic noise by as much as one half can reduce the loudness of traffic noise by as much as half; Can be effective, regardless of the material used; Must be tall and long with no openings; Are most effective within 61 meters (200 feet) of a highway (usually the first row of homes); Substantially reduce noise levels for people living next to highways. earth mounds or "berms" along the road, from high, vertical walls, or from a combination of earth berms and walls -reduce noise by approximately 3 dB more than vertical walls of the same height. Walls require less space, but they are usually limited to eight meters (25 feet) in height for structural and aesthetic reasons

Openings in noise barriers for driveway connections or intersecting streets destroy their effectiveness most effective in reducing noise for areas that are within approximately 61meters (200 feet) of a highway (usually the first row of homes).

Width to ht ratio
width-to-height ratio of the roadway section to the barriers should be at least 10:1. The width is the distance between the barriers, and the height is the average height of the barriers above the roadway. This means that two parallel barriers 3 meters (10 feet) tall should be at least 30 meters (100 feet) apart to avoid any reduction in effectiveness.

Sound in indoor spaces

Sound in rooms
To meet acoustical standards Depending on shape, materials, occupancy etc Sound pressure level Noise - Air borne, structure borne, duct borne

Sound propagation
Inverse square law Sound pressure level decrease = 10 log 10(r 1/r2)2 where r2 = 2r1 i.e doubling of distance from source of sound If r1 = 1, r2 = 2, r3 =3, then approximately sound pressure level decrease = 6 dB In actual conditions, sound is absorbed in air and at higher frequencies sound reduction can exceed this.

Near Field- complex movement of the surface of larger sources produces a zone close to the source in which the variation in level can be complex this occurs only for shorter distances when source becomes very small, it becomes a point source and inverse square law becomes applicable

ACOUSTICS OF ROOMS AND ENCLOSURES Sound Fields in a Room 1. Near Field 2. Far Field 3. Free Field 4. Reverberant Field 5. Diffuse Field

Free field-The free field is a region in space where sound may propagate free from any form of obstruction. Free field describes where sound freely propagates and spreads uniformly. The sound level decreases approximately six decibels for every doubling of distance Near field region is probably the most difficult to predict. Near field- The near field of a source is the region close to a source where the sound pressure and acoustic particle velocity are not in phase. In this region the sound field does not decrease by 6 dB each time the distance from the source is increased

Far field-The far field of a source begins where the near field ends and extends to infinity - the direct field radiated by most machinery sources will decay at the rate of 6 dB each time the distance from the source is doubled.Far Field starts where the sound field becomes more stable and propagation is fairly uniform. Direct field -The direct field of a sound source is defined as that part of the sound field which has not suffered any reflection from any room surfaces or obstacles. Reverberant field-The reverberant field of a source is defined as that part of the sound field radiated by a source which has experienced at least one reflection from a boundary of the room or enclosure containing the source.The reverberant field occurs where freely propagating sound waves are reflected back from a wall, a ceiling, or other surfaces again causing variation in sound levels as illustrated

A free field is a homogeneous medium, free from boundaries or reflecting surfaces. Considering the simplest form of a sound source, which would radiate sound equally in all directions from a apparent point, the energy emitted at a given time will diffuse in all directions and, one second later, will be distributed over the surface of a sphere of 340 m radiusReverberation and Reverberant fields

Whenever sound waves encounter an obstacle-acoustic energy is reflected, part is absorbed and part is transmitted. depend on the nature of the obstacle A hard, compact, smooth surface will reflect much more, and absorb much less, acoustic energy than a porous, soft surface. The higher the proportion of the incident sound reflected , the higher the contribution of the reflected sound to the total sound in the closed space. This "built-up" noise will continue even after the noise source has been turned off. This phenomenon is called reverberation and the space where it happens is called a reverberant sound field

Anechoic chamber
If surfaces become less reflective, and more absorbing of noise , the reflected noise becomes less and the situation tends to a "free field" condition where the only significant sound is the direct sound Such a space is called an anechoic chamber, and such chambers are used for acoustical research and sound power measurements.

Directivity
Provided that measurements are made at a sufficient distance from a source to avoid near field effects (usually greater than 1 meter), the sound pressure will decrease with spreading at the rate of 6 dB per doubling of distance if the sound intensity I is dependent upon direction, then the mean intensity, Iav, averaged over an encompassing spherical surface is introduced

Reflection effects The presence of a reflecting surface near to a source will affect the sound radiated and the apparent directional properties of the source. Similarly, the presence of a reflecting surface near to a receiver will affect the sound received by the receiver. In general, a reflecting surface will affect not only the directional properties of a source but also the total power radiated by the source

Plane Wave Reflection

"The angle of incidence is equal to the angle of reflection" is one way of stating the law of reflection for light in a plane mirror

Point source of sound reflecting from a plane surface Produce reflected spherical wave fronts as if there were an "image" of the sound source at the same distance on the other side of the wall.

Reflection from Concave Surface tend to focus the sound waves which reflect from it. This is generally undesirable in auditorium acoustics because it produces a "hot spot" and takes sound energy away from surrounding areas.

Noise sources
Point pump, grill, fire bell Line duct, pipe, diffuser- For line sources such as traffic noise, the decay rate varies between 3 and 4 dB Plane - door, wall

Masking Phenomenon of one sound interfering with the perception of another sound. For example, the interference of traffic noise with the use of a public telephone

Two important implications: Speech interference, by which communications can be impaired because of high levels of ambient noise; Utilisation of masking as a control of annoying low level noise, which can be "covered" by music for example Sound masking systems generate background sound frequencies that neutralize noise so it does not distract workers. Typically these distractions are nearby: office conversations beeping fax machines computer alerts

printer and postage meter noises ringing phones speaker phone conversations blaring radios and CD players and other noises that interrupt concentration

Sound masking systems

Sound masking systems utilize speakers in the ceiling plenum or open space that are designed and tuned to eliminate specific types of noise when it is traveling in the air. sound masking literally creates a contoured, consistent broadband, lowlevel background sound that neutralize the distracting sounds. Systems are typically set at a sound level of NC 40, which corresponds to 48 decibels (dBA) +/- 2db. Zone output is controllable in nominal levels such as 1.5 dB increments maximum degree of speech privacy at the lowest possible background sound.

Types of Noise
Steady noise is a noise with negligibly small fluctuations of sound pressure level within the period of observation

Non steady -sound pressure levels shift significantly during the period of observation. Intermittent noise-level changes continuously and to a great extent during the period of observation- for which the level drops to the level of the background noise several times during the period of observation( for one or more than a sec) Tonal noise- either continuous or fluctuating and is characterised by one or two single frequencies Impulsive noise -one or more bursts of sound energy, each of a duration less than about 1s - type A and type B- Type A characterises typically gun shot types of impulses, while type B is the one most often found in industry

Noise Rating Systems (NR)

Curves which were often used in the past to assess steady industrial or community noise The NR index is the value of that curve which lies just above the spectrum of the measured noise. For normal levels of background noise, the NR index is equal to the value of the A-weighted sound pressure level in decibels minus 5

WEIGHTING NETWORKS are built into sound level meters to provide a meter response that tries to approximate the way the ear responds to the loudness of pure tones.

The most common weightings are: A - approximation of 40 phon line (de-emphasizes low frequencies) A-weighted sound level is the simplest method for predicting speech intelligibility. B - " 70 phon line C - " 100 phon line (almost flat) D - developed for aircraft flyover noise (penalizes high frequencies)

WEIGHTING NETWORKS A-weight is the most common: it correlates reasonably well with hearing damage it is easily implemented in a filter network it is a simple measure, overall level is one number it is used in most regulations obtained by taking the output of a high quality microphone and passing it through an electronic filter that attempts to imitate the sensitivity of the human ear. A good microphone will have a flat frequency response, meaning it will produce the same electrical output level, for any sound frequency input NC curves Noise Criterion Noise levels below 80 dBA are considered safe from a hearing loss perspective.

However, they can still be highly annoying and interfere with the effective performance of occupational tasks or other activities. NC rates the background levels in buildings and rooms. It is used to judge the appropriateness of the acoustic environment for various activities does not account for low frequency noise (below 63 Hz), which can be very significant in HVAC systems Balanced Noise Criterion Curves are used to specify acceptable noise levels in occupied spaces. Concert Halls Executive office General open office Conference room Suburban residence Urban residence Apartment houses Classroom Restaurants NC 15-20 NC 30-40 NC 35-45 NC 25-35 NC 20-30 NC 25-35 NC 30-40 NC 30-40 NC 35-45

OSHA Noise Standard Permissible Occupational Noise Levels (1978) 1. When employees are subjected to sounds exceeding permissible exposure levels (noise dose >1.0), feasible administrative or engineering control shall be utilized. 2. If such controls fail to reduce sound levels to within the permissible limits, personal protective equipment shall be provided and the proper use enforced. 3. In all cases where the sound levels exceed values specified as permissible limits (>85 dBA or noise dose of 0.5), an effective hearing conservation program shall be administered for as long as the noise levels exceed those permitted by law.

Indian standards

NBC 2005