Acoustics

Fundamentals

What is ACOUSTICS?
akouein
It is the science of sound,
including
its
production,
propagation and effects.
It is also defined as the
generation,
transmission,
and reception of energy in
the
form
of
vibrational

Main Sub-Discipline of Acoustics

AEROACOUSTICS
is the study of aerodynamic
sound, generated when a fluid flow
interacts with a solid surface or
with another flow
ARCHITECTURAL ACOUSTICS
is the study of how sound and
buildings interact
BIOACOUSTICS
is the study of the use of sound
by
animals
such
as
whales,
dolphins and bats.

Main Sub-Discipline of Acoustics

BIOMEDICAL ACOUSTICS
is the study of the use of sound in
medicine.

LOUDSPEAKER ACOUSTICS

is the engineering discipline behind

the design of the loudspeaker.

PSYCHOLOGICAL ACOUSTICS

is the study of how people react to

sound,
hearing,
perception
and
localization.

PHYSIOLOGICAL ACOUSTICS

is the study of the mechanical,

electrical and biochemical function of
hearing in living organisms.

Main Sub-Discipline of Acoustics

PHYSICAL ACOUSTICS
is the study of the detailed interaction
of sound with materials and fluids

SONOLUMINESCENCE
and
THERMOACOUSTICS

SONOLUMINESCENCE

STRUCTURAL ACOUSTICS AND

VIBRATION
-the
is the emission
study of how
of sound
light and
by
mechanical structures interact

bubbles in a liquid excited by

MUSICAL
sound ACOUSTICS

THERMOACOUSTIC
S

is the study of the physics of musical

instruments.

Main Sub-Discipline of Acoustics

WOLFFIAN ACOUSTICS
is the study of salient features of
pediatric ultrasound

UNDERWATER ACOUSTICS

is the study of the propagation of

sound in oceans.

TRANSDUCTION
is the study of how sound is
generated
and
measured
by
loudspeakers,
microphones,
sonar
projectors, hydrophones, ultrasonic
transducers, sensors.

Main Sub-Discipline of Acoustics

ENVIRONMENTAL NOISE

is
the
study
of
the
sound
propagation
in
the
human
environment, noise health effects and
noise mitigation analysis.

SPEECH COMMUNICATION

the study of how speech is produced,

the analysis of speech signals and the
properties of speech transmission,
storage, recognition and enhancement.

ULTRASONICS
is the study of high frequency sound

Main Sub-Discipline of Acoustics

ACOUSTICAL MEASUREMENTS
AND INSTRUMENTATION
ACOUSTICS SIGNAL PROCESSING
ACOUSTICAL ENGINEERING

ARCHITECTURAL ACOUSTICS
is a special branch of science that
deals
with
the
construction
of
enclosed areas so as to enhance the
hearing
of wanted sounds.
MARCUS

JOSEPH
HENRY

VITRUVI
US
POLLIO
WALLACE CLEMENT
SABINE

Father of Modern Architectural

What is SOUND?
is a physical phenomenon that
stimulates the sense of hearing. It is
an aural sensation caused by pressure
fluctuations.
is a term sometimes restricted to
such
airborne
vibrational
waves,
however, modern physicists usually
extend the term to include similar
vibrations in other gaseous, liquid, or
solid media.
is elemental that provides all sorts of

Speed of Sound
It is a pressure wave that propagates
through
air
with
a
speed
of
approximately:

330
meter/second

Speed of Sound
In fluid dynamics, the speed of sound in
a fluid medium (gas or liquid) is used as
a relative measure for the speed of an
object moving through the medium.
The speed of an object divided by the
speed of sound in the fluid is called the
Mach number.
Objects moving at speeds greater than
Mach1 are traveling at supersonic
speeds.

Categories of Sound
Everything aural
can be grouped into three categories:

MUSIC
NOISE
SPEEC
H

Attributes of Sound

PITC H UNIT:
MEL

the
attribute By:
of
auditory
Proposed
sensation
in terms
of which
sound
STEVENS,
VOLKMANN
AND
may be
ordered (1937)
on a scale
NEWMANN
primarily related to frequency.
The pitch of any sound judged by
l
i shighness
teners to b
e lowness
n t i m e s of
t h aat musical
of a MEL
or
no fm1e
ls

.H z t o n e a t a
1tone
, 0 0 0 Mas
e l s determined
i sT O
t hNeEp ii tsc h
,
0
0
0
by the rapidity
sensation level of 40dB

of the vibrations producing it.

Attributes of Sound

LOUDNESS
UNIT:
PHON
and

is
an
auditory
SONE
PHON
is the
unit ofobservers
loudness level when:

impression
of ofthe
strength
of
SONE
is the unit
loudness
on a scale
a.
The standard
pure tone
is produced
by a
sound.
designed
to give scale
numbers
approximately
sensibly plane
proportional
to thesinusoidal
loudness. progressive sound
2
wave comingLevel
from directly
in
front
of
the
Loudness
is measured by
observer
and
having the
a frequency
of 1000
For
practical
purposes,
scale
is
precisely
the sound pressure level of a
Hz. by its relation to the phon scale.
defined
standard
tonelevel
of inspecified
b.
The soundpure
pressure
the free
frequency
which
is assessed
by
progressive wave
is expressed
in dB above

PHON = 40 + 10 log
(SONE)

Attributes of Sound

TIM BRE
TONE COLOR
is the characteristic tonal quality
of sound
PURE TONE is a sound in which the sound
pressure varies sinusoidally with time.
The waveform may be represented by a sine
wave.

Attributes of Sound

TEM PO
is the speed of sound
how fast or slow

Attributes of Sound

R HYTHM
relates to a sonic time pattern,
may be simple, constant, complex
or changing.

Attributes of Sound

AT TA CK
is the way sound begins
can be hard, soft, crisp or gradual

Attributes of Sound

D URATION
refers to how long a sound blasts
can be short or sustained sounds

Attributes of Sound

D ECAY
refers to how fast sound fades
from a certain loudness
can be quick, gradual or slow

Sound Generation
Requirements to Produce
Sound
TRANSMITTING MEDIUM
PRESENCE OF VIBRATION
RECEIVER OR END USER

Nature of Sound
Sound is the sensation produced by the
ear when stimulated by a vibrating
object
through
a
sequence
of
compressions and rarefactions in the air
surrounding it.

COMPRESSION

-condensed region of the medium

through which a longitudinal wave
travels.

RAREFACTION

-rarefied region or region of

lessened pressure of the medium
through which a longitudinal wave

Interpretation of Sound
OBJECTIVELY:
a purely phenomena consisting of
wave
motion
in
air
or
any
transmitting medium

SUBJECTIVELY:
the sensation produced by outside
stimulation on the ear.

SONIC

20-20,000 Hz

range of frequency that human can

hear
normal audible sound
human hearing range

infraSONIC less than 20 Hz

a frequency that is too low to be heard by
human
ex. avalanche, volcanoes, earthquakes,
meteorites

ultraSONIC greater than 20,000 Hz

anything above the frequency of audible sound

Velocity of Propagation
Sound
travels
at
velocities depending
medium.

different
upon the

Since sound travels not only in air

but also through parts of the
structure, it is of interest to know
the velocities in other media.

Velocity of Propagation
IN A GAS MEDIUM:

s=

where:
Po = is the steady pressure of the gas in N/m^2
= is the steady or average density of the gas in
kg/m^3
= ratio of the specific heat of constant pressure to
that
of the constant volume

Velocity of Propagation
IN NORMAL DRY AIR:
for: Tc 20
C

s = 331.45 +
0.607 Tc
for: Tc > 20

s = 331.45

Velocity of Propagation
IN LIQUID:

s=

where:
K = liquid compressibility
CONSTANT
= 47x10^-8/981

(m-s^2/kg)

Mach Number

ERNST MACH
ERNST WALDFRIED JOSEF WENZEL
MACH

Assignment:
List aircrafts together with their Mach
Numbers
Applications Military, Commercial,
etc.
Images
Developers
Length of Service

Nature of Speech
SOUND PRESSURE WAVE OF SPEECH:

100 to 10,000 Hz
SPEECH POWER:

100 to 1,000 W
MAXIMUM INTELLIGIBILITY
FREQUENCY:

FOR

1,000 to 3,000 Hz

MAXIMUM VOICE ENERGY:

250 to 500 W

VOICE

Assignment:
Tabulate some sound sources with
their computed power and their
corresponding sound power level, in
dB, referenced at 1012 watts.
Example:

Must
be
differe
nt from
the
given
data in
the
handou

Speech Measurement
VU METER:
It is the device used to measure
speech volume and designed to follow
speech levels in relation to human
hearing with a standard signal level of
+4dBm on a 600 line.

FOR TYPICAL SINGLE TALKER AVERAGE POWER

(dBm)

PdBm = VU reading 1.4 (dB)

FOR MORE THAN
CHANNEL (dBm)

ONE

SPEAKER

OVER

THE

PdBm = VU reading 1.4 (dB) + 10

Classes of Speech
PLOSIVE SOUNDS
Results from the complete closure of our vocal tract
resulting in air pressure becoming extremely high
behind the closure.

VOICED SOUNDS

Are produced when our vocal chords vibrate as a

result of our lungs generating sufficient pressure to
open our vocal folds. For most people, the vibration
frequency of their folds is within 50 to 400 Hz range
and is referred to as the pitch frequency component
of voice.

UNVOICED SOUNDS
Refer to the period of time when our vocal folds are
normally open, allowing air to pass from our lungs
freely into the rest of our vocal tract. It is generated
by constricting the vocal tract by slightly closing our

Frequency Parameters

HA RM ONIC S

the
integral
multiples
fundamental frequency

of

the

Nth Harmonics = N x
Ff

Frequency Parameters

OVE RTONE
musical term for harmonics

Nth Overtone = (N+1)

x Ff

Frequency Parameters

O CTAV E

frequency interval of 2
It
is
an
interval
between
two
frequencies that have a tonal ration of 2
to 1.
It has a pitch interval of 2:1
It is the tone whose frequency is twice
that of the given tone.

Nth Octave = 2^N x

Ff
Number of Octave = log

Frequency Parameters

D ECA DE
frequency interval of 10

Nth Octave = 10^N x

Ff

Frequency Parameters
The human hearing range from 20 Hz
to 20 kHz has approximately 10 octave
bands.
The 10 octaves are categorized as:
BASS (1st to 4th)
MIDRANGE (5th to 8th)
TREBLE (9th and 10th octave

Vocal Range

Vocal Range

Apparent Loudness and Loudness

Level
LOUDNESS
LEVEL
0 to 15 dB

15 to 30 dB

APPARENT
LOUDNESS

VERY
FAINT
FAINT

60 to 80 dB

MODERAT
E
LOUD

80 to 130
dB
130 dB

VERY
LOUD
DEAFENIN

30 to 60 dB

Apparent Loudness and Loudness

Level
0 dB
60 dB

THRESHOLD
HEARING

OF

AVERAGE
CONVERSATION

120 dB

THRESHOLD OF PAIN

150
dB

PERMANENT DAMAGE
TO HEARING

SPL of Common Sound Source

SOURCE

SPL (dB)

Faintest Audible
Sound
Whisper

0
20

Quiet Residence

30

Soft Stereo in
Residence
Speech Range

40
50 - 70

Cafeteria

80

Pneumatic Jack
Hammer
Loud Crowd Noise

90
100

Accelerating
Motorcycle
Rock Concert

100

Jet Engine (75 ft

140

120

Sample Problems
Determine the speed of sound in air at
STP.
NOTE (@STP):
= 1.4 for air,
= 1.29kg/m^3,
P = 1 atm
= 1.01325x10^5
Pa

S = 331.61
m/s

Sample Problems
A camera focuses using ultrasound. If it
focuses precisely at 20 degree Celsius,
how far off (%) will it be at 0 degree
Celsius?

3.53%

Sample Problems
A flute with all of the holes closed can
be considered as a tube with both ends
open. It has a fundamental frequency of
261.6 Hz (which is the middle C.
Calculate the 3rd harmonic, 3rd overtone,
3rd octaves, and 3rd decades of the
fundamental frequency calculated.

3rd harmonic
Hz
3rd overtone
kHz
3rd octaves

784.8

= 1.0464
= 2.0928

Acoustics
Fundamentals