Building Acoustics and Noise Control

Frequency, wavelength, speed of sound, frequency spectra, octave bands, third octave bands, sound pressure level, A-weighting.

Adding sound pressure levels on a computer and using the shortcut method.

Sound pressure level vs sound power level, 5 factors affecting direct sound pressure levels, omnidirectional (spherical) radiation, directivity index.

Reflectors, absorbers, diffusers, diffusive panel design case study.

Porous dissipative absorption, flexing movements, resonance, characteristics of absorber types, sound absorber examples, sound absorption coefficients of some common materials, atrium acoustic design example auralisation.

Sound pressure level vs sound power level and calculation of sound pressure level.

Sound decay with distance away for an omnidirectional (spherical) sound source.

Point source, line source and plane source.

Directivity index, location of the source, hemispherical radiation, 1/4 sphere radiation, 1/8 sphere radiation.

Source size, path difference, barrier dimensions, 2D example, Excel calculation.

Summary of all the corrections for outdoor sound level calculations and an example Excel calculation.

dB(A), Lmax, L1, L10, Leq, L90 metrics, outdoor sound level criteria discussion, noise creep, noise burden, example amenity noise criteria.

Reflective, absorptive and diffusive surfaces, sound absorption coefficients of some internal finishes.

Reverberance, reverberation time (RT), Sabine's equation, Fitzroy equation, Eyring equation, flutter echoes, example reverberation time calculation, typical RTs of spaces.

Case studies - unamplified music, amplified music, speech auditorium, office boardroom, assembly hall, diffusive panel design for a theatre.

Reverberant sound level in a space (calculation method), example calculation of reverberant sound level in an indoor swimming centre.

Physical scale modelling, 2D and 3D raytracing using Matlab and AutoCAD.

Overview of room acoustic software, detail in computer modelling, 3D modelling in a railway station.

Sound propagation in rooms, impulse response, the benefit of auralisations, portable auralisations, auralisations in a controlled environment, soundlab auralisations.

Demonstration of the speech intelligibility of emergency announcements within an indoor swimming centre.

The difference between sound absorption and sound insulation, the acoustic considerations due to sound transmission including disturbance, speech privacy and speech intelligibility.

The difference between airborne and structureborne sound, demonstration using a music box.

Airborne sound insulation ratings, weighted sound reduction index (Rw), sound transmission class (STC), weighted impact sound pressure level (LnTw), impact isolation class (IIC), limitations of single number ratings, laboratory vs field performance,

Sound insulation of a single leaf partition, sound insulation of a double leaf partition.

Float glass, laminated glass, double glazing units, factors affecting acoustic performance.

Calculations of composite transmission loss of partitions, example calculation spreadsheet, the 10% rule of thumb.

Wet and dry wall constructions, typical wall and glazing construction details and corresponding acoustic performances (Rw).

Auralisations of glazing selection with traffic noise, and acoustic privacy provided by wall partitions in offices.

Airborne sound compared to structureborne sound.

Impact noise generation and transmission in buildings, airborne vs structureborne sound demonstration using a music box.

Impact Isolation Class (IIC), Weighted Impact Sound Pressure Level (LnTw), international standards and criteria.

Measurement procedure, standard tapping machines, importance of frequency content of impact noise, example measurement review,

Review of sound insulating floor systems, hard and soft floor coverings, impact noise reduction strategies, concrete base constructions, timber floor systems.

Brief overview of the top 5 ways of reducing impact noise generation from floor surfaces.

Case study of an impact noise assessment and floor design for a residential apartment.

Wind turbine noise, porous and semi porous facades, exposed thermal mass, renewable power noise emissions, building shape barrier effects, green roofs, naturally ventilated facades.

Acoustic comfort strategies and credit points available in green building rating systems including control of background noise levels, control of reverberance, acoustic separation (sound insulating constructions) and control of impact noise transfer.

Key acoustic considerations - excessive reverberance and background noise levels, discrete late reflections, daylighting and acoustics, a case study of acoustic ceiling types using visualisation.

Factors that affect acoustic privacy, background noise level, sound insulation performance, sound transmission paths, acoustic privacy ratings, auralisation example of acoustic privacy in offices.

The balance of natural ventilation and noise control, auralisation examples of various configurations of naturally ventilated facades including sealed double glazing, open window, dual vented window design, Silenceair trickle ventilator.

A case study describing full scale prototype testing of a dual vented window system facilitating natural ventilation and providing noise control.

Project case study describing the natural ventilation design for a library located under an aircraft flight path.

Recycled denim, sound absorbing panels using 100% recycled glass, recycled cotton wall panels, 100% PET wall panels, packless silencers, coconut coir acoustic panels.

Daylighting and space planning, glass topped workstation partitions, translucent wall elements, light shelves with acoustically absorptive properties, microperforated foil.