ACOUSTICS

INTRODUCTION
The earliest references to the science of sound (acoustics) connected to the buildings are the problems
experienced by the Greeks and Romans in their Open-air Theatres. Vitruvius, the Roman architect of
Emperor Augustus was the pioneer in the field of acoustics and suggested in his book “10 Treatise of
architecture” about the acoustical treatment for good hearing conditions. During Medieval period in
Europe whispering galleries in the churches are the product of acoustical experimentations. But serious
studies on this subject only started in the early years of 19th Cen. , a lot of useful information was
accumulated by experimenting on trial and error basis. The modern acoustics study was mainly
contributed by Joseph Henry ( 1856 – position of reflected surfaces in public buildings), Dr. D. B.
Reid (1935 - about Reverberation time), Wallace B. Sabine ( 1868 – 1919 the father of modern
architectural acoustics, he was a professor in Physics in Harvard University, he made many experiments
to calculate the Reverberation time and found that R.T. is directly proportional to the volume and
reflections and inversely proportional to the absorption and set the formula R.T = 0.16 V/A )

TERMINOLOGIES
1. Wave form – Sine Wave / Simple Harmonic Motion
2. Tone – Pure tone, Mixed tone
3. Harmonics
4. Frequency
5. Amplitude
6. Wave length ( λ)
7. Velocity
8. Pitch
9. Note
10. Timbre
11. Loudness
12. Decibel
13. Threshold of audibility

PROPERTIES
1. Reflection
2. Diffusion
3. Absorption
4. Refraction
5. Diffraction
6. Resonance
7. Reverberation

DEFECTS OF SOUND
1. Excessive Reverberation
2. Echo and Flutter
3. Sound Foci or “hot-spots”
4. Dead spots
5. Resonance
6. Interference
7. Insufficient loudness
8. creep

TERMINOLOGIES
1. Wave form – Sine Wave / Simple Harmonic Motion
• Sound is generated from a vibrating body as wave forms and propagated in the air medium.
• When a tuning fork is struck gently it produces a single frequency wave motion which is called as
Simple Harmonic Motion.
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• When Simple Harmonic Motion is plotted as a function of time and displacement is called as “Sine”
wave.
2. Tone – Pure tone, Mixed tone
• It is the simplest form of continued vibrations. Simple Harmonic Motion or the single frequency
sound wave is known as “Pure tone”
• Human voice and musical instruments can produce “Mixed tones”
• Mixed tones are complex in nature as they are combination of a series of Simple Harmonic Motions
appearing as one complex wave
3. Harmonics
• The lowest frequency from a vibrating body is known as its fundamental frequency
• The higher frequency modes are called as “overtones”
• “overtones” having simple relations to the fundamental frequency are called as “harmonics”
• Example: if 200 hz is fundamental tone then 400 hz is its second harmonic, 600 hz is its third
harmonic
4. Frequency
• The vibrating particles complete one cycle when it makes a complete to and fro displacement about
its mean equilibrium position.
• The number of such cycle per second is known as the frequency of sound
• The unit of frequency is cycles/second or hertz (hz)
• Human ear is capable of detecting frequencies between 20 and 20,000 cycles/seconds
• We can hear higher frequency at lower intensity or lower frequency at higher intensity
5. Amplitude
• Sound originates from a vibrating body, with the continuous outward and inward movements of the
vibrating body, a definite pattern pf compression and rarefaction of layers are generated in all
directions
• The average maximum distance of a particle from its mean position is called as “amplitude”
• A wave of long amplitude carries more energy
6. Wave length
• The waves of sound propagation is spherical in nature
• The wave motion is formed by the layers of compression and rarefactions.
• The distance of one cycle or the distance between two compressions is known as wavelength ( λ)
• The wave length of sound varies from several meters to fraction of a centimeter
7. Velocity
• The speed in a specific direction of propagation of sound
• It is a vector quantity
• The velocity of sound in the air is 343 meter / sec. at 20 C
8. Pitch
• Pitch of sound is the number of vibrations produced at the source of sound per second
• The audible pitch is between 20 and 20,000 c/s
• The unit of pitch is mels
• Though t is determined by the same numeric value of the frequency but it is also a function of
intensity and waveform. It is a complex characteristics
• Pitch is a psychological phenomenon where as frequency is a physical one
9. Note
• A sound consists of a series of tones related in a certain way. The combination is termed as note
• A note can be produced by a musical instrument or a human voice
10. Timbre
• Notes of the same numerical value can be produced on different musical instruments or by different
human voices
• These notes though having the same numerical value, produces differences in quality (how the same
frequency of sound in violin and guitar differs), which is called as timbre
11. Intensity of sound: rate of flow of sound energy per unit area
12. Loudness

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• A subjective response to sound indicating the magnitude of the auditory sensation produced by the
amplitude of the sound
• It is the intensity of sound energy, depends on sound pressure and frequency
• The unit of measurement is phon
13. Decibel
• A unit of expressing the relative pressure of or the intensity of sounds on a uniform scale
• Decibel (db) is measured on a logarithmic scale which is 1/10th of bel (bel came from Alexander
Graham Bel, the inventor of telephone)
• It is not an absolute measurement always a relative one i.e. ratio of two sound pressure.
Sound Pressure Level (SPL) = 20 log P1/P0 db, (where, P1 is the sound pressure after the
particular sound is produced, P0 is the reference sound pressure level which is constant for
measuring all db)
• If the level of sound is more than 80 db, it starts causing serious problems like mental fatigue
hearing loss which is also called as threshold of audibility and 130 db is threshold of feeling or pain
14. Threshold of audibility: Human ear is less sensitive at lower and higher frequency than medium
frequencies. Loud noise hurt the hearing organ. Threshold of audibility is the level of sound audible
without harmful effect to ear and is different at different frequencies. Threshold of pain is the
limiting level beyond which cause permanent damage to the ear. The sensitivity of ear drops at
higher frequency. Different decibel levels are as
• 0 -30 db: inaudible
• 30 db: whispers and faint sound
• 30 – 50 db: audible and harmless
• 50 – 70 db: loud
• 80 db: threshold of audibility
• 80 – 120 db: very harmful
• 120 db: onwards: dangerous and causes hearing loss
• 130 db: threshold of pain or feeling
15. Units
• Frequency: c/s or hertz
• Intensity level: db,
• Loudness level: phon
• Loudness: sone
• Pitch: mels

PROPERTIES of SOUND
1. Reflection
• Hard, non-porous and smooth surface reflects the sound energy maximum
• Reflectors must be large in relation to the wavelength of sound and sufficiently stiff
• Sound reflection can be either:
• Specular reflection or
• Diffuse reflection
• Specular reflection is similar to light reflection from a mirror, occurs from smooth surfaces
• In Diffuse reflection, reflected sound energy scattered uniformly over a larger area, occurs from
irregular and rough surfaces
2. Diffusion
• irregular shaped surfaces diffuse the sound energy
• convex surface scattered the reflected sound, concave surface converges / focuses reflected sound
• necessary requirement for musical performances
3. Absorption
• The sound or the continued vibrations produce kinetic energy
• If the sound is to be stopped, that energy must be absorbed by a large mass capable of absorbing the
movement without itself moving much
• The acoustical absorbing materials are porous, fibrous and of low-density

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• The sound absorption capacity of a material is determined by the “sound absorption coefficient” of
the material which is a ratio of the sound energy absorbed to the total incident sound energy on a
unit area and denoted by “ά”
• The value of “ά” depends on the frequency
4. Refraction
• It is the phenomenon of change of direction of sound propagation due to
o Temperature variations in the atmosphere
o Wind direction
5. Diffraction
• Sound propagation gets diffracted
o When passes through an opening
o When gets obstructed by an element
• bending of waves around obstacles (smaller than wavelength)
• spreading out of waves beyond small openings (smaller than wavelength)
• long wavelength sound diffract more easily than high pitch sound which tend to be more directional
and don’t diffract much
6. Resonance
• Sound waves transmit vibrations to the surrounding objects which is called as sympathetic
vibrations due to which the object starts producing sound of same frequency
• Air seal or trapped air acts as good resonator
• Wood is a good resonating material
• Resonance adds to the strength of the original sound intensity
• In music usually resonance is preferred
7. Reverberation
• After any sound is produced it keeps on lingering for sometimes before gradually decays to a
negligible intensity
• This phenomenon is known as reverberation of sound
• The time taken to diminish to one millionth of its original intensity is called as Reverberation time
• The good hearing condition of any space is determined by its optimum Reverberation time
• The reverberation time is measured by Sabine’s formula
t = 0.16 V/ A
where, t = Reverberation time (second),
V = Volume of room cubic meter),
A = Total absorption from all the inner surfaces (∑a. α) (α: coefficient of absorption of
materials)
DEFECTS OF SOUND
1. Excessive Reverberation
• Reverberation time increases by the successive reflections of sound from its inner surfaces and the
volume of the room
• If the Reverberation time is less or more than the optimum Reverberation time the hearing condition
of any interior gets adversely affected
• The optimum Reverberation time for
• Meditation hall, Library: 1.0 sec.
• Lecture hall: 1.5 sec.
• Music hall: 2.0 sec.
2. Echo and Flutter
• Echo:
o The most common acoustical defect is formation of echoes
o These are caused by sound reflection from a surface sufficiently away from the listener to
cause a complete repetition of the sound previously heard through direct waves
o Echoes are noticed when difference between the direct path and the reflected path is more
than 23 m or the time between the two is taken more than 1/15th of a second
• Flutter:

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 o A rapid succession of echoes produced by the reflection of sound waves from two parallel
surfaces with sufficient time between each reflection to cause the listener to be heard as
separate signals
3. Sound Foci or “hot-spots”
• When a number of reflections of the same sound source meet at a point simultaneously, a sound
focus is formed
• Such an occurrence is created from the concave surfaces – circular wall, vaulted and domed roofs
4. Dead spots
• There are some positions in an auditorium where sound is scarcely audible which are called as dead
spots
• These occur due some obstructions or shape of the hall
5. Resonance
• Resonance produced in any interior is not acceptable as it affects the hearing condition of the
interior
6. Interference
• Successive reflections of the sound in an interior cause confusion, which is known as interference of
sound
7. Insufficient loudness
• If the sound volume is less than the volume of the interior, sound may not be heard which needs to
be improved by providing reflectors or amplifiers
8. Creep
• Successive reflections from curve surface are produced and whispers are heard clearly at certain
places when the source is near the curve surface, whereas near the source sound may not be heard
clearly.
COMPONENTS OF DIRECT OR INCIDENT SOUND
• Reflected sound
• Absorbed sound
• Transmitted sound

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NOISE
• Unwanted sound which causes mental fatigue, harmful effect and uneasiness is called as noise
• Noise is produced inside or outside the building, which then travel through air or structure of
building to reach interior.
• It is necessary to cut-off noise in interior in order to achieve good hearing condition.
• The unit of measurement of noise is decibel (db)
• Different decibel levels are as
o 0 – 30 db: whispers and faint sound
o 30 – 50 db: audible and harmless
o 50 – 70 db: loud
o 80 – 120 db: very harmful ( 80db is the threshold of audibility)
o 120 onwards: dangerous and causes hearing loss (130db is the threshold of pain or feeling)
• Two types of noise
o AIR-BORNE NOISE: Outside noises which come through air in an interior from the doors,
windows, ventilators such as traffic noise, industrial noise, playground noise etc.
o STRUCTURE-BORNE NOISE: Noises which are produced in contact with structures by
impact and transmit the vibration through the structural members such as footsteps, furniture
movement, slamming of doors, machines (air-conditioning, pump, etc.)

NOISE CONTROL IN BUILDINGS

Noise could be controlled at the source or at the transmission path. In case of air-borne noise the control
is made at transmission path and in case of structure borne noise, control is made at source as well as at
transmission path.
o AIR-BORNE NOISE: Air-borne noise could be reduced by increasing transmission loss by
providing:
▪ proper location of quiet and noisy zones in design
▪ screen of evergreen trees and shrubs
▪ level difference between road and building
▪ Sound Proof Constructions for walls, ceiling, door, windows (cavity with air seal, composite
with insulating materials, disconnecting construction)
o STRUCTURE-BORNE NOISE:
a. To control noise at the source: to dampen the noise isolating the source of noise from the
structure. Isolators are used to dampen the sound. Isolators are not good insulators, they
are dense and heavy materials such as rubber, neoprene etc. Isolation is done by providing
• carpets on the floor
• rubber bushing to the furniture
• automatic door closers
• shock absorbers as resilient couplings, pads between machine and floor

b. To control noise at the transmission path:

• sand cushioning under the foundation of building
• Sound Proof Constructions for floors, walls, partitions, ceilings, doors, windows etc.
• Air-conditioning duct, inlets, outlets

ACOUSTICAL MATERIALS
• Fibrous, porous, low density materials which absorb sound considerably are called as acoustical
materials or sound insulators
• The coefficient of absorption of acoustical materials are high (usually more than 0.5)
• Acoustical materials usually have very good thermal insulation property, but the light reflection
quality is very poor. So acoustical materials are pre-painted or factory painted.
• There are natural as well as artificial absorbents of sound as wood, cloth, gypsum, cork, glass wool
etc.
• Absorbing materials should not be applied to the surfaces which might provide useful reflections.
For eg. near the stage of an auditorium.
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• Absorbing materials to be applied to surfaces
o Might produce excessive echo (beyond 23 m: rear wall and furthest part of side walls,
ceiling)
o On long narrow parallel walls which might produce flutter
o The mounting method must follow the manufacturers’ instructions

CLASSIFICATIONS OF ACOUSTICAL MATERIALS:

1. Furnishing materials:
a. Curtains: normal curtains are not very effective for sound absorption treatment, they must
be thick and to be hung making a gap of min. 150mm from the openings.
b. Cushion seats: considerable sound absorption is provided by upholstered (cushion) seats in
large auditorium as compared to wooden or metal seats.
c. Carpets: carpets are used extensively in absorption and diffusion of sound. Carpets have
high absorption coefficient and are effective if laid on hard flooring.
2. Finishing Materials:
a. Pre-fabricated acoustical material: ready made acoustical units in forms of tiles, boards,
slabs, panels, perforated plywood, fabric etc. which are used mainly as finishing surfaces.
These are quite satisfactory in terms of acoustical applications. To make durable usually
protective coatings are necessary.
b. Acoustical Plaster: used for surface finishing with porous plaster of lime or gypsum
applied in two coats. Sometimes fibrous materials are mixed in acoustical plaster. They are
cheap compared to other acoustical materials and used widely. The absorption coefficient
depends on its 1. thickness, 2. surface finish (texture), 3. surface undulation, 4. paint not
reducing the porousity.
3. Filling materials:
a. Resilient Blankets: they are fibrous in nature and available in forms of rolls or pads,
manufactured from mineral wool, glass fibres, asbestos fibres, wood wool. The thickness
may vary from 10mm to 100mm. they are effectively used as internal layers to increase
acoustical as well as thermal insulations.

TRANSMISSION LOSS
• The % of transmission loss of sound through solid wall or floor depends on its weight / unit of
superficial area which indicates the thickness
• Transmission loss could be increased by:
o Excessive thickness
o Cavity construction: Sealed air space is an excellent insulator of sound. To prevent the
resonance in the trapped air, large air space must be broken into smaller ones by loose
packing or dividing members of resilient materials
o Composite construction: To avoid the excessive thickness of wall or floor, composite
constructions are recommended with sound absorbing / insulating / resilient materials
o Discontinuous construction: isolation from structural members with resilient materials/air
seal as floating floor
• sound resilient materials: wood, cloth, cork, felt, glass wool, rubber, foam etc.
• Sound Reduction Factor: The transmission loss of sound though wall, floor , doors, windows are
expressed as a value in decibel which is called as Sound Reduction Factor

ACOUSTICAL CONSTRUCTIONS (sketches)

To increase the sound insulation against air-borne and structure-borne noise,
1. Walls and partitions: Resilient blanket and air space between masonry wall and timber /
acoustical panels or between partition panels for transmission loss to cut-off both air and
structure-borne noise.
2. Floors:
• Floating Floors: isolation from structural floor can completely cut-off mechanical
impacts as well as air-borne noise. Resilient blanket and air space create the isolation for
transmission loss.
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 • Floor finishes & covering: carpet over timber / cork / rubber flooring
3. Suspended ceiling: must be air-tight to cut-off air-borne noise, minimum 300mm air gap: more
the air gap better the effect
4. Sound-proof doors:
5. Double windows: two glazing panels with air gap of min. 25mm with sealing all the joints.
Necessary for sound recording studio.
6. Special acoustical arrangements: To satisfy wide range of requirements sometimes flexible or
fixed sound absorbers are designed which are made adjustable depending upon the use and
number of persons in the room. These include a variety of systems such as
• suspended ceiling panels
• adjustable wall panels : sliding panels, hinged panels
• retractable absorbing panel
• rotating panel: cylindrical absorbers or Helmoltz resonators

CO-EFFICIENT OF ABSORPTION
The ratio of the sound absorbed to the total incident sound on the materials measured in different
frequencies as:
Materials Co-efficient of absorption
(500c/s)
01 Brick wall (plain / painted) 0.02
02 Concrete 0.02
03 Floor tiles 0.03
04 Glass (windows) 0.10
05 Glass paneling 0.01
06 Glazed tiles 0.01
07 Polished marble 0.01
08 Plaster 0.02
09 Plaster board (ceiling with space above) 0.10
10 Plywood panel with air space on solid backing 0.15
11 Wood paneling 0.12
12 Wooden boarding on joists and battens 0.10
13 Cork, linoleum, rubber flooring on solid surface 0.20
14 Fibre board 12 mm thick 0.30
15 Cork tile 25 mm thick 0.20
16 Asbestos spray on solid backing 0.50
17 Carpet thin on concrete 0.25
18 Carpet thin on wooden floor 0.30
19 Curtain straight 0.15
20 Curtain heavy folds 0.35
21 Felt 25 mm thick perforated against solid backing 0.70
22 Mineral wool, Glass wool 25 mm thick 0.70
23 Mineral wool, Glass wool 50 mm thick 0.75
24 Panel of 2 layers of bitumen with air space between 0.20
25 Poly urethane flexible foam 50 mm thick on solid backing 0.85
26 Wood wool slab 25 mm thick 0.40
27 Audience in upholstered (seat per person) 0.46
28 Audience in wooden seat (seat per person) 0.40
29 Seat fully upholstered (per seat) 0.28
30 Seat wooden (per seat) 0.15

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MASKING EFFECT OF NOISE:
• It is interfering of one noise to another and is a complex phenomenon
• When the difference of two noise levels is more than 15 db, then the lower frequency (bigger
wavelength) noise covers the higher frequency (shorter wavelength) sound if the lower frequency
sound is louder than the higher frequency one
• This phenomenon elevates our threshold of audibility level
• low frequency sound has considerable effect on high frequency sound if it is louder like soft music
and water fall can easily mask over high frequency unwanted sound.
• It elevates the background noise level
• If the masking sound is not too loud, uninterrupted and non-informative, it acts as good background
noise or “white noise”.

DESIGN PARAMETERS FOR GOOD ACOUSTICS IN AN AUDITORIUM

Requirements for Good Hearing Condition
• Absence of disturbing external noises
• Uniform distribution of sound throughout the room
• Adequate loudness of sound throughout the room
• Optimum Reverberation time
• Background noise level max. 35 db when empty
• Natural Reinforcement near the source
To be achieved by
• Shape of auditorium
• Size of auditorium
• Internal Surface configuration
• Materials (reflective and absorptive)
• Reinforcement
• Stage
To be avoided
• Circular / elliptical shape
• Concave rear wall (Echo)
• Parallel wall
To be recommended
• Fan shape
• Configured parallel walls to direct sound and to reduce flutter
• Slope should not be too steep (1:8 to 1:15)
• Ceiling to be utilized for natural reinforcement: reflection and diffusion
• Dome: radius should be twice the ceiling height or less than half of ceiling height
• Balcony: shallow depth and high opening, max. depth twice the ht. of opening(ht. below balcony),
sloped sofit to enhance sound below balcony area
• Balcony railing: to control reflection
• Rear wall: total absorptive surface

SOUND REINFORCEMENT SYSTEM

When sound is emitted from a source towards an audience, the sound energy received by those in the
rear is reduced by 1. normal decay and 2. absorption by the audience. The Greeks and Romans
minimized this loss by placing the audience at steep slope in open air theatres. Sound reinforcement
could be achieved by two methods:
1. Natural reinforcement techniques:
• utilizing the shape, surface texture, materials to reflect peripheral sound energy in a manner
that will reinforce the direct sound energy
• sound reflectors or sound mirrors could be carefully placed
• configuring the surfaces to redirect the sound towards audience

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 • diffusing and mixing direct and indirect sound from reflections. hard, non-porous continuous
surfaces are good reflectors. Hard, non-porous, irregular surfaces diffuses sound energy
• direct sound reaches to the audience when the slope is steep
2. Artificial amplification system:
• Sound amplification is useful
• For large space more than 5000 sqm. or for more than 500 capacity
• Unaided sound is not loud enough
• Speaker does not speak loudly
• to increase sound intensity at the stage
• where background noise level is high
• where general acoustics condition of the room is bad
• to provide announcement or public addressing system
• in sound recording studio
• to transmit to remote location

• In Artificial reinforcement system, signal can be readily amplified, filtered, recorded and
processed various ways. It consists of
1. microphone: input device, near the sources
2. amplifier: control device
3. loudspeaker: output device, near the listener
Microphones:
• A microphone or transducer is a device that converts sound energy to electro-magnetic signal.
• Microphones are sensitive to frequency and direction.
• Microphones should be placed 500 to 700 mm away from the mouth. If it is too closed speech
frequency gets distorted, if too far it picks up reverberated sound. If more than one microphone are
there, then the one in use would be “live”, otherwise other microphones will receive the signal and
could create confusions.
• It should respond equally well in all audio-frequency range.
• Directivity:
• Microphones are available with either equally sensitive to sound coming either from any
direction or from one or more particular directions.
• A certain amount of directivity is required.
• Microphones are designed with two basic directional types:
1. Directional (one or more directional): they are sensitive to sound coming from one
direction, and are better because it reduces the “Feed Back” effect or howling noise at
particular frequency not at all frequencies
i. one directional: “Cardioid type” microphones sensitive to frontal
direction. It reduces the danger of “Feed Back” effect. Most common type.
ii. More directional: Ribbon microphones are sensitive at front and back
not at sides. It is useful where two talkers are on opposite sides as in
case of interview using same microphone fixed in position.
2. Omni-directional (all directions): equal sensitive in all directions. They produce howling
noise because it catches the amplified sound from back and then again amplify it.
• “Feed Back” effect: howling noise produced due to receiving the amplified sound from back side of
microphone (audience side) and further amplifying it
• Following types of microphones are available:
• Dynamic microphone: a diaphragm vibrates to an incident sound pressure which transmits to
a moving coil and magnetic field. Common type of microphone.
• Condenser microphone: it consists of a light diaphragm spaced a small distance from a back
plate. Used in special purposes as recording studio, etc.

Loudspeakers:
• Loud speakers convert electro-magnetic signal into sound energy
• Loudspeakers are usually cone with dia. between 150 – 300 mm
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• Loudspeaker system is the core of any sound amplification system and performance depends on
basic factors: 1. directional characteristics of sound distribution, 2. arrangement of speakers, 3.
placement of loudspeakers

1. Directional characteristics of sound distribution from speakers: Directional characteristics of

loudspeakers are responsive to Frequency ranges: lower, medium and high. Each range of frequency
transmits in different ways as:
• Lower frequency range (bass) speaker (woofer) (20 – 200 hz): sound emits equally in all
directions 360ْ
• Medium frequency range speaker (squawker) (200 – 1000 hz): sound emits at 180
• High frequency range (treble) speaker (tweeter) (1000 hz above): radiates a beam of sound
towards front

2. Arrangement of speakers: As per the directional characteristics speakers could be arranged

different ways to take care of all frequency ranges and of better clarity as:
• Mono type speaker: single speaker produces sound of all frequencies
• Stereo type speaker arrangements: for producing sound of better clarity, the incident sound
frequencies are grouped into two or more. In two way speakers: woofer and tweeter take care
of mid frequency sound.
• Loudspeaker-cluster: “Column” or “Line” loudspeakers: cluster of several moving-coil
loudspeakers for different frequencies are mounted one above the other for good directional
effect and to cater large audience. Due to interfering effect they emit concentrated narrow
beam on the vertical plane. Longer the column higher the frequency and narrower the beam. It
has two advantages: 1. directs sound towards audience so intensely that reverberated sound
becomes less, 2. fading of intensity of direct sound with distance reduces to some extent.

3. The placement of loudspeaker: must be coordinated with architectural design. Proper placement
of loudspeakers is responsible for good hearing condition. Two types of loudspeaker placement
systems in a hall are:
a. Central loudspeaker system: single higher level loudspeaker- cluster is placed above or side of
the proscenium
b. Distributed loudspeaker system: a series of low-level loudspeakers located overhead uniformly
throughout the space, each one covering a smaller area. Loudspeakers operating at lower level
are effective for distinct hearing. This type of system is necessary where central-loudspeaker
cluster could not be possible. It is useful for public address functions, exhibition area, air
terminals, railway stations, large offices, factories, etc.

Haas Effect: Sound from loudspeaker arrives at the listener before or after the natural / direct
sound, depending on the relative position of the listener. Usually the sound from the loudspeaker is
louder and faster than the natural sound. If more than one loudspeakers are in use, the listener
receives the same sound for several times. If all the repetitions arrive within 35 milliseconds, they
will help in increasing the loudness of sound. If they keep arriving after 100 milliseconds, they
would be heard as echoes. Between the direct and loudspeaker sounds whichever reaches the
listener first apparently provides the directional sense of the source of sound. This is called “Haas
Effect”. It may so happen that the sound from the loudspeaker reaches the listener first and for him
loudspeaker becomes the source of sound. This can be rectified by artificially introduced delay in
sound reaching from the loudspeakers.

Amplifiers:
• When sound of various frequencies at certain intensity is received at the amplifier from
microphones, it amplifies all the incident frequencies by same factor and send to the
loudspeakers.
• The sound reinforcement system could be mono or stereo type.

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REVERBERATION TIME CALCULATION
Example: Reverberation Time for a class room of internal dimension of 16m x 8m and height of 3.5m , 25 wooden benches of 1.2m x 0.3m, one teacher’s table of
1.2m x 0.75m, 51 wooden chairs, one blackboard of glass of 2.4m x 1.2m and a wooden door of 1.2m x 2.1m on one smaller side, three glass-panel windows of
1.2m x 1.5m each on opposite smaller side. All walls and ceiling are plastered, floor is of polished marble stone.
Optimum reverberation time to be made 1.5 sec.
REVERBERATION TIME CALCULATION (Without acoustical Treatment)
Members / Surface Surface Abs. coeff. A= A = a. α
item Material area of surface a. α Condition 1: Condition 2: Condition 3: Condition 4: hall Condition 5: hall Condition 6: hall
(a) material hall full, all Hall full, all hall half full, half full, all empty, all empty, all
(sqm.) (α) windows windows all windows windows open windows closed windows open
closed open closed
1 wall plastered 73.2 0.02 1.464 1.464 1.464 1.464 1.464 1.464 1.464
2 floor Polished 128.0 0.01 1.28 1.28 1.28 1.28 1.28 1.28 1.28
marble
3 ceiling plastered 128.0 0.02 2.56 2.56 2.56 2.56 2.56 2.56 2.56
4 Door wooden 2.52 0.10 0.252 0.252 0.252 0.252 0.252 0.252 0.252
5 Windows glass 5.4 0.01 0.054 0.054 ---- 0.054 ---- 0.054 ---
(closed)
Windows open 5.4 1.0 5.40 ---- 5.40 ---- 5.40 --- 5.40
(open)
6 blackboard glass 2.88 0.01 0.028 0.028 0.028 0.028 0.028 0.028 0.028
7 bench wooden 9.0 0.10 0.90 0.90 0.90 0.90 0.90 0.90 0.90
8 table wooden 0.9 0.10 0.09 0.09 0.09 0.09 0.09 0.09 0.09
9 Hall – full 51 nos. 0.40 20.4 20.4 20.4 --- ----- ---- ----
Wooden chair with
audience (all)
Hall – empty 51 0.15 7.65 ---- --- ---- ---- 7.65 7.65
Wooden chair without
audience (all)
Hall – half full 26 0.40 10.4 ---- --- 10.4 10.4 ---- ----
Wooden chair with
audience (half)
Hall – half full 25 0.15 3.75 ---- --- 3.75 3.75 ---- -----
Wooden chair without
audience (half)
Total (A) 27.028 32.374 20.526 25.872 14.026 19.372
Reverberation time t = 0.16 V/ A 0.16 x 448 / 0.16 x 448 / 0.16 x 448 / 0.16 x 448 / 0.16 x 448 / 14.026 0.16 x 448 / 19.372
(Optimum t= 1.5 sec.) 27.028 = 2.65 32.374 = 2.21 20.526 = 3.49 25.872 = 2.77 = 5.11 sec. = 3.70 sec.
sec. sec. sec. sec.
Remarks: Reverberation time is more or less than optimum more than more than more than more than more than optimum more than optimum
optimum r.t. optimum r.t. optimum r.t. optimum r.t. r.t. r.t.

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REVERBERATION TIME CALCULATION ( after acoustical treatment) Acoustical Treatment Recommendation: 1. Carpet on Floor, 2. Cushioned Chair
Members / Surface Surface Abs. A= A = a. α
item Material area coeff. of a. α Condition 1: Condition 2: Condition 3: Condition 4: Condition 5: Condition 6: hall
(a) surface hall full, all Hall full, all hall half hall half full, hall empty, all empty, all windows
(sqm.) material windows windows full, all all windows windows open
(α) closed open windows open closed
closed
1 wall plastered 73.2 0.02 1.464 1.464 1.464 1.464 1.464 1.464 1.464
2 floor CARPET 128.0 0.25 32.00 32.00 32.00 32.00 32.00 32.00 32.00
3 ceiling plastered 128.0 0.02 2.56 2.56 2.56 2.56 2.56 2.56 2.56
4 Door wooden 2.52 0.10 0.252 0.252 0.252 0.252 0.252 0.252 0.252
5 Windows glass 5.4 0.01 0.054 0.054 ---- 0.054 ---- 0.054 ---
(closed)
Windows open 5.4 1.0 5.40 ---- 5.40 ---- 5.40 --- 5.40
(open)
6 blackboard glass 2.88 0.01 0.028 0.028 0.028 0.028 0.028 0.028 0.028
7 bench wooden 9.0 0.10 0.90 0.90 0.90 0.90 0.90 0.90 0.90
8 table wooden 0.9 0.10 0.09 0.09 0.09 0.09 0.09 0.09 0.09
9 Hall – full 51 nos. 0.46 23.46 23.46 23.46 --- ----- ---- ----
CUSHIONED chair
with audience (all)
Hall – empty 51 0.28 14.28 ---- --- ---- ---- 14.28 14.28
CUSHIONED chair
without audience (all)
Hall – half full 26 0.46 11.96 ---- --- 11.96 11.96 ---- ----
CUSHIONED chair
with audience (half)
Hall – half full 25 0.28 7.00 ---- --- 7.00 7.00 ---- ----
CUSHIONED chair
without audience (half)
Total (A) 46.974 66.154 56.308 61.654 51.628 56.974
Reverberation time t = 0.16 V/ A 0.16 x 448 / 0.16 x 448 / 0.16 x 448 / 0.16 x 448 / 0.16 x 448 / 0.16 x 448 / 56.974
(Optimum t= 1.25 -1.5 sec.) 46.974 = 66.154 = 56.308 = 25.872 = 51.628 = = 1.25 sec.
1.52 sec. 1.08 sec. 3.49 sec. 1.27 sec. 1.38 sec.
Remarks: Reverberation time is more or less than optimum r.t. less than more than optimum r.t. optimum r.t. optimum r.t.
optimum value optimum r.t. optimum r.t.

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