SOUND MEASUREMENTS
Sound is an important consideration in the selection of
mechanical equipment.
Procedure for evaluating the sound levels
The procedure consists of three steps, followed by a fourth step if
necessary:
1. Establish the noise criterion for the equipment: i.e., determine the sound
levels that will be considered acceptable by the neighbors who will be
exposed to them.Also consult local codes for appropriate sound level
2. Estimate the sound levels that will be produced by the equipment, taking
into account the effects of equipment geometry, the installation, and the
distance from the equipment to the neighbor.
3. Compare the noise criterion with the expected sound levels to
determine if the sound levels from the equipment will be acceptable.
4. In the event that the equipment sound levels are excessive for the
particular site conditions, a method should be determined to
modify the neighbor’s perception of the sound.
There are three ways to change the effects that any undesirable
sound has on the receiver of that sound:
(i) Modify the source of the sound
(i) Control the path of the sound
(i) Adjust the receiver’s expectation or satisfaction, keeping in
mind that sound can be very subjective and is highly dependent
on perception
Noise and Sound
Noise—Excessive or unwanted sound which
potentially results in annoyance and/or hearing loss
(can be from occupational and/or non-occupational
sources)
Sound—A pressure variation (wave) that travels
through air and is detected by the human ear
Physical manifestation of noise is a pressure
wave
–Caused by vibrating surfaces
We can’t measure acoustic energy very well,
but we can measure sound pressure well
–Sound pressure is a surrogate for acoustic
energy
Physics of Sound
The vibration of a source causes pressure
changes in air which result in pressure
waves
–Perceived sound is comprised of numerous
pressure waves of varying characteristics
Pressure wave characteristics
–Amplitude—
Amplitude—The amount of sound
pressure measured in decibels (dB)
–Frequency
Frequency—
—The rate of vibration per unit
time measured in cycles per second, more
commonly known as hertz (Hz);
range of normal perception for young person is
20–20,000 Hz
Octave Bands
Quantifies effective frequencies without
looking at each frequency one at a time
Standardized notation used to characterize
the frequency dependence of noise
Characterized by center frequency
Covering range of human hearing
–(20–20,000 Hz)
Octave Bands……….
Sound Pressure
Pressure is fundamental to acoustics
Pressure = force per unit of area
Units
–Newtons per square meter (N/m2)—Called a
Pascal (modern unit)
–Dynes per square centimeter (D/cm2)—Not
commonly used
Sound Pressure…..
Human hearing covers a wide range of
sound pressures
–Threshold of hearing: 0.00002 Pa
– Loud noise: 200 Pa
Sound Pressure…..
Decibel (dB) scale is a log-based scale
developed to quantify sound
Compresses range to 0–140 dB
Scale starts at zero when sound pressure
equals the threshold of human hearing
Sound Pressure Level (SPL) and Sound Pressure (Pa)
Decibel Scale
Where p is the sound pressure, and po is the reference which
is equal to the threshold of human hearing (i.e., 0.00002 Pa or
20 uPa)
Challenges
Reducing noise exposure in industry is
difficult since guarding and sound-proofing
materials make machines harder to clean or
are hard to clean themselves, noise
reduction is expensive, etc.
Hearing protection is not very effective
because it is often not used properly and is
uncomfortable
Machines exist to be interpreted and understood.
Jackie Stewart (1939 - )
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