DEFINITION OF ACOUSTICS:

• The science of sound phenomena in buildings dealing with the production,

transmission, and absorption of sound in order to secure the distinct conditions in
every part of the building or room.
• The science of sound and vibration which refers to the stress fluctuations as well as
waves in a material medium.
• An environmental technology on sound and noise control in a man-made surrounding
conducive to a clear understanding of speech, better appreciation of music, and
minimal noise interference.
• The art and science of designing a room or building which insures both comfort and
communication, and provides special features as the purpose and use of the structure
requires

TYPES OF ACOUSTICS

• Psycho Acoustics – deals with the reaction of human beings to audible sound
• Environmental Acoustics – deals with the effects of the environment upon audible
sound waves; may be broken down to Architectural Acoustics and Landscape
Acoustics
• Electro Acoustics – deals with the generation and detection of audible sound waves
• Sonics – deals with the technical application of mechanical waves in basic scientific
research, industry, and medicine.

DEFINITION OF SOUND

• Any vibratory motion of bodies, the transmission of these vibrations in a medium, ad

the sensation produced on the human auditory mechanism.
• An alteration in pressure (particle displacement in velocity) projected and propagated
in an elastic material.
• Form of energy propagated in waves which continue to subsist until filtered through
a material turning into heat by friction.

SOURCES OF SOUND

• Speech – produced by the human voice

• Music – produced by an instrument
• Noise – produced by impact, by vibrating bodies, even by speech or music

TYPES OF SOUND

• Wanted – sound heard as perfectly as possible at the right level or loudness without
pain or strain
• Unwanted – sound which entails an annoyance factor
•
 PROPERTIES OF SOUND

• Sound must always have a source, a path, and a receiver. (see F1)
• Speed – sound travels at 1130 ft. per second or 344 m. per second at normal room
temperature (68°F); sound travels faster in denser media.
• Intensity – rate at which sound energy is being transmitted, measured at any point in
the medium; intensity diminishes inversely as the square of the distance.

• decibel – the unit in which sound intensity is defined for architectural purposes
• decibel-meter – instrument by which sound intensity is measured

• Sound Pressure – the fluctuation in the atmospheric pressure caused by the vibration
of air particles due to a sound wave.
• Loudness – subjective attribute of an auditory sensation in terms of which sounds
may be ordered on a scale of soft to loud.
• Threshold of Audibility – minimum intensity that is capable of evoking an auditory
sensation in the ear.
• Threshold of Pain – minimum sound pressure level which stimulates the ear to a
point which is painful
• Frequency – the number of displacements or oscillations that a particle undergoes in
1 second.
o hertz – unit of frequency; numerically equal to cycles per second
• Pitch – the attribute of an auditory system which enables us to pinpoint sounds on a
scale extending from high to low frequency.
• Tone – sound sensation having pitch.
• Wavelength – the distance a sound wave travels during each complete cycle of
vibration measured in meters or feet.
• Directional of Sound Sources – sound sources radiate sound waves in all directions;
radiation pattern varies with the frequency; high frequency sounds are more
pronounced along the longitudinal axis of the sound source.

F1: Sound Movement (Source, Direction, Receiver)

NATURAL ELEMENTS THAT AFFECT SOUND

• Temperature – particles of sound tend to follow cold air

• Clouds – if heavy, clouds can act as a reflecting surface
• Wind – may change the direction of sound
• Bodies of Water – can also act as a reflecting surface

CHARACTERISTICS OF SOUND

1. Sound Reflection – sound reflected off a surface, usually one which is hard, rigid
and/or flat.
 2. Sound Absorption – sound waves absorbed into a material upon contact; change of
sound energy into some other form
1.
▪ Sound Absorption Coefficient (α) – fraction of energy of the incident
sound absorbed by the surface; rates the efficiency of sound
absorption of a material at a specified frequency (0-1)
▪ Noise Reduction Coefficient (NRC) – arithmetic average of sound
absorption coefficients at the frequencies 250, 500, 1000 and 2000
Hz, expressed to the nearest multiple of 0.05
▪ Surface Absorption – sound absorption of a surface obtained by
multiplying the area of the surface by its sound absorption coefficient
3. Sound Diffusion – occurs when sound waves are dispersed equally in a room
4. Sound Diffraction – acoustical phenomenon which causes sound waves to be bent or
scattered around such obstacles as corners, columns, walls, beams, etc.
5. Sound Refraction – change of sound wave direction as it moves from one medium to
another of different density
6. Sound Transmission – sound which penetrates through a surface
7. Reverberation – the prolongation of sound as a result of successive reflections in an
enclosed space after the source of sound is turned off

ACOUSTICAL DEFECTS

1. Echo – sound waves which have been reflected to a listener with sufficient
magnitude and time delay so as to be perceived separately from those communicated
directly from the source to the listener.
2. Long-Delayed Reflection – similar to echo except that the time delay between the
perception of direct and reflected sounds is somewhat less.
3. Flutter Echo – a rapid succession of noticeable small echoes observed when a short
burst of sound is produced between parallel sound reflective surfaces.
4. Sound Concentration – sound reflections from concave surfaces concentrating in an
area sometimes referred to as hot spots. The intensity of sound at hot spots are
always at the expense of dead spots.
5. Coupled Spaces – two rooms adjacent to each other by means of open doorways,
with at least one space being highly reverberant.
6. Distortion – an undesirable change in the quality of musical sound due to the uneven
and excessive sound absorption of the boundary surfaces at different frequencies.
7. Room Resonance – also called Coloration. Occurs when certain sounds within a
narrow band of frequencies tend to sound louder than other frequencies.
8. Sound Shadow – occurs when an area does not receive an adequate amount of direct
and reflected sound.
9. Whispering Gallery – high frequency sounds creeping along large concave surfaces
such as a hemispherical dome.