2025
INTRODUCTION
TO ACOUSTICS
Building Utilities 3
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.
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
Types of 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
Sound
Any vibratory motion of bodies, the
transmission of these vibrations in a
medium, and the sensation produced on
the human auditory mechanism.
Sound
A form of energy propagated in waves which
continue to subsist until filtered through a
material turning into heat by friction.
Sources of
Sound:
Speech - human
voice
Music - instrument
Noise - impact,
vibrating bodies,
even speech or
music
Types of
Sound:
Wanted
Unwanted
Properties of Sound
Sound must always have a source, a path, and a
receiver.
Speed - sound travels at 1130 ft./sec or 344m/sec at
normal room temperature
Intensity - rate at which sound energy is being
transmitted, measured at any point in the medium
Decibel - the unit in which sound intensity is defined
Decibel-meter - instrument by which sound intensity is
measured
Properties of Sound
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
Tone - sound sensation having a pitch
Pitch - attribute which enables us to pinpoint sounds on a
scale extending from high to low frequency
Characteristics of Sound
Sound Reflection - sound
reflected off a surface
Sound Absorption - sound waves
absorbed into a material upon
contact
Sound Diffusion - sound waves
are dispersed equally in a room
Sound Diffraction - sound waves
are bent of scattered around such
obstacles as corners, columns,
beams, etc.
Characteristics of Sound
Sound Refraction - change of
sound wave direction as it moves
from one medium to another of
different density
Sound Transmission - sound
which penetrates through a
surface
Reverberation - prolongation of
sound as a result of successive
reflections in an enclosed space
after the source of sound is turned
off
Acoustical Defects
Echo - sound waves which have been
reflected to a listener with a sufficient
magnitude and time delay as to be
perceived separately from those
communicated directly from the source to
the listener
Long-Delayed Reflection - similar to
echo except that the time delay between
the perception of direct and reflected
sounds is somewhat less
Acoustical Defects
Flutter Echo - rapid succession of
noticeable small echoes observed when a
short burst of sound is produced
between parallel sound reflective
surfaces
Sound Concentration - sound reflections
from concave surfaces concentrating in
an area sometimes referred to as hot
spots
Coupled Spaces - two rooms adjacent to
each other by means of open doorways,
with at least one space being highly
reverberant
Acoustical Defects
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
Room Resonance - also called
Coloration. Occurs whn certain sounds
within a narrow band of frequencies tend
to sound louder than other frequencies
Sound Shadow - occurs when an area
does no receive an adequate amount of
direct and reflected sound
Acoustical Defects
Whispering Gallery - high frequency
sounds creeping along large concave
surfaces
Thank you
