Lecture One

Noise Pollution

Introduction to noise pollution

Noise is unwanted sound because it:

can cause hearing loss interferes speech communication disturbs moods, relaxation, and privacy

Sound is a form of energy produced by a vibrating object or an aerodynamic disturbance

Environmental noise

Major sources

Transportation Industry Construction Buildings and households Humans and pets

Sound

Energy produced by

Vibrating objects Aerodynamic disturbances

Energy causes disturbances in air molecules producing variations in air pressure

Causes eardrums to vibrate and transfer vibrations to inner ear

Sound

Must move through a medium of molecules

Results in differences in speed of sound transmission

Sound energy

Vibration of objects produces sound energy which radiates outward as acoustical energy Energy produced by a sound described as sound power

Sound power

Sp values expressed in dimensionless units called decibels Calculated from the following equation

Sound power

Where

Wm = sound energy in watts Wr = reference sound energy, 10 -12 watts

Logarithm of the ratio of measured and reference sound energy multiplied by 10

Sound intensity

As sound radiates outward from a source this flow is described as sound intensity (SI)

Watts/m2, expressed as dB

Sound intensity

Where

Im = measured sound intensity Ir =reference sound intensity

Sound pressure levels

Commonly measured with instruments to record sound levels Expressed in decibels, dB

Sound pressure levels

Where

Pm = measured pressure Pr = reference pressure, the threshold of human hearing, 2 x 10-5 N/m2 (Pa) or 2 x 10-4 bars

Sound pressure levels

Calculation: where Pm = 2.0 bars

Frequency

Major characteristic of sound Inversely related to wavelength Discrimination by humans constitutes hearing Expressed as cycles/sec or hertz(Hz)

Frequency

Sound sources produce a range of frequencies Most sounds characterized by dominant frequencies Range of human hearing 20-20,000 Hz

Range of human hearing

Range of human hearing

Humans here best in the middle frequencies Low frequencies (< 16 Hz) -infrasound High frequencies (> 20,000 Hz) ultrasound

Sound levels, sources, and human responses

Sound measurement

Use sound pressure level meters

Weighting Network or Scales Different scales have different discriminations on lower frequency waves -A scale: < 600 Hz -B scale: < more moderate -C scale: little discrimination
20 dB(A), 20 dB(B), 20 dB(C) etc.

It is common to use A scale.

Meter response

Slow and fast options

Averaging time
Fast

response- 0.125 seconds Slow response - 1 second

Use of slow response recommended

Instrument accuracy

Rated type 1, type 2, and type 3

Type 1 instrument +/- 1dB Type 2 instrument +/- 2 dB Type 3 instrument +/- 3 dB

Impulse sound

Rapidly rising and falling sound pressure Need specially designed instruments to measure

Spectrum analysis

Octave bands used for spectral analysis

Sound pressure levels at different frequency band Commonly 10 octave bands are used
Upper

frequency twice the lower frequency Characterized by the center frequency

Octave bands

Equivalent sound levels

Equivalent sound level = Leq Average of all sounds measured on the A scale Correlates well with effects of noise in humans Used to report environmental noise levels

Equivalent sound levels

Where

Li = each measured value in decibels N = number of values

Averaging sound levels

10 values 65, 75, 68, 70, 80, 72, 76, 78, 82, 65 dB

Addition: Similarly, when individual values are added: Ltotal = 10 log 10L /10
i

Subtraction: L = 10 log (10Ls/10-10Lb/10) Where: Ls is the noise source and Lb is the background

Total sound levels

Two sounds of 80 dB

La 10 log 10 [10 10 ] 83 dBA

8 8

Doubling results in 3 dB increase

Chart for Adding Decibels:

(1) Determine the difference between the two (2) use the following table to add the corresponding increment to the HIGH level