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Basics of Acoustics
2.1 Waves and Wave terminology
2.1.1 Vibrations
A vibration is a repeating motion that moves back and forth.
A mass on a frictionless surface is at rest at an equilibrium
position (A) when undisturbed. When the spring is
stretched (B) or compressed (D), then released (C), the
mass vibrates back and forth because restoring forces pull
opposite to and proportional to the displacement.
B. Transverse Wave
A wave that disturbs particles in a perpendicular motion in the direction of the wave. Transverse
waves are created in a spring when the free end is moved up and down.
2.1.3 Waves in Air
Longitudinal waves with frequencies below 20 Hz are termed Infrasonic.
Longitudinal waves with frequencies greater that 20,000 Hz are termed Ultrasonic.
Since humans can only hear waves in the 20 – 20,000 Hz range, they hear neither infrasonic nor
ultrasonic waves. Waves move the eardrum in and out with the same frequency as the wave,
which the brain interprets as sound.
For a spherical sound wave (a sound wave that moves out uniformly in all
directions from the source), the area through which the acoustic energy is
transmitted is 4πr2, where r is the distance from the sound source, so the
intensity is given by:
𝑊𝑊
𝐼𝐼 = (2.5.2)
4𝜋𝜋𝑟𝑟 2
For the general case of spherical waves in which the sound is not radiated uniformly from the
source, but the acoustic intensity may vary with direction, the intensity is given by:
𝑄𝑄𝑊𝑊
𝐼𝐼 = 2
(2.5.3)
4𝜋𝜋𝑟𝑟
The quantity Q is called the directivity factor, which is a dimensionless quantity that generally
depends on the direction and the frequency of the sound wave.
The acoustic intensity may be related to the rms acoustic pressure through:
𝑝𝑝2
𝐼𝐼 = (2.5.4)
𝜌𝜌𝜌𝜌
where p = prms. This expression applies for a spherical and for a non-spherical sound wave.
When making sound measurements in a room or other enclosure, one parameter of interest is the
acoustic energy density (D), which is the total acoustic energy per unit volume. The SI unit for
the acoustic energy density is J/m3. The total acoustic energy is composed of two parts: the
kinetic energy, associated with the motion of the vibrating fluid; and the potential energy,
associated with energy stored through compression of the fluid.
The kinetic energy per unit volume, averaged over one wavelength, may be expressed in terms
of the acoustic particle velocity. For a plane wave:
𝑝𝑝2
𝐾𝐾𝐾𝐾 = 2
(2.5.6)
2𝜌𝜌𝑐𝑐
For a spherical sound wave, the acoustic pressure and acoustic particle velocity are not in-phase.
The kinetic energy per unit volume for a spherical wave is dependent on the frequency (or the
wave number, k) for the sound wave, and the distance from the sound source, r, as follows.
𝑝𝑝2 1
𝐾𝐾𝐾𝐾 = 2
1+ 2 2 (2.5.7)
2𝜌𝜌𝑐𝑐 𝑘𝑘 𝑟𝑟
The potential energy may also be related to the acoustic pressure. Potential energy per unit
volume for a plane wave is:
𝑝𝑝2
𝑃𝑃𝑃𝑃 = 2
(2.5.8)
2𝜌𝜌𝑐𝑐
By comparison of Eqns. (2.5.6) and (2.5.8), we see that, for a plane sound wave, the kinetic and
potential contributions to the total energy are equal. The total acoustic energy is half kinetic and
half potential, for a plane sound wave: this is not the case for a spherical wave.
For a plane sound wave, the acoustic energy density is found by adding the kinetic energy, Eqn.
(2.5.6) and the potential energy, Eqn. (2.5.8):
𝑝𝑝2
𝐷𝐷 = 2 (2.5.9)
𝜌𝜌𝑐𝑐
If we compare Eqn. (2.5.9) with Eqn. (2.5.4), we see that (for a plane soundwave) the acoustic
intensity and acoustic energy density are related:
𝐼𝐼
𝐷𝐷 = (2.5.10)
𝑐𝑐
For a spherical sound wave, the acoustic energy density is given by:
𝑝𝑝2 1
𝐷𝐷 = 2
1+ 2 2 (2.5.11)
2𝜌𝜌𝑐𝑐 𝑘𝑘 𝑟𝑟
Example 2.3
A plane sound wave is transmitted through air (speed of sound, 346.1 m/s; characteristic
impedance, 409.8 rayl) at 25 oC and 101.3 kPa. The sound wave has an acoustic pressure (rms)
of 0.20 Pa. Determine the acoustic intensity and acoustic energy density for the sound wave.
2.6 Directivity Factor and Directivity Index
The acoustic energy is radiated uniformly in all directions for a spherical wave; however, other
sources of sound may be highly directional. These directional sources radiate sound with
different intensities in different directions.
The directional characteristics of a sound source are changed substantially by the reflecting
surfaces around it. This can be quantified by Directivity Factor and Directivity Index.
The directivity factor (Q) is defined as the ratio of the intensity on a designated axis of a sound
radiator at a specific distance from the source to the intensity that would be produced at the
same location by a spherical source radiating the same total acoustic energy:
4𝜋𝜋𝑟𝑟 2 𝐼𝐼
𝑄𝑄 = (2.6.1)
𝑊𝑊
The directivity index (DI) is an expression in decibels of the directionality of a sound source.
Narrow coverage systems have a high directivity index, whereas wide coverage systems have a
low one.
The directivity index (DI) is related to the directivity factor by:
DI = 10 log10 𝑄𝑄 (2.6.2)
For a spherical source, the directivity factor Q = 1 and the directivity index DI = 0.
If a spherical source of sound is placed near the floor or a wall, sound is
radiated through a hemispherical area, 𝑆𝑆 = 2𝜋𝜋𝑟𝑟 2 . In this case, the
intensity is:
𝑊𝑊 2𝑊𝑊 𝑄𝑄
𝐼𝐼 = 2
= 2
=
2𝜋𝜋𝑟𝑟 4𝜋𝜋𝑟𝑟 4𝜋𝜋𝑟𝑟 2
For this case, we see that the directivity factor is Q = 2, and the
directivity index is:
DI = 10 log10 2 = 3 dB
Similarly, if the spherical source were placed on the floor near a wall,
the energy is radiated through an area, 𝑆𝑆 = 𝜋𝜋𝑟𝑟 2 . For this case,
𝑊𝑊 4𝑊𝑊 𝑄𝑄𝑊𝑊
𝐼𝐼 = 2 = 2
=
𝜋𝜋𝑟𝑟 4𝜋𝜋𝑟𝑟 4𝜋𝜋𝑟𝑟 2
The directivity factor, in this case, is Q = 4 and the directivity index is 6
dB.
By going through the same reasoning, we may show that if the spherical
source were placed in a corner near the floor and two walls, Q = 8 and
DI = 9 dB.