Fan Noise

Noise energy generated by the fan rotation is very much dependent on the diameter and the rotational speed of the
fan, typically proportional to the fifth or sixth power of the linear velocity at the tip of the fan blades. Generally a
large diameter fan at low rotational speed produces low frequency and comparatively low noise level. The same
volume flow rate can be achieved by increasing the rotational speed and reducing the diameter. In this case the
frequency and the level of the noise are higher but the higher frequency noise can be more effectively attenuated by
lining the duct with sound absorbing materials. In general the SWL of fans varies greatly with types, sizes, and
speeds. It should be chosen carefully to ensure low noise levels. Manufacturer’s data on the source SWL of a fan
should always be sought.

Flow generated noise:

• Air flow in empty straight ducts, turbulence. Generally very small compared with other factors. Noise level
increases approximately 18dB per doubling of air flow speed (power % u6). Insignificant with u<10 m/s.
• Bends, Branches, Junctions and Turns - abrupt changes in flow conditions. Noise level increases
approximately 15 (power % u5 ) to 20 (power % u7 ) dB per doubling of flow speed depending heavily on
the duct size and configurations. Noise can be reduced by rounding the bends or introducing streamlined
turning vanes. Designs to minimise flow separations.
• Interaction with Obstacles, e.g. fire dampers, silencers etc. Turbulence wakes and flow separations
generated around the obstacles. Noise level again depends approximately on u5, and also on the size and
geometry of the obstacle. Shapes that create abrupt changes in the flow are best to be avoided.
• Inlet/Outlet Grilles, Diffusers and dampers. Similar noise generating mechanisms as other obstacles. Noise
level again % u5 to u6.

For good, low flow noise design:

• Avoid abrupt changes. Graduate transitions are preferred to minimise the generation of turbulence and flow
separations.
• Avoid grouping duct/flow changes near each other. Spread out changes to “straighten” the flow before
hitting another transition.
• Porous absorptive duct linings should generally be used to attenuate flow noise in high specification cases.
Significant flow noise generated by a duct fitting/change should be attenuated by a secondary attenuator
placed immediately downstream of the fitting.
• Most importantly, since flow generated noise are generally % u5 or higher orders, the flow velocity must be
kept low. For example, for a NC20 design, the flow speed in the main ducts, branch ducts, and final run out
sections should respectively be lower than 4.5 m/s, 3.5 m/s, and 2 m/s. For a fixed volume flow rate, a
lower flow velocity can be achieved by using larger duct sections.

Duct Breakout Noise

At frequencies above the transition between axial and multi-mode transmission of sound (f > c/(2*duct
width/height)) in a duct, the sound field inside the duct may be considered as diffuse and the breakout of the noise
from inside to the outside of the duct is protected by the sound reduction index or transmission loss (TLduct) of the
duct wall. However since the duct runs over a significant length inside the receiving room, the total amount of the
noise breakout increases as the length increases. For a simple calculation the following formula can be used:
S 
Lw,breakout = Lw,inside − TLduct + 10 Log  W  (1)
 SD 
where Sw is the total surface area of the duct in the room and SD is the cross-sectional area of the duct. It can be seen
that no matter how high is the TL, all the sound power inside the duct will breakout into the room given that the duct
length Lduct inside the room is sufficiently long. To limit the physical impossibility that SWLout > SWLin if Lduct is
too long, the following condition applies,
Lw,breakout ≤ Lw,inside − 3 (2)
Another consideration is that flat duct walls will resonant and it is important to design the duct work such that the
fundamental resonances of the duct walls should not be excited by any fan or flow generated noise, or by the speech
or music signals inside the studio. Suitable damping materials should be applied to the duct to reduce resonance
effects. In extreme cases the ducts may be “boxed in” with suitable partitioning, although this may result in
undesirable bulkheads in the studio.
For high air flow velocity ventilation systems the use of flat rectangular ducts should be avoided as they
can produce low frequency rumble. Circular ducts are stiffer and have less problems. However they are more
expensive and there is also a “ring” frequency at which the duct circumference is equal to the wavelength of the
sound travelling through the duct material as an acoustic (compressional) wave (f = cduct/ΒD). Below this frequency
the transmission loss is determined by the thickness to diameter ratio of the duct. Above this frequency the duct
behaves very much like an equivalent rectangular duct.

Crosstalk
The inside of a duct provides an excellent channel for noise transmission. Without proper precautions the noise from
one room can be transmitted easily to another room via the ductwork, creating crosstalk that bypasses the noise
insulation provided by the structural walls. The amount of noise generated by crosstalk may be estimated in 2 steps:
• Noise break into the duct system from the noise source room and transmitted to the receiving room:
Lw,inside = Lw,outside − TLduct − 3 (3)
where Lw,outside is the total sound power incident onto the duct section that exposes to the source room. The 3 dB
reduction assumes that the sound power entering the duct will be divided equally in the two opposite axial
directions, and only one of these directions will lead to the receiving room.
• The formula for breakout noise from ducts can then be used to estimate the noise transmitted into the
receiving room.
To avoid crosstalk, it is often necessary to use sound attenuators or silencers to block out any significant crosstalk
paths. Apart from the air-borne transmission through the inside of the duct, the duct wall itself can sustain
mechanical vibration and provide a path for structural-borne noise transmission. It is therefore important that the
duct should be supported on resilient mounts which insulate it from the structural walls. This also applies to the
opening through which the duct passes through a wall.

Questions
Problem:
The diffuse field sound pressure level in a noisy room is 80 dB at 1kHz. The room is serviced by a ventilation
system that also services a studio. The cross-section of the ventilation duct has a width of 0.25m and a height of
0.25m. The length of the duct in the noisy room is 5m. Estimate the cross-talk noise level that would be created in
the studio which has a volume of 200 m3, surface area 210 m2 and a reverberation time of 0.3s. The length of the
ventilation duct in the studio is also 5m. You may take the effective transmission loss of the duct wall, including the
inlet and outlet grills, to be 20 dB. What is the sound attenuation required of a cross-talk silencer to be placed in the
duct to reduce the cross-talk noise level to within 15dB at 1kHz?

Answer:
Assuming a diffuse field, the relationship between sound pressure level in the room Lp and the sound power level on
the duct Lw is:
L p = Lw + 6 − 10 Log (S ) (4)
Where S is the surface area of the duct. So in this case Lw = 81dB.
Using Equation (3), we can get the sound power level in the duct as: 58 dB.
Sound power breakout using Equation (1) Lw,breakout = 58 – 20 +10log(5/0.25^2) = 57dB
Note that this is within 1dB of the SWL in the duct, so adjust to 58-3=55dB.
Level in Studio: L p = Lw + 6 − 10 Log (Sα ) =41.7dB (S is total area of room, and alpha bar the average
absorption coefficient). The addition attenuation required = 27dB.
Answer:
Since the sound power is equally distributed, the sound power level from the fan to the studio is 61-3=58dB.
SWLfan-studio = 57dB
When SWL is greater than the in-duct SWL-3, we take
SWLfan-studio = SWLfan –3 = 58 – 3 = 55dB
The SPL is then
SPLfan-stdio = 42dB (too high for a studio)

(b)
Placing the silencer immediately after the fan only attenuates the fan noise. There are two other noise generating
mechanisms in a ventilation system:
1. Flow generated noise (see above)
2. Cross-talk noise (see above)
3. Structure-borne noise