BEHAVIOUR OF SOUND IN AN ENCLOSURE An enclosed space is a room or area bounded on every of its sides.

The materials for enclosure may be classified into two: Those that allow sound rays to pass through and Those that do not allow sound rays to pass through. Areas bounded with materials that allow sound rays to pass through tend to enjoy good acoustic as the effect of indirect sound from reflection is reduced within the space. In this space, sound from external source can pass through the material into the enclosure as bac ground noise. The vibration of some of the materials can be a source of noise within the space and this can be a bane to the achievement of clear and audible speech and music. The effect of indirect sound may be pronounced in spaces enclosed with materials that do not allow the passage of sound rays through them. Adjustments to the material to aid diffusion will improve the acoustic of the space. !ome of these materials can absorb sound, reducing the effect of indirect sound. On encountering barriers posed by t e enc!osure" sound #a$es are !i%e!y to be a$e in t e &o!!o#ing #ays' "eflection Absorption "efraction #iffusion #iffraction Transmission $.% "eflection This occurs when the wavelength of a sound wave is smaller than the surface of an obstacle. In the case of an enclosed space, the sound waves hit every side of the enclosure continuously until the sound energy reduces to &ero. The amount of

waves reflected depends on the smoothness, si&e, and softness of the materials of enclosure. The angle of incidence of sound rays is e'ual to that of the reflected rays only if the surface of the reflector is flat. (ut when it is curved, the angles are different. ()* Absorption

)hen sound waves hit the surface of an obstacle, some of its energy is reflected while some are lost through its transfer to the molecules of the barrier. The lost sound energy is said to have been absorbed by the barrier. The thic ness and nature of the material as regards its softness and hardness influences the amount of sound energy absorbed. ()( Re&raction

This is the bending of sound when it travels from one medium into another medium. The difference in the composition of the two different media bends the sound i.e. the angle of incidence changes into an angle of refraction as it travels into the new medium.

()+ Di&&usion

This is the scattering of waves from a surface. It occurs as a result of the texture and hardness of the obstacle is comparable to the wavelength of the sound. The direction of the incident ray changes when it stri es the surface of the obstacle. !atisfaction is achieved when sound is heard in all direction at e'ual level. Di&&raction

)hen the wavelength of a sound wave is smaller or e'ual to the si&e of the obstacle, the sound rays tend to bend round the edge of the obstacle thereby turning the edge to a sound source.

,rans-ission

In this phenomenon, sound wave is carried by molecules of the obstacle through vibration and reemitted at the other side irrespective of the medium. It can be structure borne, air borne or impact sound.

Re$erberation and Ec o
Re$erberation: This is the persistence of sound in an enclosed space as a result of continuous reflection or scattering of sound after the source has stopped. It is one the most prominent behaviours of sound in an enclosure. It occurs when sound waves hits a surface and are reflected toward another surface which also reflects it. !ome of the sound is absorbed with this continuous reflection which gradually reduces the energy of the sound to &ero. The phenomenon can affect the audibility of sound in an enclosure, especially if the reverberation time, which is the time ta en for the sound pressure level to diminish to *+ d( below its initial value is considerably long. ,cho: this occurs when the reverberation time is long enough to cause a distinct repetition of the direct sound. This condition is an advanced form of reverberation where the sound is heard clearly and repeatedly after some time until it fades.

...FAC,ORS ,HA, AFFEC, ,HE BEHAVIOUR OF SOUND IN AN ENCLOSED S/ACE) ...

The way in which sound behaves in an enclosed space depends on many factors which include: Reduction in its intensity o& sound - This can results due to the distance between its source and the receiver. Absorption o& direct sound by t e audience - The listeners of the sound absorb some of the sound in the process of hearing. Absorption o& direct and re&!ected sound by surfaces - The walls, ceiling and floor of the enclosure absorbs and reflect sound waves thereby controlling the way the sounds behave. Re&!ection o& sounds &ro- rig t0ang!ed corners . !ound incident to a right.angled corner of room will be reflected bac towards source if surfaces are acoustically reflective. This can in turn produce echoes especially in large spaces. Dispersion o& t e sides o& an enc!osure . "eflections can be controlled by ma ing one surface dispersive i.e. not at right angle to each. This would have affected the reflection of the sound thereby affecting its behaviour. Edge di&&raction o& sound . ,dge diffraction results in the curvature of part of a sound wave around the edge of a barrier. This causes the obstacles to scatter the sound waves ma ing it behave li e a source of sound. 1 Sound s adow . Any barrier interrupting a sound wave will create a shadow, synonymous to light rays. /owever, because of edge diffraction some sound will creep into this but such penetration is fre'uency dependent . high fre'uencies are less diffracted than low fre'uencies. !uch problems can occur in auditorium with balconies. /ri-ary re&!ection - This depends on the angle of incidence which is e'ual to the angle of reflection. Also, the nature of sound reflector is important. /ane! resonance . !ound waves can propagate 0through0 a solid material by panel vibration. The sound does not actually penetrate the material but rather causes this to vibrate and act as a sound source itself. The panel will be vibrated by both direct and reflected sound waves. )hen a sound is encountered in the open air, in a hori&ontal plane, the sound that reaches a listener proceeds by a direct path from the sound source. (ut for sounds in an enclosed space, the listener

will receive not

only the direct sound but also the sound energy that is reflected from the surfaces of the enclosed space. The boundaries of the space will have three principal effects on the experience of sound1 sound intensity is li ely to increase, sound duration is li ely to increase, and apparent sound direction may be altered. This can be seen in 2ig. % above showing the effect of reflection, the distance between the source and the listener and the change in intensity. It can be seen that there is only one direct sound wave experienced by the listener while indirect sound waves of varying intensities are as a result of reflection by the boundary of the enclosure which are at different distances from the source and the listener.

3 factors affect sound transmission: %. increased weight per unit area of panel decreases sound transmission 3. increased fre'uency of incident sound decreases sound transmission.
Apart from just mass of the panel other factors can affect sound transmission: /ane! sti&&ness . at very low fre'uencies the stiffness 4i.e. resistance to deformation5 may have more effect than its weight. In this part of the fre'uency range insulation is termed stiffness controlled. Rigid pane!s . if a rigid panel is struc it will continue to vibrate at fre'uencies determined by its si&e, shape, and thic ness . this is its 0natural fre'uency0 4natural mode of vibration5. All subse'uent fre'uencies which produce such vibration are called resonant &re2uencies and sound insulation will be reduced. This is termed resonance contro!!ed insulation. Sound ,rans-ission ,ypes o& Auditoriu(asically $ types: for speech for music multi.purpose

Acoustics &or speec 6namplified speech sounds, at a distance of $ m: $+ d(A . whispering *+ d(A . lecture voice 7+ d(A . loud actor 4down to 8+ d( after $+ rows of seats5 !peech intelligibility 9 power and clarity Acoustics &or 3usic 2rom middle of an auditorium sounds can vary from 'uiet music 4$+ d(A5 to loud music : ;+ d(A. (asic design criteria: <ower . volume . direct sound . primary reflections . reverberation =larity . direct sound . primary reflections . reverberation . echoes (lend . grouping of players . platform reflectors . arrangement of audience ,nsemble . tiered platform 4aesthetics5 . platform reflectors