Course syllabus for Room acoustics

Course syllabus adopted 2023-02-06 by Head of Programme (or corresponding).

Overview

  • Swedish nameRumsakustik
  • CodeVTA146
  • Credits7.5 Credits
  • OwnerMPSOV
  • Education cycleSecond-cycle
  • Main field of studyCivil and Environmental Engineering
  • DepartmentARCHITECTURE AND CIVIL ENGINEERING
  • GradingTH - Pass with distinction (5), Pass with credit (4), Pass (3), Fail

Course round 1

  • Teaching language English
  • Application code 38112
  • Maximum participants27 (at least 10% of the seats are reserved for exchange students)
  • Open for exchange studentsYes

Credit distribution

0120 Oral examination 7.5 c
Grading: TH		 3.5 c4 c

In programmes

Examiner

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Eligibility

General entry requirements for Master's level (second cycle)
Applicants enrolled in a programme at Chalmers where the course is included in the study programme are exempted from fulfilling the requirements above.

Specific entry requirements

English 6 (or by other approved means with the equivalent proficiency level)
Applicants enrolled in a programme at Chalmers where the course is included in the study programme are exempted from fulfilling the requirements above.

Course specific prerequisites

Introduction to audio technology and acoustics or equivalent course

Aim

The course aims at giving the student a good understanding of room acoustics and building acoustics, subjective response related to acoustics, and ability to apply knowledge gained from the course to the solution of common acoustic problems concerning buildings with different function.

Learning outcomes (after completion of the course the student should be able to)

  • Solve typical problem in the field of building acoustics and room acoustics
  • Successfully carry out a project from a design task to a finished proposal given typical constraints and tools
  • Apply an holistic approach to engineering, obtaining insight into the strong interconnections among different areas of interest in the building process of buildings and rooms for different purpose, and to give social response by discussions with architects, musicians and others involved in the building and planning process
  • Understand and explain how humans are affected by multi-sensory data, i.e. the complex interaction between aural, tactile and visual stimuli.
  • Search information using various library data retrieval tools.
  • Describe the desired acoustics in terms of subjective criteria, and to convert such subjective criteria into measurable quantities for example reverberation time, clarity, etc.
  • Give advice on the design of a building or a room by predicting the effect of different materials, dimensions and geometries, speaker/musician & audience positions.
  • Apply available knowledge and the right tools to predict acoustic properties in different situations.
  • Handle modern measurement tools for building acoustic and room acoustic properties.

  • Be able to critically evaluate the accuracy of room acoustic measurements. Evaluate which deviations from set room acoustic targets can be audible.
  • Work in project teams with architects to solve architectural acoustics problems for new or existing buildings
The course intends to stimulate students to future life-long interest in the subject area, shaping a motivation for autonomous self-education. Based on the current limitations in psychoacoustic knowledge the students will develop an awareness of the strength and weaknesses of current knowledge and the limitations of design tools and methods.

Content

  • Sound propagation in buildings and rooms: structure-borne sound, the sound field at an impedance interface, physical room acoustics, geometrical room acoustics, statistical room acoustics, diffuse sound fields.
  • Techniques for building acoustic and room acoustic planning such as statistic energy analysis, scale and computer modeling and auralization.
  • Measurement methods for determining the acoustic properties of a building or a room.
  • Selection and design of building partitions to ensure a sufficient acoustic standard in buildings.
  • Participation in the annual student competition of the Acoustical Society of America.
  • Meetings with architects, acoustic consultants, and musicians.

Organisation

The course consist of a series of lectures. Some of the lectures are especially designed for the participation in the design competition. This activity is related to the annual Student Design Competition arranged by the Acoustical Society of America which requires students to submit a proposal poster for a building featuring major acoustic challenges. Students from the course will cooperate with students from the Architectural and engineering programme.

Literature

Marshall Long (2005) Architectural Acoustics, Academic Press, New York and material supplied at the course page (www.ta.chalmers.se).
Tor Erik Vigran (2008) Building Acoustics, CRC Press

Examination including compulsory elements

Oral exam.

The course examiner may assess individual students in other ways than what is stated above if there are special reasons for doing so, for example if a student has a decision from Chalmers on educational support due to disability.