Sabine Formula
Reverberation time
- Reverberation is defined as persistence of audible sound after the source has been switched off.
- The time for which sound persist is known as reverberation time.
Assumptions
- Distribution of energy is uniform in all parts of the hall.
- No interference of sound waves in the hall.
- Absorption coefficient does not depend on the intensity of sound.
- There is no loss of energy in air.
Derivation
- Average energy density within the hall in all direction = u
- Energy received by elementary volume dV = u dV
- Consider an element of surface area ds of a plane wall.
- Elementary volume at a distance r from the centre of ds in the direction θ from normal on ds = dV
- Solid angle subtended by surface element at elementary volume, dω = ds cos θ / r2
- Area of shaded elementary portion = dr × r dθ
- If the whole figure is rotated about the normal by an angle 2π then the elementary volume trace by this portion
dV = elementary area × circumferential path
= dr . rdθ × 2πr sin θ = 2πr2 sin θ dr dθ
- Sound energy in volume dV
u dV = u × 2πr2 sin θ dr dθ
- The fraction of this energy incident on area ds
- Energy received by ds due to whole shell lying between two hemispheres for all values of θ
- Energy received per second by ds
- Here v = speed of sound in air
- If a = absorption coefficient of ds, then
- Energy absorbed per second by ds
- Total energy absorbed per second by hall
- Total absorption of all the surface within the enclosure A = Σ a ds
- Total energy absorbed per second by hall = uvA/4
- Since V is the volume of enclosure, therefore
- Total sound energy in the room at any time = uV
- Rate of increase of this energy
- Rate of absorption of energy
- Rate of emission of energy from the source, E = E1 + E2
Let vA / 4V = β
(By integration)
Growth of sound
- When source starts of sounding, t = 0, u = 0
- When t = ∞, u = umax ⇒ umax = 4E / vA
- u = umax [1 – exp (-βt)]
Decay of sound
- When source is cut off, t = 0, u = umax, E = 0
Reverberation period (T)
- u = umax [1 – exp (-βt)]
- If t = T, u = 10-6 umax
then 10−6 umax = umax exp (−βT)
or 10−6 = exp (−βT)
or −βT = − 6 loge 10
or T = [6 loge 10] / β = [6 × 2.303] / β
or T = [6 × 2.303] / (vA / 4V) [ ∵ vA / 4V = β]
or T = [6 × 2.303 × 4V] / vA
- But v = 340 m/s
- Above formula is known as Sabine formula.
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