Applications of Attenuations and Reflections in ISO 9613-2, Acoustics – Attenuation of Sound During Propagation Outdoors – Part 2: General Method of Calculation

Abstract

This paper describes how in the United States there are no national standards for the computation of outdoor sound propagation and ISO 9613-2 is more and more frequently used for such computations. The paper describes how a few well-known commercial computer programs incorporate this standard into their computational algorithms for modeling sound propagation as well. At first glance ISO 9613-2 seems fairly straightforward in its application but there are a number of pitfalls that the novice or inexperienced engineer may stumble into if not careful because ISO 9613-2 does not document these limitations. This paper addresses those issues and focuses on the appropriate application of those parameters that encompass the categories of sound attenuation and reflection associated with the propagation of sound in the outdoor environment.