Sound fields near exterior building surfaces

Abstract

Measurement of sound transmission through a building facade requires determination of the incident sound power. Interpretation of sound pressure level measurements near a facade is, however, complicated by interference between the incident sound waves and those reflected from the facade. Experimental data and a simple mathematical model are used to examine systematic effects associated with reflections from a large flat facade and, subsequently, to investigate deviations from this simple situation. Although the original motivation for the work was the investigation of problems pertinent to measurements of facade sound transmission, many of the results are relevant for other applications involving measurement of noise near a highly reflective surface.