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Sound Transmission & Building Physics

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Abstractions about how sound and moisture move through materials and structures, including sound propagation and blocking (acoustic transmission, soundproofing, acoustic shadow, absorption), building-envelope protection (damp proofing, passive ventilation), and specialized acoustic phenomena (thermoacoustics, sound from ultrasound).

11 abstractions in this family — domain-specific abstractions that sit near one another in structural-signature space (k-means over structural-signature embeddings). Each is shown with its short description.

  • Absorption (acoustics) — The conversion or transfer of incident sound energy within a material or structure so that less acoustic energy is reflected back into the originating medium.
  • Acoustic quieting — Acoustic quieting is the process of making machinery quieter by damping vibrations to prevent them from reaching an observer.
  • Acoustic Shadow — An acoustic shadow or sound shadow is an area through which sound waves fail to propagate, due to topographical obstructions or disruption of the waves via phenomena such as wind currents, buildings, or sound barriers.
  • Acoustic transmission — Acoustic transmission is the transmission of sounds through and between materials, including air, wall, and musical instruments.
  • Damp proofing — Damp proofing in construction is a type of moisture control applied to building walls and floors to prevent moisture from passing into the interior spaces.
  • Passive ventilation — Passive ventilation is the process of supplying air to and removing air from an indoor space without using mechanical systems.
  • Sound from Ultrasound — Sound from ultrasound refers to the generation of audible sound from modulated ultrasound.
  • Sound pressure — In acoustics, sound pressure or acoustic pressure is the pressure difference between the ambient (average or equilibrium) atmospheric pressure and that of a sound wave.
  • Sound speed profile — Also visible in figure 1 is a common feature in sound speed profiles: the SOFAR channel.
  • Soundproofing — Soundproofing is any means of impeding sound propagation.
  • Thermoacoustics — Couple oscillatory pressure and gas motion to phase-sensitive heat exchange so a temperature gradient can generate acoustic power or acoustic power can pump heat.