Description of BS EN ISO 3743-1:2009 2010

1.1 General

This part of ISO 3743 specifies a relatively simple engineering method for determining the sound power levels of small, movable noise sources. The measurements are carried out when the source is installed in a hard-walled test room. A comparison method is used to determine to the octave-band sound power levels of the source. The spatial average (octave-band) sound pressure levels produced by the source under test are compared to the spatial average (octave-band) sound pressure levels produced by a reference sound source of known sound power output. The difference in sound pressure levels is equal to the difference in sound power levels if conditions are the same for both sets of measurements. The A-weighted sound power level is then calculated from the octave-band sound power levels.

NOTE 1 Precision methods for the determination of sound power levels of small noise sources are specified in ISO 3741 and ISO 3745.

1.2 Types of noise

The method specified in this part of ISO 3743 is suitable for measurements of all types of noise within a specified frequency range, except intermittent noise consisting of isolated bursts of sound energy.

NOTES

2 A classification of different types of noise is given in ISO 2204.

3 For sources of intermittent noise consisting of shortduration noise bursts, the free-field methods specified in ISO 3744 and ISO 3745 should be used.

1.3 Noise source

The noise source may be a device, machine, component or sub-assembly.

The maximum size of the source under test depends upon the size of the room used for the acoustical measurements. (See also 4.1).

1.4 Measurement uncertainty

Determinations made in accordance with this part of ISO 3743 result, with few exceptions, in standard deviations of reproducibility of the A-weighted sound power level equal to or less than 1,5 dB (see table 1).

A single value of the sound power level of a noise source determined according to the procedures of this part of ISO 3743 is likely to differ from the true value by an amount within the range of the measurement uncertainty. The uncertainty in determinations of the sound power level arises from several factors which affect the results, some associated with environmental conditions in the measurement laboratory and others with experimental techniques.

If a particular noise source were to be transported to each of a number of different laboratories, and if, at each laboratory, the sound power level of that source were to be determined in accordance with this part of ISO 3743, the results would show a scatter. The standard deviation of the measured levels could be calculated (see examples in ISO 7574-4:1985, annex Bl and would vary with frequency. With few exceptions, these standard deviations would not exceed those listed in table 1. The values given in table 1 are standard deviations of reproducibility, σ_R, as defined in ISO 7574-1. The values of table 1 take into account the cumulative effects of measurement uncertainty in applying the procedures of this part of ISO 3743, but exclude variations in the sound power output caused by changes in operating conditions (e.g. rotational speed, line voltage) or mounting conditions.

The measurement uncertainty depends on the standard deviation of reproducibility tabulated in table 1 and on the degree of confidence that is desired. As examples, for a normal distribution of sound power levels, there is a 90 % confidence that the true value of the sound power level of a source lies within the range ± 1,645 σ_R of the measured value and a 95 % confidence that it lies within the range ± 1,96 σ_R of the measured value. For further examples, reference should be made to the ISO 7574 and ISO 9296 series.

Table 1 - Estimated values of the standard deviation of reproducibility of sound power levels determined in accordance with this part of ISO 3743

^*) Applicable to a source which emits noise with a relatively "flat" spectrum in the frequency range 100 Hz to 10 000 Hz.

NOTES

4 The standard deviations listed in table 1 are associated with the test conditions and procedures defined in this part of ISO 3743, and not with the noise source itself. They arise partly from variations between measurement laboratories in the geometry of the test room, the acoustical properties of the test room boundaries, background noise, the type and calibration of instrumentation, and the reference sound source. They are also due to variations in experimental measurement techniques, including microphone placement and spatial averaging, location of source under test, integration times, and measurement of reverberation time.

5 If several laboratories use similar facilities and instrumentation, the results of sound power determinations on a given source in those laboratories may be in better agreement than would be implied by the standard deviations given in table 1.

6 For a particular family of sound sources, of similar size with similar sound power spectra and similar operating conditions, the standard deviations of reproducibility may be smaller than the values given in table 1. Hence, a noise test code for a particular type of machinery or equipment making reference to this part of ISO 3743 may state standard deviations smaller than those listed in table 1 if substantiation is available from the results of suitable interlaboratory tests.

7 The standard deviation of reproducibility, as tabulated in table 1, includes the uncertainty associated with repeated measurements on the same noise source under the same conditions (for standard deviation of repeatability, see ISO 7574-1). This uncertainty is usually much smaller than the uncertainty associated with interlaboratory variability. However, if it is difficult to maintain stable operating or mounting conditions for a particular source, the standard deviation of repeatability may not be small compared with the values given in table 1. In such cases, the fact that it was difficult to obtain repeatable sound power level data on the source should be recorded and stated in the test report.

8 The procedures of this part of ISO 3743 and the standard deviations given in table 1 are applicable to measurements on an individual machine. Characterization of the sound power levels of batches of machines of the same family or type involves the use of random sampling techniques in which confidence intervals are specified, and the results are expressed in terms of statistical upper limits. In applying these techniques, the total standard deviation must be known or estimated, including the standard deviation of production, as defined in ISO 7574-1, which is a measure of the variation in sound power output between individual machines within the batch. Statistical methods for the characterization of batches of machines are described in ISO 7574-4.

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