MSc ENVIRONMENTAL AND ARCHITECTURAL ACOUSTICS

This module aims to convey the nature of sound and vibration with a considerable depth of knowledge through practical means, giving you an understanding of how to accurately measure sound, how sound behaves, and practical aspects of noise control. It introduces you to the basic principles of acoustics, familiarises you with modern sound level meters, measurement parameters and measurement techniques for noise surveys, room acoustics, sound absorption and sound insulation. You should be able to produce an accurate report to consultancy level which is critical of the laboratory, experiment, technique or instrumentation by comparison to the appropriate international standard.

The module provides specific acoustics knowledge as relevant to buildings and in particular rooms. The aims of the module are to gain understanding of room acoustics, measurement of room acoustic parameters and the various means of modelling the sound field in rooms across the frequency range.

This module is designed to teach, at an advanced level, the physical mechanisms by which noise may be created, as well as to provide the analytic and practical skills required to control noise and vibration from a variety of sources. The module instils the knowledge of how to undertake noise and vibration measurements to meet specific acoustical standards and guidance.

Teaches, at an advanced level, the physical mechanisms by which the ear/brain interact to hear. The aims of the module are to: appreciate how human hearing deteriorates dependent on a number of variables; how legislation has developed to protect workers and how hearing protection can help under certain conditions; to appreciate the difference between subjective loudness and objective measurements; to learn how acoustic comfort criteria and legislation have been developed and applied to protect people in different environments.

This module is intended to give an insight to new and developing areas of acoustics that are not covered by the other taught modules in acoustics. The students will take these areas and develop appropriate ideas of their own in such a way that they become practical propositions. This will be facilitated by using the acoustics laboratory, the University workshops to develop a prototype solution which can be tested in the laboratory. Students will be given the opportunity to review international standards to allow their solution to be appropriately tested.

This module focuses on the essential communication and analytic skills required in research, including techniques for successful dissertation writing.

For the final project module you'll devise and complete a piece of investigative work in an area of interest in considerable depth; the topic and scope of the project are selected with the guidance of an academic supervisor.