INTRODUCTION TO NOISE CONTROL AT

INDUSTRIAL FACILITIES

Germán Ferreira

© 2009 Fluor. All Rights Reserved.

INTRODUCTION TO NOISE CONTROL AT
INDUSTRIAL FACILITIES
TABLE OF CONTENTS
♦ Effects of noise at Industrial Facilities
♦ Types of noise limits applicable to Industrial Facilities
♦ Noise spectrum and Octave Bands
♦ Noise Range
♦ Noise Scales
♦ SPL vs SWL
♦ Working with decibels
♦ Noise Sources
♦ Noise in Pipes
♦ Noise in Vents
♦ Noise Reduction Measures
♦ Control of Noise in a Project
♦ Examples
♦ International Standards

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EFFECTS OF NOISE AT INDUSTRIAL
FACILITIES

Noise excess can cause the following effects:

Health
♦ Damages hearing
♦ Causes tiredness
♦ Reduces efficiency
♦ It has other physical and psychological effects

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EFFECTS OF NOISE AT INDUSTRIAL
FACILITIES

Safety
♦ Interferes with communication
♦ Hides warning acoustic signals

Environmental
♦ Causes annoyance to persons and other
living beings around the industrial facility

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TYPES OF NOISE LIMITS APPLICABLE TO
INDUSTRIAL FACILITIES

There are three types of noise limits:

Work area limit
♦ Work area is any position not less than 1 m from
equipment, accessible to personnel.
♦ Oriented towards occupational exposure of Plant
workers
♦ Determined by noise sources in the vicinity of work
areas
♦ Areas where this limit cannot be reasonably met are
to be identified as hazardous noise areas
♦ Example value - 85 dBA

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TYPES OF NOISE LIMITS APPLICABLE TO
INDUSTRIAL FACILITIES
Absolute limit
♦ Maximum acceptable noise level in emergency cases, such as
safety relief valve discharges
♦ Oriented towards avoidance of hearing damage to exposed
personnel
♦ Example value - 115 dBA

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TYPES OF NOISE LIMITS APPLICABLE TO
INDUSTRIAL FACILITIES

Community or Environmental limit

♦ Noise level at the property limit of the Facility (at the
fence)
♦ Set by local legislation according with the land use in
the surroundings of the Plant
♦ Different limits for day and night periods usually set
♦ Example values - 55 dBA ... 65 dBA at nighttime; 65
dBA ... 75 dBA at daytime

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TYPES OF NOISE LIMITS APPLICABLE TO
INDUSTRIAL FACILITIES

♦ All of these limits are to be

considered at the noise control
design stage, so that equipment
are specified accordingly.

♦ Besides these requirements for

outdoor areas, there exist noise
limits for the interior of buildings
at the facility. Limit values are set
according to the use and
occupancy of buildings - offices,
substations, workshops, control
room, etc.

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NOISE SPECTRUM AND OCTAVE BANDS

♦ Normally, sound is made up of a number of frequencies. A

young adult can detect frequencies between 20 Hz and
20.000 Hz.
♦ Frequencies are divided into octaves. An octave band is a
range of frequencies extending from one frequency to
double that value. For example, the 1000 Hz octave band
extends from 707 Hz to 1414 Hz.
♦ Eight octave bands are most often used in industrial noise:

63 Hz 125 Hz 250 Hz 500 Hz 1000 Hz 2000 Hz 4000 Hz 8000 Hz

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NOISE RANGE

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NOISE RANGE

♦ The range of sound pressures in Pascals

starts at 2 x 10-5 Pa, which is the lowest
pressure a young adult can detect
♦ Because the range of sound pressures is
so wide, the decibel scale was devised to
make calculations of noise manageable
♦ The decibel (dB) is a unit of logarithmic
measure, which uses 2 x 10-5 Pa as the
starting point or 0 dB. A level of 150 dB is
emitted by a jet aircraft at take off
♦ The decibel scale is a closer
approximation to the sounds heard by the
human ear than the Pascal scale, since
the human ear is able to react to
exponential changes in sound pressure.

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NOISE SCALES

♦ Yet, the decibel scale does not replicate what the human
ear detects, because it is more sensitive to sound at
frequencies between 1000 Hz and 5000 Hz and less
sensitive to higher and lower frequency sounds. In order to
consider that sensitivity, the A-weighted decibel or dBA
scale is used. Correction factors are applied in order to
change unweighted decibels (dB) also known as linear
scale, to A-weighted decibels (dBA)
♦ There exist three additional weighting scales - B, C and D -
which are used in special circumstances or are obsolete.
When low frequency noise is of concern, then C weighting
is used since it attenuates low frequencies much less than
the other weightings

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NOISE SCALES

♦The correction to apply to every octave band of a noise

level in dB to get the noise level in dBA is given in the
table below

Octave Band 63 Hz 125 Hz 250 Hz 500 Hz 1000 Hz 2000 Hz 4000 Hz 8000 Hz

A-weighting (dB) -26 -16 -9 -3 0 1 1 -1

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SPL vs. SWL

♦ Sound Pressure Level (Lp or SPL)

It consists of the noise level we can hear at a
certain point. It can be measured with a sound
level meter, at it is normally expressed in decibels
dBA (also notated as dB(A))
Sound pressure levels must always be specified
along with the distance to the noise source, since
sound pressure decreases with it. The usual
reference distance is 1 m; therefore, the
expression SPL = 84 dBA @ 1 m is correct
Expressed in dB
SPL= 10 log10 (p2/p02) [dB] where the reference
pressure p0 = 2 x 10-5 Pa
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SPL vs. SWL

♦ Sound Power Level (Lw or SWL or PWL)

It consists of the total sound power emitted by a
noise source. It is also expressed in dB, which
causes confusion. It is useful to determine the
SPL caused by a noise source in the far field.
The SWL of a noise source in stable condition is
constant, whereas the SPL decreases when the
receiver is farther from the noise source.
The SWL is expressed in dB as:
SWL= 10 log10 (W/W0) [dB] where the reference
power W0 = 10-12 watts

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SPL vs. SWL

♦ Calculation of Sound Power from Sound Pressure

The equation that gives the calculation of the SWL
from the SPL of a noise source is:
SWL = SPL + 10 log (A)
where:
SPL = Sound Pressure Level of the noise source at
a certain distance
A = Area of the envelope surface where SPL has
been measured

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EXAMPLE

♦ If an average SPL of 84 dBA is

measured over a hemispherical
surface with a radius of 10 m
from the source, then the SWL is
84 + 10 log (628) = 112 dBA

♦ Sound Power is not related with

distance. Therefore, the
expression SWL = 98 dB @ 1 m
is incorrect.

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 WORKING WITH DECIBELS

 Derivation of a total noise level from given levels in octave

bands

Total SPL (and also SWL) are calculated from the data in octave
bands as follows:

where SPL, i is the sound level for octave band frequency i-th

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WORKING WITH DECIBELS

 Aggregation of noise levels from several sources

SPL at a point in space resulting from several noise

sources, as well as SWL produced by various sources is
calculated as follows:

where PWL, i is the PWL i-th noise source

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WORKING WITH DECIBELS

Difference between No. of dB to add to higher

levels - dB level

0 3

1 2.5

The following method 2 2.1

can also be used for 3 1.8

adding noise levels 4 1.5

from pairs of sources: 5 1.2

6 1.0

7 0.8

8 0.6

9 0.5

10 0.4

12 0.3

14 0.2

16 0.1

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EXAMPLE

♦ A turbine has a PWL of 102 dB and the generator

has a PWL of 96 dB. The PWL of the set turbo-
generator results in 103 dB

♦ According to table above, two equally intense

noise sources produce a sound level which is 3
dB higher than one alone. However, the human
ear perceives a doubling in loudness with every
increase of 10 dB in sound pressure.

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WORKING WITH DECIBELS

 Aggregation of noise levels from identical

sources

When we have n identical noise sources, emitting

each a noise level L0, the aggregated noise level
is calculated as follows:

L = L0 + 10 log (n)

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NOISE SOURCES

Common noise sources found at Industrial Facilities are:

Rotating Equipment

•Compressors
•Gas Turbines

•Pumps
•Fans
•Motors

•Steam Turbines

•Air Coolers
•Cooling Towers
•Mechanical Packages (Lubrication Systems, Additive Dosing

Equipment, etc)
•Cutting Equipment, mills, pastillation systems, and other solid

handling equipment
•Air Conditioning Equipment (both, in interiors and outdoors)

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NOISE SOURCES

 Static Equipment
• Heaters
• Boilers
• Ejectors
• Transformers Piping
•Control Valves
•Restriction Orifices

•Compressor lines - suction

and discharge

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NOISE SOURCES

Emergency Equipment
• Safety Valves

• Depressurizing and purge lines

• Emergency Generators

• Flares during flaring

• Fire-fighting pumps

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NOISE IN PIPES

♦ Whereas a piece of equipment emits sound uniformly in all

directions, acting as a spheric radiator, a pipe emitting noise
spreads sound in concentric cylinders, acting as line
radiators.

♦ High levels of noise in pipes lead to acoustic fatigue, causing

fractures in the material.

♦ The noise emitted by a equipment is reduced by 6 dB for each

doubling of distance, but in the case of a pipe, the noise is
reduced by 3 dB. Therefore, pipes act as "effective" noise
sources in Plants.

♦ Noise in pipes is difficult to estimate. Most widely accepted

reference is German Standard VDI 3733.

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NOISE IN VENTS

This is a particular case of above.

Depressurization vents and safety valves may emit high noise

levels, e.g. 140 dB, potentially causing acoustic fatigue,
hearing damage and annoyance to local community.

The most important noise source is the open vent, but noise is
also emitted by:
• Valve
• Downstream Pipe
• Upstream Pipe

An approximation to the noise emitted by a vent is given by

IEC 534-8-3 and API RP 521

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NOISE AT FAR FIELD

Noise level at a distant point from a noise source is derived

as follows:
SPL = SWL - 20 log (d) - A
where:
♦ SWL = Sound Power Level of the noise source
♦ d = Distance from the source to the receiver in m
♦ A = Attenuation term

Main components of attenuation term are:

• Type of sound propagation (hemispherical, spherical, cylindrical)
• Atmospheric absorption
• Ground Effect
• Screening

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NOISE REDUCTION MEASURES

When sound levels are exceeded, the following

measures may be taken when practicable:

• Low-noise design equipment

• Acoustic lagging / insulation
• Silencers
• Screens
• Acoustic Enclosures

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CONTROL OF NOISE IN A PROJECT (1/2)

♦ Consider local regulations for in-plant noise limits

♦ Consider local regulations and permits for
environmental noise
♦ Identify all the noise sources at the Facility along with
their location in the Plot Plan
♦ Model noise until all requirements are met
♦ Specify SPL and SWL in Noise Data Sheets for
equipment to be purchased

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CONTROL OF NOISE IN A PROJECT (2/2)

♦ Identify noise critical equipment in order to perform

factory tests
♦ Review and approve Noise Data Sheets with
guaranteed noise levels from Vendors
♦ Perform final Plant Acceptance Test
♦ Take corrective actions where required
♦ Noise Control Engineer to be designated early in the
Project. Project Team must submit them any
consultation required and information received from
suppliers or vendors for assessment

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EXAMPLES: Noise Map at an Industrial Facility

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EXAMPLES: Noise Attenuation- Sound Enclosure

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EXAMPLES: Lists of Noise Sources

LISTA DE EQUIPOS FUENTES DE RUIDO UNIDAD 696

NIVELES SONOROS (dBA) DOCUMENTO

Nº EQUIPO DESCRIPCION Requeridos Vendedor COMENTARIOS
VENDEDOR
SPL PWL SPL PWL
Potencia Sonora pendiente de confirmación por
696E-001 Enfriador de Condensado 84 97 85 HDR-696E-001
Vendedor. Reclamado el 2 Ene 09

696G-001A/B Bombas de Circulación 82 90 80 87 HDR-696G-001 Niveles Sonoros por Bomba. Funcionan 2oo2

TOTAL PWL UNIDAD 112

LISTA DE VÁLVULAS DE CONTROL Y RESTRICCIONES EN LÍNEAS UNIDAD 696

NIVELES SONOROS (dBA)
Nº ITEM TIPO DTI Requeridos Vendedor HOJA DE DATOS P1/P2 > 3 COMENTARIOS
SPL PWL SPL PWL
PV 1059 Válvula de Control 696-A-J-C10-99001 H.1 84 - HDV-696-001 No
PCV 1070 Reguladora Presión 696-A-J-C10-99001 H.2 84 - HDV-696-001 5.6

TOTAL PWL UNIDAD 110

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EXAMPLES: Noise Data Sheet

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INTERNATIONAL STANDARDS (1/2)

Some basic, desktop standards for noise control:

♦ EEMUA 140 Noise Procedure Specification

♦ EN ISO 3740:2001 Acoustics - Determination of sound power
levels of noise sources - Guidelines for the use of basic
standards
♦ EN ISO 3744:1995 Acoustics - Determination of sound power
levels of noise sources using sound pressure - Engineering
method in an essentially free field over a reflecting plane
♦ EN ISO 11200:1996 Acoustics - Noise emitted by machinery
and equipment - Guidelines for the use of basic standards for
the determination of emission sound pressure levels at a work
station and at other specified positions
♦ ISO 15664:2001 Acoustics - Noise control design procedures
for open plant

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INTERNATIONAL STANDARDS (2/2)

♦ ISO 9613-1 Acoustics - Attenuation of sound during propagation

outdoors - Part 1: Calculation of the absorption of sound by the
atmosphere
♦ ISO 9613-2 Acoustics - Attenuation of sound during propagation
outdoors - Part 2: General method of calculation
♦ API RP 521 Guide for Pressure-Relieving and Depressuring
Systems
♦ VDI 3733 Noise at Pipes
♦ EN 60534-8-1:2005 Industrial-process control valves - Part 8-1:
Noise considerations - Laboratory measurement of noise
generated by aerodynamic flow through control valves
♦ EN 60534-8-3:2000 Industrial-process control valves - Part 8-3:
Noise considerations - Control valve aerodynamic noise
prediction method
♦ ISO 15665:2003 Acoustic insulation for pipes, valves and
flanges

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