Module overview
This module provides an understanding of human responses to sound and vibration in the environment, and how such environmental stimuli are measured and assessed. People judge the success or failure of any efforts in noise and vibration control, so their responses should be understood and anticipated.
The module also shows:
- The main effects of noise and vibration on people.
- How to identify relevant variables and how they can be combined to make quantitative predictions of human responses to noise and vibrations.
- How to use standards and regulations that have been developed to provide a framework for the objective evaluation of noise and vibration.
- How to provide a basic understanding of alternative approaches to assessment that might be adopted in particular case.
Aims and Objectives
Learning Outcomes
Transferable and Generic Skills
Having successfully completed this module you will be able to:
- Deal with logarithmic quantities, SI units, and reference values.
- Access and understand European Union Directives.
- Assess risk based on technical knowledge and legal requirements.
- Access and understand British, European, and International standards.
- Discuss noise and vibration issues in a multi-disciplinary environment.
- Contribute confidently and appropriately to discussions on similar topics.
Knowledge and Understanding
Having successfully completed this module, you will be able to demonstrate knowledge and understanding of:
- Understand the principal responses to whole-body vibration (i.e., perception, comfort, motion sickness, performance, and health) and hand-transmitted vibration (i.e., the hand-arm vibration syndrome, including vibration-induced white finger).
- Understand the principal methods of measuring and evaluating noise and vibration with respect to human responses.
- Understand the principal responses to noise (i.e., perception, loudness, annoyance, speech interference, noise-induced hearing loss).
- Recognise and select appropriate standards, recommendations, or regulations that apply to particular environments (e.g., domestic, commercial, transport, industrial).
Subject Specific Practical Skills
Having successfully completed this module you will be able to:
- Measure noise and vibration (both whole-body vibration and hand-transmitted vibration) to which people are exposed.
- Evaluate noise and vibration to which people are exposed.
- Assess the severity of noise and vibration to which people are exposed.
- Recognise means of preventing, or minimising, undesirable effects of noise and vibration on people.
Subject Specific Intellectual and Research Skills
Having successfully completed this module you will be able to:
- Recognise and select appropriate techniques for the investigation of noise and vibration effects.
- Understand the principles of measuring, evaluating, and assessing both noise and vibration.
- Apply current standards, limits, and regulations for both noise and vibration.
- Read, understand, and interpret the literature relating to noise and vibration effects upon people
Syllabus
Sound
- The human auditory system, including relevant standards: ISO 226 (2003), ISO 7029 (2017).
- Noise and health Hearing damage risk, including relevant standards: ISO 9612 (2009), ISO 119024-1 & 2 (2002), ISO 1999 (2013).
- Non-auditory health risks, vegetative responses.
- Disturbance of speech communication prediction, including relevant standards: IEC 60268-16 (2011).
- Annoyance at home and in other environments.
- Sleep disturbance.
- Planning and noise, including relevant standards: BS 4142 (2014).
Vibration
- Principles of the measurement and evaluation of human vibration exposures.
- Standards and Directives for whole-body vibration and hand-transmitted vibration: ISO 5349-1(2001), ISO 10819 (2013), ISO 2631-1(1997) and ISO 5349-2(2002).
- Health effects of whole-body vibration.
- Effects of whole-body vibration on activities.
- Discomfort produced by whole-body vibration.
- Vibration thresholds.
- Building vibration.
- Biodynamics (body transmissibility, apparent mass, models).
- Seating dynamics (transmissibility, SEAT value, models).
- Health effects of hand-transmitted vibration, their diagnosis, and prevention.
- Measurement, evaluation, and assessment of the vibration of powered hand-held tools.
- Causes of motion sickness in marine, land and air transport.
Learning and Teaching
Teaching and learning methods
Lectures on Sound and lectures on Vibration.
Students join the module with widely varying experience / knowledge of human responses to noise and vibration, so in-class questions and discussion is expected.
Laboratory demonstrations of human responses to whole-body vibration and hand-transmitted vibration.
Students are expected to devote time to reading supporting texts to supplement material introduced during lecture periods.
Coursework assignments allow students to build upon lecture material.
| Type | Hours |
|---|---|
| Teaching | 36 |
| Independent Study | 114 |
| Total study time | 150 |
Resources & Reading list
Internet Resources
Assessment
Formative
This is how we’ll give you feedback as you are learning. It is not a formal test or exam.
Set Task AssignmentSummative
This is how we’ll formally assess what you have learned in this module.
| Method | Percentage contribution |
|---|---|
| Final Assessment | 100% |
Referral
This is how we’ll assess you if you don’t meet the criteria to pass this module.
| Method | Percentage contribution |
|---|---|
| Set Task | 100% |
Repeat
An internal repeat is where you take all of your modules again, including any you passed. An external repeat is where you only re-take the modules you failed.
| Method | Percentage contribution |
|---|---|
| Set Task | 100% |
Repeat Information
Repeat type: Internal & External