Laboratory exercises in noise control engineering

Abstract

In the Faculty of Engineering at the University of Western Ontario, noise control engineering courses are taught to final year undergraduates and to graduate students in our Master of Engineering program. The M.Eng program is a one‐year course work masters in noise control engineering and is the only program of this type in Canada. Laboratory exercises are seen to be an essential enhancement to lectures in noise control engineering, and are intended to not only reinforce concepts learned in lectures but also to give a better appreciation of the gaps between theory and the real world. Because of the applied nature of the subject most laboratory exercises have been planned so that they demonstrate the various fundamentals, but in realistic situations. A wide range of conventional acoustical instrumentation is used as well as several purpose build pieces of equipment. Physical measurements have been enhanced by a number of interactive computer programs that allow students to make more extensive measurements as well as to explore various relationships via the computer programs. A number of laboratory exercises are discussed with respect to their special features and purposes.