In modern architecture, building acoustics play an increasing role. Not only the noise level is important but also the direction where the sound is coming from and the distribution of sound sources in the building have to be considered. For concert halls, sports stadiums and the like, acoustic properties are an integral and important part of their overall design. The Acoustic Camera is a valuable tool to measure, optimize and verify the acoustic properties of any building. Another important aspect of building & structure acoustics is condition monitoring and maintenance. With increasing traffic, adverse environmental conditions and more extreme weather, buildings and structures like bridges have to be closely monitored to maintain their stability and save function.
While buildings like concert halls and convention centers have always been built around and optimized for their acoustic properties, the use of the Acoustic Camera now presents the opportunity to easily and accurately obtain acoustic maps of such buildings. Other measuring techniques for room and building acoustics are often cumbersome and lengthy processes and the results often lack the intuitive understandability of an acoustic image. The sphere arrays used for building acoustics have been especially designed for accurate and reliable sound localization in rooms and buildings. The results are mapped on a 3D model which can be easily imported in the evaluation software. While the importance of building acoustics is obvious in buildings like concert halls, the Acoustics Camera also helps to better understand the sound environment in sports stadiums. Recently, the influence of the noise environment generated by visitors of sports events on the performance of the sports teams is more closely researched. The Acoustic Camera helps in this research by providing acoustic maps of the very complex acoustic environment in sports stadiums where each of the up to 100.000 visitors is a separate sound source.
The Acoustic Camera is used for condition monitoring of safety relevant parts of buildings and structures like bridges. With ever increasing traffic and extreme weather and other environmental conditions the close monitoring of those structures become more important. The Acoustic Camera is used to detect sound sources generated by strain on the structure under normal operating conditions. Detailed follow-up measurements on the identified parts with vibration measuring instruments for operational modal analysis are ideally supported by the modal analysis software WaveImage. This way, weakening parts of the structure can be identified and repaired before they break and accidents and further damage are prevented.
