Tag: NIHL

Measuring and Adding Sounds

Published on by John BallLeave a comment

My colleague, Russ Bowman, wrote a blog about “Sound Power vs Sound Pressure vs Sound Pressure Level”.  He discussed the logarithmic equations around sound.  I will be discussing what happens when you have more than one sound source, as often heard within manufacturing plants.  Sounds can be added together to determine the overall sound level that you hear.  This is very important when it comes to minimizing hearing loss.

In looking at a single source of sound, sound pressure is created by the loudness of a noise.  The units are measured in Pascals.  The lowest pressure perceived by human hearing is 0.00002 Pa, and we can use this value as a reference point.  From sound pressures, we can arrive at a sound pressure level which is measured in decibel, dB.  This correlation between sound pressures and sound pressure levels are calculated by Equation 1:

L = 20 * Log10 (P / Pref)

L – Sound Pressure Level, dB

P – Sound pressure, Pa

Pref – reference sound pressure, 0.00002 Pa

As an example, the sound pressure from a passenger car as heard from the roadside is 0.1 Pa.  With Equation 1, we can get the following decibel level:

L = 20 * Log10 (0.1Pa/0.00002Pa) = 74 dB

Because human ears are sensitive to different frequencies, the sound pressure levels can be modified, or weighted, to indicate an effective loudness level for humans.  This adjustment is done in two different ways; A-weighting and C-weighting.  The C-weighting is for very loud noises with high peaks or sharp impacts like gunfire. The A-weighting is the most used value as the sound pressure levels are adjusted by the frequency level.  For higher and lower frequencies, the change in the sound value is much greater than the mid-level frequencies that are within our hearing range.  Sound measurements for safety are measured on an A-weighted scale.  OSHA created a chart in the standard 29CFR-1910.95(a).  It shows the noise levels over exposure times for an operator.  To use the OSHA chart accurately, the total noise level in dBA should be calculated.

Hearing loss is the best known, but not the only, ill effect of harmful noise exposure. It can also cause physical and psychological stress, impair concentration, and contribute to workplace accidents or injuries.

To determine the total sound level, we can add all the sound pressure levels together by Equation 2:

Equation 2:

Where L1, L2… represents the sound pressure level in dBA for each sound source.

As an example, a manufacturing plant had an operator using a machine that had four copper tubes to blow off a cutting operation (reference photo below).

Blow off station

The decibel level for a copper tube was measured at 98 dBA.  The total amount of sound that the operator was exposed to was determined by Equation 2 with four values.

L = 10 * log10 (109.8 + 109.8 + 109.8 + 109.8)

L = 104 dBA

In looking at the OSHA chart above, the operator would only be allowed to operate the machine only a little over one hour without hearing protection.  In this same example, we replaced the copper tubes with an EXAIR Super Air Nozzle, model 1100SS.  The noise level for each nozzle is 74 dBA at 80 PSIG (5.5 bar).  By replacing all four copper tubes with Super Air Nozzles, Equation 2 becomes:

L = 10 * log10 (107.4 + 107.4+ 107.4 + 107.4)

L = 80 dBA

The total sound level is now in accordance with OSHA regulations for the operator to work all 8 hours at the machine without hearing protection.

A commonly used acronym for hearing safety is NIHL, or Noise Induced Hearing Loss.  To keep your operators safe and reduce NIHL, it is important to measure the total sound level in that area.  As a protocol in safety, it is a requirement to use engineering standards before purchasing personal protective equipment or PPE.  For the customer above, they followed that protocol with our Super Air Nozzles.  If you need to reduce noise levels in your facility, EXAIR offers a large line of blow-off products that can meet the safety requirements.  You can contact an Application Engineer for more information. 

John Ball
Application Engineer
Email: johnball@exair.com
Twitter: @EXAIR_jb

Photo: Ear by PublicDomainPictures  Pixabay License

Sound Levels in Your Facility

Published on by Jordan T ShouseLeave a comment

One of the most common and dangerous hazards that occur within a manufacturing and production facility is the noise level within the plant. Noise is measured in units known as decibels. Decibels are a ratio of the power level of the sound compared to a logarithmic scale. If an employee is an exposed for too long to high levels of noise, they can begin to lose their hearing. That is where the OSHA 29 CFR 1910.95 regulation comes into play.

Hearing loss is the best known, but not the only, ill effect of harmful noise exposure. It can also cause physical and psychological stress, impair concentration, and contribute to workplace accidents or injuries.

This OSHA standard doesn’t just provide the protection against noise in the work place but monitoring as well. Companies shall provide at no cost audiometric tests for all employees to ensure that no damage is being to the hearing of all personnel. This program is to be repeated every six months and the results are to be made accessible to all personnel.                

Hearing is very important to our everyday lives and must be protected due to the fact that once it is damaged hearing loss cannot be lost be repaired. The OHSA 29 CFR 1910.95 is there to protect and monitor this dangerous hazard in the workplace so that all employees can go home safe and sound.

Here at EXAIR we design all of our products to safe and quite. Weather it is using one of our mufflers for vortex tubes or E-vac’s or one of our Super air nozzles we strive to meet and exceed the OSHA standard. One could also purchase EXAIR’s Digital Sound Level Meter which can give a accurate and responsive reading of how loud your compressed air sources are.

For more information on EXAIR’s Digital Sound Level Meter and any of EXAIR‘s Intelligent Compressed Air® Product lines, feel free to contact EXAIR and myself or any of our Application Engineers can help you determine the best solution.

Jordan Shouse
Application Engineer

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Twitter: @EXAIR_JS

Managing Pneumatic Sound

Published on by EricKuhnash@EXAIR.comLeave a comment

I recently took my daughter to a basketball game to watch Xavier University’s Lady Musketeers play. Due to Covid the arena felt empty and we could hear the players on the court and also the the coaches from the opposite side. If this was a regular season game we could barely hear ourselves let alone the teams and coaches. The obvious reason why there was not much noise is that there wasn’t much of a crowd and the crowd makes a lot of sound. So, what is sound?

Sound can be defined as “vibrations that travel through the air or another medium and can be heard when they reach a person’s or animal’s ear”. Sounds hit our ears at different pressure levels depending on its strength (“loudness” or volume) and is measured in decibels (dB).

When sound travels and comes into contact with a surface, a portion will be absorbed and another portion will be reflected. Manufacturing environments obviously can be the source of a lot of sound and personnel near the sources should be protected as much as possible. One extremely effective way to do this is to substitute a loud noise source with a quieter one or remove the source all together. PPE can be effective but is much less reliable due to people forgetting to use PPE, using PPE improperly or even deciding for themselves they do not need it.

To substitute or eliminate means something like the strategic placement of air compressor which is not near personnel or recognizing the type of product you choose to use is vital to sound management and the health and safety of people working near the point of use. Many EXAIR products can help you reduce the sound level of your current point-of-use compressed air by replacing commercial air nozzles, open pipes and homemade blowoff solutions with our Engineered Air Nozzles, Safety Air Guns, Air Amplifiers, or Super Air Knives. These products are all designed to minimize compressed air noise and can contribute to lowering the overall noise exposure of your personnel. The additional benefit is that you customers will also typically see a reduction in air consumption which saves money on generating compressed air.

EXAIR’s Digital Sound Level Meter is a tool used to identify and quantify the particular noise levels within an area. The source of loud noises can be quickly identified and isolated so corrective measures can be implemented.

Compressed air noise levels often exceed OSHA (Occupational Safety and Health Administration) noise level exposure requirements. EXAIR pneumatic products meet or exceed the OSHA Standard 29 CFR-1910.95(a) and can be used to reduce sound levels in your compressed air environment.

EXAIR has has many engineered compressed air products that can help reduce your sound levels. Our Application Engineers are ready and eager to help assist your sound level decrease projects. Please contact us at www.EXAIR.com so we can be a vital part of your successful sound reduction program.

Eric Kuhnash
Application Engineer
E-mail: EricKuhnash@exair.com
Twitter: Twitter: @EXAIR_EK

Reduce Sound Levels In Less Than A Minute

Published on by Brian FarnoLeave a comment

Okay, I will admit, the title may be a tad bit leading.  The fact is, it can be done.  I speak to customers almost daily who are struggling with the noise levels produced from open pipe blowoffs.  With Noise Induced Hearing Loss (NIHL) a significant problem among manufacturing workers, reducing the noise form compressed air can be a simple solution and contribute toward reducing overall noise exposure levels. Many of these calls and emails revolve around reducing these exact noise levels, sometimes the open pipes have existing threads on them to install the solution immediately.

To reduce these noise levels, we need to simply reduce the amount of energy that is being expelled through the pipe. How do we do this you might ask?  The use of an air nozzle will reduce the energy being dispersed from an open pipe.  This will result in lower air consumption as well as lower sound levels while actually increasing velocity as the pipe will maintain higher operating pressures. Be cautious about the air nozzle you choose, however, they are not all created equal. EXAIR’s engineered air nozzles are among the quietest and most efficient air nozzles available.

Family of Nozzles

What size pipes can we fit nozzles to?  That’s a great question.  We have nozzles that range from a 4mm straight thread all the way up to 1-1/4″ NPT thread.  This also includes nearly any size in between especially the standard compressed air piping sizes.  For instance, a 1/4″ Sched. 40 pipe that has 1/4″ MNPT threads on it can easily produce over a 100 dBA noise level from 3 feet away.  This can easily be reduced to below 80 dBA from 3′ away by utilizing one of our model 1100 Super Air Nozzles.  All it takes is a deep well socket and ratchet with some thread sealant.

This doesn’t just lower the sound level though, it reduces the amount of compressed air expelled through that open pipe by creating a restriction on the exit point.  This permits the compressed air to reach a higher line pressure causing a higher exit velocity and due to the engineering within the nozzle, this will also eliminate dangerous dead-end pressure and complies with OSHA standard 29 CFR 1910.242(b).

Easy Install

All in all, a 30-second install can make an operator’s work station considerably quieter and potentially remove the need for hearing protection.  If you would like to discuss how to lower noise levels in your facility, contact us.

Brian Farno
Application Engineer
BrianFarno@EXAIR.com
@EXAIR_BF