Tag: noise level

What is Sound: The Correlation Between Sound Power and Sound Pressure

Published on by codybiehleLeave a comment

Sound, it is all around at every given point of the day. Whether it is from the music we listen to, the person talking to you, your cars engine, or the wind blowing through the leaves there is no escaping it. Hearing is one of the five senses that the majority of humans rely on and should be protected at all costs and with a good understanding of what sound is, one can help mitigate damage done to their hearing. Sound can be broken down into two parts, sound power and sound pressure. But the real question is, how do these corollate to each other to become the sound that we rely on.

Sound Wave

Sound Power (Watts) is defined as the rate at which sound energy (decibels) is emitted, reflected, transmitted or received, per unit of time. Whereas, Sound Pressure is defined as the local pressure deviation from the ambient atmospheric pressure, caused by a sound wave. Based on these two definitions it can be determined that sound power is the cause that generates the sound wave and sound pressure is the effect or what we hear after the sound wave has traveled to the ear.

This can be summed up in a simple analogy using a light bulb. Light bulbs use electricity to generate a source of light, this means that the power required (also stated in Watts) to cause the bulb to light up is comparable to Sound Power. The intensity of the light being generated (stated in Lumens) would be the Sound Pressure. Sound Pressure is what we would typically hear or call sound. This is what is measured because that is the harmful aspect to our hearing and ears. If the Sound Pressure is high enough and the ear is exposed to it long enough, permanent damage can be done resulting in hearing loss to the point of complete hearing lose.

I have known many people who have lost there hearing either completely or a large portion of it from exposure to loud noises. EXAIR designs and manufactures quiet and efficient point of use compressed air products. These products either meet or exceed the OSHA noise Standards in OSHA Standard 29 CFR – 1910.95 (a).

The OSHA Standard for how long someone can be exposed to a certain noise level

If you are not sure what the noise level is in your facility check out EXAIR’s Digital Sound Level Meter. It’s an easy to use instrument for measuring Sound Pressure levels in an area.

EXAIR’s Digital Sound Level Meter

If you have questions about the Digital Sound Level Meter, or would like to talk about any of the quiet EXAIR Intelligent Compressed Air® Products, feel free to contact EXAIR or any Application Engineer.

Cody Biehle
Application Engineer
EXAIR Corporation
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EXAIR Digital Sound Level Meter

Published on by EricKuhnash@EXAIR.comLeave a comment

EXAIRs’ easy to use Digital Sound Level Meter Model 9104 is ideal for identifying and measuring sound levels in manufacturing environments. The source of loud noises can be quickly identified which can then translate to taking some corrective action to lower the noise. Your current compressed air processes could be easily quieted by replacing your current end use product (nozzle, open pipe, open fitting, homemade air device) with an EXAIR engineered compressed air product. All of our blowoff products meet and/or exceed the OSHA Standard 29CFR-1910.95(a) noise exposure standard.

OSHA standards set the minimum level that employers must follow and maintain to ensure safety and hazard free environments. The EXAIR Model 9104 Digital Sound Level Meter will help efforts in reducing the risk of exposure to high noise levels and reducing the risk of hearing loss. The sound Meter will measure the decibel of sound and show the reading on a large LCD display. This unit is battery operated and comes with a certification of accuracy and calibration traceable to NIST (National Institute of Standards and Technology).

If you have questions about the Digital Sound Level Meter, or would like to talk about any of the quiet EXAIR Intelligent Compressed Air® Products, feel free to contact EXAIR and myself or one of our Application Engineers can help you determine the best solution.

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

EXAIR Celebrates Manufacturing Day With A Win For A Manufacturer

Published on by Russ BowmanLeave a comment

In 2012, the National Association of Manufacturers organized an effort to proclaim the first Friday in October (hey, that’s today!) as Manufacturing Day.  According to the Advanced Manufacturing National Program Office (a division of NIST, the National Institute of Standards & Testing,) the purpose of MFG Day is “to raise awareness among students, parents, educators and the general public about modern manufacturing and the rewarding careers available.”

Today is kind of a big deal around here.  Not only is EXAIR Corporation a manufacturer, but many of the companies that use our products are as well.  A lot of us have a rich story, woven into the cloth of the history of American manufacturing (which, in turn, is woven into the larger cloth of American history.)  Have you heard the one about the motivated inventor with an idea to make innovative products who started an operation out of his home that, with inspired direction & vision, became a worldwide leader in their industry?

Yeah; that’s us.  Today, we’re honoring Roy Sweeney’s legacy (he founded the company in October 1983,) and celebrating MFG Day, by publishing a new Case Study, proving out the benefits of the use of EXAIR Intelligent Compressed Air Products in regard to the monetary savings associated with the reduction in compressed air use, and the noise level reduction from the implementation of our engineered products.

You can download the complete Case Study here, but while we’re on the subject, here’s a basic rundown:

  • A roll forming operation used to blow off their product with a combination of loud and inefficient devices: copper tubing and modular flexible hose which is designed primarily for machine tool coolant, but often misapplied for use with compressed air.
  • It worked just fine, but an engineering study noted it as a potential wasteful use of compressed air.  That’s when they called us.
  • By replacing those blow offs with Model 1100 Super Air Nozzles and Model 1122 2″ Flat Super Air Nozzles, their noise levels dropped from 107 dBA to 83.8 dBA.  To put that in perspective, it went from the approximate sound level of a rock concert to that of a leaf blower. (ref: Centers for Disease Control & Prevention: What Causes Hearing Loss?)
  • Compressed air consumption dropped by more than half, from 190 SCFM to 86.8 SCFM…an annual savings of over $3,200.00.  All for an investment of $654.00 (2020 pricing) for those engineered Air Nozzles, Stay Set Hoses, and Magnetic Bases.  That means they’ll have paid for themselves in just under two months.
  • In addition to that, for participation in this Case Study, we’re giving them a generous credit on their order.  Happy Manufacturing Day!

And frankly, I think the engineered products just look better too.

Last but certainly not least, this reduction in compressed air usage decreases the load on their air compressors, reducing the electrical power consumed.  Product impact, along with our own consumption of resources and waste recycling, is a key component of EXAIR Corporation’s Sustainability Plan.  We’re making the world a better place, by making products that make the world a better place, using methods that make the world a better place.  I can’t think of a better way to celebrate Manufacturing Day.  If you want to get in on it, give me a call.

Russ Bowman
Application Engineer
EXAIR Corporation
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MFG Day logo courtesy of nist.gov

Measuring And Adding Sound Levels Together

Published on by Russ BowmanLeave a comment

What sound level do you get when you feed an EXAIR Super Air Nozzle at 80psig? What if there are two of them?  Or three?  Grab your scientific calculators, folks…we’re gonna ‘math’ today!

But first, a little explanation of sound power & sound pressure:

Strictly speaking, power is defined as energy per unit time, and is used to measure energy generation or consumption.  In acoustics, though, sound power is applicable to the generation of the sound…how much sound is being MADE by a noisy operation.

Sound pressure is the way acoustics professionals quantify the intensity of the sound power at the target.  For the purposes of most noise reduction discussions, the target is “your ears.”

The sound levels that we publish are measured at a distance of 3 feet from the product, to the side.  The units we use are decibels, corrected for “A” weighting (which accounts for how the human ear perceives the intensity of the sound, which varies for different frequencies,) or dBA.  Also, decibels follow a logarithmic scale, which means two important things:

  • A few decibels’ worth of change result in a “twice as loud” perception to your ears.
  • Adding sources of sound doesn’t double the decibel level.

If you want to know how the sound level from a single source is calculated, those calculations are found here.  For the purposes of this blog, though, we’re going to assume a user wants to know what the resultant sound level is going to be if they add a sound generating device to their current (known) situation.

Combined Sound Level (dBA) = 10 x log10[10SL1/10 + 10SL2/10 + 10SL3/10 …]

Let’s use an EXAIR Model 1100 Super Air Nozzle (rated at 74dBA) as an example, and let’s say we have one in operation, and want to add another.  What will be the increase in dBA?

10 x log10[1074/10 + 1074/10] = 77.65 dBA

Now, there are two reasons I picked the Model 1100 as an example:

  • It’s one of our most versatile products, with a wide range of applications, and a proven track record of efficiency, safety, and sound level reduction.
  • We proved out the math in a real live experiment:

Why do I care about all of this?  My Dad experienced dramatic hearing loss from industrial exposure at a relatively young age…he got his first hearing aids in his early 40’s…so I saw, literally up close and very personal, what a quality of life issue that can be.  The fact that I get to use my technical aptitude to help others lower industrial noise exposure is more than just making a living.  It’s something I’m passionate about.  If you want to talk about sound level reduction in regard to your use of compressed air, talk to me.  Please.

Russ Bowman
Application Engineer
EXAIR Corporation
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