Incorporating measurement standards for sound power in an advanced acoustics laboratory course

In an advanced acoustics laboratory course at Brigham Young University, students are introduced to ANSI measurement standards in the context of sound power. They are introduced to the anatomy of a typical acoustics standard and then plan and carry out sound power measurements of an electric leaf blower using both reverberation chamber and sound intensity methods. The students are required to write a technical memorandum describing a) the blower’s radiated sound power levels over an appropriate frequency range, as obtained with the two methods; b) setup documentation and deviations from the standards’ recommended practices; and c) how any deviations might have contributed to discrepancies between the sound power levels obtained with the two methods. In this paper, a description of the experience is given, along with overall impressions and plans for future improvements.