Duration
30h Th, 22h Pr, 8h Labo.
Number of credits
| Master of Science (MSc) in Electrical Engineering | 5 crédits |
Lecturer
Language(s) of instruction
English language
Organisation and examination
Teaching in the first semester, review in January
Schedule
Units courses prerequisite and corequisite
Prerequisite or corequisite units are presented within each program
Learning unit contents
Course description
Fundamentals of applied acoustics and electroacoustics are gathered in this course.
Contents
- Interaction between the sound sources and their environment (radiation, propagation, reflection, transmission, diffraction)
- The Kundt standing wave tube and the measurement of sound absorption
- Room acoustics and auralization
- Electrical, mechanical and acoustic analogies (electroacoustic models of complete acoustic systems)
- Microphones and loudspeakers: properties and electoacoustic models
- Microphone arrays
Learning outcomes of the learning unit
At the end of this course, it is intended that the student will be able to:
- identify the fundamental variables in acoustics, the modes of acoustic propagation and the diiferent kinds of acoustic sources,
- calculate the radiation impedance of acoustic sources,
- understand and apply some noise indicators describing discomfort, in particular equivalent noise levels,
- measure (under normal incidence) the reflection coefficients and acoustic impedances of material samples,
- understand the effects of eigenmodes in rooms and determine their frequencies,
- calculate and measure reverberation times,
- propose simulation models in room acoustics,
- set up the electroacoustic model of acoustical systems,
- develop the electroacoustic model of microphones and determine their main parameters,
- develop the electroacoustical model of loudspeakers and determine their main parameters,
- measure the principal characteristics of loudspeakers.
Prerequisite knowledge and skills
Fundamentals of electrical circuits analysis Mathematics : differential equations
Planned learning activities and teaching methods
First of all, this course is organised in modules, each of them consisting in a general presentation ex cathedra. Some modules are followed by applications and exercices with the teacher or teaching assistant.
Some laboratory measurement sessions are planned, for example the measurement of reflection coefficients with the Kundt tube or the measurement of loudspeakers' properties. The presence of the students to these sessions is strongly recommended. These laboratory sessions are organised only once per academic year.
A small project is also scheduled at the end of the course, supervised by the teaching assistant and covering the last two or three half-day sessions. This activity is mandatory: if no report is provided by the student at the end of this activity, a note A (absent) will be assigned.
Mode of delivery (face-to-face ; distance-learning)
Face-to-face learning
Recommended or required readings
The learning materials and documents will be provided by the teacher on-line, via myULg. These are the slides presented and commented by the teacher during the oral presentations. For the lesson dedicated to loudspeakers, a accompanying text is available.
Recommended readings (non-mandatory):
Rossi M., Audio, Presses polytechniques et universitaires romanes (2007)
Leach, Introduction to Electroacoustics and Audio Amplifier Design - 2nd edition, Kendall/Hunt Publishing Cy (2001)
Kuttruff H., Room acoustics 4th ed., Taylor & Francis (2000)
Watkinson, The art of sound reproduction,Focal Press (1998)
Assessment methods and criteria
A written examination is organised (1st and 2nd session). The questions will cover the theory and exercises, but also the laboratory sessions.
(an electronic calculator is strongly recommended).
The report on the small project is a part of the evaluation: if no report is provided by the student, a note A will be assigned for this course.
Work placement(s)
Organizational remarks
This course is organised during the first (autumn) quadrimester 2019-20, at the Montefiore Institute B28.
The official language is english.
Contacts
J.J. Embrechts
Adaptation of teaching commitments following the COVID-19 pandemic for the May-June 2020 session
Teaching methods implemented : distance-learning
Assessment subjects
Assessment methods
Contacts
Adaptation of teaching commitments following the COVID-19 pandemic for the Aug-Sept 2020 session
Assessment subjects
The examination will concern the same subjects as for the january session, in particular all the different topics that were taught during the lessons of the first quadrimester, including the theory and the exercises.
Assessment methods
The examination is in two parts: theory (oral) and exercises (written). Both parts will be organized by video-conference, the same day, the exercise part just after the theory.
The students must stay connected (with microphone and video camera open) during all the duration of the exam.
The videoconference platform is Lifesize.
1) The oral part of the examination
Students will have a first preparation time of about 20 minutes to prepare the main topics of the examination which will be initially communicated by the professor.
During this preparation time, the students can consult their notes to prepare the interview.
Then, during the interview, they cannot have a look at their notes. Also, the professor may ask some questions outside the main topics, to test the knowledge and understanding of the student regarding the most important subjects taught.
The interview will last approximately 30 minutes.
2) The exercise part of the examination (just after the oral part)
Students will have one hour to solve two exercises. They can read their notes (textbooks, exercises solutions, slides) during this part of the exam.
The students must stay connected (with microphone and video camera open) until the end of the exam.
At the end, they will scan their solutions or take a picture of them with their smartphone and send immediately the scanned files or pictures to the teacher, by mail. The teacher will acknowledge receipt of them and only then close the connection (end of the examination).
Contacts
jjembrechts@uliege.be
Items online
Text chapter 1
Text chapter 1