Marvin Rust

With the growing prevalence of infrasound and potential for annoyance comes the need for noise assessment. Performance validation of measuring instruments is an established necessity for reliable measurement data at conventional frequencies. However, infrasound measurements are critically dependent on the integrity of the microphone. A case study is presented showing that errors in excess of 20 dB result if the microphone diaphragm is perforated, and that such a defect cannot be detected by visual examination or with a typical sound calibrator. A further laboratory study validates the findings, and a scheme is proposed for identifying when such an issue exists.

Reliable assessment of airborne infrasound emitted by natural and technical sources has been gaining importance, while technology is limited and regulations are not sufficient in the infrasound frequency range. This paper provides a comparison of measurement microphones and microbarometers used for infrasound measurements in the field near wind power plants. Simultaneous measurements with both sensor systems were conducted at multiple sites in the vicinity of a wind park. Based on these measurements, it was shown that wind-induced noise is a major concern when measuring infrasound in the field. For this reason, additional experiments were conducted in an aeroacoustic wind tunnel to further investigate the sensitivity to wind of the sensors used. A combination of field measurements and laboratory experiments was applied to determine the influence of wind-induced noise in a real-life situation and multiple strategies are discussed for establishing quality criteria and controlling the influence of wind on such measurements.

The demand for reliable and traceable measurements of airborne infrasound has risen, one major application being the International Monitoring System run by the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty Organization. However, the current calibration methods do not sufficiently cover the infrasound frequency range. In this paper, we present a calibration method for microphones in this frequency range and its implementation as a measurement setup. The method is based on the vertical gradient of the ambient pressure as a stimulus. A DUT is subjected to an alternating pressure by periodically changing its altitude. The measurement setup realizes such a periodic altitude change by means of a vertically rotating disk and is capable of calibrating measurement microphones in a frequency range from 0.1 Hz to 5 Hz with a planned extension to 10 Hz. A measurement uncertainty of 0.07 dB at maximum could be realized. Particular attention was paid to the mechanics of the measurement setup to ensure that the DUT moves in a precisely determined orbit. We present example calibrations and an uncertainty budget for a Brüel & Kjær 4193 measurement microphone in the frequency range from 0.1 Hz to 5 Hz. Finally, we demonstrate the performance of the calibration method by comparing the acquired results to other calibration techniques showing an agreement better than 0.1 dB.

The reliable and comparable assessment of any physical quantity requires traceability to the international system of units (SI). Sound pressure is traditionally quantified using measurement microphones as transfer standards, for which the established primary calibration methods are currently limited to frequencies of 2 Hz and higher. These frequencies do not fully cover the range of interest for the International Monitoring System (IMS). For this reason, multiple calibration methods for airborne infrasound based on different physical principles are currently in development.In this poster, a primary calibration method for the realization of the unit Pascal and a secondary calibration method for the transfer of the unit to field devices are presented. The primary calibration method utilizes the vertical gradient of the ambient pressure as stimulus. Moving a microphone periodically up and down subjects it to an alternating pressure with calculable amplitude. The secondary calibration, which transfers the unit to field devices such as microbarometers, is conducted as a comparison calibration in a closed chamber. Both the reference microphone and a device under test are placed in a closed chamber and subjected to a low-frequency alternating pressure. The sensitivity of the device under test is determined by comparison to the reference.These methods extend the frequency range for the calibration of sensors for airborne infrasound to lower frequencies and improve the reliability of the assessment of airborne infrasound. In this contribution, the capabilities and limitations of both measurement setups are discussed.