Sound parameters in mosques

Wasim A. Orfali

Citation: Proc. Mtgs. Acoust. 1, 035001 (2007); doi: 10.1121/1.2829306

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Wasim Orfali

Proceedings of Meetings on Acoustics

Volume 1, 2007 http://asa.aip.org

153rd Meeting
Acoustical Society of America
Salt Lake City, Utah
4 - 8 June 2007
Session 5aMU: Musical Acoustics

5aMU3. Sound parameters in mosques

Wasim A. Orfali
Unlike auditoriums, there are no defined recommendations or rules for the acoustical parameters inside mosques. Most
of the existing recommendations are developed for multipurpose halls, for opera or dramatic theaters, and for structures
built for organ music. But regarding mosques the elaboration of general sound parameters requires a specific understand-
ing of the acoustical and spiritual environment expected in such structures. Newly defined acoustical parameter values
with regard to mosque volumes and types will be addressed here. New treatment rules for closed or courtyard structures
are introduced. Especially so-called mosque volume dependent parameters are derived. They allow optimizing the
secondary structure of a mosque by considering the primary structure determined by the architecture. Such parameters
deal with optimal reverberation time or intelligibility considered for all praying modes at once. Target of the research is to
get standard acoustic parameter values especially applicable for mosques.

Published by the Acoustical Society of America through the American Institute of Physics

© 2007 Acoustical Society of America [DOI: 10.1121/1.2829306]

Received 14 Nov 2007; published 14 Dec 2007
Proceedings of Meetings on Acoustics, Vol. 1, 035001 (2007) Page 1
Wasim Orfali

Wasim Orfali1
1
Technical University Berlin, Institute of Fluid Mechanics and Engineering
Acoustic , Einsteinufer 25, 10587 Berlin, Germany, [email protected]

1. INTRODUCTION

Mosques are religious structures used by Muslims for prayer, public speaking, preaching,
lecturing, and Quran recitations. Good levels of intelligibility and speech audibility are required to conduct
such activities. Consequently, achieving the required level of listening conditions is highly depending on
how mosques interiors are designed. In catholic churches the intelligibility of sound was in the old days not
so very important, because all the activity inside the church was carried out in Latin and the worshippers
were asked only to repeat the prayers but not required to understand them. In a mosque, however, Quran
recitation in prayer, public speaking, preaching and lecturing all require from the beginning a high level of
intelligibility, since all these activities are carried out in Arabic and have to be understood by the audience.

In this work standalone acoustical quality parameters were generated for mosques according to a
native understanding of the praying and spiritual need in such structures.

2. GENERAL RULES OF ACOUSTICAL QUALITY PARAMETERS

The most primary parameter which has to be sorted out is the Reverberation Time. High
Reverberation Time will lead to unacceptable intelligibility levels. On the other hand, low Reverberation
Time will result in what so called “Dead” spaces where spiritual ceremonies lose the attention of the
worshippers. So, let us start with the following equation to formulate the relation between the
Reverberation Times and Volumes of mosques [1].

rR2 rH2 u J L * L2 (- )......( 1)

Where,
ȖL – the effective front-to-random factor of the sound source
īL – the directivity factor of the source (in main radiation direction § 1, i.e. negligible)
rH – the Reverberation Radius
rR – the critical distance

It is known that

§ A · § V ·
r H2 ¨ ¸, A 0 . 163 ¨ ¸
© 16 S ¹ © RT ¹
Where V is the mosque’s volume and RT is the Reverberation Time. Thus by substituting in equation1;

§ 0 . 163 V ·
rR2 ¨ ¸ u J L ......( 2 )
© 16 S RT ¹

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Wasim Orfali

Therefore;
§ 0.163J L ·
RT ¨¨ 2 ¸
¸ u V ......(3)
© 16SrR ¹

To draw this relation it was assumed that at 1kHz, C=10 log ȖL= 2, minimum required Ldiff is 65dB
and sound power level of a Imam loud voice at 1m is 80dB. By substituting some of these quantities in the
following equation 4 for the minimum required sound level at the diffuse field [2] :

V
Ldiff Lw  14dB  10 log dB.....(4)
RT
Therefore V
800....(5)
RT
The maximum recommended RT for a 10,000 m3 Speech hall is 1.8s [1]. Initially, assuming that 1.8 s is the
no border cross line for the RT as a matter of fact for any mosque volume, thus, mosques with a volume/RT
ratio of V/RT= 800 m3/s should have a volume of no more than 1440 m3 (1.8 s × 800 m3/s) to maintain
65dB at the diffuse field. Accordingly, all mosques with a volume of less than 1440 m3 can be handled pure
acoustically (using only the Imam voice) without the need for a sound system. Applicable sound systems
must be applied for bigger size mosques to maintain the required SPL level at the diffuse field to overcome
high background noise in mosques. The critical distance for a mosque with 1440 m3 can be calculated using
the following equation [2]:

rR 2
L L w  20 log rR dB  C  10 log (( )  1) dB  11 dB ....( 6 )
r

65 dB 80 dB  20 log rR  2  10 log 2 dB  11 dB ....( 7 )

Therefore
rR = 2.82 m
From equation 3, drawing a relation between Reverberation Time and Volume was possible at this
point as shown in Figure 1a. First, the first point on the volume reverberation time relation was determined
in a mosque with a volume of 1440 m3 and critical distance of rR=2.82 m as presented above. It was
assumed that the effective front-to-random factor is 2 (at 1 KHz) for loud Imam voice and a natural
increase of equivalent absorption area (A) coexists with increase of the mosque’s volume. Increasing or
decreasing the volume to draw the relationship presented in Figure 1a was found by increasing and
decreasing the critical distance as it is influenced by the volume change.

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Wasim Orfali

Recommended Reverberation Times for Different Mosque’s Volumes

3
2.8
2.6
2.4
2.2
2
1.8
R T(s )

1.6
1.4
1.2
1
0.8
0.6
0.4
500 1000 1500 3000 6000 12000 24000 48000 100000

Volume(m3)

Series1 Recommended RT for Mosques

(a) (b)
Figure 1. (a)Recommended RT for different Mosque’s Volumes (b)Tolerance Ranges of the recommended
RT as a function of frequency

In Figure 1(b) the Tolerance Ranges of the recommended RT as a function of frequency are
demonstrated. The RT at frequencies less than 250 Hz degrade at a rate of 0.2 per octave. In mosques
where a speech performance dominates, the effective frequency spectrum is ranging between 250 and 2000
Hz. Therefore, the contribution of frequencies lower than 250 Hz should be omitted. This will ensure the
suppression of Flutter Echoes emerging at low frequencies. Also, the recommended Tolerance Ranges
decrease at frequencies higher than 2000 Hz. This behaviour is enforced according to the natural sound
energy loss (absorption of the air) as it travels throughout a mosque. Also, this behaviour is valid according
to higher absorbing characteristic of surface materials (especially the carpet) at high frequencies

The Recommended Reverberation Time presented in the last Figure 1a was used to calculate the
Articulation Loss of Consonants as a measure of intelligibility using the following equation [1].

2
§r ·
0 . 652 ¨¨ LH ¸¸ u RT ......( 8 )
AlCons %
© rR ¹
The relationship between the distance ratio rLH/rR and the Articulation loss level at different
Reverberation Times is shown in Figure 2.

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Wasim Orfali

Figure 2. Recommended Articulation loss as a function of RT and rLH/rR

To maintain an acceptable level of intelligibility by means of AlCons% (a minimum of 15%) for

structures with Reverberation Time between 0.5-3 s, the ratio rLH/rR ranges between 2 and 7 respectively.

Another measuring tool of intelligibility is C50. Here the ratio of energy before and after 50
milliseconds in decibels is measured. Statistical Clarity of speech C50stat formula as a function of
Reverberation Time is shown in Eq. (9) using a statistical approach [1].

§  0 . 69 ·
¨ ¸
2 © T ¹
rH / rLH 1 e
C 50 stat 10 log §  0 . 69 ·
......( 9 )
¨ ¸
© T ¹
e

The relationship between C50 stat and Reverberation Time for different rLH/rR ratio is shown in Figure 3 .
Statistical Clarity of Speech C50.statistic at different r LH /r H Ration

18
16
14
12
Statistical Clarity of Speech

10 rLH/rH=0.35
8
rLH/rH=0.5
6
rLH/rH=1
4
2 rLH/rR =1 rLH/rH=2

0 rLH/rH=4

-2 0.5 1 1.5 2 2.5 3 3.5 4 4.5 5 5.5 6 rLH/rH=8

-4
-6
-8
-10
Reverberation Tim e (s)

Figure 3. Statistical Clarity of speech for different rLH/rR ratio as a function of Reverberation Time

Values above the zero line depict more energy arrivals before the 50msec than after it what
enhances the direct sound and increases clarity. The integration of sound arrivals within 50msec with direct
sound is due to human nature of our ears. Values under the zero line depict more energy is arriving after the

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Wasim Orfali

50msec. This should not be the case in a sound system built for speech purposes. All arrival of sound
energy between 50-80msec will be effectively integrated to reverberant sound and considered useful for
musical performances.

Speech Transmission Index, STI must also be investigated, since it is one of the most popular
parameters to evaluate the intelligibility. An equation that takes into consideration the contribution of the
direct sound and interfering noise in the calculated STI was provided by Houtgast and Steeneken in
1980[3]. It represents the squared impulse response as a component of direct sound and reverberant field.

r (t ) rd (t )  rr (t )......( 10 )
Where
3
rd ( t ) 2
r LH
O ( t )....( 11 )

§  13 . 8 t ·
1 13 . 8 ¨© ¸
rr ( t ) rC2
e T ¹
....( 12 ) for t < 0
T

Equation 11 represents only the direct sound component r(t) obtained as the product of Delta
Function (Ȝ(t)) multiplied by the relative weight of the direct field qt,1/r2LH. Here qt,1 represent the
enhancement of the direct field by the directivity index of the talker sound field and as a result of listener’s
directional hearing capacity. qt,1=3 as estimated by Plomp and Mimpen [4].

Equation 12 illustrates that the reverberant field is a combination of its relative weight 1/rc2
multiplied by the loss factor 13.8/T and decaying exponentially (rc is the room’s critical radius and it is
influenced by the loss factor). This means that the initial value of the reverberant field is subject of the
Reverberation Time (T) and the room’s critical radius.

Replacing (10),(11) and (12) in the basic equation founded by Schroeder in 1981 [5] for the
Modulation Transfer Function MTF give

f
³ r (t )e  j 2SFt dt
0
m( F ) f
....(13)
³0
r (t ) dt

And after including the noise factor, the final equation of MTF yields to:

( A2  B 2 ) 1
m( F ) ((  S / N ) / 10 )
....(14)
C 1  10

Where

3 1 1
A 2
 2
rLH rR ª § 2SFT · 2 º
«1  ¨ ¸ »
«¬ © 13.8 ¹ »¼

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Wasim Orfali

2SFT 1 1
B 2
13.8 rR ª § 2SFT · 2 º
«1  ¨ ¸ »
¬« © 13.8 ¹ ¼»

3 1
C 2
 2
rLH rR
Here
T The Recommended Reverberation Time in (sec)
rLH Talker-to- listener distance
rC The room’s critical distance
F Modulation Frequency from 0.63-12.5Hz
S/N Signal to Noise ration in dB at the listener position

To derive the STI values from the calculated MTF the following set of equations can be considered for
each Octave-Band:

§ mi · 1 12.5 X  15
Xi 10 log¨¨ ¸¸dB X ¦ Xi STI Oct
© 1  mi ¹ 14 i 0.63 30
To calculate the total STI for the seven different Octave-Bands, the weighted mean of all STIoct
should be used to balance the influence of all Octave-Bands on the final STI value. The equation associated
with this is as follows [5]:

w125STI125 u w250STI250 u w500STI500 u w1000STI1000u w2000STI2000 u w4000STI4000u w8000STI8000

STItotal
w125  w250  w500  w1000  w2000  w4000  w8000

Where the weighting factors for each octave-Band are:

W125 = 0.13, W250 = 0.14, W500 = 0.11, W1000 = 0.12, W2000 = 0.19, W4000 = 0.17 and W8000 = 0.14.

Figure 4 presents the relation between the recommended STI as a function of RT and the distance
ratio rLH/rc and it is concluded from equation 14. Here the recommended RT for different mosque’s
volumes presented in Figure 1 was used to calculate the Recommended STI values.

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Wasim Orfali

(a) (b)
Figure 4. (a)Recommended STI for different rLH/rR ratios for different mosques sizes(b) STI values for
different rLH/rR ratios for different mosques sizes using high RT Values.

Let us assume that the recommended RT’s for the different mosque’s volumes have not been
considered. What would be the resulting STI figures for the same Mid-size, Big-size and Huge-size mosque
used to generate Figure 4a?; Giving that the associated not preferable RT’s are 4,7 and 10 s for Mid-size,
Big-size and Huge size mosque respectively (Here, the small-size mosque has been excluded while in such
mosques high RT time values are not most likely to happen). By using the same formulas used to calculate
STI figures presented in Figure 4a, the STI were acquired for the same mosques with the new RT’s, see 4b.

In general, the intelligibility of the different mosques volumes decreases compared to the same
volume mosques where the recommended RT values were used. The decrements of intelligibility in term of
STI were evident especially as rLH/rR ratio increases. In other words, when the distance between a
worshipper and loudspeakers increases compared to the associated critical distances of the used
loudspeakers, STI are detected to drop more compared to STI values calculated using the recommended
RT. Maintaining closer distance between worshipper and sound source will improve the intelligibility
figures and makes them less dependent on mosque’s volume.

In this section, general rules and recommendations for some sound parameters which matters in
mosques were introduced. RT, STI, Alcons% level and C50stat were calculated upon good understanding and
experience of the acoustical environment needed in mosques. Some of these parameters were a function of
the distance ratio rLH/rc at different Reverberation Time values to address wide range of conditions in
constructed and newly constructed mosques.

3. NEWLY CONSTRUCTED MOSQUES RULES

Early cooperation between architects and acousticians should take place to avoid any acoustical
complications in later phases. Moreover, cooperation in early stages will save considerable costs which
might be spent to relocate walls or to change wall’s materials.

The first question to answer when starting to design a mosque is: Are we dealing with a large state
mosque, a community mosque or a small mosque? As the mosque volume increases, the Reverberation
Time increases accordingly. In the opposite side, the increase of Reverberation Time produces a decrement
of Intelligibility and Clarity of sound. These dependent relationships have to be clear to the designers of
mosques. This is, also, does not mean that no big mosques have to constructed, but, if necessary, especial
treatment should be implemented for walls and under the carpet in order to make this relation
disproportional again.

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Wasim Orfali

Regarding the internal design of mosques, the acoustician should have some few more words to
say. Constructional features like Roof Supporting Columns, Domes and walls must be designed in the right
way; so that it behaves in favour of sound quality in such structures.

3.1 ROOF SUPPORTING COLUMNS

There is no doubt that eliminating the roof columns will improve the intelligibility especially in
the areas shadowed by them. Increasing thickness of the roof and walls might be the solution of eliminating
such columns and decreasing noise intrusion and consequently increasing intelligibility. It is more
recommendable to use 4 in 1 columns, since sound wave can penetrate through them and decrease the
shadowed areas. Circular columns help reducing the shadowed area behind them as compared to squared
shape columns. Also, increasing the spacing between roof supporting columns will decrease the percentage
of the shadowed direct sound. Figure 5 shows the influence of the type and spacing of different roof
supporting columns kinds on the percentage of the shadowed direct sound.

Columns Spacing Vs. Areas shadowed from the direct sound for a Mosque with
2
780m worshipping Area
100

90

80
Shadowed Direct Sound(%)

1m Diameter Circular
70 Columns

60 2m Diametre Circular
Columns
50
Four in One Circular
40 Columns

30 One by One Square

Columns
20

10

0
2.5 5 7.5 10 13
Columns Spacing (m)

Figure 5. Relation between columns spacing and Areas shadowed from the direct sound.

3.2 DOMES

Constructing domes in mosques eliminate the need for using roof supporting columns. When the
architect decides to design a mosque with a Dome, the relationship between the focusing height and the
speaker’s height must be carefully observed. The ratio s/r should be more than 1.1 to prevent focusing at
the height of listening plane of the worshippers. Such a relation is addressed in Figure 6 to provide
guidelines for architects.

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Wasim Orfali

Figure 6. Relationship between Focusing Height (e)and sound source Height (s) Normalized by The dome
radius (r)

While concave surfaces must be avoided especially at the back wall to prevent focusing, convex
surfaces can be attached to parallel walls to diminish or decrease the possibility of flutter echoes. Also,
ornaments can be added to parallel walls to scatter the sound waves and preventing it from forming
fluttered sound echoes. Furthermore, lowered surfaces which are usually included within the main praying
hall and represents woman worshipping area requires extended number of carrying columns which causes
shadowing ,accordingly, it must be brought outside the main hall as a separate structures.This will decrease
the number of roof supporting columns inside the main hall and will improve the sound parameters in areas
under the lowered surface.

3.3 BACKGROUND NOISE

Background Noise (BN) is a major contributor in degrading the overall intelligibility levels in
mosques. It is mainly resulted from Air Conditioning operation noise. It is highly recommended to isolate
the Air Conditioning unit in a separate Technical Room. This will reduce dramatically the Background
Noise level and consequently improving the overall intelligibility level. Figure 7 depicts a surveyed data of
the averaged Background Noise of ten mosques evaluated using RC curves. RC curves are used to evaluate
and diagnose the continuous noise from HVAC systems (Heating, Ventilation and Air Conditioning
systems) according to the measured sound pressure level, Shape of frequency spectrum, tonal content and
low frequency forced vibration.

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Wasim Orfali

Figure 7. The averaged Background Noise of the surveyed mosques

In Figure7, It is observed that one value is above the R line. Therefore, the Background Noise
represented by this curve sounds “Rumbly” and it is rated as RC-48(R). Such a rating is quit high for
structures used for speech purposes and must be reduced.

Open courtyards mosques are more exposed to Environmental Noise surrounding them. In case of
constructing a mosque with an open courtyard, caution must be exercised to reduce the late arrivals of
sound radiated from the Minaret sound system. Also, a proper aiming and orientation of the Minarets sound
systems should take place to decrease the possibilities of sound reflections from the neighbouring building
and high landscape into the courtyard. Furthermore, constructing a moveable dome or glass roof to prevent
the noise and late reflected sound from penetrating into the courtyard should be considered. Such a solution
has drawbacks which must be considered. A noticeable increase of reverberation in the courtyard will be
evident when the dome covers the courtyard or when the glass roof is constructed over it. This will form
different acoustical environmental conditions which have to be treated to maintain acceptable quality of
sound. Such a treatment will be introduced in the next section as treatments recommendations for
constructed mosques.

4. RECOMMENDATIONS TO OPTIMISE ACOUSTICAL PARAMETERS OF CONSTRUCTED

MOSQUES

Fortunately, once the internal design of a mosque is completed and can not be further modified,
secondary structures can be treated to optimise the sound quality. Different recommendations of carpet
treatments as a prime solution and walls materials will be presented here. Furthermore, recommendation of
digitally controlled loudspeakers which enforce better intelligibility levels in such structures will be within
the scope of this part.

Architecturally, mosques come in two major architectural forms. These forms are mosques with an
open courtyard and as closed structures; both of which have different acoustical recommendations
according to their architectural form. Let us start with the open courtyard mosque.

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Wasim Orfali

4.1 OPEN COURTYARD MOSQUE

An open courtyard was designed in the early days to accommodate high numbers of worshippers
in communal praying. It is open to the air to expose the worshippers visually more to the sight surrounding
them. From the designer’s perspective, it opens an extended view of the sky to consolidate the relation
between God and the worshippers during the praying ceremonies. On the other hand, such a design exposes
the worshippers more to the environmental noise surrounding the mosque compared to closed structure
mosque. A solution has to be developed to decrease noise intrusion into the courtyard and at the same time
to maintain a good view of the sky and the geographical sights surrounding the mosque.

Electrically sliding light weight structured Domes or Transparent Roof can be considered as a
prime solution, but has to be treated acoustically right to prevent high Reverberation Time and
consequently low intelligibility while they are closed. Both of them are shown in Figure 8.

Figure 8. Sliding light weight structured Domes and transparent roof

Also, the concept of Convertible Umbrellas has been introduced as a prime solution to maintain
the purposes of courtyard mentioned above. Such umbrellas were developed and implemented by SL-Rasch
Stuttgart, Germany in the courtyard of the Prophet Mohammed Mosque in Mahdina, Saudi Arabia as
shown in Figure 9.

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Wasim Orfali

Figure 9.Umbrellas implemented in the Courtyard of the Prophet’s Mosque in Madinah

The absorption coefficients of the material used in this project were measured in two different set-
ups in the Reverberation Chamber of the Technical University in Berlin. The results are shown in Figure
10.

Absorption coefficients

0.8

0.7

0.6
Absorbtion Coefficient

0.5

0.4
Second Set-up First set-up
0.3 Curve Curve
0.2

0.1

0
125 160 200 250 315 400 500 630 800 1000 1125 1600 2000 2500 3150 4000
Frequency (Hz)

Figure 10.Absorbtion Coefficients of the material used in the Umbrellas on the ground (blue
Curve)and with a air gap from the wall (red curve)

First set-up(blue curve) was to place the material on the ground . It will result in a more classical
semi-linear relation between the frequency and the absorption of the material with higher absorption at
higher frequencies. Hanging the material 20 cm away from the side wall will result in the second relation
shown in red in figure 10. Spacing the material from the wall will boost up the absorption which will have a
maximum value at the lower frequencies. Also, increasing the gap further will introduce another maximum
at a lower frequency compared to the first curve and so on. The second set-up involves placing the material
with a defined distance from the wall (red curve).

Material thickness, density and weight are factors which manipulate the absorption of the material.
It is understood that increasing the thickness of the used material will increase its absorption, but this logic
holds primarily at low frequencies. As if we were to place air cavity between the absorbing surface and the
substrate, increasing the thickness of the material will result in placing its surfaces at a higher practical
velocity, consequently, increasing its absorption.

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Wasim Orfali

Material density affects sound penetration; therefore, it affects the amount of the absorbed sound
energy. The measurement results were conducted for one material with its associated density. Generally
speaking, less dense materials with wide spaced fibres will give the chance for the emitted sound to
penetrate back and forth through it (high flow of resistance); thus, increasing the sound absorption and vice
versa. Also, increasing the weight of the absorbing material will require more energy of the incident sound
to displace or move it (more absorption).

The construction of such umbrellas using the same measured material at height of 8 m, or higher,
will not contribute significantly in changing the courtyard acoustics. Once the height of the umbrella from
the ground floor exceeds the wavelength of the lowest frequency of interest in the speech spectrum (60Hz),
the umbrella construction will not contribute significantly in manipulating the courtyard acoustics. They
might only increase the Sound Pressure Level in the courtyard. One of its advantages is that it can be
considered as acoustically transparent. So, putting or removing them will be harmless to the acoustical
behaviour of structures (depending on their set-up).

Two different treatments can be applied for the sliding dome and transparent roof to improve their
absorption. In case of the sliding domes highly absorptive glass-fibres with different thickness and with an
appropriate air gap can be used to obtain the required absorption behaviour. Figure 11 shows the
absorption coefficients for glass-fibres material with a different thickness and 1 inches (2.54 cm) glass-fibre
with different air gap from the solid surface.

Figure 11. Absorption coefficients for (a)1 inch of glass fibreboard with different air gaps(b) for glass
fibreboard with different thickness

The internals of, for example, a light weight structure dome can be stuffed with a fibre-glass
material (with/without an air gap) with a certain thickness to obtain the required absorption behaviour and
to seek the required results. It is clear from Figure 11 that increasing the thickness of the fibre-glass or the
air gap will result in increasing the absorption especially at low frequencies.

Transparent roof like glass can be considered in the courtyard to decrease the outside noise
intrusion. They can be constructed as fixed or sliding roofs. Additionally, acoustical treatments have to be
associated with this solution to decrease unacceptable Reverberation Time. Constructing such roofs on the
top of a courtyard gives the possibility to make a further treatment to the floor, since by having a roof the
floor is protected from weather conditions like rain, snow, etc. Also, Air Conditioning can be added to the
courtyard in the existence of the roof to improve its temperatures in countries where hot weather prevails.

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Wasim Orfali

Especial transparent micro-perforated foil can be attached to the glass with a certain air gap from
the glass surface. The transparent micro-perforated foil with two different distances from the glass surface
along with its absorption coefficients are shown in Figure 12. The implementation of the transparent micro-
perforated foil with 100mm to the reflecting surface and 30 mm distance between foils is more adequate for
mosque applications, since it is broad band absorber. In some other application where less absorbing are
needed at lower frequencies a distance of 50 mm to the reflecting surface and 30 mm distance between the
foil can be considered.

Figure 12.Micro-perforated foil with two different distances from the glass surface along with its
absorption coefficients

Not only treatments of the glass roof and the floor can be implemented to improve acoustical
parameters inside mosques. The merge of transparent absorbing surfaces makes it possible to “passively”
treat and manipulate the internal design without changing the mosque’s general overview. This can be very
effective treatment solution especially in old and historical mosques and sensitive parts in modern mosques
like the Qibla wall. Such a treatment would be a prime solution which satisfy the architect and will result in
acoustically successful treatment. Transparent Micro-perforated Acrylic Glass can be implemented in these
kinds of “passive” treatment applications. Figure 12 shows a suggested configuration of the two layers
Acrylic Glass with defined distances from each other and from the reflecting wall.

Thickness of the Plate: 4 mm

Perforation: diameter of holes
0.8mm
Distance between holes 5 mm

Figure 13.The two layer glass along with its specifications.

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The absorption coefficients of the above shown configuration are shown in Figure 14.

Absorption Coefficients of the Micro-Perforated Acrylic Glass

0.7

0.6

0.5

AbsorptionCoefficients
0.4

0.3

0.2

0.1

0
125 250 500 1000 2000 4000
Octave-Band Frequencies (Hz)
Absorption Coefficients of the Micro-Perforated Acrylic Glass with Plate Thickness of 4 mm, Perforated Plate of
0.8 mm Holes and Distance between holes of 5 mm

Figure 14. Absorption Coefficients of the two layer Micro-perforated Acrylic Glass.

Let us assume that the primordial Prophet Muhammad Mosque in Madinah/Saudi Arabia is still
standing until nowadays. A “Transparent Architectural” approach is suggested to be implemented in the
renovation of the mosque. It was decided to adopt this approach in the renovation process to preserve the
same ancient materials and architectural design of the mosque.

Now, the architect decides to implement glass surface above the court yard of the mosque. This
decision was taken to give the chance of implementing an Air Condition system in the courtyard.
Unintentionally, the overall sound intelligibility in the courtyard benefited from such a decision by
reducing noise intrusion into the mosque. Also, late sound energy arrivals which cause reduction of overall
intelligibility were prevented from penetrating to the courtyard.

The influence of transforming mosques from an open courtyard to a closed structure mosques on
acoustical parameters must be taken into consideration. The increase in the Reverberation Time after
implementing such a roof has to be treated acoustically. The Reverberation Time of a virtual mosque after
constructing the roof is shown in Figure 15.

Figure 15. RT of the Prophet Mosque before treatment of the glass roof

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The mosque volume is around 2200 m3. The recommended RT represented in Figure 1 for the
same size mosque is around 1.2 s. It is quite clear from Figure 15 that the mosque needs treatment to
decrease its Reverberation Time to the recommended value. Different treatment approaches with one and
double layer micro-perforated foil as a transparent treatment of the glass roof were implemented to the
Glass roof to decrease the overall RT. The Reverberation Time after treatment is shown in Figure 16.

Reverberation Time of the Prophet's Mosque Using One Or Two Layers Micro-Absorber Foil
with Different Air Gaps
3

2.5
Reverberation Tim e (s)

1.5

0.5

0
125 250 500 1000 2000 4000
Frequency-Band (Hz)

1 Layer(A=30mm Air Gap) 2 Layers(A=100,B=30mm) 1 Layer(A=100mm Air Gap)

Figure 16. Reverberation Time of the Prophet’s Mosque using one or two layers of the Micro-Absorber
Foil with different Air Gaps after treatment

All of the three suggested treatments are within the acceptable RT values. As mentioned earlier the
recommended RT for the same size mosque is around 1.2 s. To stay within acceptable treatment cost a 1
layer with 30 mm air gap will result in Reverberation Time of 1.1 s at 1 kHz.

The implementation of the Sliding Domes or Glass Roof to decrease the intrusion of outside noise
must be associated with a proper acoustical treatment to decrease the Reverberation Time. Fibre-Glass
stuffed in the sliding domes with an air gap or micro perforated foil attached to a Glass Roof with a proper
air gap are recommended to decrease Reverberation Time and to improve the overall intelligibility levels. If
further acoustical improvements are needed, the carpet could be manipulated in favour of Reverberation
Time. Constructing Glass roofs on the top of a courtyard makes it possible to treat the floor, since by
having a roof the floor is protected from weather impacts like rain, snow, etc.

4.2 CLOSED STRUCTURES MOSQUES

In mosques, treatments which involve manipulating the main internal design at construction’s final
stages might be costly and require a lot of effort. It was shown in detail in a presented paper in ASA 151st
meeting in providence [6]; how efficient is the carpet treatment compared to other surfaces treatments.
Usually, carpet covers large portion of the total surface area of a mosque. Consequently, a small change in
its absorption behavior will make a considerable difference in term of reducing the total Reverberation
Time. Additionally, increasing the thickness of the carpet or adding an additional absorbing pad under the
carpet to increase its absorbing behavior at low frequencies will make it more convenient for the
worshippers sitting and kneeing on the ground.

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Wasim Orfali

Two different kinds of carpet have shown an acceptable absorption results. Heavy Carpet on a
thick pad (1.5 cm rubber pad) and Carpet Pad on 1134 g/m3 FOAM RUBBER are the names of the two
recommended carpets for their absorption behaviour. The absorption coefficient of the two materials is
shown in Figure 17. The Heavy Carpet on thick pad has more absorption at the low end frequencies than
the Carpet Pad and vice versa. The decision to select between the two carpets types depends on the required
acoustical effect.

Octave-Band Frequencies Vs. Absorbtion Coefficients Of different Carpet

Material

0.8

0.7
Absorbtion Coefficients

0.6 heavy carpet with thick

pad(1.5cm)
0.5

0.4 Carpet PAD (Carpet on 40

OZ(1134kg/m3) HAIRFELT
0.3 or FOAM RUBBER

0.2

0.1

0
125 250 500 1000 2000 4000
Octave-Band Frequencies

Figure 17. Absorption Coefficients of two recommended carpet material

The benefit of concentrating the acoustical treatment on the floor surface by adopting an
appropriate carpet or padding material under the carpet was investigated in the paper presented at the 151st
ASA meeting in providence [6]. In this section a recommended carpet and padding material were pointed
out. In some occasions the architect rejects even treatments under the carpet surface. Although, this
treatment is very efficient and dramatically decreases the need for further treatments of other visible walls,
sometimes it fails to satisfy the architect. The reasons behind this decision are different.
Some of them think that such a material is beyond the acoustical treatment budget and some others find it
inappropriate and do not fit the general outlook of the mosque’s interior. In this case some sort of other
solution should be developed.

Usually, the surface under the carpet in any mosque is a hard reflective concrete. This concrete
surface is formed from cement powder, sand and water. Sometimes, it is mixed with fine particles of stones
to increase its stiffness. For acoustical purposes, a high percentage ratio of white foam bubbles to concrete
can be adopted as a new concrete mixture. This light-weight structure is demonstrated in the following
figures during production. Also, a cross-section view of the final concrete/foam bubbles surface is shown in
Figure 18.

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Wasim Orfali

Figure 18. cross-section view of the final concrete/foam bubbles surface

and the light-weight structure during production

The resulting mixture of concrete and foam bubbles is more absorptive compared to the concrete
mixture only. The absorption behaviour of this concrete/foam bubbles surface was measured using an
impedance tube in the TU Berlin acoustic lab. Figure 19 shows the absorption coefficients of such material
at different Frequency-Bands and the material placed inside an impedance tube.

(a)

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Wasim Orfali

Octave-Band Frequencies Vs. Absorbtion Coefficients Of Heavy Carpet and

Heavy Carpet on Concrete/Foam Floor

0.9

Absorbtion Coefficients 0.8

0.7
Heavy Carpet on
0.6
concrete/Foam Floor
0.5
Heavy Carpet
0.4

0.3

0.2

0.1

0
125 250 500 1000 2000 4000
Octave-Band Frequencies

(b)

Figure 19.(a) Concrete/foam bubbles with and without the carpet inside the impedance tube(b)absorption
coefficients of the heavy Carpet and heavy carpet on a concrete/Foam floor

The addition of the white bubbles foam to the concrete under the carpet adds to the total
absorption of the mosque’s floor. It will allow a certain amount of air to be located underneath the carpet;
accordingly, more absorption will be added to the low end frequencies. Even though the increment is small
it will make a different since the total surface area of the floor in any mosque is large. If bigger size bubbles
are used more air will be placed underneath the carpet what makes it more absorptive at the lower
frequencies.

5. CONCLUDING REMARKS

This work we have started with introducing new acoustical quality parameters quantities in
mosques. Reverberation Time, ALcons%,STI and C50stat figures were established for the first time to govern
the acoustical environment in such structures.

Designing a mosque with an open courtyard is usually accompanied with complexity inside the
courtyard. Contemporary covering methods like Transparent Sliding Glass Domes and Light Weight
Structured Sliding Domes have been introduced along with proper and effective acoustical solutions. The
pros and cons of electrically controlled umbrellas which do not have a considerable influence on the
acoustical environment when placed in the courtyard were presented. Treatment of the courtyard walls can
be associated with the implementation of the controlled umbrellas with Transparent Micro-perforated
Acrylic Glass; this was shown to be effective and suitable in this case.

In closed structure mosques, treatment of the carpet floor compared to other surfaces was proven
to be more efficient while the carpet covers large portion of the total surface area of a mosque. Also, it is
more practical in a sense that it does not require deformation of important wall figures and characteristics.
Manipulating the absorption of the carpet by increasing its thickness or adding an additional layer
underneath it will make it more convenient for the worshippers sitting or kneeing on the floor. Two
different materials have been recommended for the treatment of the carpet. A Heavy Carpet on a thick pad
(1.5 cm rubber pad) and Carpet Pad on 1134 g/m3 FOAM RUBBER did show considerable beneficial
results especially at low frequencies.

Another floor surface treatments alternative were discussed. When the floor treatment using thick
carpet or padding material under the carpet are rejected, such a treatment can be considered. A mixture of
concrete and foam bubbles was introduced to be used as sound absorber. This mixture is very light in
weight and has a considerable positive acoustical behaviour

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Wasim Orfali

6. ACKNOWLEDGMENT

This was supported by ADA Berlin, Germany, Many thanks for them.

7. REFERENCES.

[1] W. Ahnert, F. Steffen , “Sound Reinforcement Engineering.” New Fetter Lane, New Jersey,
1999.p169,p36,p26,p25.

[2] W. Orfali, “Using DSP controlled Devices in Analysis, Simulation and Optimization of Acoustics in
Mosques.” TU Berlin, Berlin, 2007.

[3] T. Houtgast, H.Steeneken, R. Plomp, “Predicting Speech Intelligibility in Rooms from the Modulation
Transfer Function I. General Room Acoustics.” Acoustica . Vol.46 p.60, 1980.

[4] R. Plomp, A. M. Mimpen “Improving the reliability of testing the speech-reception threshold for
sentences.” Audio . 18 [1979], 43.

[5] M. Schroeder, “Modulation Transfer Function: Definition and Measurements.” Acoustica . Vol.49
p.197, 1981.

[6] W. Orfali, W.Ahnert, “Measurements and Verifications of Two Mosques In Saudi Arabia And Jordan.”
J. Acoustic. Soc. Am., Vol.119. No 5, pt. 2, May 2006.

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