Acoustic measurements for two configurations of acoustic casings with applications on ambient noise pollution

Little research was carried out in the field of acoustic casings for HVAC equipment. In this study, we experimentally analyzed the influence of the casing geometry with regard to the acoustic environment. Two casings (cuboid shape and semi-cylindrical shape) were compared according to their experimentally assessed sound power level. The parameters calculated were the sound pressure and power levels. The experimental study proves that the shape of the casing can indeed have an influence on the sound energy radiated outside. Generally, we obtained that for low frequencies (16Hz–250Hz) the semi-cylindrical casing has a better acoustic behavior, for median frequencies (500Hz–1000Hz) the cuboid casing has better acoustic performance and for high frequencies (2000Hz–16000Hz) both casings have similar performance. Further, in-depth research regarding the influence of the mass, joinery and other specifications upon the acoustic indoor or outdoor environment is needed in order to understand the “optimal” shape for equipment casing.