London Branch

The students on the London South Bank University Masters course in Environmental and Architectural Acoustics each must undertake a dissertation. Presented are two of 2013 award winning projects. The first dissertation investigated the whole body vibration induced by cycling with the aim of preventing regular cyclists from body fatigue both in the short and long term. A combination of bicycles, road surfaces and measurement locations led to the conclusion that the grade of road surfacing and saddles were of most importance to the measured vibration amplitudes. The daily dose exposure was calculated for each cycling scenario with the conclusion that bike couriers should have a very short working day!

The second presentation will recount the work on Helmholtz resonators. An adaptable resonator was built in the workshop and tested under anechoic conditions. From this design 24 resonators with adaptors were built to try to understand the absorption coefficient of a resonator as measured according to ISO 354:2003. The resonators were then further adapted by the application of acoustic foam to block the aperture. It is hoped that the work will lead to an application in the Southbank's Queen Elizabeth Hall.

The closest underground stations are Chancery Lane (Central line) and Holborn (Central & Piccadilly line).

For more details of Regional Branch activities please refer to the IOA website: www.ioa.org.uk

Topics and speakers for the evening meetings are generally identified and organised by the London Branch Committee, but we always welcome new ideas and suggestions for future presentations. If you have any ideas or suggestions, or may even like to give a presentation yourself, please contact the London Branch Committee (Nicola Stedman-Jones: stedmann@rpsgroup.com or nathan-nicola@talktalk.net).

The evening meetings are free and there is no need to book a place (except for the annual events, such as the half-day visit and dinner).  The evening meetings are open to anyone interested in the topic including non-members.