An open source calculation toolkit for Acoustics
Trace is a custom designed Add-In for Excel to assist in the calculation of noise levels, particularly for mechanical sources. The methods used generally implement ASHRAE methodology, version 2011 and Methods from Sound and Vibration - Design and Analysis by National Environmental Balancing Bureau (NEBB)
To install in Excel go to File>Options>Add-ins. Then click on Go…
Then browse to where the Trace folder has been saved, eg.
C:\Users\PersonX\Documents\Trace
And add the file Trace.xlam
Optional - Central Locations For business groups, the toolkit may be placed centrally on the network with all users pointing to it. If this is the case, then when prompted as follows:
Copy Trace.xlam to the AddIns folder for USERNAME?
Click No
Updates to the central AddIn file can then be rolled out to all users automatically.
The Add-In can be used for a variety of calculations, mainly centred around fundamental acoustic equations. Where possible, the full equation is written out, except where:
- Empirical relationships exist / lookup tables are required.
- The formula is difficult to read as an inline function.
Other design principles of the toolkit are:
- All losses are to be inserted as negative numbers. In general the final formula should be the sum of all lines of the calculation.
- Sheets are designed to be printable as an Appendix to a report. Not all lines of the calculation are displayed in the final presented sheet, but should be sufficient for a review.
- User input cells is to be ‘post-it’ yellow
- Units (10 m2,Q=2) are presented as custom formatting with the cell
For more, refer to the Wiki