In recent years, the passenger ship market has been booming around the world. More and more ship owners and designers tend to build higher-end passenger ships to meet the increasing demand for comfort from passengers. The noise comfort of high-end passenger ships, especially luxury cruise ships, is one of the important indicators to test their quality.
RINA Launches COMF NOISE PLUS Notation for Demonstrating the Comfort of High-End Passenger Ships.
The newly released COMF NOISE PLUS by RINA not only evaluates the sound pressure level but also refers to the real human ear perception parameter – the loudness curve, to measure whether there is tonal noise.
Sound pressure level (SPL) is the main indicator for traditional noise evaluation, which is the noise level in a room measured by a sound level meter. However, simply measuring SPL does not fully reflect the actual perception of the human ear.
In real life, many people may have experienced that during room noise testing, the sound level meter shows a low SPL, but everyone feels uncomfortable when entering the room.
This phenomenon is likely due to the presence of tonal noise. Tonal noise refers to noise where certain frequencies are particularly sharp or piercing, making people feel uncomfortable even though the overall SPL is not high.
COMF NOISE PLUS certification has established a measurement system for this phenomenon and set limit requirements. The standard not only takes into account the sound pressure level, but also introduces the loudness curve, which is the sensitivity of the real human ear to sounds of different frequencies. Through this comprehensive evaluation system, the noise comfort of the room can be evaluated more accurately, making the room that meets the standard more comfortable.
In addition to noise assessment, COMF NOISE PLUS certification also imposes stricter restrictions on the sound insulation of the bulkheads in the living areas on board, especially those near the entertainment areas with public speaker systems. These measures can effectively reduce the impact of noise from the entertainment areas on the living areas and improve the comfort of the overall living environment.
RINA also provides various vibration and noise notations for cargo ships, passenger ships, and yachts. Thanks to its extensive experience in the field of luxury cruise ships and ferries, RINA is capable of offering a wide range of vibration and noise analysis and measurement services. These services include, but are not limited to, noise source identification, vibration analysis, noise control scheme design and implementation, comprehensively helping shipowners and design companies improve the noise comfort of their ships.