Development of an acoustic monitoring support system to improve engineer' audibility over abnormal sounds in a ship engine room
| Project/Area Number |
17560708
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| Research Category |
Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (C)
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| Allocation Type | Single-year Grants |
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| Section | 一般 |
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| Research Field |
Naval and maritime engineering
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| Research Institution | Kobe University |
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Principal Investigator |
KIMURA Ryuichi Kobe University, Kobe University, Faculty of Maritime Sciences, Professor (20093544)
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| Project Period (FY) |
2005 – 2006
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| Project Status |
Completed (Fiscal Year 2006)
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| Budget Amount *help |
¥2,100,000 (Direct Cost: ¥2,100,000)
Fiscal Year 2006: ¥200,000 (Direct Cost: ¥200,000)
Fiscal Year 2005: ¥1,900,000 (Direct Cost: ¥1,900,000)
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| Keywords | Engine Room of Ship / Engine Noise / Hearing Support / Abnormal Sound / 妨害音 / マスキング現象 |
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| Research Abstract |
Auditory inspection of marine equipment is an important task of an engineer for ship maintenance. Such inspection allows a worker to detect abnormalities in equipment at an early stage, or notice an anomaly where no sensor has been installed. Used together, visual, auditory, and olfactory senses can elucidate a broad range of situations and detect abnormalities. However, high noise levels in a ship engine room prevent workers from detecting abnormal sounds because of a masking effect: the reception of an indeterminate faint sound is blocked by noises that originate from the main engine and generator in the engine room.
Our study investigated the relationship between masking noises and audibility. An experiment to assess hearing capabilities with the help of university students and staff has revealed that audibility for a pure tone is strongly affected by its frequency and sound pressure level. Next, audibility was investigated under the running noise of the main engine as a mask. Results indicated that audibility is affected only momentarily by a masking sound with a height level surge. We have collected fundamental data about masks and audibility through these experiments. Using those data, an approach to reduce masking effects was investigated. Furthermore, we have developed an auditory sense monitoring support system that improves audibility of abnormal sounds that are hard to distinguish. A report of those results was presented at the conference of the Japan Institution of Marine Engineering, and was published in Vol. 41, No. 5 of Marine Engineering, its affiliated journal.
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Report
(3 results)
Research Products
(4 results)
