noiseCriteriaCurves

R2026b

Get curves for noise criteria (NC), room noise criteria (RNC), and room criteria (RC) metrics

Since R2026b

Syntax

curves = noiseCriteriaCurves(criteriaName)

curves = noiseCriteriaCurves(___,Name=Value)

noiseCriteriaCurves(___)

Description

curves = noiseCriteriaCurves(criteriaName) returns a table with sound pressure level values for the curve type as provided in the ANSI/ASA S12.2-2019 standard [1].

curves = noiseCriteriaCurves(___,Name=Value) specifies options using one or more name-value arguments.

noiseCriteriaCurves(___) without any output arguments plots the selected criteria curves.

Examples

Get Noise Criteria Curves as Table

Use noiseCriteriaCurves to plot noise criteria (NC) curves.

noiseCriteriaCurves("NC")

Specify curve IDs to get the values for NC-30 through NC-40 as a table.

curves = noiseCriteriaCurves("NC",CurveID=30:40)

curves = 11×10 table
               16       31.5       63       125       250       500       1000      2000      4000      8000 
             ______    ______    ______    ______    ______    ______    ______    ______    ______    ______

    NC-30        81        68        57        48        41        35        32        29        28        27
    NC-31    81.219    68.788    57.788    49.147    42.147    36.561    33.147    30.561    29.561    28.561
    NC-32    81.428    69.455    58.455    50.054    43.054    37.707    34.054    31.707    30.707    29.707
    NC-33    81.627    70.033    59.033    50.804    43.804    38.612    34.804    32.612    31.612    30.612
    NC-34    81.818    70.544    59.544    51.443    44.443    39.361    35.443    33.361    32.361    31.361
    NC-35        82        71        60        52        45        40        36        34        33        32
    NC-36     82.48    71.788    61.147    53.147    46.561    41.147    37.561    35.561    34.561    33.561
    NC-37    82.913    72.455    62.054    54.054    47.707    42.054    38.707    36.707    35.707    34.707
    NC-38    83.306    73.033    62.804    54.804    48.612    42.804    39.612    37.612    36.612    35.612
    NC-39    83.667    73.544    63.443    55.443    49.361    43.443    40.361    38.361    37.361    36.361
    NC-40        84        74        64        56        50        44        41        39        38        37

Compare Noise Criteria and Room Criteria Levels

Use noiseCriteriaRecommendations to view the noise criteria (NC) for open-plan office areas.

noiseCriteriaRecommendations("NC",Occupancy="Office buildings - Open-plan areas")

ans = 1×2 table
                 Occupancy                  Recommendation
    ____________________________________    ______________

    "Office buildings - Open-plan areas"       35    40   

View the octave-band equivalent continuous sound level (LEQ) measurements that correspond to curves NC-35 through NC-40.

NCtable = noiseCriteriaCurves("NC",CurveID=35:40)

NCtable = 6×10 table
               16       31.5       63       125       250       500       1000      2000      4000      8000 
             ______    ______    ______    ______    ______    ______    ______    ______    ______    ______

    NC-35        82        71        60        52        45        40        36        34        33        32
    NC-36     82.48    71.788    61.147    53.147    46.561    41.147    37.561    35.561    34.561    33.561
    NC-37    82.913    72.455    62.054    54.054    47.707    42.054    38.707    36.707    35.707    34.707
    NC-38    83.306    73.033    62.804    54.804    48.612    42.804    39.612    37.612    36.612    35.612
    NC-39    83.667    73.544    63.443    55.443    49.361    43.443    40.361    38.361    37.361    36.361
    NC-40        84        74        64        56        50        44        41        39        38        37

Get the LEQ measurements for NC-35 as a vector and calculate the room criteria (RC) metric using roomCriteria.

NC35 = table2array(NCtable(1,:));
RC = roomCriteria(NC35)

RC = 
"RC-37 (RV)"

The RC value of RC-37 (RV) indicates the spectrum is at risk for perceptible vibration and rattles. The NC and RC metrics are used in different contexts, and a room that is compliant with one metric may not be compliant with the other.

Input Arguments

criteriaName — Name of noise criteria metric

"NC" | "RNC" | "RC" | ...

Name of noise criteria metric, specified as one of the values listed in this table.

Value	Description
"NC" or "Noise Criteria"	Noise criteria metric
"RNC" or "Room Noise Criteria"	Room noise criteria metric
"RC" or "Room Criteria"	Room criteria metric

Data Types: char | string

Name-Value Arguments

Specify optional pairs of arguments as Name1=Value1,...,NameN=ValueN, where Name is the argument name and Value is the corresponding value. Name-value arguments must appear after other arguments, but the order of the pairs does not matter.

Example: noiseCriteriaCurves("NC",CurveID=46)

CurveID — Numeric ID of curve

positive finite scalar | positive finite vector

Numeric ID of the curves to return, specified as a positive finite scalar or vector of positive finite numbers. Use CurveID to specify a specific curve or subset of curves. The CurveID corresponds to the numeric portion of the noise rating. For example, when you specify criteriaName as "NC" and CurveID as 45, noiseCriteriaCurves returns the NC-45 curve.

NC curves are defined in 5 dB increments in Table 1 of the standard [1]. Values of CurveID that are within the range defined in the standard but not explicitly listed in Table 1 are interpolated from values in the table. Interpolating curves is a common industry practice.

If you specify a CurveID outside the range defined in the standard, curves are extrapolated. Extrapolated curves are not standard compliant and must be used with caution.

Parent — Target parent container

[] (default) | Axes object | UIAxes object | Panel object

Target parent container, specified as an Axes object, a UIAxes object, or a Panel object.

If you specify Parent, the noiseCriteriaCurves function draws the curves in the specified target parent container, whether you call the function with or without output arguments. If you do not specify Parent and you do not specify output arguments, the function plots to the axes returned by newplot.

For more information about target containers and the parent-child relationship in MATLAB^® graphics, see Graphics Object Hierarchy.

Output Arguments

curves — Noise curves

table

Noise curves, returned as a table with variable names for each octave band center frequency in Hz, row names for each curve name. Each value is the octave-band sound pressure level (SPL) in dB for the associated curve and octave band center frequency.

References

[1] Acoustical Society of America. Criteria for Evaluating Room Noise. ANSI/ASA S12.2-2019 (R2023). Acoustical Society of America, 2019.

Version History

Introduced in R2026b