Dataset of the high-frequency and ultrasound personal exposimeter (HiFUSPEx) validation scans performed in three simulated industrial sound fields

All the measurement data contained in this dataset were collected during the performance validation process of the newly developed high-frequency and ultrasound personal exposimeter (HiFUSPEx). The validation process of the HiFUSPEx was performed as a part of the collaborative project of the Physikalisch-Technische Bundesanstalt and the Institute for Occupational Safety and Health of the German Social Accident Insurance titled ”Development of a high-frequency sound exposime- ter for the occupational health protection”. The validation process was designed as a comparative analysis of two-dimensional scans of various idealized ultrasonic sound fields. The ultrasonic sound fields were idealized in such a way, so that they resemble real-world industrial scenarios as closely as possible, and at the same time they provide sufficiently stable ultrasonic environment to conduct experiments over a prolonged period of time. Each simulated industrial scenario was in turn scanned with the HiFUSPEx and an ultrasound level meter, whose ultrasound detection performance was previously tested up to 100 kHz. In order to assess ultrasound measurement performance of the Hi- FUSPEx when exposed to varied sound fields, three pieces of industrial equipment were simulated: an ultrasonic welding machine, an ultrasonic cleaning bath, and a compressed-air gun. These were chosen as most representative of the ultrasonic equipment used at industrial workplaces in Germany. Ultrasonic signals, specific for each simulated scenario, were produced using a bespoke signal gener- ation chain built for the purposes of this study. To further improve the resemblance to an industrial situation an artificial head was placed in front of the simulated industrial equipment. As a result, the influence of a worker within an ultrasonic field was accounted for. The two-dimensional scans were performed on the vertical surface with dimensions 32 × 32 cm (width × height), 10 cm away from the entrance to the ear canal with the lateral resolution of 10 mm. Each simulated scenario was surveyed in both sedentary and standing positions of the artificial head. The measurement data in the dataset were recorded as sound pressure over time using WAVE-file format. These can be computationally converted to sound pressure level (SPL) using the given calibration values for each device used. The high-resolution data being published here can also be used for other applications.