Computational and Experimental Evaluation of Architectural Acoustics in Enclosures

A special issue of Buildings (ISSN 2075-5309). This special issue belongs to the section "Building Energy, Physics, Environment, and Systems".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (28 February 2022) | Viewed by 16695

Special Issue Editor


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Guest Editor
Technical University of Denmark, Lyngby, Denmark
Interests: architectural acoustics; computational room acoustics; auditory virtual reality; multimodal perception evaluation; acoustic metamaterials

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

This Special Issue has been prepared to present recent advances and developments in building and room acoustics, including simulation methods, experimental methods, human perception, and new applications. This SI will invite experts from academia and relevant industry to share their research and practical experience. Authors are invited to contribute to this Special Issue with content in the areas of:

  • Advances in computational acoustics, auralization, auditory virtual reality, virtual acoustics, uncertainty quantification, experimental simulation, sound field control in rooms;
  • Experimental characterization of sound fields, new acoustic elements, such as absorbers, diffusers, and innovative acoustic devices, and their acoustic characterization methods either in situ or in laboratories;
  • Human perception of sound in built environments, psychoacoustics, multisensory perceptual evaluation, including sound;
  • Best practice case studies in acoustic design, renovation, intervention in buildings.

Assoc. Prof. Dr. Cheol-Ho Jeong
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

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Keywords

  • Room acoustics
  • Building acoustics
  • Virtual acoustics including auditory virtual reality
  • Computational acoustics and auralization
  • Sound elements such as absorbers, diffusers, metamaterials
  • Sound field/element characterization and sound field control
  • Innovative experimental techniques in enclosed sound fields
  • Subjective evaluation of sound in built environments
  • New objective acoustic parameters for room and building acoustics
  • Acoustic design/renovation/intervention/treatment strategy

Published Papers (6 papers)

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Research

29 pages, 2024 KiB  
Article
A Parallel Dissipation-Free and Dispersion-Optimized Explicit Time-Domain FEM for Large-Scale Room Acoustics Simulation
by Takumi Yoshida, Takeshi Okuzono and Kimihiro Sakagami
Buildings 2022, 12(2), 105; https://doi.org/10.3390/buildings12020105 - 23 Jan 2022
Cited by 14 | Viewed by 3456
Abstract
Wave-based acoustics simulation methods such as finite element method (FEM) are reliable computer simulation tools for predicting acoustics in architectural spaces. Nevertheless, their application to practical room acoustics design is difficult because of their high computational costs. Therefore, we propose herein a parallel [...] Read more.
Wave-based acoustics simulation methods such as finite element method (FEM) are reliable computer simulation tools for predicting acoustics in architectural spaces. Nevertheless, their application to practical room acoustics design is difficult because of their high computational costs. Therefore, we propose herein a parallel wave-based acoustics simulation method using dissipation-free and dispersion-optimized explicit time-domain FEM (TD-FEM) for simulating room acoustics at large-scale scenes. It can model sound absorbers with locally reacting frequency-dependent impedance boundary conditions (BCs). The method can use domain decomposition method (DDM)-based parallel computing to compute acoustics in large rooms at kilohertz frequencies. After validation studies of the proposed method via impedance tube and small cubic room problems including frequency-dependent impedance BCs of two porous type sound absorbers and a Helmholtz type sound absorber, the efficiency of the method against two implicit TD-FEMs was assessed. Faster computations and equivalent accuracy were achieved. Finally, acoustics simulation of an auditorium of 2271 m3 presenting a problem size of about 150,000,000 degrees of freedom demonstrated the practicality of the DDM-based parallel solver. Using 512 CPU cores on a parallel computer system, the proposed parallel solver can compute impulse responses with 3 s time length, including frequency components up to 3 kHz within 9000 s. Full article
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24 pages, 8754 KiB  
Article
Quantification of the Absorption and Scattering Effects of Diffusers in a Room with Absorbent Ceiling
by Emma Arvidsson, Erling Nilsson, Delphine Bard Hagberg and Ola J. I. Karlsson
Buildings 2021, 11(12), 612; https://doi.org/10.3390/buildings11120612 - 4 Dec 2021
Cited by 3 | Viewed by 2247
Abstract
In ordinary public rooms, such as classrooms and offices, an absorbent ceiling is the typical first acoustic action. This treatment provides a good acoustic baseline. However, an improvement of specific room acoustic parameters, operating for specific frequencies, can be needed. It has been [...] Read more.
In ordinary public rooms, such as classrooms and offices, an absorbent ceiling is the typical first acoustic action. This treatment provides a good acoustic baseline. However, an improvement of specific room acoustic parameters, operating for specific frequencies, can be needed. It has been seen that diffusing elements can be effective additional treatment. In order to choose the right design, placement, and quantity of diffusers, a model to estimate the effect on the acoustics is necessary. This study evaluated whether an SEA model could be used for that purpose, particularly for the cases where diffusers are used in combination with an absorbent ceiling. It was investigated whether the model could handle different quantities of diffusing elements, varied diffusion characteristics, and varied installation patterns. It was found that the model was sensitive to these changes, given that the output from the model in terms of acoustic properties will be reflected by the change of diffuser configuration design. It was also seen that the absorption and scattering of the diffusers could be quantified in a laboratory environment: a reverberation chamber. Through the SEA model, these quantities could be transformed to a full-scale room for estimation of the room acoustic parameters. Full article
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15 pages, 2918 KiB  
Article
Validation of the Low-Frequency Procedure for Field Measurement of Façade Sound Insulation
by Jinyu Liu, Naohisa Inoue and Tetsuya Sakuma
Buildings 2021, 11(11), 547; https://doi.org/10.3390/buildings11110547 - 16 Nov 2021
Cited by 2 | Viewed by 2074
Abstract
In the ISO 16283 series for field measurement of sound insulation, a low-frequency procedure is specified for determining indoor average sound pressure level, which is the so-called corner method. In the procedure, additional measurements are required in the corners in addition to the [...] Read more.
In the ISO 16283 series for field measurement of sound insulation, a low-frequency procedure is specified for determining indoor average sound pressure level, which is the so-called corner method. In the procedure, additional measurements are required in the corners in addition to the default measurements in the central zone, and the indoor average level is corrected with the highest level in the corners. However, this procedure was empirically proposed, and its validity is not fully examined for façade sound insulation. In this paper, detailed experiments were performed in a mock lightweight wooden house for validating the low-frequency procedure for façade sound insulation measurement. The results suggest that a correction with energy-averaging level of all corners is more reliable than with the maximum level, and the uncertainty in the default procedure is sufficiently improved with additional measurements in four non-adjacent corners. Moreover, the effect of the detailed position of the microphone around the corner was clarified for a more specific instruction. Full article
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16 pages, 5566 KiB  
Article
Diffuseness Quantification in a Reverberation Chamber and Its Variation with Fine-Resolution Measurements
by Shuying Zhang and Joonhee Lee
Buildings 2021, 11(11), 519; https://doi.org/10.3390/buildings11110519 - 4 Nov 2021
Cited by 2 | Viewed by 2553
Abstract
Insufficient diffuseness is the major cause of the poor repeatability and reproducibility of building acoustical measurements in a reverberation chamber. Inaccurate results were reported for the prevailing methods in ISO and ASTM standards. Many previous studies, thus, have proposed new methods to quantify [...] Read more.
Insufficient diffuseness is the major cause of the poor repeatability and reproducibility of building acoustical measurements in a reverberation chamber. Inaccurate results were reported for the prevailing methods in ISO and ASTM standards. Many previous studies, thus, have proposed new methods to quantify the diffuseness of a reverberation chamber more accurately, but there is no general agreement among researchers on the most reliable method. The number of measurement samples required for these diffuseness metrics is also unclear, even though it significantly impacts the robustness of the methods. This study, therefore, aims to compare the performance of the two widely used diffuseness metrics (spatial variation of sound pressure levels and the relative standard deviation of decay rates) in the standards and the recently introduced metric (degree of time series fluctuation). The measurements were carried out with fine resolution microphone positions and varied configurations of acoustic diffusers. The degree of time series fluctuation showed the best correlation with varying diffuser configurations in the low-frequency range. Confidence intervals and coefficients of variation of the three metrics by random sampling also indicated that DTF is more reliable for evaluating the diffuseness in a sound field as it is less influenced by the number of sampling. Full article
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24 pages, 2405 KiB  
Article
The Influence of Different Scattering Algorithms on Room Acoustic Simulations in Rectangular Rooms
by Hanna Autio, Nikolaos-Georgios Vardaxis and Delphine Bard Hagberg
Buildings 2021, 11(9), 414; https://doi.org/10.3390/buildings11090414 - 17 Sep 2021
Cited by 3 | Viewed by 2369
Abstract
Raytracing is a widespread tool for room acoustic simulations, and one of its main advantages is the inclusion of surface scattering. Although surface scattering has been acknowledged as a central aspect of accurate raytracing simulations for many years, there is ongoing research into [...] Read more.
Raytracing is a widespread tool for room acoustic simulations, and one of its main advantages is the inclusion of surface scattering. Although surface scattering has been acknowledged as a central aspect of accurate raytracing simulations for many years, there is ongoing research into its effects and how to implement it better. This study evaluates three different algorithms for surface scattering in raytracers, referred to as on–off scattering, perturbation scattering, and diffuse field scattering. Their theoretical foundation is discussed, and the physical accuracy of the resulting simulations is evaluated by comparing simulated room acoustic parameters to measurements. It is found that the choice of surface scattering algorithm has a significant impact on the simulation outcomes, both in terms of physical accuracy and in terms of usability. Additionally, there are differences in the parametrization of surface scattering depending on the algorithm chosen. Of the three tested algorithms, the most commonly used algorithm (on–off scattering) seems to have the best properties for simulations. Full article
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15 pages, 18355 KiB  
Article
Initial Study on the Reverberation Time Standard for the Korean Middle and High School Classrooms Using Speech Intelligibility Tests
by Chan-Jae Park and Chan-Hoon Haan
Buildings 2021, 11(8), 354; https://doi.org/10.3390/buildings11080354 - 15 Aug 2021
Cited by 13 | Viewed by 2480
Abstract
The most important function of the classroom is to transmit educational information from teachers to students more accurately and clearly. The acoustical environment of the classroom thus has an important effect on the improvement of students’ learning ability. To provide an appropriate acoustical [...] Read more.
The most important function of the classroom is to transmit educational information from teachers to students more accurately and clearly. The acoustical environment of the classroom thus has an important effect on the improvement of students’ learning ability. To provide an appropriate acoustical environment for learning to students, it is necessary to create an acoustical performance standard for classrooms and a guideline for designing classrooms. However, in Korea, there is not an acoustical standard for classrooms; thus, it is difficult to control and manage appropriate acoustical performance when designing and building classrooms. The present study aims to suggest acoustic performance standards for classrooms that are suitable for the Korean language. In order to perform this study, standard classrooms were created by standardizing architectural dimensions of 17 middle and high school classrooms in Cheong-ju. Speech intelligibility tests were conducted using three different languages including Korean, English, and Chinese. Twenty native speakers for each language were used as subjects for the speech intelligibility tests. Finally, auralized sound sources were created with five different conditions of reverberation time (0.47~1.22 s) by changing indoor sound absorption of a real classroom. Listening tests were undertaken by 52 Korean adults with normal hearing, using the auralized sound source. The results proved that the most appropriate reverberation time for learning was above 0.76 s. Based on the research findings, the ideal acoustical performance standard for classrooms in Korea is as follows: background noise is below 35 dBA, and reverberation time is below 0.80 s. It is also necessary that indoor sound absorption should be above 20% without sound absorption on side walls in order to satisfy with the acoustical performance standard. Full article
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