Analysis of indoor sound propagation using finite element method

Distributing of sound field in indoor space is an important part of room acoustics, but there are a lot of problems in this field, for example, the multipath propagation and scattering due to the furniture and decorations of sound absorb. In general, an ideal interior space must be the clear quality of the sound field. The presence of either the speaker or the listener can hence talk in a pleasant environment. This study attempts to use the finite element method to evaluate the acoustic distribution that based on construction of indoor space and chamber volume. In this case, a fixed sound source at different frequencies will be used to simulate the acoustic characteristics in the indoor space. That will contain the furniture and decoration sound absorbing material which are in the consideration of the different sound absorption coefficient and configuration. The preliminary numerical simulation can offer a method to predict the distribution of the sound filed in indoor room at the complex situations. Consequently, it is possible to suggest an appropriate arrangement of the interior furnishings and appliances due to the considerations of optimized acoustic distribution and environment-friendly lifestyle. In addition, the analytical result also can be used to calculate the effects of Reservation Time and Speech Intelligibility.