New empirical equations for calculating sound pressure levels in rooms
Abstract
Six room acoustic models were reviewed in the existing literature. There was no single acoustical model that was satisfactory for the rooms whose geometric and acoustic characteristics were different. In order to develop a new empirical room equation to predict the sound pressure distribution in rooms, seventeen rooms whose volumes ranged from 2,671 ft{dollar}\sp3{dollar} to 149,000 ft{dollar}\sp3{dollar} were examined. Two sets of sound tests, reverberation times and sound pressure levels, were conducted in these rooms. After a data base was built up, regression analyses were made. Finally, two empirical room acoustic equations, one for small rooms and another for large rooms, were developed from final regressions. These empirical room acoustic equations were simple, but with in acceptable accuracy. A graphical comparison with Schultz's equation and field measured L{dollar}\sb{\rm p}{dollar}-L{dollar}\sb{\rm w}{dollar} was also conducted.