Predicting the acoustics of rooms is a difficult task, as many complex parameters to be controlled are involved. The job’s complexity is increasing relative to the dimensions and volume of the room. Tools as simple as a spreadsheet or as complex as a three-dimensional simulator offer valuable help in designing room acoustics.
A simple, user-friendly reverberation time prediction Knowledge Base Design Tool, Tosan (third-octave statistical analysis), developed at the University of Thessaloniki by E. Tzekakis for the Apple platform, adapted for Windows by G. Charalambidis, is used by MMT in many cases, mainly for smaller rooms. This tool is supported by an extended absorbing materials database assembled from reliable sources and measurements.
The recommendations of DIN 18041 “Acoustic Quality of small to medium-sized Rooms”, is another reliable guide to designing the acoustics of medium-sized rooms, using Tosan for reverberation time predictions and control.
For larger rooms, specialized 3D software is used, in most cases CATT-acoustic. For this, an advanced detailed 3D model of the room is needed that can be derived from ArchiCAD, the software platform used for architectural design by MMT.
Although 3D simulation can be extended to include auralization (hearing the actual sound in the future room), success can only be assured by combining the careful application of the design rules with experience gained from practice.
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3d modeling tools Filetype: png288.02 KB |
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Third Octave Statistical Analysis Filetype: png151.89 KB |
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