Acoustics Analysis

software
DR. Mohammed Mersawy
‫‪Group 6:‬‬
‫‪ -5‬أحمد حمدي حسن محمد‪.‬‬
‫‪ -20‬آسر أيمن أبوالفتوح متولي‪.‬‬
‫‪ -31‬آالء شريف الكناني الدسوقي‪.‬‬
‫‪ -32‬آالء مازن مصطفي‪.‬‬
‫‪ -57‬بسملة رمزي عبدالمجيد محمد‪.‬‬
‫‪ -91‬حنين محمود الحسيني محمد‪.‬‬
‫‪ -111‬رهف خالد محمد عادل توفيق أبوزغلة‪.‬‬
‫‪ -134‬سلمي اسماعيل بسطاوي أحمد‪.‬‬
‫‪ -168‬عبدالرحمن أحمد محمد عزمي‪.‬‬
‫‪ -172‬عبدالرحمن علي زكريا إبراهيم‪.‬‬
‫‪ -174‬عبدالرحمن محمود عبدالحليم محمد‪.‬‬
‫‪ -181‬عبدالرحمن محمد محمود سيد‪.‬‬
‫‪ -183‬عبدالمجيد خالد عبدالمجيد حسين‪.‬‬
‫‪ -229‬محمد جمال عبدالحكيم إمام‪.‬‬
‫‪ -244‬محمود محمد إبراهيم الدسوقي‪.‬‬
‫‪-248‬مروان محمد شحاتة ابراهيم‬
‫‪ -265‬منة محسن محمود أمين عبدالجليل‪.‬‬
‫‪ -275‬ميار ممدوح عبدالعظيم سرحان‪.‬‬
‫‪ -291‬نوران أشرف عبدالفتاح البلقيني‪.‬‬
‫‪ -306‬هدير شريف محمد حسين‪.‬‬
‫‪ -310‬وعد محمد جلبي‪.‬‬
‫‪ -311‬يارا أحمد سيد حسن‪.‬‬
‫‪ -314‬ياسمين حمدي كمال‪.‬‬
 01 Definition of
architectural design

TABLE OF CONTENTS 02 Traditional acoustical

design methods

03 The well-known software in

the mentioned field
 01. Definition of architectural design
and the history brief
Acoustics:-
• is actually a branch of physics that focuses on studying sound: how it’s produced, transmitted,
controlled, and received, and the effects of this process. As it applies to architecture, acoustics is
the process of using building design and construction methods to harness the properties of sound to
their greatest effect
• Architectural acoustics involves designing a building to control how soundwaves reverberate off its
interior in such a way as to maximize clarity, amplifying sound in areas where it’s appropriate to do
so, and reducing noise levels were doing so is beneficial.
• Doing this involves considering several factors, including the geometry of the room and the materials
used in construction specifically their sound-absorbing or enhancing qualities.
• softer materials such as carpet, fiberglass insulation, and foam padding tend to absorb sound well,
while harder materials such as concrete and brick tend to reflect it. wood can reflect sound well, but
if holes are drilled in it, it can also absorb it.
• Mechanical systems can play a role, too Fans,
motors, and other mechanical components can
create noises that cause unwanted distractions
and may interfere with the transmission of
communication.

• Architects take these factors into account when

designing buildings with the proper surfaces,
shapes, and mechanical systems to distribute
and control sound effective
Reverberation
• Reverberation is to sound what reflection is to light. Also known as resonance,
reverberation refers to the amount of time it takes a sound to dissipate.
• As sound waves bounce off surfaces in interior spaces, such as ceiling tiles and wall
panels, noise builds up and reflects back on itself, reducing its clarity and making it
harder to understand. It’s different from an echo, in which there’s a delay between the
original sound and its fainter answer.
• An echo off a distant canyon wall may take a few tenths of a second to return to you. But since the
original sound only persists in your memory for 0.1 of a second, there’s no confusion. With
reverberation, the reflecting surface (such as an interior wall) is much closer to you, and the time
between when the original sound is made and reflected is less than 0.1 of a second.

Buildings With Reverberation

Sometimes, you want to design a space with a
higher reverberation time. Doing so can add to the
warmth and texture of music, so concert venues
and symphony halls are likely to be constructed
with higher reverberation times.

Buildings Without Reverberation

if your venue is used primarily for speaking, such
as a lecture hall, you’ll want to create acoustics
with a lower reverberation time to preserve
clarity.
Sound Absorption
• Sound absorption is the quality found in different materials that reduce reverberation
times by absorbing sound energy and reducing sound levels. By eliminating unwanted
sound, these materials can improve sound quality in a room.
• it can be helpful to use sound-absorbing material in rooms designed for speaking, such as lecture
halls and conference rooms.
• As mentioned above, different types of materials either reflect or absorb sound to different degrees.
For instance, smooth concrete may absorb just 2% of sound, while reflecting the remaining 98%. In
contrast, an acoustic panel - a glass fiber wrapped in fabric and mounted to furring (wooden strips) -
with airspace behind it might absorb 75% of the sound that hits it.

• Including sound absorption in a building’s

design can help create a clearer, less
cluttered sound quality by reducing
reverberation: absorbing sound before it has
the chance to bounce back. It can create a
quieter, more peaceful environment.

Buildings Without Sound Absorption

Buildings without sound absorption are vulnerable to
excessive reverberation because there’s nothing to
remove the sound from the room before it can
bounce back — thereby creating a noisier, busier
environment.
Sound Insulation
• Sound insulation is the property in a wall that allows it to keep noise from passing from one side to the other by
absorbing sound waves of different frequencies. It can impact acoustic design by blocking air paths between
rooms or between a room and the building’s exterior.
• The effectiveness of sound insulation is measured in terms of dB Dw, with dB referring to decibels and Dw
signifying the difference between the noise level in the room where sound is being produced and the level in a
second, adjacent room, where it’s being heard or received.
• The term sound insulation refers to how much sound is lost when it travels between the source room and
adjacent room. If the dB Dw between two rooms is 45, that might mean the sound level is 65 dB in the source
room and 20 in the adjacent room during a typical speech.
• Sound waves need a medium through which to travel, most typically air. As a result, sound can travel through
vents and electrical outlets or under doors — anywhere air can go. Sealing such spaces and adding insulation to
venting systems are therefore effective ways of reducing unwanted sound.
Buildings With Sound Insulation
When a building includes sound insulation, it can minimize
distractions from sound that emanates from adjacent
rooms, whether it’s music, speech, or mechanical noise.
Buildings Without Sound Insulation
• Buildings without sound insulation, on the other hand,
can create problems for those occupying rooms that
are side-by-side.
• This is the kind of situation that leads people to
complain about “thin” walls in motels and apartment
buildings. But those aren’t the only places this problem
can occur. For instance, consider a school classroom
with classrooms on both sides, and all are in session at
the same time. Sound from both adjacent classrooms is
likely to make it through the walls on both sides
The History Brief:-
• Acoustics has been important to the designers of buildings,
especially theatres and concert halls, for at least 2500 years.
For most of this time, designers used empirical guidance which,
while reliable within its limitations, could not be applied
successfully to rooms and auditoria which had no close
precedent.
• The science of acoustics developed in the 18th and 19th
centuries, mainly in connection with musical instruments.
• However, design methods for room acoustics in buildings
become scientific and quantitative only in the 20th century.
• The physicist Wallace Sabine discovered what affects the
reverberation time of a room around 1895 and used this, first,
to improve the acoustics of a lecture theatre and, later, in the
design of new rooms – most famously, the new Boston Music
Hall in 1900.
• The measurement of sound and waveforms became practical
with the development of microphones, amplifiers,
oscilloscopes and early sound recording machines in the 1920s.
• From the 1930s physical scale models have been used to
measure the acoustic response of auditoria.
• They are still used today, together with increasingly
sophisticated analysis of waveforms, to build up more and
more reliable predictions of acoustic performance.
• Architectural acoustic design methods are typical of other
engineering design disciplines in how they developed from
being purely qualitative, then using empirical data, then making
use of physical model testing, and finally using comprehensive
mathematical models.
 02. Traditional acoustical
design methods
- The traditional methods for assessing acoustic design uses data referring to an unoccupied empty space. But
it is first when you consider the activities for which the space is designed, and take factors as occupational density
into account, that acoustic modelling can make a more significant and relevant contribution to the design.

- The traditional way of understanding the performance of spaces in buildings is to define the way the room
responds to sound, measuring with a sound meter when the room is empty. That might be in terms of reverberation
time or ambient noise or speech intelligibility. This room acoustic response is one factor that can contribute to
acoustic satisfaction. But it doesn’t tell you anything about the occupational density in the room or what kind of
activities that are going on – factors which intuitively will affect the acoustic satisfaction of the occupants.

Three pillars of acoustic satisfaction

To get a better picture you need to explore and define three pillars of acoustic satisfaction:
1. Room acoustic response.
2. Adjacencies, activities and in-situ environment.
3. People, personal preferences and culture.

The context of the activities

Apex has invented a method that measures the acoustic impact of different activities on nearby workstations. And it
takes into account the context of the activities, not only factors such as distance and noise level.
- “If you have a break-out point near a section where people are working, that will probably disturb more than if it is a
collaborative spot nearby a row of desks. .”“The first thing they do is thinking about zoning, putting the noisy and
quiet areas in different parts of the office. But it is when they are getting down to details, when different activity areas
get close to each other, they don’t have a method to describe what is needed in terms of noise protection. What’s
more, they don’t know how to justify noise protection.
sound absorption
• Reduce sound absorption Public sound absorption can be reduced by the Earth's decline and the passage of
sound over the audience
• The initial sound wave that reach the back row are higher than those that reach the rows, and are subject to little
absorption

• Method of establishing the slope of a floor that simultaneously provide good vertical sight line and a satisfactory
flow of direct sound waves to the listener

A more gentle slope can be achieved by considering:

1. raising the arrival point of sight (APS)
2. 2. adequately reducing the value of X
REINFORCEMENT BY REFLECTORS
Sound source should be closely and abundantly
1. surrounded with large sound-reflective surface in order to supply
additional reflected sound energy to every portion of the audience
area.
2. The dimension of the reflecting surface must be comparable to the
wavelength of the sound wave to be reflected. Its minimum dimension
should be of the order of 3m, so that the reflected sound is not
materially weakened by edge. Diffraction.
3. The reflectors should be as low as possible.
sound should be relatively short, possibly not exceeding 30
milliseconds.

4. Good use can be made of the ceiling and wall surfaces in order to
provide the greatest amount of short-delayed sound reflections. The
ceiling and the front portion of the side wall of
5. the auditorium are always suitable surface for the accommodation
of sound reflectors. The reflectors should preferably be overhead so
that reflected sound is not reduced by audience absorption. Additional
reflective surface must be provided which direct the sound back to the
performers particularly true in auditorium designed for vocal purposes.
6. Correctly located sound reflectors also create an environmental
condition known as space effect when a listener receives sound from
numerous directions.

- In large auditoriums, requiring fairly high ceilings may result in

excessive delay between reflected and direct sound, suspended
reflectors are frequently employed at a lower level.
REINFORCEMENT BR LOUDSPEAKERS

• Sound amplification systems are used for the following purpose:

1. To reinforce the sound level in an auditorium or in outdoor locations when the sound source is too weak to be
heard.
2. To provide amplified sound for overflow audiences.
3. To increase the sound level on the stage of an auditorium for the benefit of performers or listeners seated on the
stage.
4. To provide the sound in motion-picture theatres
5. To minimize room reverberation
6. To provide artificial reverberation in rooms which are too dead for satisfactory listening
7. To provide a multitude of electro acoustical facilities in theatres and opera houses.
8. To operate electronic organs, chimes carillons, etc.
9. To reduce the masking effect of an excessive background noise level in an auditorium or in the open air.

• A sound system is expected to meet the following criteria:

1. It should properly transmit a wide range of frequencies (from about 30 Hz to about 12,000 Hz)
2. It should provide a wide dynamic range
3. It should be free from disturbing echoes or feedback
4. It should create a sufficiently low room reverberation
5. It should remain undetected
03-1
ODEON SOFTWARE
 Introduction

• ODEON is the most comprehensive software for room

acoustics, it can both measure & predict the interior
acoustics of buildings & PA/SR-systems, then it
simulates & displays them in numerous ways.

• By inserting into ODEON, the geometry (3D-model) and

surface-properties (materials) of the desired area of
analysis, the acoustics can be predicted, illustrated and
listened to- the latter is done by the auralisation options-
while results come out as acoustic parameters, sound
mapping, binaural or surround sound auralisation
allowing you to analyze results with your ears or present
“soundscapes” of future rooms to customers.

• ODEON main method of analysis is the image-source

method combined with a modified ray tracing algorithm.

• ODEON can be used for medium-sized rooms and larger.

While not designed for very small rooms like bathrooms,
so it is perfect for: Concert and opera halls, theatres,
worship spaces, sports stadiums, Open plan offices,
foyers, restaurants, music studios, Underground &
railway stations, airport terminals, Industrial
environments, areas with complicated geometry, Small-
scale outdoor areas, up to 2km in each dimension.
 Setting up and inputs

1- Importing Model

• 3D room geometries are typically not made within ODEON, the user imports models created in an external CAD or
3D software.
• ODEON’s plug-in “SU2ODEON” allows to export Sketch Up models into ODEON and use both programs
simultaneously to update changes
• You can also import DXF files from a CAD program into ODEON

SU2ODEON plug in
 Setting up and inputs

2- setting up model

A. Sound Sources & Receivers :

Setting up sound receiver
Once the geometry of a room has been loaded into ODEON,
sources and receivers have to be placed

B. Assigning Materials :
The Material List is where you choose the acoustic properties
Setting up point source
of the surfaces in the room.

C. Accuracy and general settings :

- Setting up number of rays:
sound is emitted from sound source as rays that are
reflected from surfaces according to their acoustical properties
- Tabulate Sources and receivers:
Organize Sources and receivers around the room

Rays simulation from Odeon Tabulate options

 Calculations and outputs
Outputs:

• Predicts acoustics, illustrated and listened.

• Uses image-source and ray radiosity methods.
• Gives out: numbers, graphs, sound maps and auralisations.

Materials absorption:

• Calculates surface impedance, radiation impedance, reflection factor and

absorption coefficient.
• The absorption increases with increase of material thickness.
• Type of the materials “rigid, air, fluid layer”.
• Equations are mainly used for thin sheets (membranes).
- Density.
- Young’s modulus.
- Poisson's ratio.
- Internal loss factor.
1. Image-source method

Aims to find the purely specular reflection paths between a source and a receiver,
if sound travels in straight line at fixed sound energy speed.

Reflection order: number of reflections from single ray.

No image-sources are formed If the surface is unreachable, or the surface is too

small and unlikely to be hit by finite number of rays.

Visibility of image-source:
Can be checked when the reflection path can be
backtracked specular from the receiver from direction
of arrival and without hitting any surfaces outside the
reflection sequence.

Note: if no visibility image source means reflection

path is impossible.
2. Ray radiosity method

This method is used because energy becomes less important at higher reflection orders,
and it has 2 phases, rendering and gathering.
Late secondary
source

• After transition order, each reflection point will generate a late secondary source.
• In gathering phase, a check is preformed to determine which late secondary sources
are visible from the receiver.

• Visible sources add energy to the energy histogram

• Transition order from early to late secondary method depends on reflection order and
not time
 Sound Visualization
Visualization Tools Visualizations in
ODEON help to get the overview of
sound propagation in the room model
and they form a great tool for
demonstrations to clients that are not
familiar with Room Acoustic
Parameters and scientific terms.
Visualizations can provide great
screenshots and animations for
presentations but should not be used
for accurate predictions.

3D Billiard A number of billiard balls

are emitted from a source position and
gets reflected by the surfaces of the
room. This is a useful animation tool
which visualizes how a burst of sound
will propagate in the model and to
track specific phenomena like flutter
echoes or focusing from curved
geometries. Scattering is included in
the animation and to some degree it is
also possible to enable visualization
on how sound gets absorbed. By
default, balls change color every time
they are reflected from a surface, as
an alternative color can be used for
visualization of strength.
 Sound Visualization

3D Reflector Coverage In the 3D Reflector

coverage, you can visualize which areas a
given reflector will cover, up to the specified
order of reflection. Use the Define reflector
surfaces window first in order to define which
surfaces in the model will act as reflectors

3D Investigate Rays are emitted from a source, and you can view them as the reflect from the surfaces in the room. This is mainly a
tool that can be used for checking the geometry for holes. Enable the Display sticky lost rays only option to be able to see which rays
escape from the geometry and to manage locating leaks in your model. It can also be used for purposes like investigating how the
scattering coefficients affect backscattering in tunnels, or in what way sound is distributed in coupled spaces.

Visualize the acoustics:

Visualizations of acoustics can be useful to get an understanding of the geometry in question. In ODEON
there are different visualization options. Either billiard balls, ray tracing, color maps and more. This can also
be used to explain the acoustics to people without prior understanding of acoustics.
Examples

01
Elmia Concert Hall
 Examples

1. Elmia concert hall “Jönköping, Sweden”

• A grid response of Reverberation time at different frequencies with 1300 receiver positions.

T(30s) at 2000 Hz T(30s) at 250 Hz

• Measurements were simulated in 12 source-receiver pairs , Here is a Wireframe of The Elmia hall, displaying source and
receiver positions.

2 Sources , 12 receiver 2 Sources , 12 receiver ( Section)

 Examples

• Source 1 active. Examples of simulated room acoustic parameters

compared to the real measured values. Majority of simulations are
closer than 1
T(30s) at 1000 Hz
• Source 2 active. Examples of simulated room acoustic parameters
compared to the real measured values. Majority of simulations are
closer than 1

T(30s) at 4000 Hz

T(30s) at 1000 Hz – Source2 T(30s) at 4000 Hz – Source2

Examples

02
Theatro Treze de Maio
 Examples

2. Theatro Treze de Maio “Santa Maria, Brazil”

• Measurement setup in the theatre. The orange-colored objects are microphone holders.

T(30s) at 2000 Hz T(30s) at 4000 Hz

• Genetic material optimization used for this simulation.

2 Sources , 5 receiver 2 Sources , 5 receiver ( Section)

 Examples

• Source and receiver positions for the auralisation.

T(30s) at 1000 Hz - 9 Receiver

D(50) at 1000 Hz - 6 Receiver T(20s) at 1000 Hz - 9 Receiver

C(80) at 1000 Hz – 16 Receiver C(50) at 100 Hz – 16 Receiver

Examples

02
Theatro Treze de Maio
 Examples

3. Royal Festival Hall “London, UK”

• Here you can listen to Bruckner’s, Symphony no. 8, 2nd movement played virtually in the Royal Festival Hall, in London,
UK. The multi source auralisation is based on anechoic recordings from Aalto University.

• The instruments were recorded individually in an anechoic chamber with 22 microphones: 20 in a dodecahedron
arrangement, 1 directly in front, and 1 directly above (as described by this paper). The examples in this page were
produced with the tracks from the frontal microphone (0º azimuth, 0º elevation).

• The auralisation was made for the conductor position and 4 audience positions (blue dots) as shown in the figure below.

Source and receiver positions for the auralisation.

03-2
PACHYDERM SOFTWARE
 Introduction

• provided the acoustician with the capacity to generate

convincing visualizations of the phenomenon.
• The tool was written to provide a flexible environment for
acoustical simulation and is like many more expensive
acoustic analysis tools.
• An open-source collection of numerical and geometrical
simulation techniques curated by Open Research in
Acoustical Science and Education.
• As of the time of publication, Pachyderm includes
geometrical acoustics (ray-tracing and image source with
enhancements, and visualization), Finite Volume Method
(with several built-in applications, including eigen-
frequencies, 3d scattering coefficient prediction, and
visualization), and Transfer Matrix techniques for calculation
of acoustic absorption which can be applied in the simulation
techniques.
• The software is provided as a growing public resource for
professionals and researchers alike.
 Setting up and inputs

1- Importing Model

• 3D room geometries are typically made with RHINO, the user imports models created in an external CAD or 3D
software.
• Pachyderm’s plug-in “Pachyderm acoustic” allows to export RHINO models into Pachyderm and use both programs
simultaneously to update changes

Pachyderm Acoustic
 Setting up and inputs

2- setting up model

A. Sound Sources & Receivers :

• Insert Source As a point.
• Insert Receiver As a point.
Setting up sound receiver & Source
B. Assigning Materials :
• You Must make a Layer setup To assign materials.
• You Can Choose materials From Materials Library, or You Can
set Your Own Materials Properties
Environmental options
(Absorption – Scatring – Transparency)

C. Accuracy and general settings : (Impulse)

1. Image Source ( Defined by Reflection Order Number).
2. Ray-Tracing ( Defined by Number of Rays).
3. You Can use Both of Them or Just one. Impulse
Cut off Time (M.S)

D. Environmental: (Impulse)
• Temperature
• Humidity

Materials
 Calculations and outputs
Outputs: (Analysis)

• Values Using Different Methods Like (ISO – T-50 – D-50).

• Graph (Energy-Time Curve)

Materials Designer:
• Absorption Coefficient by Angel of Incidence.
• The absorption increases with increase of material thickness.
• Type of the materials “rigid, air, fluid layer”.
2. Ray-Tracing method
• The Program Simulate The Sound Waves Using Number
of Rays, That bounds of Reflective Surfaces and Get
Absorbed by Absorption Surfaces.

• N. of Rays are Defined by Equation ( Volume of Space * 25 or 50)

• The Source of The Sound Can have Different Properties at

Different Frequencies.
 Sound Visualization

Visualization Tools Visualizations in Pachyderm help to get the overview of sound propagation in the room model and they
form a great tool for demonstrations to clients that are not familiar with Room Acoustic Parameters and scientific terms.
Visualizations.
 Examples

01
SOUTH DAKOTA STATE
UNIVERSITY SCHOOL OF MUSIC
 Examples

1.SOUTH DAKOTA STATE UNIVERSITY SCHOOL OF MUSIC

Phase II of the South Dakota State University School of Music in

Brookings South Dakota opened in 2018. Pachyderm was used to
design the room shaping and surface articulation in the new recital
hall, and theatre spaces.

Examples of simulated room acoustic

parameters
 Examples

02
TEXAS A&M UNIVERSITY SCHOOL OF MUSIC,
KINGSVILLE, TX
 Examples

2.TEXAS A&M UNIVERSITY SCHOOL OF MUSIC, KINGSVILLE, TX

Several key innovations were explored in the Pachyderm environment, including

room geometry, and a configuration for vertical wood grilles which minimizes the
impact of the wood finish on the acoustics of the room, and the performance of
adjustable absorptive finishes such as curtains.
Examples

03
BARRANQUILLA
 Examples

3.BARRANQUILLA

The structure of the auditorium consists of a ribbed, thin-tile vault spanning a space of 20 by 40 meters. The structural design
employs novel form-finding tools that combine funicular (compression-only) and acoustical optimization.
 Examples

3.BARRANQUILLA
Innovation in the constructive processes enables the
integration of isolation and ventilation mechanisms in
between the layers of the vault. Pachyderm acoustic
simulation was used to optimize the funicular geometry
of the roof for three contrasting room acoustic
parameters (EDT, D50 and G) via a multi-objective
genetic algorithm called NSGA-II. The results of the
acoustic and structural optimization process produced a
series of compression only geometries that also obtain a
good distribution of optimal acoustic values throughout
the audience.

1000 hz
 Examples

04
MELBOURNE SOUTHBANK CULTURAL PRECINCT BY
ARM ARCHITECTS AND KIRKEGAARD ASSOCIATES
 Examples

4.MELBOURNE SOUTHBANK CULTURAL PRECINCT BY

ARM ARCHITECTS AND KIRKEGAARD ASSOCIATES
Pachyderm Acoustical Simulation was used in a search for an acoustical
phenomenon in the original Hamer Hall auditorium at the Southbank Cultural
Precinct in Melbourne, Australia in 2010. In the upper balcony, music sounded
harshness. The most distinctive feature of the room is the crystalline concrete
elements on the upper side walls. To determine if the crystals were part of this
phenomenon, Pachyderm Acoustical Simulation was used in a series of
studies.
 Examples

A portion of the room was modelled in Rhinoceros and built at a 1:10 scale using foam sealed with plaster and paint. Image Source
calculations performed in Pachyderm Acoustical Simulation were compared with impulse response measurements taken in the scale
mock-up. Using this data, the consultants were able to recommend a frequency selective treatment to the side walls.
03-3
EASE SOFTWARE
 Introduction

• Ease is a three-dimensional, acoustic simulation

software for the configuration and modeling, Ease
models are used to recreate the real acoustics of
any space and are the way to explore all options for
audio system design, calculating electroacoustic
requirements and helping to solve problems that
may arise in an installation.

• EASE Standard is able to calculate the impulse

response at specific locations in the room by using
ray tracing algorithms. You can choose to perform
geometrical ray tracing calculations based on the
deterministic image model or the stochastic ray
tracing method.
 Setting up and inputs
1- Importing Model

• First: Import your design in one of these forms (CAD/ DXF/SKP/ ASCII)
• Second: Give your walls material from Ease Database
• Third: You can edit your design Before adding any inputs
To add material to any face: press on the pick item from
the toolbar, then select on the face after that right click
and choose options.

After choosing the material you can show the Absorption and the
scattering coefficient of this material
 Setting up and inputs

• Fourth: You can view a single view or Tile view Press view from toolbar
• Loudspeakers
You can choose from different types of speakers with different sound
pressure levels (SPL), You can also control the position of the speaker and
their angles
• Audience area
From the audience area properties, you can choose the four corners’
coordinates

Face
Loudspeaker
s
Audience Area
Listener seats
Lighting

Basic Shaps

• After editing the Audience area, you can show the reverberation time
 Setting up and inputs
then: From Area mapping
• We check the loudspeakers in use
• set patch size and the gap between two isolines in dB
• Check the noise

Then Direct SPL map will be generated

We can also change the map from area mapping setting to choose from different types of maps
like Critical distance
 Calculations and outputs

output
Standard Mapping
EASE offers a wide set of tools for electro-acoustic and acoustical
investigations. Among them is the Standard Mapping feature, which allows
a large number of simulations to be performed based on the diffuse field
assumptions of statistical acoustics.
STI simulation using the Standard Mapping method.
A number of acoustic parameters can be simulated with Standard Mapping
The calculation results are available in 1/3rd octave bands as well as in larger
bandwidths. Data can be exported in both text and graphic formats. All of the
following parameters can be mapped:
• Direct SPL
The calculations can be performed not only for Audience Areas but also over
• Total SPL (Direct + Reverberant sound fields) room surfaces and on specific Listener Seats
• STI intelligibility measures (according to IEC60268-16:2003) This feature makes it easy to detect potential problems and to analyze
• D/R Ratio (Direct/Reverberant ratio) representative locations in great detail.
• RaSTI and Critical Distance

• Clarity and Definition Measures (C7, C50, C80, CSplit)

• Sound Pressure Levels (L7, L50, L80, LSplit)

• Arrival Times

• Loudspeaker Coverage Overlap and Loudspeaker Aiming

• ITDG (Initial Time Delay Gap)

• Articulation Loss (% AlCons)

• Articulation Index and Privacy Index

 Calculations and outputs

Example of Direct SPL distribution.

Statistical tools for enhanced evaluation of simulation
results
Maximum and minimum values, standard deviation, average and
distribution graph are some of the statistical resources that you can
use to optimize the system performance as well as to illustrate the
simulation results.
Calculations for in-depth reflection analysis – Stochastic and
Deterministic Ray Tracing methods
Ray Tracing Impacts
The (find) Ray Tracing Impacts feature of EASE is a stochastic approach
to model the propagation of sound in the room, giving you the
opportunity of performing a comprehensive analysis of reflections that
are detected at specific spots – i.e., at Listener Seat locations.

Example of Ray Tracing Impacts.

Mirror Image Impacts
This tool also starts a calculation that looks for all rays that hit
specific points (Listener Seats) within the room, so that Impact
files for in-depth analysis can be generated and each ray can
be analyzed.
 Sound Visualization

• Soundscape ecologists use sound to answer a wide variety of scientific

questions, and these diverse questions necessitate diverse study methods.
• This is the beginning of a design using EASE. One builds a virtual room in the
computer, entering geometrical data for the room point by point, then
connect the dots. When complete, the virtual room is a wire frame drawing.
Then every surface is defined in the computer. The computer needs to know
what is on the surface and whether or not it is an audience/listening area.
Once the data entry is complete, the computer with EASE software is used to
perform complex audio calculations.
• After completing the creation of the building in the computer, one can to run
complex computations like the color-coded SPL map shown above.
• In the previous system, the sound engineers could not hear the speakers
directly, which made their job nearly impossible. With EASE software,
detailed 3-D full-room acoustic simulation including details of loudspeaker
enclosures, their acoustical properties, detailed driver properties can be
accurately simulated. WAV-format sound files can be loaded and “heard” in
the virtual room, at any location.
• One important calculation EASE does is predicting maximum SPL (Sound
Pressure Level). This image predicts the level to be between 98 and 103 dB at
1000 Hz. This would equate out to a system capable of 111 db. Yes, 111 dB is
really loud but since we would like to see no less than 6 dB and preferably 10
dB of dynamic headroom, this design satisfies that need, without paying for
more acoustic output than necessary.
 Sound Visualization

• The figure shows a simulation of a church where three different acoustic

treatment scenarios needed to be evaluated. EASE allowed sound engineers to
check and compare the results of all three solutions in any combination. This
enabled the customer make a cost to benefit judgment before spending any
money.
• The figure shows a prediction of the total SPL (sound pressure level) map of the
room with the chosen acoustic treatment installed. Note the smooth and even
coverage of the system. Without EASE all anyone could do is spend a lot of
money and hope they made a good guess.
• The figure shows another example, that of rehabilitating an old manufacturing
space into a new space for use as a church. Again, acoustic engineers started by
building the room in the computer. EASE enabled the acoustic engineers to
recommend, with certainty, because of the low height to length ratio, that a
time delayed distributed sound system was the only way to provide proper and
even coverage for the entire room. The standard single cluster at the front,
proposed by the contractor would not have worked. EASE kept the client from
spending thousands of dollars on a solution that would not work.
 Sound Visualization
• When using time-delayed speakers, as in this building, alignment of first arrivals
from all the speakers is critical to maintain localization. The even flow of color
indicates that the timing of the system is correct.
• The figure shows another view of the first arrivals as viewed from within the
listening area. The power of EASE enables viewing the same data from many
vantage points.
• The figure shows a color-coded contour map of the arrival time gap between
the first and the second pulse in milliseconds. In other words, this figure shows
the arrival time differential between the first of two adjacent sources. This is
another way of looking at a sound systems predicted performance before any
equipment is purchased. This same calculation in another design would help in
the decision to utilize a stereo system.
• The figure shows the beginning of another design using EASE. In this case, a
church with traditional acoustical needs for their church services had a problem
associated with the intelligibility of Pastor’s voice, because older members of
the church congregation were experiencing difficulty hearing/understanding
the Pastor with the church’s existing sound system. The problem needed to be
solved, and like most churches, it needed to be solved on a limited budget. The
installation of a conventional cluster speaker was unacceptable because of the
aesthetic impact. Further adding to the design challenge, the room was also
very reverberant, and what ever design was used, it was critical to keep
acoustic energy away from everywhere but the congregation. EASE provided
the tools for the acoustical engineers to find a solution that was within the
budget of the church.
 Sound Visualization

• The figure shows the solution. By using eight small, but very high quality speakers,
mounted to, and partially hidden by the overhead beams, acoustical engineers were
able to achieve excellent direct coverage of the congregation, putting very little
acoustic energy on the walls. The red area is where the majority of the acoustic
energy was directed, and as you can see, very little reached the walls.
• This church also wanted the acoustic engineering firm to design a sound system
using as few speakers as possible. The major concern was that destructive
interference is a common problem between widely-dispersed speakers. Using EASE
the acoustic engineers could see that the only massive interference area (The red in
the drawing) was right down the middle of the main aisle. So there was no problem
in this regard, and the issue was able to be quantitatively understood before the
new sound system was installed.
EASE can also create images, like the above, to help visualize the results.
The above figure shows a computer rendering of the suspension system and method of
attachment for one of the speakers. Omitted from the drawing is the ceiling that hides
everything except the speaker and its yoke.
 Sound Visualization

• The figure shows a color-coded %ALCONS contour map of the

church with its original sound system and acoustic
environment. The dark green areas is 5% ALCONS and the
lighter green area is 6%. The yellow is 7%, and generally the
maximum ALCONS that should be allowed. The light orange is
8% loss dark orange is 9% loss, and red is 10% loss. Thus, any
area that is orange is marginal and no more than 10% of the
seating should be orange. As one can see from the image,
approximately 70% of the seats were unacceptable, in terms
of %ALCONS!
• The figure shows what a difference the new sound system
with acoustic treatment made to this room. Now the green
areas occupy a much larger area and the yellow, which
represents good, covers the balance of the seats. There is no
orange or red to be seen. Everyone in the church congregation
now hears with ease (no pun intended)!
Examples

01
the Saint Spirit Church
 Examples

The example of designing the ray tracing in the concert

hall of the Saint Spirit Church, , Minsk (EASE 4.3

The example of the calculating the spreading of the

energy of the early lateral reflections LF in the audience
area in the concert hall of the Saint Spirit Church, Minsk
(EASE 4.3)
 Examples

• Source 1 active. Examples of simulated room acoustic parameters

compared to the real measured values. Majority of simulations are
closer than 1
T(30s) at 1000 Hz
• Source 2 active. Examples of simulated room acoustic parameters
compared to the real measured values. Majority of simulations are
closer than 1

T(30s) at 4000 Hz

T(30s) at 1000 Hz – Source2 T(30s) at 4000 Hz – Source2

 Examples

02
cinema and concert hall "Apeks"
 Examples

The example of the calculation of the distribution of the

index of the speech intelligibility along the audience
zone RaSTI d in the cinema and concert hall "Apeks",
Voronezh (EASE 4.3)

The example of designing the ray tracing in the cinema

and concert hall "Apeks", Voronezh (EASE 4.3)
 References

1. https://www.orase.org/
2. https://www.food4rhino.com/en/app/pachyderm
-acoustical-simulation?page=3&ufh=
3. https://vimeo.com/showcase/4864877?page=2
4. https://www.mediterraneanacoustics.com/ease-
--enhanced-acoustic-simulator-for-
engineers.html
5. https://www.acoustic-
group.com/engineering/modeling/
6. https://odeon.dk/
7. https://www.arauacustica.com/files/publicacion
es_relacionados/pdf_esp_288.pdf
Thanks!