Influence of the scattering and absorption coefficients on homogeneous room simulations that use a diffusion equation model

Abstract

The diffusion equation model was used for room acoustic simulations to predict the sound pressure level and the reverberation time. The technical literature states that the diffusion equation method accurately models the late portion of the room impulse response if the energy is sufficiently scattered. This work provides conclusions on the validity of the diffusion equation model for rooms with homogeneous dimensions in relation to the scattering coefficients of the boundaries. A systematic evaluation was conducted out to determine the ranges of the absorption and scattering coefficient values that result in low noticeable differences between the predictions from a geometrical acoustic model and those from the diffusion equation model.