Absorption boundary conditions for geomertical acoustics

Defining accurate acoustical boundary conditions is of crucial importance for room acoustic simulations. In predicting sound fields using phased geometrical acoustics methods, the absorption coefficients or surface impedances of the boundary surfaces can be used, but no guideline has been developed on which boundary condition produces the best results.

In this study, various boundary conditions in terms of normal and random incidence absorption coefficients, and normal incidence surface impedances are used in a phased beam tracing model, and simulated results are validated with boundary element solutions. Two rectangular rooms with uniform and non-uniform absorption distributions are tested.

It is concluded that the impedance and random incidence absorption boundary conditions produce reasonable results with some exceptions at low frequencies for acoustically soft materials.