BUILDING ACOUSTICS Volume 16 Number 4 2009 Pages 357 359

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Letter to the Editor Classroom Reverberation Time Based on the Sabine Equation
P. Jafari Shalkouhi1
Department of Environmental Engineering, Graduate School of the Environment and Energy, Science and Research Branch, Islamic Azad University, Tehran, Iran

1. INTRODUCTION The Sabine formula has three limitations as follows: 1. The Sabine equation is valid for diffuse sound fields only [1]. Whereas all rooms have modes in their lower frequency ranges there will always be a frequency below which the modal effects dominate and the room can no longer be treated as diffuse. One of the effects of room modes is to cause variations in the frequency response of the room, via its effect on the reverberant field. The frequency response due to modal behavior will also be room position dependent, due to the spatial variation of standing waves. An important consequence of this is that the room no longer supports a diffuse field in the modal region [2]. The transition boundary between the region of modal behavior and the region of diffuse behavior is known as the Schroeder frequency. The region below the Schroeder frequency, known as the modal region, is where an analysis based on the assumption of diffuse field is doomed to fail. The region above the Schroeder frequency, known as the diffuse field region, is where the concept of reverberation time is valid, and in general this region of the frequency range is the one that will sound the best, providing the reverberation characteristics are good because the effects of room modes are minimal so the listener experiences an even reverberant sound level throughout the room [2]. The Schroeder frequency is calculated as follows: fs = 2000 T V (1)

2.

V is the room volume (m3) T is the reverberation time (sec) and fs is the Schroeder frequency (Hz) [3]. The total Sabine absorption in a room would be easy to find if all surfaces of the room were uniformly absorbing, but this condition rarely exists. Walls, floor and ceiling may well be covered with quite different materials and then there are the doors and windows [4].
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Letter to the Editor: Classroom Reverberation Time Based On The Sabine Equation The Sabine formula is really only valid for rooms of relatively low absorption less than about 0.3 because it becomes increasingly inaccurate as the absorption increases [5].

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2. DISCUSSION According to equation (1) and the assumptions of the Sabine equation, reverberation time can be discussed in three different size spaces as follows: In classrooms with low absorption coefficient of different materials the relative difference between measurement of RT60 and prediction of RT60 based on the Sabine formula is mainly related to non uniform absorption of surfaces rather than room modes. In large spaces like auditoria with low absorption surfaces the effect of room modes is minimal therefore the relative difference between measured RT60 and predicted RT60 based on the Sabine equation is related to air absorption and non uniform absorption of surfaces. In small spaces with low absorption materials like small music rehearsal rooms the relative difference between measured RT60 and predicted RT60 based on the Sabine equation is related to room modes.

Moreover, in low frequency ranges, room modes dominate, hence in this low frequency range the difference between measured RT60 and computed RT60 is mainly related to room modes effect. Conversely, in high frequency ranges the effect of room modes is minimal but the effect of non uniform absorption of materials is considerable. In addition, the effect of room modes in smaller spaces is greater than in larger spaces but conversely the effect of non uniform absorption of materials in larger spaces is greater than in smaller spaces. According to the Schroeder frequency equation (1) the modal region for classrooms of standard size is limited to a low frequency range below that range specified in standards for classroom acoustics. Previous works report reverberation times averaged over 500Hz2kHz and relevant standards propose a reverberation time based on averages over the frequency range 500Hz2kHz. 3. CONCLUSION Hence, the assumption of a diffuse field according to the Sabine formula is more necessary for small spaces and low frequency ranges rather than classrooms because above the Schroeder frequency the difference between measured RT60 and calculated RT60 due to the effect of room modes is minimal. Therefore, the Sabine equation can be an acceptable method to predict reverberation time in standard size classrooms with low absorption surfaces. REFERENCES [1] P. Lord., D. Templeton, Detailing for acoustics, 3rd edition, Taylor & Francis, 1995.

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[2] [3]

[4] [5]

D.M. Howard., J.A.S. Angus, Acoustics and psychoacoustics, 3rd edition, Focal Press, 2006. M. Schroeder, Die statistischen Parameter der Frequenzkurve von groen Raumen , Acustica 4, 594600 (1954). English translation: M. R. Schroeder, Statistical Parameters of the Frequency Response Curves of Large Rooms, J. Audio Eng. Soc. 35, 299306 (1987). Note: In the original (1954) paper Schroeder proposed a more conservative factor of 4000 (instead of 2000) in Eq.(1), corresponding to a tenfold modal overlap. F. Alton Everest, Master handbook of acoustics, 4th edition, McGraw-Hill/TAB Electronics, 2000. P. Newell, Recording studio design, 2nd edition, Focal Press, 2007.