Influence of Surface Scattering on Auditorium Acoustic Parameters

Surface scattering greatly impacts and improves the acoustic quality of an auditorium, affecting properties such as the reverberation time, early decay time, definition, and sound strength. However, this aspect has not been sufficiently investigated to date. In this study, six completed auditoriums are taken as research samples and computer simulations are performed to analyze the variation patterns in the acoustic-quality parameters as functions of increments in the surface scattering coefficients. The results show that the reverberation time and early decay time change marginally (<5%) when the ceiling scattering coefficient increases from 0.01 to 0.99. When the sidewall scattering coefficient increases, the reverberation time and early decay time shorten, and the variation range expands (5–16.7%). In most cases, the definition and sound strength do not significantly change (<0.05 and 1.0 dB). A balcony on the auditorium sidewall can affect the reverberation time-change curve when the sidewall scattering coefficient changes. Changes in the ceiling and sidewall scattering coefficients affect the reflected sound-energy distribution along the time axis differently. Sidewall scattering has a significantly greater impact on the impulse response than ceiling scattering. The findings of this study provide theoretical guidance for the scattering design of the surface of theater auditoriums.