Finite element analysis of sound fields in the corridors of the hospital ward: Investigation on installing patterns of sound absorbing materials

In this paper, using the time-domain finite element method (TDFEM), an effective installation pattern of sound absorbing materials in corridors of the hospital ward is investigated. First, several models with different installation patterns of sound absorbing materials are analyzed by TDFEM. Next, spatial distributions of the squared sound pressure, the sound pressure level and the speech intelligibility index are calculated in each model. As a result, the amount of decrease of the sound pressure level by installing sound absorbing materials on the ceiling and part of the wall in case that room average (α¯) equals 0.18 is larger than those by installing sound absorbing materials on the ceiling in case that α¯ = 0.20. Finally, several models with different installation patterns of sound absorbing materials, of which is the same, are analyzed by TDFEM, and compared among the amount of decrease of sound pressure levels in each condition.