Bayesian characterization of multiple-slope sound energy decays in coupled-volume systems

Due to recent developments in concert hall design, there is an increasing interest in the analysis of sound energy decays consisting of multiple exponential decay rates. It has been considered challenging to estimate parameters associated with double-rate (slope) decay characteristics, and even more challenging when the coupled-volume systems contain more than two decay processes. To meet the need of characterizing energy decays of multiple decay processes, this work investigates coupled-volume systems using acoustic scale-models of three coupled rooms. Two Bayesian formulations are compared using the experimentally measured sound energy decay data. A fully parameterized Bayesian formulation has been found to be capable of characterization of multiple-slope decays beyond the single-slope and double-slope energy decays. Within the Bayesian framework using this fully parameterized formulation, an in-depth analysis of likelihood distributions over multiple-dimensional decay parameter space motivates the use of Bayesian information criterion, an efficient approach to solving Bayesian model selection problems that are suitable for estimating the number of exponential decays. The analysis methods are then applied to a geometric-acoustics simulation of a conceptual concert hall. Sound energy decays more complicated than single-slope and double-slope nature, such as triple-slope decays have been identified and characterized.