The paper presents an innovative approach for the index assessment of the acoustic properties of churches. A new formula for an approximate single number index to assess selected acoustic parameters of church interiors, such as reverberation time (RT), speech intelligibility index (RASTI) and music clarity index (C80), is presented in the paper. The formula is created by means of the Singular Value Decomposition (SVD) method. An innovative approach for calculating the weights of partial indices is shown by solving the problem of redundant information, i.e., the system of overdetermined linear equations, using a computed pseudoinverse matrix. The new procedures for calculating the values of three partial indices and the single number index to assess selected acoustic parameters are presented. The proposed method was verified by measurements in several selected churches.
This paper presents the verification of two partial indices proposed for the evaluation of continuous and impulse noise pollution in quarries. These indices, together with the sound power of machines index and the noise hazard index at the workstation, are components of the global index of assessment of noise hazard in the working environment of a quarry. This paper shows the results of acoustic tests carried out in an andesite quarry. Noise generated by machines and from performed blasting works was investigated. On the basis of acoustic measurements carried out in real conditions, the sound power levels of machines and the phenomenon of explosion were determined and, based on the results, three-dimensional models of acoustic noise propagation in the quarry were developed. To assess the degree of noise pollution in the area of the quarry, the continuous and impulse noise indices were used.
In parallel with research conducted using conventional methods, a uniform index method for assessing the acoustic quality of Roman Catholic churches has been developed. The latest version of the index method has been created using the index observation matrix of 12 churches which have been rated by means of the single number global index.
Assessments of the acoustic quality of any Roman Catholic church, using two calculation models: the Global Acoustic Properties Index (GAP) and the Global Index (GI), are shown in the article. The verification was performed on the example of one church, showing the way of calculating global indices to assess the acoustic quality of a new facility. The next stages in the development of the index method for assessing the acoustic quality of churches were taking into account the audience, using simulation tests and determining the spatial distribution of the single number GAP index in an examined church. An attempt to use the GAP and GI calculation models to assess the acoustic properties of some churches is also shown in the article.
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