Prediction of the absorption exponent in rectangular enclosures with a single absorbent boundary

It is known that the classical theory of room acoustics cannot be strictly applied to the study of the sound field in a rectangular enclosure with only five boundaries (i.e., with a single absorbent boundary), as the sound field in the enclosure is not diffuse. A theoretical method is developed for the prediction of the absorption exponent in a rectangular enclosure with a single absorbent boundary, and the absorption exponent is used to describe the exponential decay of the sound energy. The method is based on the radiosity-based theoretical/computer model and is used for diffusely reflecting boundaries. The predicted absorption exponent is compared with the Kuttruff values and the simulation results from Monte-Carlo computations. It is found that the predicted absorption exponent of the proposed method shows better agreement with the simulation results from Monte-Carlo computations than the Kuttruff values. With the more accurately predicted absorption exponent, the slope of the energy decay curve and other acoustic parameters in an enclosure with a single absorbent boundary can be obtained accurately.