Optimal acoustic design of multi-source industrial buildings by means of a simplified acoustic diffusion model

Noise in industrial workplaces has become an important occupational problem. Accordingly, there is a need to implement cost-effective strategies for reducing noise levels.In this paper, an optimal design methodology of passive acoustic treatments is proposed with the objective of minimizing the corresponding economic cost while keeping noise levels below tolerant limits. The methodology is based on a combination of a recently developed simplified acoustic diffusion model with a stochastic optimization technique known as “Simulated Annealing”. The simplified diffusion model allows one to accurately evaluate multiple acoustic situations with a low computational cost, and the Simulated Annealing method is used to direct the search of the optimum set of design variables.Some numerical examples are presented in order to show the effectiveness of the proposed approach.