- Ph.D. student in Applied Acoustics at the Department of Industrial Engineering, University of Bologna. Laurea degree ... morePh.D. student in Applied Acoustics at the Department of Industrial Engineering, University of Bologna. Laurea degree cum laude in Building Engineering - Architecture (European Standards 4/S) at the University of Bologna in October 2016.edit
According to the International standards on education spaces, in situ acoustic tests should achieve specific reverberation time targets. Since the match between predictive formulas and measurements increase with the sound field... more
According to the International standards on education spaces, in situ acoustic tests should achieve specific reverberation time targets. Since the match between predictive formulas and measurements increase with the sound field diffuseness, it is extremely important to pursue such condition through proper design choices. For example, false ceilings can play a key role in controlling room acoustic features; however, the use of such elements is generally considered only for absorption purposes. For this reason, the present work concerns mixing materials in false ceilings within a group of teaching spaces here taken as case studies. The alternation of materials with different acoustic impedances has been investigated through experimental acoustic measurements and numerical models in order to assess the related sound diffusion increase. The ceiling treatment here proposed proved to be an efficient and smart method to exploit diffraction effects along material discontinuities junctions. ...
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Acoustic comfort of workspace environments is deeply dependent on the balance between indoor background noises. For example, colleagues' speaking might affect task performances by downgrading privacy and productivity. Conversely, HVAC... more
Acoustic comfort of workspace environments is deeply dependent on the balance between indoor background noises. For example, colleagues' speaking might affect task performances by downgrading privacy and productivity. Conversely, HVAC noise can reduce the employee's distraction since such continuous mechanical noise is detrimental to speech comprehension. Therefore, in the analysis of workspaces' acoustic comfort, different background noise sources identification becomes essential. In this regard, machine learning techniques are resourceful for clustering sound pressure level patterns among the unlabeled data. A previous work by the authors provided reliable results on separating noise sources via Gaussian Mixture Model and K-means clustering. Nevertheless, such method was applied to a single workspace, and thus it needs further investigation on a wider sample of environments. For this reason, in the present work long-term monitoring was carried out in various active wor...
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The dataset contains the CAD and the material properties of the TCBO (Teatro Comunale Bologna) Measured IRs are available too.
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Research Interests: Mathematics and Opera
Wave-based techniques for room acoustics simulations are commonly applied to low frequency analysis and small-sized simplified environments. The constraints are generally the inherent computational cost and the challenging implementation... more
Wave-based techniques for room acoustics simulations are commonly applied to low frequency analysis and small-sized simplified environments. The constraints are generally the inherent computational cost and the challenging implementation of proper complex boundary conditions. Nevertheless, the application field of wave-based simulation methods has been extended in the latest research decades. With the aim of testing this potential, this work investigates the feasibility of a finite-difference time-domain (FDTD) code simulating large non-trivial geometries in wide frequency ranges. A representative sample of large coupled-volume opera houses allowed demonstration of the capability of the selected FDTD model to tackle such composite geometries up to 4 kHz. For such a demanding task, efficient calculation schemes and frequency-dependent boundary admittances are implemented in the simulation framework. The results of in situ acoustic measurements were used as benchmarks during the calib...
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Acoustic metamaterials (AMMs) are designed with complex geometrical shapes to obtain unconventional sound-absorbing performances. As additive manufacturing is particularly suited to print complex structures in a more straightforward and... more
Acoustic metamaterials (AMMs) are designed with complex geometrical shapes to obtain unconventional sound-absorbing performances. As additive manufacturing is particularly suited to print complex structures in a more straightforward and controllable way, AMMs often exploit three-dimensional (3-D) printing techniques. However, when exposed to different temperature conditions, such structures can be affected by geometrical deformations, especially when they are polymer-based. This can cause a mismatch between the experimental data and the expected theoretical performance; therefore, it is important to take thermal effects into account. The present paper investigates the influence of thermal deformations on the sound absorption of three geometries: a coplanar spiral tube, a system with double coiled resonators, and a neck-embedded resonator. Measurements were performed on each 3-D printed specimen in the impedance tube after the samples had been placed in a climate chamber to modify th...
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The present repository provides the necessary data to perform the acoustic simulation of four peculiar spaces: a historical opera house (TCB); a modern opera house (DUS), an elliptical concert hall (STC), and a university lecture hall... more
The present repository provides the necessary data to perform the acoustic simulation of four peculiar spaces: a historical opera house (TCB); a modern opera house (DUS), an elliptical concert hall (STC), and a university lecture hall (ULH). Folders contain the 3D virtual models (SketchUp 2019), the main results of acoustic measurements (Room criteria according to IS0 3382, IEC 60268), the boundary conditions for FDTD code (normalized LRC coefficients employed as input data in FDTD simulations to approximate frequency-dependent boundary admittances), the corresponding energy parameters employed in GA++ simulations (absorption and scattering coefficients), and finally the simulated impulse responses through FDTD techniques. The data are intended to allow any other researcher in the room acoustics simulation field to reproduce the calibration of the four spaces. All the details relative to the environments, the models, the measurements, the calibration procedure, the codes employed an...
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ABSTRACT The virtual acoustics provide an important tool in the comprehension of the architectural evolution of a historical place, offering the possibility to consciously operate for its preservation. St. John’s Baptistery represents an... more
ABSTRACT The virtual acoustics provide an important tool in the comprehension of the architectural evolution of a historical place, offering the possibility to consciously operate for its preservation. St. John’s Baptistery represents an outstanding example of medieval architecture, recognized as UNESCO World Heritage and popular for its huge reverberation. When compared to other similar central-symmetry buildings, the Baptistery proves to be an outlier, enough to raise the interest of scholars. A model of the building was calibrated considering in situ acoustic measurements, the material properties and the liturgical use. The numerical simulations of the current geometry and the early design hypotheses are used to understand the factors affecting the peculiar sound behaviour. The temporal analysis of a Gregorian chant – ad hoc recorded – seems to confirm the needing of large reverberation.
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The present repository provides the necessary data to perform the acoustic simulation of two virtual opera houses: Bonci theatre (hall B) in Cesena (Italy); Alighieri theatre (hall C) in Ravenna (Italy). This material is intended to... more
The present repository provides the necessary data to perform the acoustic simulation of two virtual opera houses: Bonci theatre (hall B) in Cesena (Italy); Alighieri theatre (hall C) in Ravenna (Italy). This material is intended to complete and extend the data provided in doi.org/10.17632/y7xnv6xg5s (hall A=TCB, hall D=DUS). Folders contain the 3D virtual models (SketchUp 2019), the main results of acoustic measurements (Room criteria in octave bands according to IS0 3382), the boundary conditions for FDTD code (normalized LRC coefficients employed as input data in FDTD simulations to approximate frequency-dependent boundary admittances), the corresponding energy parameters employed in GA++ simulations (absorption and scattering coefficients), and finally the simulated impulse responses through FDTD techniques.
The present work is an exploration of the feasibility and the accuracy of a hybrid FDTD/GA simulation model when applied to broadband acoustic simulations of large-scale environments. The model selected, which has been developed by the... more
The present work is an exploration of the feasibility and the accuracy of a hybrid FDTD/GA simulation model when applied to broadband acoustic simulations of large-scale environments. The model selected, which has been developed by the Acoustics and Audio Group research team of the University of Edinburgh (UK), combines a wave-based method, a finite-difference time-domain (FDTD) code, with a traditional GA approach, the ray-tracing method. During the investigation, the attention is focussed on the possibilities recently achieved in the wave-based part of the model thanks to the increasing computational power and to new efficient algorithms adopted. The present thesis concerns the method employed to test and assess these new potentials through various application contexts. Moreover, a thorough analysis of the most significant factors affecting the simulation process is carried out with specific assessments of the outcomes. A sample of four large environments is employed in this study...
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The present repository provides the necessary data to perform the acoustic simulation of an XII-Century Rotunda in Bologna. Rotundas are circular domed architectures, utilized in the past by monks for private praying and chanting. This... more
The present repository provides the necessary data to perform the acoustic simulation of an XII-Century Rotunda in Bologna. Rotundas are circular domed architectures, utilized in the past by monks for private praying and chanting. This particular use is closely related to the acoustic peculiarities of the space, that provide intimacy and, at the same time, enough reverberance for vocal support. Folders contain the 3D model, the main results of acoustic measurements, the boundary conditions for FDTD code, the simulated impulse responses, and the auralizations of a Gregorian chant. Since it is plausible that the acoustic characteristics of the Rotunda were the reasons for its preservation over time, the acoustic simulations are here used as a study tool to enhance historical research, to comprehend the architectural evolution, and to preserve the intangible cultural heritage of the place. The multi-track anechoic recordings employed in the auralizations are available in a repository doi:10.17632/mjn6fvxfxb.
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The present work is intended to be a scientific commentary on the ``''SynAsTex Korrektur'' sound performance by the German artist Florian Hecker. The choice of the venue for the performance fell on the rationalist atrium... more
The present work is intended to be a scientific commentary on the ``''SynAsTex Korrektur'' sound performance by the German artist Florian Hecker. The choice of the venue for the performance fell on the rationalist atrium of the School of Engineering of the University of Bologna, which is part of a historical building dating back to the 1930s. The study tries to answer some questions. Which role can be played by the acoustics of a monumental atrium - which is made by marble and reflective surfaces - in an electronic performance? How much may the presence of the standing audience influence the room acoustics? Which are the peculiarities of the sound energy distribution in this kind of strongly non-diffuse sound field? The assessment of the acoustic condition was carried out through acoustic simulations, employing a ray-based approach.
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The construction of a new worship space in cross-laminated timber provides a good opportunity to include acoustic needs in the whole design development. The surface porosity and the lightweight of wooden elements may be carefully... more
The construction of a new worship space in cross-laminated timber provides a good opportunity to include acoustic needs in the whole design development. The surface porosity and the lightweight of wooden elements may be carefully considered in order to improve the intelligibility of priests’ voice. In this work, a practical approach for obtaining a global acoustic comfort using sustainable materials is provided, using geometrical acoustic simulations. Material properties and architectural geometries were taken into account in order to evaluate subjective reverberation, speech intelligibility, and spatial perception over the whole audience. Results show how the sound energy distribution in the case study follows the sound field models proposed by scholars and how the ceiling shape—inspired by industrial sheds—contributes to the acoustic comfort of the faithfuls.
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Sound absorbing micro-perforated panels (MPPs) are being increasingly used because of their high quality in terms of hygiene, sustainability and durability. The present work investigates the feasibility and the performance of MPPs when... more
Sound absorbing micro-perforated panels (MPPs) are being increasingly used because of their high quality in terms of hygiene, sustainability and durability. The present work investigates the feasibility and the performance of MPPs when used as an acoustic treatment in lecture rooms. With this purpose, three different micro-perforated steel specimens were first designed following existing predictive models and then physically manufactured through 3D additive metal printing. The specimens’ acoustic behavior was analyzed with experimental measurements in single-layer and double-layer configurations. Then, the investigation was focused on the application of double-layer MPPs to the ceiling of an existing university lecture hall to enhance speech intelligibility. Numerical simulations were carried out using a full-spectrum wave-based method: a finite-difference time-domain (FDTD) code was chosen to better handle time-dependent signals as the verbal communication. The present work propose...
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The present work is about an acoustic design for a former church converted into a multi-purpose auditorium. The current status of the hall has been classified by means of an acoustic measurements campaign complying with technical... more
The present work is about an acoustic design for a former church converted into a multi-purpose auditorium. The current status of the hall has been classified by means of an acoustic measurements campaign complying with technical standards requirements. A numerical model, which has been calibrated through the measured values, led to the development of the acoustic design that includes sustainable and not-invasive interventions. In contrast with the practical habits, which would use a large amount of sound absorbing materials, an array of suspended reflecting panels over the musicians positions has been introduced. Exploiting the reflecting and scattering properties of those objects, sound clarity and speech definition improve. All the treatments are validated using numerical simulation softwares in order to estimate the efficiency of the whole improvement proposal.
Research Interests: Engineering and Geology
The present work concerns the acoustic design for a former church converted into a chamber music hall. The current status of the hall was classified with an acoustic measurements campaign according to technical standards requirements.... more
The present work concerns the acoustic design for a former church converted into a chamber music hall. The current status of the hall was classified with an acoustic measurements campaign according to technical standards requirements. Focusing on literature theories, an accurate sound energy spatial distribution analysis led to the development of an acoustic intervention, not- invasive from a volumetric point of view. An array of hanging reflecting panels over the musicians' positions improves clarity C 80 and sound strength G trends giving to the church an acoustic quality worthy of a concert hall. All the acoustic treatments were validated using a numerical model, calibrated through the measured values, and an acoustic simulation software in order to estimate the effect of the whole improvement proposal.
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Italian Historical Opera Houses are private or public spaces built around a cavea, with tiers of boxes on the surrounding walls. At the early age – from 16th to 18th century – boxes were private properties of the richest class, typically... more
Italian Historical Opera Houses are private or public spaces built around a cavea, with tiers of boxes on the surrounding walls. At the early age – from 16th to 18th century – boxes were private properties of the richest class, typically the financial responsible of the whole building. The stalls hosted the middle class, that gradually increased its social position and for this reason the wooden seats were progressively replaced by chairs. The gallery was reserved to lower classes. Does this social division correspond to a different acoustic comfort? The present work tries to answer this question using subjective preference models provided by scholars. With this aim, the room criteria defined by different authors and in distinct times are lined up with the ISO 3382 standards and analysed depending on the acoustic peculiarities of an Italian Historical Opera House selected as case study. Calibrated impulse responses were handled through the numerical simulations of a whole orchestra ...
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Citation: Cingolani, M.; Fratoni, G.; Barbaresi, L.; D'Orazio, D.; Hamilton, B.; Garai, M. A Trial Acoustic Improvement in a Lecture Hall with MPP Sound Absorbers and FDTD Acoustic Simulations. Appl. Sci. 2021, 11, 2445.... more
Citation: Cingolani, M.; Fratoni, G.; Barbaresi, L.; D'Orazio, D.; Hamilton, B.; Garai, M. A Trial Acoustic Improvement in a Lecture Hall with MPP Sound Absorbers and FDTD Acoustic Simulations. Appl. Sci. 2021, 11, 2445. https://doi.org/10.3390/ app11062445 Academic Editors: Nikolaos M. Papadakis, Massimo Garai and Stavroulakis Georgios
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In university classrooms a suitable acoustic condition is necessary to enhance the productivity of students and the vocal comfort of lecturers. With this purpose international standards recently introduced new requirements on the quality... more
In university classrooms a suitable acoustic condition is necessary to enhance the productivity of students and the vocal comfort of lecturers. With this purpose international standards recently introduced new requirements on the quality of verbal communication. The goal of this work is to propose a procedure for predicting speech intelligibility in large learning spaces through geometrical acoustic simulations. The performance of the present approach is investigated using analytical prediction models as well as the measurements results in six university classrooms surveyed.
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The present work concerns the acoustic design for a former church converted into a chamber music hall. The current status of the hall was classified with an acoustic measurements campaign according to technical standards requirements.... more
The present work concerns the acoustic design for a former church converted into a chamber music hall. The current status of the hall was classified with an acoustic measurements campaign according to technical standards requirements. Focusing on literature theories, an accurate sound energy spatial distribution analysis led to the development of an acoustic intervention, not-invasive from a volumetric point of view. An array of hanging reflecting panels over the musicians positions improves sound clarity C 80 and sound strength G trends giving to the church an acoustic quality worthy of a concert hall. All the acoustic treatments were validated using a Geometrical Acoustic (GA) numerical model, calibrated through the measured values, in order to estimate the effect of the whole improvement proposal.
La présenté etude concerne la transformation acoustique d'une ancienné eglise en salle de musique de chambre. L'acoustique actuelle de la salle a ´ eté caractérisée au moyen d'une campagne de mesures acoustiques selon les exigences des normes techniques. En se basant sur l'´ etat de l'art, une analyse précise de la distribution spatiale de l'´ energie sonore a conduit au développement d'une intervention acoustique non invasive du point de vue volumétrique. Un ensemble de panneaux réfléchissants suspendus au-dessus des positionnements des musiciens améliore la clarité C 80 et les tendances de la force sonore G en apportantà l'´ eglise une qualité acoustique comparablè a celle d'une salle de concert. Tous les traitements acoustiques ontété validés en utilisant un modèle numérique, calibré avec les valeurs mesurées, et un logiciel de simulation acoustique afin d'estimer l'effet global de la proposition d'amélioration de la conception acoustique. Mots clefs: Distribution de l'´ energie sonore, acoustique des lieux de culte, simulation acoustique géométrique
La présenté etude concerne la transformation acoustique d'une ancienné eglise en salle de musique de chambre. L'acoustique actuelle de la salle a ´ eté caractérisée au moyen d'une campagne de mesures acoustiques selon les exigences des normes techniques. En se basant sur l'´ etat de l'art, une analyse précise de la distribution spatiale de l'´ energie sonore a conduit au développement d'une intervention acoustique non invasive du point de vue volumétrique. Un ensemble de panneaux réfléchissants suspendus au-dessus des positionnements des musiciens améliore la clarité C 80 et les tendances de la force sonore G en apportantà l'´ eglise une qualité acoustique comparablè a celle d'une salle de concert. Tous les traitements acoustiques ontété validés en utilisant un modèle numérique, calibré avec les valeurs mesurées, et un logiciel de simulation acoustique afin d'estimer l'effet global de la proposition d'amélioration de la conception acoustique. Mots clefs: Distribution de l'´ energie sonore, acoustique des lieux de culte, simulation acoustique géométrique