An analysis of the effects of structural parameter variations on the auditory perception of environmental noises transmitted through a simulated window

Abstract

The present paper concerns the influence of the independent variation of some structural parameters on the auditory perception of environmental noises transmitted through a window. The pane of glass in its frame was modelled as a thin baffled plate with viscoelastic boundary conditions; transmitted noises were then synthesized by convolving a binaurally recorded environmental noise to different calculated impulse responses of the plate involving so many different values of the structural parameters (structural damping factor and mounting conditions). Stimuli were pairwise submitted to a jury of subjects who were asked to give dissimilarity and preference judgments. Analysis first allowed to identify the relevant auditory attributes that were likely used by the subjects in their differentiation task, and also focused on drawing up a preference ranking of the transmitted noises in order to provide recommendations for window structural modifications that could improve acoustic comfort in inner spaces. On this point, depending on the structural parameter, recommendations appear to be more or less consensual in relation to the outdoor sound context.