The role of acoustical characteristics for enhancement of acoustic comfort in high-speed train passenger cars

Abstract

The room acoustic environments in high-speed trains have been investigated to identify the design elements for the passenger cars to improve acoustic comfort. Both room acoustical and psychoacoustical parameters affected by the absorption coefficients of interior finish materials were measured at the height of passengers’ ears. Room acoustical simulation was constructed based on the measurements to investigate the effect of design elements influencing acoustic quality in the carriage. Through computer simulation of the models with changes in acoustical properties such as absorption/diffusion coefficients of the interior surfaces, the effect of interior design components were investigated and classified to improve the speech privacy.