• The Journal of the Acoustical Society of Korea
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• v.37 no.5
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• pp.343-348
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• 2018

This paper proposes a simple procedure for estimating the acoustical parameter values in an occupied classroom from measurements in the unoccupied classroom. The total sound absorption in an unoccupied classroom can be calculated from measured reverberation times in the room. The expected occupied absorption can be calculated using equation that was obtained in a previous study (Choi, 2016) by fitting a linear regression line to a plot of total occupied absorption versus the corresponding unoccupied total absorption values measured in 12 university classrooms. The ratios of occupied-to-unoccupied sound absorption are used to predict increments in the values of acoustical parameters when occupants are added to the rooms. Occupied values of acoustical parameters can be estimated from unoccupied values and the change in total room absorption due to adding occupants.