A monte carlo approach to the analysis of uncertainty in acoustics

Abstract

In this thesis the reader wil find a study of the application of computer-assisted statistical sampling to the evaluation of uncertainty in acoustic problems. The uncertainty assessment by Monte Carlo Method /MCM), as defined in the first supplement of the "Guide to the Expression of Uncertainty in Measurement" (GUM-S1), is reviewed. Several implementation aspects are tackled, discussing the algorithms included in it and proposing alternatives. Most of the contributions in this thesis are born from the application of MCM to specific acoustic problems. The Monte Carlo method has been applied to acoustic problems not long alter the seminal publication by Metropolis and Ulam. In 1958, Allred and Newhouse applied MOnte Carlo to determination of mean free paths in achitectural acoustics. Three years later, Manfred Robert Schroeder popularised the application of Monte Carlo to other common problems in room acoustics, such as the computation of the sound transmissión between rooms, the study of the average frequency spacing between the maxima of the response of rooms, or the evaluation of the improvemente of acoustic feedback stability by frequency shifting. .....