A parallel algorithmic approach to simulate acoustical fields with respect to scattering of sound due to reflections

The article presents an algorithmic model of sound propagation in rooms to run on parallel and distributed computer systems. The algorithm is used by the authors in an implementation of an adaptable high-performance computer system simulating various fields and providing scalability on an arbitrary number of parallel central and graphical processors as well as distributed computer clusters. The existing general-purpose computer simulation systems have limited usability when it comes to high-precision simulation associated with large numbers of elementary computations due to the lack of scalability on various parallel and distributed platforms of theirs. The more the required adequacy of the model is, the higher numbers of steps of simulation algorithms are. Scalability permits use hybrid parallel computer systems and to improve efficiency of simulation with respect to adequacy, time consumptions, and total costs of simulation experiments. The paper presents an algorithm based on approximate superposition of acoustical fields and provides the results actual as long as the used equations of acoustics are linear. The algorithm represents the reflecting surfaces as sets of vibrating pistons and it uses the Rayleigh integral to calculate their scattering properties. The article also provides a parallel form of the algorithm and analysis of its properties in parallel and sequential forms