Optimizing the acoustic environment in an emergency department Hall: A simulation-based multi-criteria decision-making framework for material placement

Abstract

Noise levels in hospital emergency department (ED) halls frequently exceed recommended limits, adversely affecting patient recovery and staff performance. Although acoustic materials are widely used for noise control, limited guidance is available on how to place them systematically and cost-effectively in functionally complex spaces with unevenly distributed noise sources. This study addresses that gap through a three-stage framework. First, baseline noise levels and reverberation times were measured in an ED hall in China. Second, ten acoustic treatment configurations varying in material type (absorptive, diffusive, and standard reflective panels), coverage, and ceiling placement above noise hotspots were simulated using the ray acoustics module in COMSOL Multiphysics. Third, an improved Technique for Order Preference by Similarity to an Ideal Solution (TOPSIS), incorporating Mahalanobis distance and hybrid entropy–Delphi weighting, was used to rank the configurations on the basis of renovation cost, reverberation time (RT60), and noise-exposure indicators (quietness coefficient and noise coefficient). The optimal configuration combined absorptive and diffusive panels in a checkerboard pattern directly above the major noise sources. This scheme achieved the best balance between acoustic performance and cost and outperformed layouts that simply maximized absorptive coverage. Notably, the combined use of absorptive and diffusive materials substantially reduced noise exposure even though it did not yield the lowest RT60. These findings indicate that, in ED halls, strategic material placement is more important than total material quantity for acoustic optimization.