2. Digital modeling

For the non-numerical reader, it's important to distinguish between the terms "model" and "software": the former refers to numerical development in connection with the physics of phenomena (sometimes also referred to as propagation "method" or "code"), while the latter is more akin to a human-machine interface (HMI), i.e. an ergonomic tool offering an aesthetically pleasing graphic design and a set of "function boxes" to enable the user to interact with the computing station. The second term therefore integrates the first, referred to as the "calculation kernel"; for example, some software packages on the market dedicated to noise prediction integrate several calculation kernels (or methods), the choice of which is then left to the user, presumed to be a specialist and knowledgeable.

In order to produce realistic (if not always accurate...) sound predictions, the...