Method for designing A-weighting filter in sound level meter based on improved whale optimization algorithm

•Identified the key error source in conventionally designed A-weighting filters.•The proposed method focuses on this error source for higher accuracy and simpler optimization.•Improved the conventional whale optimization algorithm for better performance. A-weighting filter is one of the critical com...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:Measurement : journal of the International Measurement Confederation Vol. 257; p. 118720
Main Authors: Wang, Jifan, Lin, Haijun, Lv, Bowen, Deng, Layan, Wang, Lucai, Wu, Shuangshuang
Format: Journal Article
Language:English
Published: Elsevier Ltd 15.01.2026
Subjects:
A-weighting filter
IIR filter
Improved whale optimization algorithm
Sound level meter
Sound level meter
Improved whale optimization algorithm
IIR filter
A-weighting filter
ISSN:0263-2241
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:•Identified the key error source in conventionally designed A-weighting filters.•The proposed method focuses on this error source for higher accuracy and simpler optimization.•Improved the conventional whale optimization algorithm for better performance. A-weighting filter is one of the critical components of a sound level meter (SLM). The bilinear transformation method (BTM) is usually used to design the A-weighing filter, which is simple but has significant deviations in the high-frequency range. This paper proposes a method for designing an A-weighting filter based on the improved whale optimization algorithm (IWOA). In this method, the initialization strategy of adding Sobol sequences to the classic Whale Algorithm (WOA) is adopted, and an adaptive iteration strategy is combined in the solving process, which can solve the problem of the classic Whale Algorithm easily obtaining local optimal solutions and accelerate convergence speed. Moreover, the errors of the A-weighting filter are analyzed, and the parameters of the A-weighting IIR filter are solved by using this IWOA algorithm. The experimental results show that the maximum error of the A-weighting filter in sound level meters with this proposed IWOA algorithm is less than 0.1 dB, which reduces the errors caused by the bilinear transformation algorithm and fully meets the requirements of Class 1 SLM defined by IEC61672-1.
ISSN:0263-2241
DOI:10.1016/j.measurement.2025.118720