Sound generation by steady flow through glottis-shaped orifices

Although the signature of human voice is mostly tonal, it also includes a significant broadband component. Quadrupolelike sources due to turbulence in the region downstream of the glottis, and dipolelike sources due to the force applied by the vocal folds onto the surrounding fluid are the two primary broadband sound generating mechanisms. In this study, experiments were conducted to characterize the broadband sound emissions of confined stationary jets through rubber orifices formed to imitate the approximate shape of the human glottis at different stages during one cycle of vocal fold vibrations. The radiated sound pressure spectra downstream of the orifices were measured for varying flow rates, orifice shapes, and gas mixtures. The nondimensional sound pressure spectra were decomposed into the product of three functions: a source function F, a radiation efficiency function M, and an acoustic response function G. The results show that, as for circular jets, the quadrupole source contributions dominated for straight and convergent orifices. For divergent jets, whistling tonal sounds were emitted at low flow rates. At high flow rates for the same geometry, dipole contributions dominated the sound radiated by free jets. However, possible source-load acoustic feedback may have hampered accurate source identification in confined flows.     

Experimental verification of the quasi-steady approximation for aerodynamic sound generation by pulsating jets in tubes

Voice production involves sound generation by a confined jet flow through an orifice (the glottis) with a time-varying area. Predictive models of speech production are usually based on the so-called quasi-steady approximation. The flow rate through the time-varying orifice is assumed to be the same as a sequence of steady flows through stationary orifices for wall geometries and flow boundary conditions that instantaneously match those of the dynamic, nonstationary problem. Either the flow rate or the pressure drop can then be used to calculate the radiated sound using conventional acoustic radiation models. The quasi-steady approximation allows complex unsteady flows to be modeled as steady flows, which is more cost effective. It has been verified for pulsating open jet flows. The quasi-steady approximation, however, has not yet been rigorously validated for the full range of flows encountered in voice production. To further investigate the range of validity of the quasi-steady approximation for voice production applications, a dynamic mechanical model of the larynx was designed and built. The model dimensions approximated those of human vocal folds. Airflow was supplied by a pressurized, quiet air storage facility and modulated by a driven rubber orifice. The acoustic pressure of waves radiated upstream and downstream of the orifice was measured, along with the orifice area and other time-averaged flow variables. Calculated and measured radiated acoustic pressures were compared. A good agreement was obtained over a range of operating frequencies, flow rates, and orifice shapes, confirming the validity of the quasi-steady approximation for a class of relevant pulsating jet flows.     

Radiation efficiency of planar Gaussian Schell-model sources

A general expression is derived for the ratio of the radiated power and the source-integrated intensity for any planar gaussian Schell-model source. The behavior of this quantity, known as the radiation efficiency of the source, is displayed graphically as a function of the rms width of the intensity profile and the spatial coherence length of the light distribution across the source. Some limiting cases are discussed and it is shown that a gaussian-correlated quasi-homogeneous source may have higher radiation efficiency than a fully coherent Schell-model source with a gaussian intensity profile (e.g. a single mode laser).     

Spatial resolution limits for the reconstruction of acoustic source strength by inverse methods

One method for deducing the strength of an acoustic source distribution from measurement of the radiated field involves the inversion of the matrix of frequency response functions relating the field measurement points to the strengths of a number of point sources used to represent the source distribution. In practice, the frequency response function matrix to be inverted may very often be ill-conditioned. This ill-conditioning will also often result in an ill-posed problem and thus regularization algorithms are used to produce reasonable solutions. For this purpose, Tikhonov regularization has been applied, and generalized cross-validation (GCV) has been introduced as an effective method for determining the proper amount of regularization without prior knowledge of either the source distribution or the contaminating errors. In the present work, the emphasis is placed on the relationship between the spatial resolution of the reconstructed source distribution and the small singular values of the frequency response function matrix to be inverted. However, the use of Tikhonov regularization often suppresses the effect of small singular values and these are in turn often associated with high spatial frequencies of the source distribution. Thus, the process of regularization produces a useful estimate of the acoustic source strength distribution but with a limited spatial resolution. Furthermore, in the field of Fourier acoustics, the spatial resolution of the reconstructed source distribution is usually limited by the wavelength of the radiation. This paper expresses the relationship between estimation accuracy, spatial resolution, noise-level and source/sensor geometry, when a range of inverse sound radiation problems are regularised using Tikhonov regularization with GCV. The results presented form the basis of guidelines that enable the reconstruction of acoustic source strength with a resolution that is finer than the intrinsic half-wavelength limit.     

Enhanced sound transmission from water to air at low frequencies

Excitation of acoustic radiation into the air from a low-frequency point source under water is investigated using plane wave expansion of the source spectrum and Rayleigh reflection/transmission coefficients. Expressions are derived for the acoustic power radiated into air and water as a function of source depth and given to lowest order in the air/water density ratio. Near zero source depth, the radiation into the water is quenched by the source's acoustic image, while the power radiated into air reaches about 1% of the power that would be radiated into unbounded water.     

Reduction of sound radiation by using force radiation modes

The location of a vibration source within a machine is sometimes found to have a significant effect upon its radiated acoustic power. It is known that a simple reduction of vibration cannot always reduce the radiated acoustic power, so that treatments based on analysis of a structure’s vibration modes are not always effective. At the same time, radiation mode analysis is known to be a powerful tool for interpreting sound radiation since those modes are independent of a structure’s surface vibration. However, knowledge of the radiation modes alone cannot be used directly to understand the relationship between vibration source location and acoustic power radiation. In this paper, it is shown that the radiation mode concept can be extended to understand the relationship between acoustic power and driving force distribution by considering the product of the structure’s mobility matrix and the radiation modes: the resulting functions are here defined to be force radiation modes (f_rad-modes). An example is presented in which the acoustic power radiated by a simply-supported, baffled beam is reduced by using guidance provided by the structure’s force radiation modes. The results demonstrate that the force radiation modes can be used to guide the reduction of radiated acoustic power by changing the driving force location without the need to perform additional calculations or experiments.     

Acoustic characteristics of a heavy duty vehicle cooling module

Studies dedicated to the determination of acoustic characteristics of an automotive cooling package are presented. A shrouded subsonic axial fan is mounted in a wall separating an anechoic- and a reverberation room. This enables a unique separation of the up- and downstream sound fields. Microphone measurements were acquired of the radiated sound as a function of rotational speed, fan type and components included in the cooling module. The aim of the present work is to investigate the effect of a closely mounted radiator upstream of the impeller on the SPL spectral distribution. Upon examination of the SPL spectral shape, features linked specifically to the source and system are revealed. The properties of a reverberant sound field combined with the method of spectral decomposition permit an estimation of the source spectral distribution and the acoustic transfer response, respectively. Additionally, purely intrinsic acoustic properties of the radiator are scrutinized by standardized ISO methods. A new methodology comprising a dipole sound source is adopted to circumvent limitation of transmission loss measurement in the low frequency range. The sound attenuation caused by the radiator alone was found to be negligible.     

Prediction of intake noise of an automotive engine in run-up condition

It is very important to predict the radiated noise from the engine intake system for the effective noise control and virtual prototyping of in-cavity and outdoor noise of a vehicle. To this end, one should precisely measure the in-duct acoustic source parameters of the intake system, viz., source strength and source impedance. Usually, the noise radiation characteristics need to be expressed as a function of engine speed. In this study, acoustic source parameters of an engine intake system under engine run-up condition were measured by using the direct method. Direct method employed two external loudspeakers, turned on simultaneously, and three microphones for the separation of upstream and downstream wave components. It was noted that the frequency spectra of source impedance hardly changes with the increase of engine speed. Utilizing this fact, source strength under the engine run-up condition was calculated by assuming invariant source impedance. Predicted insertion loss and radiated sound pressure level using the measured source parameters were compared with those of measured data and predicted data using several idealized source models, which have been adopted for the calculations. A reasonably good agreement was observed between measured sound spectra at the intake orifice and predicted one using the measured source data. It was shown that the source data obtained by the present method yielded a far better prediction accuracy than those by the idealized source models.     

Modal vibrations of a cylindrical radiator over an impedance plane

The problem of acoustic radiation from an infinite cylinder undergoing harmonic modal surface vibrations near a locally reacting planar boundary is considered. The formulation utilizes the appropriate wave field expansions, the classical method of images, and the translational addition theorem for cylindrical wave functions, along with a simple local surface reaction model involving a complex amplitude wave reflection coefficient applied to simulate the relevant boundary conditions for the given configuration. The analytical results are illustrated with a numerical example in which the cylindrical surface is immersed near a layer of fibrous material set on an impervious rigid wall. The numerical results reveal the important effects of interface local surface reaction and source position on the computed modal impedance component values and the radiated on-axis far-field pressure. The benchmark solution presented can lead to a better understanding of acoustic radiation from near-interface two-dimensional sources, which are commonly encountered problems in outdoor acoustics and noise control engineering. Eventually, it could be used to validate those found by numerical approximation techniques.     

Experimental validations of the HELS method for reconstructing acoustic radiation from a complex vibrating structure

This paper presents experimental validations of the Helmholtz Equation Least Squares (HELS) method [Wang and Wu, J. Acoust. Soc. Am. 102, 2020-2032 (1997); Wu and Wang, U.S. Patent Number 5712805 (1998); Wu, J. Acoust. Soc. Am. 107, 2511-2522 (2000)] on reconstruction of the radiated acoustic pressures from a complex vibrating structure. The structure under consideration has geometry and dimensions similar to those of a real passenger vehicle front end. To simulate noise radiation from a vehicle, a high fidelity loudspeaker installed inside the structure at the location of the engine is employed to generate both random and harmonic acoustic excitations. The radiated acoustic pressures are measured over a finite planar surface above the structure by a microphone. The measured data are taken as input to the HELS formulation to reconstruct the acoustic pressures on the top surface of the structure as well as in the field. The reconstructed acoustic pressures are then compared with measured ones at the same locations. Also shown are comparisons of the reconstructed and measured acoustic pressure spectra at various locations on the surface. Results show that satisfactory reconstruction can be obtained on the top surface of the structure subject to both random and harmonic excitations. Moreover, the more measurements and the closer their distances to the source surface, the more accurate the reconstruction. The efficiency of the HELS method may decrease with increasing of the excitation frequency. This high frequency difficulty is inherent in all expansion theories.     

利用源强密度声辐射模态重建声场

为了利用声场中少量测点声压数据精确重建复杂结构的辐射声场,提出了源强密度声辐射模态分析理论和声场重建公式.在结构表面定义的空间上,利用以源强密度分布函数为参量的结构辐射声功率泛函表达式定义了一个线性自伴正辐射算子,该算子的特征函数为结构的源强密度声辐射模态.然后通过对矩形平板和带有半球帽的圆柱体的源强密度声辐射模态的分析,证明了源强密度声辐射模态具有空间滤波特性,并利用该性质建立了声场重建公式.球体仿真和平板实验验证了所提出的声场重建方法的可行性和稳健性.基于源强密度声辐射模态的声场重建方法简单,利用较少测点数据就可以获得较高的声场重建精度,特别适合于复杂结构的低频声场重建.     

Jittering wave-packet models for subsonic jet noise

Three simplified wave-packet models of the coherent structures in subsonic jets are presented. The models comprise convected wave-packets with time-dependent amplitudes and spatial extents. The dependence of the radiated sound on the temporal variations of the amplitude and spatial extent of the modulations are studied separately in the first two model problems, being considered together in the third. Analytical expressions for the radiated sound pressure are obtained for the first and third models.Results show that temporally localised changes in the wave-packet can lead to radiation patterns which are directional and which comprise high-amplitude bursts; such intermittency is observed in subsonic jets at the end of the potential core, and so the models may help explain the higher noise levels and intermittent character of the sound radiated to low emission angles for subsonic jets. By means of an efficiency metric, relating the radiated acoustic power to the fluctuation energy of the source, we show that the source becomes more powerful as its temporal localisation is increased. This result extends that of Sandham et al. (Journal of Sound and Vibration 294(1) (2006) 355–361) who found similar behaviour for an infinitely extended wavy-wall.The pertinence of the model is assessed using two sets of data for a Mach 0.9 jet. One corresponds to a direct numerical simulation (DNS) of a Reynolds number 3600 turbulent jet and the other to a large eddy simulation (LES) of a Reynolds number 4×10⁵ jet. Both time-averaged and time-dependent amplitudes and spatial extents are extracted from the velocity field of the numerical data. Computing the sound field generated by the wave-packet models we find for both simulations that while the wave-packet with a time-averaged envelope shows discrepancies of more than an order of magnitude with the sound field, when the wave-packet ‘jitters’ in a way similar to the intermittency displayed by the simulations, we obtain agreement to within 1.5 dB at low axial angles. This shows that the ‘jitter’ of the wave-packet is a salient source feature, and one which should be modelled explicitly.     

基于平面声源进行结构声辐射有源控制的实验研究

采用分布式平面声源作为次级声源,对振动钢板的声辐射进行了抵消实验,验证了以往研究中的一系列关键理论。实验研究结果表明:一个平面声源可以控制钢板奇-奇模态的声辐射,两个平面源可以控制结构偶-奇或奇-偶模态的声辐射,同时也可以控制结构奇-奇模态的声辐射;平面声源的面积和布放位置对降噪效果有重要影响,采用单个平面声源控制时,平面声源面积越大,控制效果越好;基于近场声压的误差传感策略是有效可行的,实际中,将近场测量面的声功率作为有源控制的目标函数与总声功率作为目标函数是一致的;控制后远场声压和声强都得到有效降低,部分区域的声能向声源流动,近场声压及声强分布也发生显著变化。     

Acoustic field modeling for physiotherapy ultrasound applicators by using approximated functions of measured non-uniform radiation distributions

The strongest therapeutic effects in ultrasonic physiotherapy are mainly produced at the first centimeters, i.e. close to the applicator surface and, in general, only in the near-field zone. The acoustic field produced in practice by this type of transducers differs from the classical models because the vibration distribution on the real transducer surfaces is non-uniform. However, neither models using uniform distribution, nor those using typical non-uniform distribution patterns for the source accurately represent the radiation of this kind of transducers. Although this therapy is widely used and many efforts have been made in experimentally studying the patterns of ultrasound radiation produced during physiotherapy applications (IEC-61689, 1998), additional modeling researches still would be needed in order to achieve improved models giving field patterns closer to the measured ultrasonic results. In this paper, acoustic patterns produced from two source radiation functions are proposed and evaluated for field modeling of physiotherapy applicators. Both the functions are approximations to the pressure distribution measured close to the emitting surface and they are based on the modulation of the classical simply-supported function using either sinusoidal or Bessel-type distributions. The simply-supported function is accounted for the radiator-fixing condition and the modulation function simulates the complex vibration distribution of this kind of transducer. The modulator Bessel function is based on reports about Bessel-type vibration distributions found in piezoelectric disk resonators. The use of a selected sinusoidal segment represents another analytical option for obtaining an approximated behavior of the measured data in a real applicator. Both the field models are implemented using the finite element method (FEM) to obtain the numerical solution of wave equation at each point in the radiated space. The solution is reached by considering axisymmetric radiation in attenuation-free media. The results indicate the viability of applying an adequate model for acoustic field calculation by simulating the radiating distribution on the emitting surface as either sinusoidal or Bessel-modulated functions. Models using both the functions describe reasonably real behaviors, but those based on Bessel functions are better correlated with the measurements. The results for three commercial applicators indicate the possibility of representing, with adequate verisimilitude, the acoustic field radiated by physiotherapy ultrasound transducers using linear combinations of Bessel profiles describing the radiation source.     

Acoustic radiation force on a rigid cylinder near rigid corner boundaries exerted by a Gaussian beam field

Acoustic manipulation is one of the well-known technologies of particle control and a top research in acoustic field. Calculation of acoustic radiation force on a particle nearby boundaries is one of the critical tasks, as it approximates realistic applications. Nevertheless, it is quite difficult to solve the problem by theoretical method when the boundary conditions are intricate. In this study, we present a finite element method numerical model for the acoustic radiation force exerting on a rigid cylindrical particle immersed in fluid near a rigid corner. The effects of the boundaries on acoustic radiation force of a rigid cylinder are analyzed with particular emphasis on the non-dimensional frequency and the distance from the center of cylinder to each boundary. The results reveal that these parameters play important roles in acoustic manipulation for particle-nearby complicated rigid boundaries. This study verifies the feasibility of numerical analysis on the issue of acoustic radiation force calculation close to complex boundaries, which may provide a new idea on analyzing the acoustic particle manipulation in confined space.     

Visualization of acoustic radiation from a vibrating bowling ball.

This paper presents visualization of acoustic radiation from a vibrating bowling ball using the Helmholtz equation least squares (HELS) method. In conducting the experiments, the ball is excited by a vibration shaker using stationary random signals. The radiated acoustic pressures are measured using two microphones and taken as input to the HELS formulations. The reconstructed acoustic pressures on the bowling ball surface are compared with those measured at the same locations. Also shown are comparisons of the reconstructed and measured acoustic pressure spectra at various locations on the bowling ball surface. Results demonstrate that the accuracy of reconstruction based on measurements over a conformal surface is much higher than that over a finite planar surface. This is because the latter often extends beyond the near-field region, making the accuracy of measurements inconsistent. Nevertheless, satisfactory reconstruction of acoustic pressure fields over the entire bowling ball surface can still be obtained based on the measurements taken over a finite planar surface on one side of the source. In a similar manner, the normal component of the surface velocity is reconstructed. Once these acoustic quantities are determined, the time-averaged acoustic intensity is calculated. Also presented are the formulations for estimating a priori the numbers of expansion functions and measurements required by the HELS method and the guidelines for determining the reconstruction error and optimum measurement locations, given the overall dimensions of the source and the highest frequency of interest in reconstruction.     

On the prediction of impact noise,part VI: Distribution of acceleration noise with frequency with application to bottle impacts

The spectral distribution of the acceleration noise, as defined in Part I of this series, is obtained using both the pressure waveform expressions and the spatial averaged velocity on the surface of the body, together with a radiation efficiency associated with the rigid body movement of the object. This distribution with frequency is shown to be mainly dependent on the size of the body and the duration of the transient and is independent of the body shape detail and the exact shape of the transient. The spectral distribution of acceleration noise is important in the case of impact of structures whose first ringing natural frequency is within the frequency range under investigation. Under such circumstances, it is important to estimate the response of the structure below this resonant frequency. In this paper this is investigated to show that the response, and hence the noise radiated from a structure below the first ringing frequency, is low and the noise in this frequency range is mostly due to acceleration noise. These results are verified in the case of bottle clashes.     

Noise generation by instabilities in low Reynolds number supersonic jets

An experimental investigation of noise generation by instabilities in low Reynolds number supersonic air jets has been performed. Sound pressure levels, spectra and acoustic phase fronts were measured with a traversing condenser microphone in the acoustic field of axisymmetric, perfectly expanded, cold jets of Mach numbers 1·4, 2·1 and 2·5. Low Reynolds numbers in the range from Re = 3700 to Re = 8700 were obtained by exhausting the jets into an anechoic vacuum chamber test facility. This contrasts with Reynolds numbers of over 10⁶ for similar jets exhausting into atmospheric pressure. The flow fluctuations of the instability in all three jets have been measured with a hot-wire and the results are documented in a previous paper by Morrison and McLaughlin. Acoustic measurements show that the major portion of the sound radiated by all three jets is produced by the instability's rapid growth and decay that occurs near the end of the potential core. This takes place over a relatively short distance (less than two wavelengths of the instability) in the jet. In the lower two Mach number jets the instability has a phase velocity less than the ambient acoustic velocity. In the Mach number 2·5 jet the instability phase speed is 1·11 times the ambient acoustic velocity. In this case the acoustic phase fronts indicate the possibility of a Mach wave component. It was also determined that low level excitation at the dominant frequency of the instability actually decreased the radiated noise by suppressing the broad band component.     

Formation of radiation spectrum at the planar channeling of a positron bunch with allowance for the medium inhomogeneity

The radiation of a positron in a planar channel of a crystal is studied, considering the dependence of the medium polarization on the transverse coordinate. The expression for the spectral distribution of the number of radiated photons is obtained for a single positron. It is shown that because of the medium polarization in the soft and hard regions not all positrons make a contribution to the radiation formation. An analytical formula for the total spectral distribution of the number of photons is obtained.     

Energetic analysis of an actively controlled one-dimensional acoustic waveguide

The aim of this work is to show the energetic behavior when an active noise controller is applied in a one-dimensional waveguide, namely an ideal duct under the first critical frequency. In order to model the duct, a spectral element method, which is shown to be more practical for analyzing pipe networks than other commonly used analytical models, was used. The model used here consists of a duct with two sources, the primary source at one end of the duct, and the secondary source at the middle section. The error sensor was placed downstream from secondary source, and the other end of the duct was open with no flange. Three optimal control methods were applied: minimization of the potential energy density, minimization of the active intensity, and minimization of the total acoustic power radiated by the sources. It was observed that the three control methods achieved the same final result, and when the volume velocity of the secondary source was driven to the optimal volume velocity, neither the primary source nor the secondary source radiated any acoustic power. Furthermore, the controlled duct was equivalent to a duct opened-ended at the secondary source position with radiation impedance equal to zero.