On the behaviour of artificial head transfer system applied to acoustic evaluation researches for halls

The author has made tests for an artificial head transfer system whichis modelled on a Chinese male on its main physical behaviour such as frequencyresponses,frequency response differences between the front and the rear inci-dences,as will as on its important hearing behaviour such as localization,theperception of distance and room dimensions.The results verify that this kind ofartificial head transfer system can be used as one of effective tools of acousticevaluation researches for halls.     

On the incoherent scattering of an acoustic or electromagnetic wave

A random configuration of objects in space, or a stochastically rough boundary, is considered to scatter an incident acoustic or electromagnetic wave having harmonic time dependencee ^iwt . In the case of a stochastic surface, Beckmann has compared the Kirchhoff solution with his approach, which employs random walk. The latter approach is used to demonstrate the Rayleigh-distributed amplitude of a field scattered by a very rough surface. This demonstration requires the conjecture that large standard deviations in the random phases of the scattered elementary waves result in an incoherent scattered field. Beckmann's conjecture has not been rigorously proven. However, in this paper, incoherence of the scattered field and broad distributions, over many cycles, in the phases of the elementary waves are both shown to be implied by a third condition, which is defined. Furthermore, the random phase of an incoherent field is shown to be statistically independent of its amplitude and uniformly distributed on a 2-rad interval.     

Multifrequency radiation force of acoustic waves in fluids

In this article we introduce the concept of multifrequency radiation force produced by a polychromatic acoustic beam propagating in a fluid. This force is a generalization of dynamic radiation force due to a bichromatic wave. We analyse the force exerted on a rigid sphere by a plane wave with N frequency components. Our approach is based on solving the related scattering problem, taking into account the nonlinearity of the fluid. The radiation force is calculated by integrating the excess of pressure in the quasilinear approximation over the surface of the sphere. Results reveal that the spectrum of the multifrequency radiation force is composed of up to N(N−1)/2 distinct frequency components. In addition, the radiation force generated by plane progressive waves is predominantly caused by parametric amplification. This is a phenomenon due to the nonlinear nature of wave propagation in fluids.     

Experimental implementation of a low-frequency global sound equalization method based on free field propagation

An experimental implementation of a global sound equalization method in a rectangular room using active control is described in this paper. The main purpose of the work has been to provide experimental evidence that sound can be equalized in a continuous three-dimensional region, the listening zone, which occupies a considerable part of the complete volume of the room. The equalization method, based on the simulation of a progressive plane wave, was implemented in a room with inner dimensions of 2.70 m × 2.74 m × 2.40 m. With this method, the sound was reproduced by a matrix of 4 × 5 loudspeakers in one of the walls. After traveling through the room, the sound wave was absorbed on the opposite wall, which had a similar arrangement of loudspeakers, by means of active control. A set of 40 digital FIR filters was used to modify the original input signal before it was fed to the loudspeakers, one filter for each transducer. The optimal arrangement of the loudspeakers and the maximum frequency that can be equalized is analyzed theoretically in this paper. The presented experimental results show that sound equalization was possible from 10 Hz to approximately 425 Hz in the listening zone. A flat frequency response with deviations within ±5 decibels from the desired value was achieved. A higher demanding performance with deviations within ±1.5 decibels from a flat frequency response was attained in the interval between 20 Hz and 280 Hz. At the same time, the impulse response was quite well approximated to a delayed delta function in the listening zone. Examples of the spatial distribution of the sound field are also shown.     

On an initial‐boundary value problem for a wide‐angle parabolic equation in a waveguide with a variable bottom

We consider the third‐order Claerbout‐type wide‐angle parabolic equation (PE) of underwater acoustics in a cylindrically symmetric medium consisting of water over a soft bottom B of range‐dependent topography. There is strong indication that the initial‐boundary value problem for this equation with just a homogeneous Dirichlet boundary condition posed on B may not be well‐posed, for example when B is downsloping. We impose, in addition to the above, another homogeneous, second‐order boundary condition, derived by assuming that the standard (narrow‐angle) PE holds on B, and establish a priori H² estimates for the solution of the resulting initial‐boundary value problem for any bottom topography. After a change of the depth variable that makes B horizontal, we discretize the transformed problem by a second‐order accurate finite difference scheme and show, in the case of upsloping and downsloping wedge‐type domains, that the new model gives stable and accurate results. We also present an alternative set of boundary conditions that make the problem exactly energy conserving; one of these conditions may be viewed as a generalization of the Abrahamsson–Kreiss boundary condition in the wide‐angle case. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Euler's partition theorem and the combinatorics of ℓ-sequences

Euler's partition theorem states that the number of partitions of an integer N into odd parts is equal to the number of partitions of N in which the ratio of successive parts is greater than 1. It was shown by Bousquet-Mélou and Eriksson in [M. Bousquet-Mélou, K. Eriksson, Lecture hall partitions II, Ramanujan J. 1 (2) (1997) 165–185] that a similar result holds when “odd parts” is replaced by “parts that are sums of successive terms of an ℓ-sequence” and the ratio “1” is replaced by a root of the characteristic polynomial of the ℓ-sequence. This generalization of Euler's theorem is intrinsically different from the many others that have appeared, as it involves a family of partitions constrained by the ratio of successive parts.In this paper, we provide a surprisingly simple bijection for this result, a question suggested by Richard Stanley. In fact, we give a parametrized family of bijections, that include, as special cases, Sylvester's bijection and a bijection for the lecture hall theorem. We introduce Sylvester diagrams as a way to visualize these bijections and deduce their properties.In proving the bijections, we uncover the intrinsic role played by the combinatorics of ℓ-sequences and use this structure to give a combinatorial characterization of the partitions defined by the ratio constraint. Several open questions suggested by this work are described.     

Robust supergain beamforming for circular array via second-order cone programming

The phenomenon of supergain for a circular array and its robust beamforming are presented. The coplanar superdirective array gain of the circular array, although it is not so extreme as an endfire line array, outperforms a lot over that of a conventional delay-and-sum beamformer in isotropic noise fields when the inter-element spacings are much smaller than one-half wavelength. However, optimum beamforming algorithms can be extremely sensitive to slight errors in array characteristics. The performance are known to degrade significantly if some of underlying assumptions on the sensor array is violated. Therefore, white noise gain constraint is used to improve the robustness of the supergain beamformer against random errors. We show that the design of the weight vector of robust supergain beamformer can be reformulated as a form of second-order cone programming and resolved efficiently via the well-established interior point method. Results of computer simulation for a 24-element circular array confirm satisfactory performance of the approach proposed in this paper.     

Applications of ultrasound to enhance fluidized bed drying of Ascophyllum Nodosum: Drying kinetics and product quality assessment

In this study, ultrasound either as a pretreatment technique or as an integrated technique was employed to enhance fluidized bed drying of Ascophyllum nodosum, and drying kinetics and dried product quality were assessed. In order to compare technology efficiency and dried product qualities, oven drying and fluidized bed drying (FBD) were employed. The novel drying methods included airborne ultrasound-assisted fluidized bed drying (AUA), ultrasound pre-treatment followed by FBD (USP), and hot water blanching pre-treatment followed byFBD (HWB). Six drying kinetics models were used to describe the drying curves, among which the Page model was the best in fitting USP and AUA. Model by Millidi et al. was employed to describe HWB. Airborne ultrasound in AUA did not reduce energy consumption or drying time, but retained total phenolic content (TPC) as well as colour, and exhibited the highest yield among the novel drying methods. USP and HWB showed lower energy consumption and drying time considerably, but the TPC was the lowest among the studied methods. At the same time, USP dried product exhibited the lowest a_w, followed by HWB and then AUA. This studyalso demonstrated that FBD could be a very practical drying method on Irish brown seaweed, and ultrasound-assisted drying methods may have potential developments in Irish brown seaweed drying process.     

Acoustics of a Bubbly Liquid with a Weak Chemical Reaction in the Gaseous Phase

The influence of the composition and thermophysical properties of gas-liquid bubbly systems with a dissociating component in the gaseous phase on the laws of small-disturbance propagation and attenuation is investigated. It is found that the reacting gas component in the bubbles significantly affects the sonic-wave attenuation coefficient in the bubbly liquid. This follows from the fact that when a gas bubble is compressed isothermally, a recombination reaction occurs which prevents pressure growth in the bubble.Small-disturbance propagation in bubbly liquids was investigated in a number of publications discussed in review [1]. The acoustics of a bubbly liquid with a gas phase containing active admixtures are of both methodical and practical interest. The dynamics of such multicomponent bubbles were investigated in [2].     

Interaction between Low and High-Frequency Modes in a Nonlinear System: Gas-Filled Cylinder Covered by a Movable Piston

A simple mechanical system containing a low-frequency vibration mode andset of high-frequency acoustic modes is considered. The frequencyresponse is calculated. Nonlinear behaviour and interaction betweenmodes is described by system of functional equations. Two types ofnonlinearities are taken into account. The first one is caused by thefinite displacement of a movable boundary, and the second one is thevolume nonlinearity of gas. New mathematical models based on nonlinearequations are suggested. Some examples of nonlinear phenomena arediscussed on the base of derived solutions.