Ray-tracing evaluation of empirical models for predicting noise in industrial workshops

To evaluate the accuracy of empirical models for predicting steady-state noise levels and reverberation times in typical industrial workshops, predictions by these models were compared with predictions by a ray-tracing model, nominally using the same input data. Comparisons were made for three workshops—‘long’, ‘flat’ and ‘quasi-cubic’ in shape—with reflective and absorbent ceilings, when empty and with four densities of fittings. In the case of the ‘long’ room, noise levels were predicted along both the long and short major horizontal axes. In ‘long’ and ‘flat’ workshops, steady-state prediction by the empirical models often agreed with ray-tracing prediction within 2 dB. This result suggests that the empirical models are fundamentally valid. However, agreement was worse at large source/receiver distances, and at 500 Hz. Empirical reverberation-time prediction generally agreed less well with ray tracing, possibly indicating that the empirical reverberation-time prediction models are less valid. Strong disagreement occurred between the models in the case of steady-state prediction in the ‘quasi-cubic’ workshop, indicating that the empirical steady-state models are invalid in this case. Agreement for reverberation time was good with a non-absorbent ceiling, but poor with an absorbent ceiling.     

厅堂声学一百周年(1895—1994)

本文介绍自Ｗ．Ｃ．Ｓａｂｉｎｅ以来１００年厅堂声学的发展简史，包括室内声学理论，音指标与评价，声学测试方法，缩尺模型技术，计算机仿真技术及厅堂设计的发展，现状及关于今后研究方向的前瞻。     

Acoustic Analysis of the Interaction of Choral Arrangements, Musical Selection, and Microphone Location

Acoustic differences were evaluated among three choral arrangements and two choral textures recorded at three microphone locations. A choir was recorded when singing two musical selections of different choral texture, one homophonic and one polyphonic. Both musical selections were sung in three choral arrangements: block sectional, sectional-in-columns, and mixed. Microphones were placed at the level of the choristers, the conductor, and the audience. The recordings at each location were analyzed using long-term average spectrum (LTAS). The LTAS from the mixed arrangement exhibited more signal amplitude than the other arrangements in the range of 1000-3500Hz. When considering the musical selections, the chorus produced more signal amplitude in the region of 1800-2200Hz for the homophonic selection. In addition, the LTAS produced by the choir for the homophonic selection varied across the microphone locations. As for the microphone location, the LTAS of the signal detected directly in front of the chorus had a greater slope than the other two locations. Thus, the acoustic signal near the choristers differed from the signals near the conductor and in the audience. Conductors may be using acoustic information from the region of the second and third formants when they decide how to arrange a choir for a particular musical selection.     

A reservoir-type controlled release device using aqueous-organic partitioning and a porous membrane

A reservoir-type controlled release device based on aqueous-organic partitioning is described. The reservoir is bounded by a microporous or porous membrane, either a hollow fiber or a flat film. The agent partitions between phases at the aqueous-organic interface of the reservoir and the pore mouth, and then diffuses through the membrane pore into a surrounding aqueous solution. The partition coefficient significantly influences the rate of release of the agent. The performance of the system is evaluated using model agents. Controlled release from a reservoir containing a pure organic liquid agent is demonstrated using toluene. Zero-order release is achieved for benzoic acid partitioning from an organic reservoir into water-filled pores, and for nicotine partitioning from an aqueous reservoir into organic-filled pores. Studies using benzoic acid demonstrate the effectiveness of a thin, nonporous coating on slowing the rate of release. A fast-dissolving suspension of benzoic acid in decanol extends the duration of zero-order release. Two agents, nicotine and caffeine, are released simultaneously and independently from a divided reservoir. A simplified mathematical model is presented, and experimental results compared well with those predicted by the model.     

Effective versus Total Porosity Based Geostatistical Models: Implications for Upscaling and Flow Simulation

This paper discusses issues related to the choice of total or effective porosity as the porosity basis for geostatistical model construction. Distributions of variables are different depending on the porosity basis. The distribution of variables has a strong effect on the performance of collo-cated simulation techniques. This paper presents the two porosity approaches and demonstrates some of the issues that may arise. In the examples shown here, total porosity appears to generate better behaved porosity-permeability co-distributions. Regardless of the porosity basis, upscaling methods are shown to potentially move hydrocarbon from low quality rock into more accessible coarser cells which means that any application of cutoffs is more meaningfully applied prior to upscaling if this movement is considered unrealistic for large-scale flow simulation.     

Combustion dynamics of inverted conical flames

An inverted conical flame anchored on a central bluff-body in an unconfined burner configuration features a distinctive acoustic response. This configuration typifies more complex situations in which the thermo-acoustic instability is driven by the interaction of a flame with a convective vorticity mode. The axisymmetric geometry investigated in this article features a shear region between the reactive jet and the surrounding atmosphere. It exhibits self-sustained oscillations for certain operating conditions involving a powerful flame collapse phenomenon with sudden annihilation of flame surface area. This is caused by a strong interaction between the flame and vortices created in the outer jet shear layer, a process which determines the amplitude of heat release fluctuation and its time delay with respect to incident velocity perturbations. This process also generates an acoustic field that excites the burner and synchronizes the vortex shedding mechanism. The transfer functions between the velocity signal at the burner outlet and heat release are obtained experimentally for a set of flow velocities fluctuations levels. It is found that heat release fluctuations are a strong function of the incoming velocity perturbation amplitude and that the time delay between these two quantities is mainly determined by the convection of the large scale vortices formed in the jet shear layer. A model is formulated, which suitably describes the observed instabilities.     

Emulation of petroleum well-logging D-T2 correlations on a standard benchtop spectrometer

An experimental protocol is described that allows two-dimensional (2D) nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) correlations of apparent diffusion coefficient D_app and effective transverse relaxation time T_2,eff to be acquired on a bench-top spectrometer using pulsed field gradients (PFG) in such a manner as to emulate D_app − T_2,eff correlations acquired using a well-logging tool with a fixed field gradient (FFG). This technique allows laboratory-scale NMR measurements of liquid-saturated cored rock to be compared directly to logging data obtained from the well by virtue of providing a comparable acquisition protocol and data format, and hence consistent data processing. This direct comparison supports the interpretation of the well-logging data, including a quantitative determination of the oil/brine saturation. The D − T₂ pulse sequence described here uses two spin echoes (2SE) with a variable echo time to encode for diffusion. The diffusion and relaxation contributions to the signal decay are then deconvolved using a 2D numerical inversion. This measurement allows shorter relaxation time components to be probed than in conventional diffusion measurements. A brief discussion of the numerical inversion algorithms available for inverting these non-rectangular data is included. The PFG-2SE sequence described is well suited to laboratory-scale studies of porous media and short T₂ samples in general.     

Enhanced linearized reduced-order models for subsurface flow simulation

Trajectory piecewise linearization (TPWL) represents a promising approach for constructing reduced-order models. Using TPWL, new solutions are represented in terms of expansions around previously simulated (and saved) solutions. High degrees of efficiency are achieved when the representation is projected into a low-dimensional space using a basis constructed by proper orthogonal decomposition of snapshots generated in a training run. In recent work, a TPWL procedure applicable for two-phase subsurface flow problems was presented. The method was shown to perform well for many cases, such as those with no density differences between phases, though accuracy and robustness were found to degrade in other cases. In this work, these limitations are shown to be related to model accuracy at key locations and model stability. Enhancements addressing both of these issues are introduced. A new TPWL procedure, referred to as local resolution TPWL, enables key grid blocks (such as those containing injection or production wells) to be represented at full resolution; i.e., these blocks are not projected into the low-dimensional space. This leads to high accuracy at selected locations, and will be shown to improve the accuracy of important simulation quantities such as injection and production rates. Next, two techniques for enhancing the stability of the TPWL model are presented. The first approach involves a basis optimization procedure in which the number of columns in the basis matrix is determined to minimize the spectral radius of an appropriately defined amplification matrix. The second procedure incorporates a basis matrix constructed using snapshots from a simulation with equal phase densities. Both approaches are compatible with the local resolution procedure. Results for a series of test cases demonstrate the accuracy and stability provided by the new treatments. Finally, the TPWL model is used as a surrogate in a direct search optimization algorithm, and comparison with results using the full-order model demonstrates the efficacy of the enhanced TPWL procedures for this application.     

Utilisation de la phase stationnaire pour localiser la provenance du bruit sur l'axe d'une structure élastique à symétrie de révolutionUse of the stationary phase method to localize the source of noise on the axis of an axisymmetric elastic structure

Consider the problem numbered (1) in the text. Along the axis, the pressure may be expressed as a combination of axisymmetric modes only. For high wave numbers, the method of stationary phase may be used to show that the pressure on the axis comes only from the vicinities of a few parallels. Generally, only the parallel constituting the points nearest to this axis point is to be considered. For low circumferential mode numbers (especially $n=0$), the curvature greatly influences the wavelength of the modes of the structure in vacuo: thus, the method of stationary phase can be applied, for most aeronautical airborne structures, even from the first axisymmetric mode and not only above the coincidence frequency. Using an expression established earlier, we can give an expression for the pressure on the axis of an axisymmetric enclosure. To cite this article: D. Brenot, C. R. Mecanique 334 (2006).     

Analysis of liner performance using the NASA Langley Research Center Curved Duct Test Rig

The NASA Langley Research Center Curved Duct Test Rig (CDTR) is designed to test aircraft engine nacelle liner samples in an environment approximating that of the engine on a scale that approaches the full scale dimensions of the aft bypass duct. The modal content of the sound in the duct can be determined and the modal content of the sound incident on the liner test section can be controlled. The effect of flow speed, up to Mach 0.5 in the test section, can be investigated. The results reported in this paper come from a study to evaluate the effect of duct configuration on the acoustic performance of single degree of freedom (SDOF) perforate-over-honeycomb liners. Variations of duct configuration include: asymmetric (liner on one side and hard wall opposite) and symmetric (liner on both sides) wall treatment; inlet and exhaust orientation, in which the sound propagates either against or with the flow; and straight and curved (outlet is offset from the inlet by one duct width) flow path. The effect that duct configuration has on the overall acoustic performance is quantified. The redistribution of incident mode content is shown, in particular the mode scatter effect that liner symmetry has on symmetric and asymmetric incident mode shapes. The Curved Duct Test Rig is shown to be a valuable tool for the evaluation of acoustic liner concepts.