Synthesis of voiced sounds using low-dimensional models of the vocal cords and time-varying subglottal pressure

The vocal cords play an important role on voice production. Air coming from the lungs is forced through the narrow space between the two vocal cords that are set in motion in a frequency that is governed by the tension of the attached muscles. The motion of the vocal cords changes the type of flow, that comes from the lungs, to pulses of air, and as the flow passes through the oral and nasal cavities, it is amplified and further modified until it is radiated from the mouth. This complex process can be modeled by a system of integral-differential equations. This paper considers two mechanical models previously used for explaining the dynamics of the vocal cords. It shows that the level of naturalness of the sound generated by these models is rather poor, and it proposes temporal variations of the parameters of the models to increase such level. Examples of synthetic vowels and diphthongs are given to assess the models. In general, the results show that, although the system of voice production is complex, we can achieve satisfactory results with relatively simple low-dimensional models, by suitable temporal variations of the aerodynamic parameters.     

Wave dispersion and dissipation performance of locally resonant acoustic metamaterials using an internal variable model

Engineering structures for different dispersion and dissipation levels of wave propagation use internal variable models, which may enhance the performance of acoustic metamaterials (AMMs). In this study, the wave dispersion and dissipation performance of AMMs is studied using an anelastic displacement fields (ADF) model. A symmetric state-space method based on Floquet-Bloch’s theorem for a nonviscously damped unit cell is developed. The study also constructs Bloch’s eigenvalue problems built from the symmetric state-space formulation to obtain the wavevector-dependent damped frequency and damping ratio for wave propagation analysis of periodic structures. The effects of wave dispersion and dissipation on the performance of AMMs are studied by using two numerical examples of mass-in-mass lattice systems containing multiple resonators. It is shown that nonviscous damping increases the wave dispersion performance of AMM. It is also shown that the metadamping phenomenon enhances the wave dissipation performance of AMM. It is demonstrated that the new method in symmetric form is applicable for performance analysis of periodic phononic crystal.     

Self-consistency and the use of correlated stochastic separated flow models for prediction of particle-laden flows

Computational fluid dynamics (CFD) is being used increasingly in the design and analysis of particle-laden flows. A significant challenge of this work is in correctly predicting the interaction of the fluid turbulence with the particulate phase. Typically, Lagrangian tracking is used to calculate the particle trajectories with stochastic treatments used to provide an instantaneous turbulent flow field. The stochastic calculations are based on the mean velocities and turbulence quantities calculated by the CFD solver. The current work examines the correlated stochastic separated flow (SSF) model used to synthesize the instantaneous fluid velocity field. Two functional forms of the Eulerian spatial correlation are considered: exponential, and Frenkiel with loop parameter m equal to unity. It is well known that the use of a Frenkiel function is incorrect due to the Markovian nature of the model. Nonetheless, a literature review indicates that the Frenkiel function is still being used in the CFD community. In order to illustrate the implications of this, numerical predictions are compared to Taylor's analytical result for fluid particle dispersion in homogeneous isotropic turbulence. Excellent predictions are obtained with the exponential correlation and recommendations on timestep requirements are made. In contrast, predictions from the Frenkiel model are in poor agreement with Taylor's solution. This poor agreement results from an inconsistency between the effective correlation of fluid velocities arising from the model and the original intended correlation.     

A prediction of the pressure field in a plane turbulent jet using an algebraic stress model

A numerical prediction is obtained for the mean pressure field in the similarity region of a plane turbulent jet. An algebraic stress model, which introduces non-isotropic relations for the Reynolds stress components, is used to close the mean momentum equation. The full two-dimensional form of the transport equations is retained and the resultant equation set solved elliptically. The numerical prediction simulates many of the characteristics of the pressure field measured by experimental studies. However, the overall level of the predicted field is lower than the experimental values. The level obtained for the mean pressure field depends strongly on the prediction for the transverse normal Reynolds stress component 〈u₂u₂〉. The pressure field is shown to represent a small negative contribution to the net strearnwise momentum balance.     

An investigation of the heat transfer and static pressure on the over-tip casing wall of an axial turbine operating at engine representative flow conditions. (I). Time-mean results

The over-tip casing of the high-pressure turbine in a modern gas turbine engine is subjected to strong convective heat transfer that can lead to thermally induced failure (burnout) of this component. However, the complicated flow physics in this region is dominated by the close proximity of the moving turbine blades, which gives rise to significant temporal variations at the blade-passing frequency. The understanding of the physical processes that control the casing metal temperature is still limited and this fact has significant implications for the turbine design strategy. A series of experiments has been performed that seeks to address some of these important issues. This article reports the measurements of time-mean heat transfer and time-mean static pressure that have been made on the over-tip casing of a transonic axial-flow turbine operating at flow conditions that are representative of those found in modern gas turbine engines. Time-resolved measurements of these flow variables (that reveal the details of the blade-tip/casing interaction physics) are presented in a companion paper. The nozzle guide vane exit flow conditions in these experiments were a Mach number of 0.93 and a Reynolds number of 2.7 × 10⁶ based on nozzle guide vane mid-height axial chord. The axial and circumferential distributions of heat transfer rate, adiabatic wall temperature, Nusselt number and static pressure are presented. The data reveal large axial variations in the wall heat flux and adiabatic wall temperature that are shown to be primarily associated with the reduction in flow stagnation temperature through the blade row. The heat flux falls by a factor of 6 (from 120 to 20 kW/m²). In contrast, the Nusselt number falls by just 36% between the rotor inlet plane and 80% rotor axial chord; additionally, this drop is near to linear from 20% to 80% rotor axial chord. The circumferential variations in heat transfer rate are small, implying that the nozzle guide vanes do not produce a strong variation in casing boundary layer properties in the region measured. The casing static pressure measurements follow trends that can be expected from the blade loading distribution, with maximum values immediately upstream of the rotor inlet plane, and then a decreasing trend with axial position as the flow is turned and accelerated in the relative frame of reference. The time-mean static pressure measurements on the casing wall also reveal distinct circumferential variations that are small in comparison to the large pressure gradient in the axial direction.     

An investigation of the heat transfer and static pressure on the over-tip casing wall of an axial turbine operating at engine representative flow conditions. (II). Time-resolved results

This article reports the measurements of time-resolved heat transfer rate and time-resolved static pressure that have been made on the over-tip casing of a transonic axial-flow turbine operating at flow conditions that are representative of those found in modern gas turbine engines. This data is discussed and analysed in the context of explaining the physical mechanisms that influence the casing heat flux. The physical size of the measurement domain was one nozzle guide vane-pitch and from −20% to +80% rotor axial chord. Additionally, measurements of the time-resolved adiabatic wall temperature are presented. The time-mean data from the same set of experiments is presented and discussed in Part I of this article. The nozzle guide vane exit flow conditions in these experiments were a Mach number of 0.93 and a Reynolds number of 2.7 × 10⁶ based on nozzle guide vane mid-height axial chord. The data reveal large temporal variations in heat transfer characteristics to the casing wall that are associated with blade-tip passing events and in particular the blade over-tip leakage flow. The highest instantaneous heat flux to the casing wall occurs within the blade-tip gap, and this has been found to be caused by a combination of increasing flow temperature and heat transfer coefficient. The time-resolved static pressure measurements have enabled a detailed understanding of the tip-leakage aerodynamics to be established, and the physical mechanisms influencing the casing heat load have been determined. In particular, this has focused on the role of the unsteady blade lift distribution that is produced by upstream vane effects. This has been seen to modulate the tip-leakage flow and cause subsequent variations in casing heat flux. The novel experimental techniques employed in these experiments have allowed the measurement of the time-resolved adiabatic wall temperature on the casing wall. These data clearly show the falling flow temperatures as work is extracted from the gas by the turbine. Additionally, these temperature measurements have revealed that the absolute stagnation temperature within the tip-gap flow can be above the turbine inlet total temperature, and indicates the presence of a work process that leads to high adiabatic wall temperatures as a blade-tip passes a point on the casing wall. It is shown that this phenomena can be explained by consideration of the flow vectors within the tip-gap, and that these in turn are related to the local blade loading distribution. The paper also assesses the relative importance of different time-varying phenomena to the casing heat load distribution. This analysis has indicated that up to half of the casing heat load is associated with the over-tip leakage flow. Finally, the implications of the experimental findings are discussed in relation to future shroudless turbine design, and in particular the importance of accounting for the high heat fluxes found within the tip-gap.