The effect of a periodic absorptive strip arrangement on an interior sound field in a room

In this paper we study the effect of periodically arranged sound absorptive strips on the mean acoustic potential energy density distribution of a room. The strips are assumed to be attached on the room's surface of interest. In order to determine their effect, the mean acoustic potential energy density variation is evaluated as the function of a ratio of the strip's arrangement period to wavelength. The evaluation demonstrates that the mean acoustic potential energy density tends to converge. In addition, a comparison with a case in which absorptive materials completely cover the selected absorptive plane shows that a periodic arrangement that uses only half of the absorptive material can be more efficient than a total covering, unless the frequency of interest does not coincide with the room's resonant frequencies. Consequently, the results prove that the ratio of the arrangement period to the wavelength plays an important role in the effectiveness of a periodic absorptive strip arrangement to minimize a room's mean acoustic potential energy density.     

Noise control by barriers—Part 2: Noise reduction by an absorptive barrier

This paper presents a method of estimating the excess attenuation of a noise by an absorptive barrier covered with sound-absorbing materials. The approximate theory of diffraction by the absorptive barrier is derived from rigorous theory for a hard barrier. A single chart, which may be very convenient for the rapid estimation of the effect of absorption (the increase of the excess attenuation caused by the absorbing treatment of the barrier) in the practice of noise control, is presented. The validity of the method developed in this paper is confirmed by comparing estimated with measured values.     

A parametric investigation of the performance of T-profiled highway noise barriers and the identification of a potential predictive approach

Although a considerable amount of research has been undertaken regarding the performance of T-profile noise barriers, the information available to the practicing highway engineer is confusing. For example, there is a widespread belief that the performance of a top edge, expressed as an insertion loss relative to that of the simple barrier on which it is mounted, is constant, irrespective of the relative locations of the source, barrier and receiver. In order to clarify the situation an investigation has been undertaken, using computer modelling, of the performance afforded by highway noise barriers with T-profile tops with different acoustic treatments. The relative insertion loss was found to increase systematically with increasing top width. Although the relative insertion loss afforded by a reflective T-top is small, significant attenuation can be obtained with an absorptive top. Examination of the effect on performance of the locations of source and receiver relative to that of the noise barrier indicated that, for source and receiver locations typical of those experienced for highway noise barriers, the relative insertion loss for a given width of T-top was a function of (a) the path difference between sound travelling to the receiver via the barrier top and direct sound from the source to the receiver and (b) the barrier height. Plots of relative insertion loss versus the path difference, normalised with respect to barrier heights, for a range of T-top widths and absorbent treatment, resulted in a collapse of data around well defined trend lines which offer the potential of being developed into a prediction method.     

A review of commonly used analytical and empirical formulae for predicting sound diffracted by a thin screen

This paper reviews some useful analytical and empirical formulae that are used for the calculation of sound diffracted by a barrier. A brief historic overview of the study of spherical waves diffracted by a rigid half plane is presented also. The physical principles of sound diffraction by a thin plane are explained. The mathematical expressions are cast in a convenient form for ease of numerical implementation. Accurate analytical solutions are expressed in terms of standard mathematical functions that can be computed readily. Among the approximate solutions quoted, quite a few empirical formulations are adequate for most engineering purposes. The information presented in this paper should also be helpful for those who are interested in the study of sound diffracted by a barrier in a room or in a long industrial space.     

A network approach for analysis of silencers with/without absorbent material

The object of this work is to establish a general approach that can analyze the performance of most of the silencers with/without sound absorbent material. Under the assumption of plane wave propagation, the transfer matrices between the two ends of straight pipe and two-duct perforated section are derived and taken as the basic elements. Based on the conditions of continuity of pressure and of mass velocity, the silencer is modeled as a network formed by the two basic elements. Then the sound attenuation characteristic of the silencers can be investigated. With this scheme the multiply connected acoustic filters can also be analyzed. Further, the porous sound absorbent material is also included in this scheme. The effect of sound absorption material on the performance of silencers is analyzed and discussed.     

Performance of T-shape barriers with top surface covered with absorptive quadratic residue diffusers

A previous paper [Applied Acoustics 66 (2005) 709-730] has shown that adding a quadratic residue diffuser (QRD) to the top of a T-shape barrier can provide better barrier performance than an equivalent purely absorptive barrier. In here, we extend the study to look at the performance when a QRD is made absorptive. This paper presents an investigation on the acoustic performance of a few welled-diffusers with different absorption ability on top of a T-shape noise barrier. The absorption properties of the diffusers are modified with different sequences, by filling the wells with fiberglass, by covering the well entrance with wire meshes, and by putting perforated sheet either on the top surface or inside the wells. A 2D Boundary Element Method (BEM) is used to calculate the barrier insertion loss. The numerical and experimental results on diffuser barriers with rigid and absorptive covers are compared. Among the tested models the best method of treating diffuser barriers with absorbent agents in the QRD is found to be a perorated sheet on top or inside the diffuser wells. It is found that increasing the absorption ability of QRD by fiberglass or high resistance wire meshes has negative effect on the efficiency of a QRD barrier. It is shown that, if the increase in absorption destroys the effect of resonance in wells, it will also have negative effect on the insertion loss performance of the QRD edge barrier.     

三维浅海下弹性结构声辐射预报的有限元-抛物方程法

利用多物理场耦合有限元法对结构和流体适应性强、抛物方程声场计算高效准确的特点,提出了三维浅海波导下弹性结构声振特性研究的有限元-抛物方程法.该方法采用多物理场耦合有限元理论建立浅海下结构近场声辐射模型,计算局域波导下结构声振信息,并提取深度方向上复声压值作为抛物方程初始值;然后采用隐式差分法求解抛物方程以步进计算结构辐射声场.重点介绍了该方法对浅海下结构声辐射计算的准确性、高效性以及快速收敛性后,对Pekeris波导中有限长弹性圆柱壳的声振特性进行了分析.研究得出,当圆柱壳靠近海面(海底)时,其耦合频率比自由场下的要高(低),当潜深达到一定范围时,与自由场耦合频率基本趋于一致;在低频远场,结构辐射场与同强度点源声场具有一定的等效性,且等效距离随着频率增加而增加;由于辐射声场受结构振动模态、几何尺寸和简正波模式影响,结构辐射场传播的衰减规律按近场声影响区、球面波衰减区、介于球面波和柱面波衰减区、柱面波衰减区四个扩展区依次进行.     

Effect of acoustical damping with a porous absorptive layer in the cavity to reduce the structure-borne sound radiation from a double-leaf structure

Structure-borne sound radiation from a double-leaf structure with a porous absorptive layer in the cavity is studied theoretically as well as experimentally. The study is for establishing a countermeasure to reduce the structure-borne noise radiated from an interior leaf into rooms and for clarifying its reduction effect. The sound field radiated from a double-leaf elastic plate with layers of arbitrary media in the cavity set into vibration by a point force excitation is theoretically analyzed. The effect of the bulk vibration of an absorptive layer is also considered by a simple model into the present theory. Radiation reduction of an inner-layer derived from the theory is experimentally validated. Parametric studies reveal that increasing the ratio of an absorptive layer thickness to the cavity depth is effective to reduce the structure-borne sound radiation but high flow resistivity of the absorbent material is not necessarily required. A practical equation to predict the mass-air-mass resonance frequency for absorbent cavity case is given in a simple form.     

Reflection of sound at area expansions in a flow duct

An analytical model for scattering at area discontinuities and sharp edges in flow ducts and pipes is presented. The application we have in mind is large industrial duct systems, where sound attenuation by reactive and absorptive baffle silencers is of great importance. Such devices commonly have a rectangular cross-section, so the model is chosen as two-dimensional. Earlier solutions to this problem are reviewed in the paper. The modelling of the flow conditions downstream of the area expansion, with and without extended edges, and its implications for the resulting acoustic modes are discussed. Here, the scattering problem is solved with the Wiener-Hopf technique, and a Kutta condition is applied at the edge. The solution of the wave equation downstream of the expansion includes hydrodynamic waves, of which one is a growing wave. Theoretical results are compared with experimental data for the reflection coefficient for the plane wave, at frequencies below the cut-on for higher order modes. Influence of the interaction between the sound field and the flow field is discussed. A region where the reflection coefficient is strongly Strouhal number dependent is found.     

NUMERICAL MODELLING OF MEDIAN ROAD TRAFFIC NOISE BARRIERS

Outdoor sound propagation from road traffic is modelled by solving a boundary integral equation formulation of the wave equation using boundary element techniques in two dimensions. In the first model, the source representing a traffic stream can be considered as a coherent line source of sound. The results can then be transformed to derive a pseudo-three dimensional solution to the problem. In the second model the line source is incoherent. For receivers near the ground, the second model predicted significantly higher values of ground attenuation than the first. The first model generally produced better agreement with ground attenuation results obtained using the U.K. traffic noise prediction model. For conditions when a noise barrier was present and the ground was absorbent, the incoherent line source model generally predicted significantly higher values of attenuation than those from the barrier and ground attenuation calculated separately. Over a range of receiver positions and barrier heights a similar, but less marked effect was observed when the coherent line source model was used. On dual carriageway roads, it is possible to incorporate barriers on the central reservation as a noise control measure. These are “median” noise barriers. The incoherent line source model is used to assess the performance of median barriers in reducing noise when installed alone and also with associated roadside barriers. A sound absorbent median noise barrier 1m in height produced consistent values of insertion loss of between 1 and 2dB over the range of receiver positions and ground conditions considered. When the median barrier was used in conjunction with a roadside barrier it produced a consistent improvement in insertion loss of between 1 and 2 dB over the range of conditions considered.     

Sound attenuation by multiple barriers

A method (tentatively called ‘the method of equivalent sound source’) of predicting the sound attenuation achieved by multiple barriers with knife edges and/or right-angled wedges is proposed. This paper shows that the sound pressure level in the shadow region behind the multiple barriers can be obtained by successively setting imaginary sound sources for respective edges and/or wedges. The locations of the imaginary sound sources are determined by means of the traditional solution for sound attenuation by a single edge. The calculated results for several kinds of small-scale model, obtained by ‘the method of equivalent sound source’, are compared with experimental results.     

Edge and Impurity Effects on Quantization of Hall Currents

We consider the edge Hall conductance and show it is invariant under perturbations located in a strip along the edge (decaying perturbations far from the edge are also allowed). This enables us to prove for the edge conductances a general sum rule relating currents due to the presence of two different media located respectively on the left and on the right half plane. As a particular interesting case we put forward a general quantization formula for the difference of edge Hall conductances in semi-infinite samples with and without a confining wall. It implies in particular that the edge Hall conductance takes its ideal quantized value under a gap condition for the bulk Hamiltonian, or under some localization properties for a random bulk Hamiltonian (provided one first regularizes the conductance; we shall discuss this regularization issue). Our quantization formula also shows that deviations from the ideal value occurs if a semi-infinite distribution of impurity potentials is repulsive enough to produce current-carrying surface states on its boundary.UPR 7061 au CNRSUMR 8088 au CNRS     

Directive line source model: a new model for sound diffraction by half planes and wedges

A new method termed Directive Line Source Model (DLSM) is presented for predicting the diffracted field produced by a sound wave incident on a rigid or pressure release half plane. In the new method the edge of the half plane is modeled as an infinite set of directive point sources continuously distributed along the edge. Because DLSM is fast, simple and intuitive, it is a promising tool for the study of diffraction. It can be applied for several types of incident radiation: omnidirectional cylindrical and spherical waves, plane waves, as well as waves from directional sources. Wedges may also be treated. Finally, DLSM can handle diffraction by an arbitrarily shaped edge profile, for example, a half plane having an edge that is jagged instead of straight. Results for plane, cylindrical and spherical incident waves, as well as for arrays of line and point sources, are presented and their agreement with known analytical solutions is demonstrated. Predictions based on DLSM compare favorably with experimental data.     

Durability of sound absorbing materials for highway noise barriers

This paper presents the results of a research study into two properties of sound absorbing materials intended for highway noise barrier applications: their durability and their sound absorption coefficients before and after exposure to adverse weather. After surveying the products of 34 manufacturers, eight materials and one “absorption system” were tested in the field and the laboratory. Even though there is no single, accepted test for weather endurance for these kinds of material, the results of the study provide in ormation on their likely future behaviour when installed on a barrier. The results apply at least partially to other outdoor situations too, and augment the limited information presently available on sound absorptive materials for outdoor use.     

Experimental and numerical study of air-coupled surface waves generated above strips of finite impedance

A series of laboratory experiments are described in which air coupled surface waves are generated from a point source in the frequency range between 800 and 1700 Hz above a surface composed of a lattice of small cavities. Since the sound pressure near the lattice of cavities can be greater than if the surface was rigid, passive amplification is obtained. Moreover, directional receivers can be designed by restricting the lattice of cavities to a strip of finite width. These directional receivers are shown to provide more amplification than would be obtained with a semi-infinite lattice of cavities. Theoretical calculations using a boundary element method predict gains of up to 6 dB, relative to the pressure on a rigid plane when the strip width is of the order of 1 wavelength. The strips are further modified by changing their shape or by adding reflectors to further enhance the amplification. Gains of 12 dB have been measured and predictions show that gains of 20 dB are theoretically possible.     

Non-linear effect of wall linings on sound attenuation in ducts

The equivalent surface source method is extended to the analysis of high intensity sound propagation in a duct whose wall is partially treated with a sound absorbing material. The propagation of sound in the gas is assumed to be linear, but the acoustic resistance of the sound absorbing material is assumed to be a function of the normal acoustic velocity. The problem is reduced to a non-linear integro-differential equation for the fluid particle displacement at the lined wall surface, which can be solved by a successive approximation method. Numerical examples show that the non-linear effect decreases or increases the peak sound attenuation rate of the lowest mode depending upon the linear component of the resistance. The dependence of the attenuation spectrum on modal phase difference of multi-mode incident waves is heavily affected by the non-linear effect. In the case of incident waves of multi-circumferential modes, different circumferential modes are generated by the non-linear effect.     

Vortex sound under the influence of a piecewise porous material on an infinite rigid plane

The vortex dynamics and the sound generation by an inviscid vortex in the presence of a finite length porous material on an otherwise rigid plane are studied numerically in the present study in an attempt to understand the sound generation near the surface of a wall lining in a lined duct. The combined effects of the effective fluid density and flow resistance inside the porous material, and the length and thickness of the porous material on the sound generation process are examined in detail. Results obtained demonstrate the sound pressure is longitudinal dipole and show how seriously the above-mentioned parameters are affecting the vortex sound pressure under the influence of the porous material.     

Characteristics of surface sound pressure and absorption of a finite impedance strip for a grazing incident plane wave

Distributions of sound pressure and intensity on the surface of a flat impedance strip flush-mounted on a rigid baffle are studied for a grazing incident plane wave. The distributions are obtained by superimposing the unperturbed wave (the specularly reflected wave as if the strip is rigid plus the incident wave) with the radiated wave from the surface vibration of the strip excited by the unperturbed pressure. The radiated pressure interferes with the unperturbed pressure and distorts the propagating plane wave. When the plane wave propagates in the baffle-strip-baffle direction, it encounters discontinuities in acoustical impedance at the baffle-strip and strip-baffle interfaces. The radiated pressure is highest around the baffle-strip interface, but decreases toward the strip-baffle interface where the plane wave distortion reduces accordingly. As the unperturbed and radiated waves have different magnitudes and superimpose out of phase, the surface pressure and intensity increase across the strip in the plane wave propagation direction. Therefore, the surface absorption of the strip is nonzero and nonuniform. This paper provides an understanding of the surface pressure and intensity behaviors of a finite impedance strip for a grazing incident plane wave, and of how the distributed intensity determines the sound absorption coefficient of the strip.     

Travelling Modes in Wave-Heated Plasma Sources

This paper describes a theoretical and experimental study of surface- and helicon-wave-heated plasma sources in which standing waves are set up in the cavity between the closed end plate to a plasma vessel and a wave launcher while travelling waves propagate from the opposite side of the launcher into a region which is long compared with the attenuation distance of the waves. We model the situation as a lossy transmission line of finite length coupled at the launcher to a lossy transmission line of infinite extent. RF power applied to the launcher divides in the ratio of the input impedances of the two transmission lines. For a conducting end plate, the power delivered to the travelling waves is a maximum when the cavity length is an odd number of 1/4 wavelengths long for which its input impedance is a maximum. Similarly, for an insulated end plate, the power delivered to the travelling waves is a maximum for a cavity with a length equal to an integer number of half wavelengths for which its input impedance is again a maximum.      

Diffraction of a sound wave by the open end of a flanged waveguide with impedance walls

Diffraction of a plane sound wave by the open end of an impedance-wall waveguide connected to an opening in an impedance screen is considered. The plane wave is incident on the waveguide from a free half-space. Two versions of the problem are considered: for a semi-infinite waveguide and for a finite-length waveguide with a specified bottom impedance; the impedances of the walls, screen, and waveguide bottom can be different. The finite-length waveguide can be treated as an open cavity in the impedance screen. For the cavity of zero length, the problem is reduced to the diffraction by an impedance insert in the impedance screen. The solution in the external region determines the scattered field; the solution in the internal region allows one to determine the directional pattern of an array of receivers located in the cavity. The problem is solved using the integral Helmholtz equation with a specially selected Green’s function that provides the fulfillment of the boundary conditions. Formally, the problem is reduced to an infinite system of algebraic equations. The computational results obtained for bistatic and monostatic scattering patterns are presented.