Comparison of an analytic horn equation approach and a boundary element method for the calculation of sound fields in the human ear canal

The sound field inside a model human ear canal has been computed, to show both longitudinal variations along the canal length and transverse variations through cross-sectional slices. Two methods of computation were used. A modified horn equation approach parametrizes the sound field with a single coordinate, the position along a curved center axis-this approach can accommodate the curvature and varying cross-sectional area of the ear canal but cannot compute transverse variations of the sound field. A boundary element method (BEM) was also implemented to compute the full three-dimensional sound field. Over 2000 triangular mesh elements were used to represent the ear canal geometry. For a plane piston source at the entrance plane, the pressure along the curved center axis predicted by the two methods is in good agreement, for frequencies up to 15 kHz, for four different ear canals. The BEM approach, though, reveals spatial variations of sound pressure within each canal cross section. These variations are small below 4 kHz, but increase with frequency, reaching 1.5 dB at 8 kHz and 4.5 dB at 15 kHz. For source configurations that are more realistic than a simple piston, large transverse variations in sound pressure are anticipated in the vicinity of the source.     

Enhancing micro-perforated panel attenuation by partitioning the adjoining cavity

The sound attenuation performance of micro-perforated panels (MPP) with adjoining air cavity is investigated for a plenum. The sound field inside of a plenum is compared for two cases. In the first case, the plenum is treated with an MPP and adjoining air cavity without any partitioning. For the second case, the adjoining air cavity is partitioned into a number of sub-cavities. The resulting sound pressure fields indicate that partitioning the adjoining air cavity increases the overall sound attenuation due to the MPP by approximately 4 dB. The explanation for this phenomenon was investigated by measuring the sound pressure level on planes in front of the MPP. Additionally, boundary element analyses were conducted to simulate the effect of the MPP and adjoining cavity with and without partitioning on the sound field in the plenum. It was demonstrated that a MPP can be modeled as a transfer impedance and that partitioning the adjoining cavity enhances attenuation to acoustic modes that propagate transverse to the MPP.     

Interaction of a spherical acoustic wave with an elastic spherical shell

The interaction of a spherical acoustic wave with an elastic spherical shell is treated analytically. The solution includes the coupling between the acoustic sound field and vibration of the shell with any degree of fluid loading. The formulation for the far-field acoustic pressure is derived in terms of natural spherical wave functions, the properties of the acoustic medium, and the material constants of the shell. The far acoustic field is computed for a thin aluminum shell and several sound source locations over a large range of ka, where k is the wavenumber, and a is the shell radius. It is shown that the acoustic pressure depends significantly on whether the shell is in air or is submerged in water, particularly when the sound source is very near the surface. In air, the sound field of the shell is nearly identical to that of a rigid sphere but, in water, the shell is more compliant, which results in a damped radiation field that is characterized by vibrational resonances throughout the range of frequencies considered. As the sound sources is moved further away from the surface, however, this resonance response decreases very rapidly, and the sound field corresponds more closely to that of the shell in air.     

Dependence of sonochemical luminescence on various sound fields

To understand the effect of the sound field on sonochemical luminescence, the exact sound pressure must be determined in each field. In this study it was determined by the Shlieren method, which measures the sound pressure without mixing the sound fields. We compared the efficiency of the sonochemical luminescence in three different ways: changing the diameter of the transducer, combining two transducers to obtain crossed propagating directions and surrounding the sound field by a glass cylinder. In the last case cylinders with various sizes were studied. We found that (i) at the same sound pressure, the larger transducer induces stronger luminescence per unit volume, (ii) driving two transducers produces stronger luminescence than the sum of each transducer and (iii) a glass cylinder surrounding the sound field induces stronger luminescence.     

高能超声制备碳纳米管增强AZ91D复合材料的声场模拟

建立了高能超声制备碳纳米管增强AZ91D复合材料的声场计算模型, 并采用有限元方法计算了20 kHz超声直接作用下AZ91D熔体的声场分布, 熔体声场呈辐射状分布, 距离声源越远, 声压幅值越低. 采用超声作用下单一气泡变化模型描述超声作用下AZ91D 熔体中的空化效应, 通过对Rayleigh-Plesset方程的求解, 得到了不同声压作用下气泡的变化规律, 获得了声压幅值与熔体空化效应的关系, 声压幅值越大, 气泡溃灭半径阈值越小, 熔体发生空化效应越容易. 计算了固定坩埚尺寸、不同超声探头没入熔体深度情况下的声场, 得到了超声探头最优没入深度为30 mm左右. 将声场计算结果以及AZ91D熔体中空化效应的发生规律进行综合分析, 得到了超声功率对有效空化区域的影响规律, 超声功率较大时, 有效空化区域体积随超声功率近似成线性增大. 最后, 通过甘油水溶液超声处理实验, 验证了模拟计算的准确性.     

环境因素对海-气界面低频异常声透射的影响研究

针对海中声源在海-气界面低频异常声透射问题, 根据两层媒质声传输模型, 分析了大气声速和密度与气压、气温、湿度及海水中声速和密度与海温、盐度间的关系, 研究了低频声透射和传输受温度、气压、盐度、湿度等因素的影响, 分析了各因素对声透射和传输的影响程度. 结果表明: 1) 声透射到大气中的声功率与气温、湿度负相关, 与海温、盐度、气压正相关; 2) 单极子与水平偶极子声源辐射到海中的声功率与海温、盐度负相关, 而垂直偶极子声源辐射到海中的声功率与海温、盐度正相关; 3) 声透射指向性与海温正相关, 与气温负相关; 4) 低频声透射受温度影响最大, 其次是盐度, 受气压和湿度影响较小, 垂直偶极子声源的声透射受温度影响大于水平偶极子和单极子声源.     

Sound pressure distribution and power flow within the gerbil ear canal from 100 Hz to 80 kHz

Sound pressure was mapped in the bony ear canal of gerbils during closed-field sound stimulation at frequencies from 0.1 to 80 kHz. A 1.27-mm-diam probe-tube microphone or a 0.17-mm-diam fiber-optic miniature microphone was positioned along approximately longitudinal trajectories within the 2.3-mm-diam ear canal. Substantial spatial variations in sound pressure, sharp minima in magnitude, and half-cycle phase changes occurred at frequencies >30 kHz. The sound frequencies of these transitions increased with decreasing distance from the tympanic membrane (TM). Sound pressure measured orthogonally across the surface of the TM showed only small variations at frequencies below 60 kHz. Hence, the ear canal sound field can be described fairly well as a one-dimensional standing wave pattern. Ear-canal power reflectance estimated from longitudinal spatial variations was roughly constant at 0.2-0.5 at frequencies between 30 and 45 kHz. In contrast, reflectance increased at higher frequencies to at least 0.8 above 60 kHz. Sound pressure was also mapped in a microphone-terminated uniform tube-an "artificial ear." Comparison with ear canal sound fields suggests that an artificial ear or "artificial cavity calibration" technique may underestimate the in situ sound pressure by 5-15 dB between 40 and 60 kHz.     

稠密可压缩气粒两相流动中的等熵声速计算建模及物理规律

气体相与颗粒相混合流场的声速研究, 由于具有重要的基础理论价值与广泛的工程应用背景, 逐渐受到人们重视. 针对稠密可压缩气粒两相流动, 综合考虑颗粒相所占空间体积以及颗粒间相互作用, 推导给出了新的等熵声速计算公式; 新公式包含了已有的纯气体、稀疏气粒两相流情形的计算公式作为其特例, 一方面验证了公式推导的正确性, 另一方面说明新公式更具有通用性; 分析了不同颗粒质量分数条件下的声速变化规律, 相应结果与普朗特的理论分析符合, 特别对于稠密气粒两相流动工况得到了一些新的物理认识; 开展了颗粒间相互作用建模参数的物理分析, 揭示了其对气粒两相流动声速的影响机理. 本文取得的成果为稠密可压缩气粒两相流动研究以及相关工程应用提供理论支撑.     

Examination of bone-conducted transmission from sound field excitation measured by thresholds, ear-canal sound pressure, and skull vibrations

Bone conduction (BC) relative to air conduction (AC) sound field sensitivity is here defined as the perceived difference between a sound field transmitted to the ear by BC and by AC. Previous investigations of BC-AC sound field sensitivity have used different estimation methods and report estimates that vary by up to 20 dB at some frequencies. In this study, the BC-AC sound field sensitivity was investigated by hearing threshold shifts, ear canal sound pressure measurements, and skull bone vibrations measured with an accelerometer. The vibration measurement produced valid estimates at 400 Hz and below, the threshold shifts produced valid estimates at 500 Hz and above, while the ear canal sound pressure measurements were found erroneous for estimating the BC-AC sound field sensitivity. The BC-AC sound field sensitivity is proposed, by combining the present result with others, as frequency independent at 50 to 60 dB at frequencies up to 900 Hz. At higher frequencies, it is frequency dependent with minima of 40 to 50 dB at 2 and 8 kHz, and a maximum of 50 to 60 dB at 4 kHz. The BC-AC sound field sensitivity is the theoretical limit of maximum attenuation achievable with ordinary hearing protection devices.     

基于薄膜编码超表面的宽频超薄声散射体

该文提出了一种基于薄膜编码超表面的宽频超薄声散射体。利用附加质量块的薄膜和空气腔组成的薄膜结构构建了反射声波相位差接近180°的两种共振单元。将两种共振单元按照一定的顺序进行排列,可以组成深亚波长尺寸下的声学超表面。所构建的声学超表面可以产生宽频有效的散射声场。通过有限元仿真软件对多个频率的近场散射声场分布、远场声指向性和扩散系数进行了仿真计算,仿真结果显示,该散射体可以高效地散射入射声波,并且散射效果在一定的频率范围内是宽频有效的。     

Specification of the acoustical input to the ear at high frequencies

The sound fields that arise in the auditory canals of cats have been examined both experimentally and theoretically. Of particular interest was the spatial variation of sound pressure near the eardrum, where reference probes are typically located. Using a computer controlled data acquisition system, sound pressure was measured between 100 Hz and 33 kHz for constant driver input at 14 different locations in the ear canal of a cat, and the standing wave patterns formed. The shape of the patterns could be predicted quite well above 12 kHz using a theory that requires specification of only the geometry of the ear canal. This theory, an extension of the one-dimensional horn equation, applies to three-dimensional, rigid-walled tubes that have both variable cross section and curvature along their lengths. Large variations of sound pressure along the ear canal and over the surface of the eardrum are found above about 10 kHz. As a consequence it is not possible to define the acoustical input to the ear from sound pressure level measured at any single location. Even in comparative experiments, in which only the constancy of the acoustical input is important, any uncertainty in reference probe location would lead to an uncertainty in sound pressure level when different sets of measurements are compared. This error, calculated for various probe locations and frequencies, is especially large when the probe is near a minimum of the sound field. Spatial variations in pressure can also introduce anomalous features into the measured frequency response of other auditory quantities when eardrum sound pressure is used as a reference. This is illustrated with measurements of the round window cochlear microphonic.     

Sound radiation from point sources in circular motion

The moving-source approach used by Morfey and Tanna for broad-band sound radiation from a point force in circular motion is adopted in this paper to evaluate the sound radiated in the far field due to point sources of random time variation rotating uniformly in a circle at subsonic speed. It is shown that the sound pressure results (overall and spectral density) for the volume velocity source can be easily extracted from the corresponding results for a rotating point force. An expression for the sound field of a point volume displacement source in arbitrary motion is derived and this is applied to the special case of uniform circular motion. The effects of acceleration of the sources due to circular motion on the radiated sound are established. Applications include noise from tip jet rotors, compressors and marine propellers.     

Estimation of the sound pressure field of a baffled uniform elliptically shaped transducer

In this paper an alternative approach to estimate the sound field of an elliptically shaped transducer in an infinite baffle is described. The method is based on a singular value decomposition of a propagating matrix which is computed through a division of the vibrating surface into a finite number of small circular piston sources flush-mounted on the elliptical surface. This decomposition is combined with the volume velocity vector on the discretized surface to obtain the sound pressure field. Numerical examples for both on-axis sound pressure and directivity are presented for the uniform elliptical piston transducer and they are in good agreement with the results given by other methods.     

开孔对封闭空间共振特性的影响

研究了开孔对封闭空间声场的影响。通过将孔内振动空气等效为点源,用模态展开法建立了开孔封闭空间的声场模型,计算了开孔封闭空间高阶共振频率和在共振频率激励下的声压分布。结果显示:开孔等效于孔处声质量减小,一般使得开孔封闭空间的共振频率增加;但当孔位于某模态节点时,由于该阶模态与任一模态在开孔处未发生耦合,该模态共振频率不变;由于在开孔区域对应于激励频率的模态声压和其余各阶模态声压之和的相位相反,高阶共振频率激励下靠近小孔位置的声压减小。因此,开孔对封闭空间声场有影响,其影响程度与开孔位置和开孔尺寸有关。     

Sound propagation in the atmospheric surface layer: Comparison of experiment with FFP predictions

This paper presents a set of acoustical and meteorological data from an outdoor sound propagation experiment. This experiment was done in a farm field near Rock Springs, Pennsylvania, on 7 July 1990. Meteorological and acoustical measurements were recorded simultaneously during six different times in the day. The meteorological measurements permitted determination of the sound speed profiles during each of the measurement sessions, using a method based on surface-layer similarity scaling. The acoustical measurements allowed precise determination of the relative sound pressure levels for a frequency range up to 3150 Hz at six different distances (66, 88, 125, 175, 250 and 350 m). The results show atmospheric conditions have an important effect on sound propagation. At medium and high frequencies, variations of the relative SPL have been measured at distances as short as 62 m. These effects increased with the distances so that variations as great as 30 dB have been measured during that day. Comparisons with the fast field program predictions are also presented, and amply demonstrate the accuracies of this model, especially for the downward refraction cases.     

Transverse pressure distributions in a simple model ear canal occluded by a hearing aid test fixture

The sound field in a model ear canal with a hearing aid test fixture has been investigated experimentally and theoretically. Large transverse variations of sound pressure level, as much as 20 dB at 8 kHz, were found across the inner face of the hearing aid. Variations are greatest near the outlet port of the receiver and the vent port. Deeper into the canal, the transverse variations are less significant and, at depths greater than 4 mm, only a longitudinal variation remains. The model canal was cylindrical, 7.5 mm diameter, and terminated with a Zwislocki coupler to represent absorption by the human middle ear. The outer end of the canal was driven by the receiver in the hearing aid test fixture, with the acoustic output entering the canal through a 1 mm port. The hearing aid was provided with a 20-mm-long vent, either 1 or 2 mm in diameter. The sound field inside the canal was measured using a specially designed 0.2-mm-diam probe microphone [Daigle and Stinson, J. Acoust. Soc. Am. 116, 2618 (2004)]. In parallel, calculations of the interior sound field were performed using a boundary element technique and found to agree well with measurements.     

An optical fiber infrasound sensor: a new lower limit on atmospheric pressure noise between 1 and 10 Hz

A new distributed sensor for detecting pressure variations caused by distant sources has been developed. The instrument reduces noise due to air turbulence in the infrasound band by averaging pressure along a line by means of monitoring strain in a long tubular diaphragm with an optical fiber interferometer. Above 1 Hz, the optical fiber infrasound sensor (OFIS) is less noisy than sensors relying on mechanical filters. Records collected from an 89-m-long OFS indicate a new low noise limit in the band from 1 to 10 Hz. Because the OFIS integrates pressure variations at light-speed rather than the speed of sound, phase delays of the acoustical signals caused by the sensor are negligible. Very long fiber-optic sensors are feasible and hold the promise of better wind-noise reduction than can be achieved with acoustical-mechanical systems.     

Momentum, radiation pressure, and other second-order quantities in ideal gas (liquid) in some boundary-value problems

Problems related to such properties of sound waves as momentum, radiation pressure, and sound energy density and flux are investigated on the basis of the solutions of particular problems in the first-and second-order approximations using the Eulerian representation. Specifically, it is shown that a disturbance propagating in a continuous medium may have a nonzero momentum when the average density of the medium in the volume occupied by the wave coincides with the density of the undisturbed medium. In this case, the momentum and the related mass transfer and radiation pressure are caused by variations in the wave profile (envelope). Andreev’s expression for the energy density that differs from the commonly used one is verified, and some other paradoxical consequences of the theory of sound are considered. The correctness of using the quantities averaged over time and space is discussed.     

基于声线跟踪法对闭空间声场预测的接收球半径计算

接收球半径是采用声线跟踪法进行声场预测的一个重要参数。以前所用到的接收球半径一般是通过经验估计得到的,缺乏详细的理论分析。本文从声波传播机理角度分析了根据声线密度来确定接收球半径的原因,并推导了矩形闭空间中声线密度和接收球半径的计算方法。声线密度可以通过原始声线数目,声场空间体积与形状,边界吸声系数来确定。在一给定闭空间里,声线密度可看作是均匀分布的,所以接收球半径与空间位置无关,可看作是一个常数。但对不同的声场空间来说,由于空间体积、形状和吸声系数的变化,声线密度是不同的,因此接收球半径也会不同。声线密度越大,接收球半径越小;声线密度越小,接收球半径越大。实验表明,所提出的接收球模型能用来较准确地预测闭空间里的声压级和混响时间等声学参数。     

Sound pressure in cylindrical shells with regular orthogonal system of stiffeners excited by a random fields of forces

To identify deterministic and random vibrations of a closed cylindrical shell with a regular orthogonal system of stiffeners (stringers and frames) the effective prediction method was worked out. This method is a generalization of the known method of space-harmonic expansion based on the theorem of Bloch-Floquet for a two-dimensional case. The method permits considering correctly the stiffener discreteness and their interaction with the shell through all the components of displacement. On the basis of the method worked out the task of determining the sound field inside the cylindrical volume bounded by the shell excited by the deterministic and random fields of external forces is solved. The high efficiency of the method permits making the prediction of the shell vibrations and of the sound pressure levels inside the volume with account for sound-insulating layers over a wide frequency range. Examples of predicting the strengthened shell vibrations at large aircraft fuselage parameters are given as well as the sound pressure levels inside it under the point force excitation and under excitation by the random field of wall pressure fluctuations of the turbulent boundary layer (within the limits of one of the representation of the space correlation spectrum).