Using the lattice Boltzman method and GPU computing to model flow in organ pipes

Abstract

The lattice Boltzman method (LBM) has been used to study oscillating air flow in musical instruments since the early 1990s. Most of the work has focused on flow into organ pipes and flow behavior around the instrument’s labium. The current work intends to use GPU computing to simulate oscillations in 3D modeled and printed organ pipes of different cross-sectional geometries. These pipes will be used in experimental validation measurements of flow at the pipe exit (see TCMU general session for this work). The domain space required to visualize each outlet of air (around the labium and the pipe’s open end) simultaneously with a sufficient resolution was larger than could fit in our GPU's memory. The resolution and space requirements of the simulations has required the use of high-memory GPUs (a physical machine as well as Google Cloud GPU have been tested). The physical and computational parameter optimization, GPU processes, and the simulation difficulties encountered will be discussed. Finally, preliminary comparisons between experiment and model will be shared.