Distribution Of Acoustic Energy Research Articles

The prediction of jet noise ground effects using an acoustic analogy and a tailored Green's function

Abstract An assessment of an acoustic analogy for the mixing noise component of jet noise in the presence of an infinite surface is presented. The reflection of jet noise by the ground changes the distribution of acoustic energy and is characterized by constructive and destructive interference patterns. The equivalent sources are modeled based on the two-point cross-correlation of the turbulent velocity fluctuations and a steady Reynolds-Averaged Navier–Stokes (RANS) solution. Propagation effects, due to reflection by the surface and refraction by the jet shear layer, are taken into account by calculating the vector Green's function of the linearized Euler equations (LEE). The vector Green's function of the LEE is written in relation to that of Lilley's equation; that is, it is approximated with matched asymptotic solutions and Green's function of the convective Helmholtz equation. The Green's function of the convective Helmholtz equation in the presence of an infinite flat plane with impedance is the Weyl–van der Pol equation. Predictions are compared with measurements from an unheated Mach 0.95 jet. Microphones are placed at various heights and distances from the nozzle exit in the peak jet noise direction above an acoustically hard and an asphalt surface. The predictions are shown to accurately capture jet noise ground effects that are characterized by constructive and destructive interference patterns in the mid- and far-field and capture overall trends in the near-field.

Assessing the sound directivity of ducts based on time delay spectrometry

The sound directivity factor is an important parameter for describing the spatial distribution of acoustic energy radiated by duct terminations. Nevertheless, the available standard techniques for measuring the directivity factor rely on the free-field condition, which implies on the availability of a non-reflective environment, such as an anechoic chamber. In this paper, a technique known as time delay spectrometry is used to determine the directivity factor and the sound reflection coefficient of an open unflanged pipe in a normal reflective environment. The results show a good agreement between the experimental data and the theory. Details of the experimental procedures, as well as the discussion on the advantages and shortcomings of the method are presented in this letter.

Spectral Characteristics of Schwa in Czech Accented English

The English central mid lax vowel (i.e., schwa) often contributes considerably to the sound differences between native and non-native speech. Many foreign speakers of English fail to reduce certain underlying vowels to schwa, which, on the suprasegmental level of description, affects the perceived rhythm of their speech. However, the problem of capturing quantitatively the differences between native and non-native schwa poses difficulties that, to this day, have been tackled only partially. We offer a technique of measurement in the acoustic domain that has not been probed properly as yet: the distribution of acoustic energy in the vowel spectrum. Our results show that spectral slope features measured in weak vowels discriminate between Czech and British speakers of English quite reliably. Moreover, the measurements of formant bandwidths turned out to be useful for the same task, albeit less direct.

Nonlinear mixing of ultrasonic coda waves with lower frequency-swept pump waves for a global detection of defects in multiple scattering media

An ultrasonic method providing for an efficient global detection of defects in complex media (multiple scattering or reverberating media) is reported herein; this method is based on the nonlinear acoustic mixing of coda waves (stemming from multiple scattering) with lower frequency-swept pump waves. Such a nonlinear mixing step is made possible by the presence of nonlinear scatterers, such as cracks and delamination, yet remains absent when the waves are scattered only by linear scatterers, as is the case in a complex but defect-free medium. A global inspection is achieved thanks to the use of wide-band coda and pump signals, which ensure the excitation of many resonances along with a homogeneous acoustic energy distribution in the medium. We introduce the existing sensitivity tools developed for Coda Wave Interferometry in extracting the pump amplitude-dependent parameters of the coda waves associated with effective nonlinear parameters of the medium. By comparing results at two damage levels, these effective nonlinear parameters are shown to be correlated with crack presence in glass samples. The mechanisms potentially responsible for the observed amplitude dependence on the tested elastic parameters and waveform modification are discussed.

Acoustic emission monitoring of interlaminar delamination onset in carbon fibre composites

This article presents the development of an experimental methodology based on acoustic emission wave detection for determining delamination onset and propagation in carbon fibre composite materials under quasi-static and fatigue loading. Delamination was investigated in quasi-static interlaminar fracture testing over a wide range of mixed-mode ratios (GII/GT = 0, 0.3, 0.5 and 1) for unidirectional and woven samples. An acoustic emission wave detection method was developed to detect delamination onset, and the corresponding fracture toughness was computed. Interlaminar fracture toughness was also calculated by beam theory and from finite element analysis with the virtual crack closure technique. The mechanical testing results, acoustic emission monitoring and numerical model’s interlaminar fracture toughness were used to define delamination initiation criteria by drawing two-dimensional envelopes corresponding to GC = f(GII/GT). The acoustic emission wave detection method showed damage accumulation before observable crack propagation, and its failure envelope corresponded to lower fracture energies than the standard test and modelling methods. Mode I fatigue testing with acoustic emission monitoring was performed on the woven samples for different energy release rate ratios (GIMAX/GIC = 0.3–0.8). A first series of samples were tested to construct an onset delamination fatigue curve ΔG = f(N). A second series of samples were used to study the cumulative acoustic emission energy distribution during delamination growth. An unsupervised pattern recognition methodology is presented for crack opening and closing testing, in order to discriminate between fatigue signal noise and acoustic emission signals emitted from crack initiation and crack growth. Correlations were observed between the acoustic emission energy distribution, the load range, the delamination length and the crack growth rate.

Study of nonlinear acoustic field of high intensity focused ultrasound by the fractional wave

The acoustic energy distribution of high intensity focused ultrasound (HIFU) is influenced by the attenuation and the dispersion of the biological tissue. In this paper we modify the KZK equation according to the fractional wave equation, in order to accurately describe the sound field of HIFU. The theoretical and experimental studies of frequency dependences of attenuation and sound speed examine the validity of the fractional wave equation. Furthermore, the numerical simulation of HIFU field is performed using the modified KZK equation. The results demonstrate that the introduction of the fractional derivative equation could solve the problems of the attenuation and sound dispersion, leading to the accuracy improvement of HIFU therapy.

Piecewise coherent mode processing of acoustic data recorded on two horizontally separated vertical line arrays

Motivated by measurements made in the 2004 Long-Range Ocean Acoustic Propagation Experiment (LOAPEX), the problem of mode processing transient acoustic signals collected on two nearby vertical line arrays is considered. The first three moments (centroid, variance, and skewness) of broadband distributions of acoustic energy with fixed mode number (referred to as modal group arrivals) are estimated. It is shown that despite the absence of signal coherence between the two arrays and poor high mode number energy resolution, the centroid and variance of these distributions can be estimated with tolerable errors using piecewise coherent mode processing as described in this paper.

Boundary element dynamical energy analysis: A versatile method for solving two or three dimensional wave problems in the high frequency limit

Dynamical energy analysis was recently introduced as a new method for determining the distribution of mechanical and acoustic wave energy in complex built up structures. The technique interpolates between standard statistical energy analysis and full ray tracing, containing both of these methods as limiting cases. As such the applicability of the method is wide ranging and additionally includes the numerical modelling of problems in optics and more generally of linear wave problems in electromagnetics. In this work we consider a new approach to the method with enhanced versatility, enabling three-dimensional problems to be handled in a straightforward manner. The main challenge is the high dimensionality of the problem: we determine the wave energy density both as a function of the spatial coordinate and momentum (or direction) space. The momentum variables are expressed in separable (polar) coordinates facilitating the use of products of univariate basis expansions. However this is not the case for the spatial argument and so we propose to make use of automated mesh generating routines to both localise the approximation, allowing quadrature costs to be kept moderate, and give versatility in the code for different geometric configurations.

Perceptual control of convolution based room simulators

Reverberation processing has been intensively studied in audio and acoustics research for many years now. Early approaches used feedback delay networks to control the temporal distribution of reflections and to simulate the statistical properties of room reverberation. Thanks to the increase in processing power and the development of low-latency convolution algorithms a new generation of reverberation processors has been developed. They apply room impulse responses (RIR) measured in real concert halls and thus guarantee naturalness and authenticity of reverberation. Extending this approach to the use of higher-order spherical microphone arrays provides the means for analyzing the spatiotemporal distribution of acoustic energy. This space-time-frequency representation of the acoustic wave field is also referred to as directional room impulse responses (DRIR) in literature. The objective of the presented work is to develop a perceptually motivated signal-processing environment based on the analysis and re-synthesis of DRIRs. It first extracts perceptual features from measured DRIRs (e.g. source presence and listener envelopment) and thus provides a perceptual signature of the measured room. The room acoustic behavior can then be modified along the various perceptual dimensions, preserving the microstructure of the original RIRs, before being re-synthesized for the use with reverberation processors.

Wave Intensity Distributions in Complex Structures

The vibro-acoustic response of mechanical structures can in general be well approximated in terms of linear wave equations. Standard numerical solution methods comprise the nite or boundary element method in the low frequency regime and statistical energy analysis in the high-frequency limit. Major computational challenges are posed by the so-called mid-frequency problem that is, composite structures where the local wavelength may vary by orders of magnitude across the components. Recently, a new approach towards determining the distribution of mechanical and acoustic wave energy in complex built-up structures improving on standard statistical energy analysis has been proposed. The technique interpolates between statistical energy analysis and ray tracing containing both these methods as limiting cases. The method has its origin in studying solutions of wave equation with an underlying chaotic ray-dynamics often referred to as wave chaos. Within the new theory dynamical energy analysis statistical energy analysis is identi ed as a low resolution ray tracing algorithm and typical statistical energy analysis assumptions can be quanti ed in terms of the properties of the ray dynamics. We have furthermore developed a hybrid statistical energy analysis/ nite element method based on random wave model assumptions for the short-wavelength components. This makes it possible to tackle mid-frequency problems under certain constraints on the geometry of the structure. Dynamical energy analysis and statistical energy analysis/ nite element method calculations for a range of multi-component model systems will be presented. The results are compared with both statistical energy analysis results and nite element method as well as boundary element method calculations. Dynamical energy analysis emerges as a numerically e cient method for calculating mean wave intensities with a high degree of spatial resolution and capturing long range correlations in the ray dynamics.

Monitoring the initiation and growth of delamination in composite materials using acoustic emission under quasi-static three-point bending test

Control and optimization of machining processes are important issues affecting the development of productivity. Monitoring systems have become indispensable in the evaluation of materials during machining. In this paper, the path toward the delamination-free drilling of glass/epoxy composite material is established using some novel methods based on acoustic emission features. Acoustic emission monitoring with three techniques, sentry function, acoustic emission energy distribution, and acoustic emission count distribution, are developed to detect and realize the critical force at the onset of delamination process on glass/epoxy composite materials. The three-point bending test simulates thrust force, the most effective factor in delamination, throughout the process of drilling without backup plate. Sentry function is regarded as a new method based on the combination of AE information and mechanical behavior of composite materials. The sentry function was used to study the initiation and growth of delamination process. Two types of specimen with different layups, woven [0, 90]s and unidirectional [0]s, leading to different levels of damage evolution, were studied. Results show that AE parameters and sentry function method are useful tools for the examination of initiation and the growth of delamination during drilling process and can help to avoid delamination damage while drilling.

Modeling of broadband acoustic energy evolution in dynamic ocean environments using high‐performance computing resources.

In recent years there has been considerable interest in predicting the acoustic energy temporal evolution over large 3‐D volumes. Most of the standard Navy models are inherently 2‐D and produce the acoustic pressure distribution of a point harmonic source in the vertical source‐receiver plane. There are several computational challenges that have to be addressed when using these models for quantitative modeling of the acoustic pressure distribution from natural or man‐made sources: broadband and complex spatial structure of a source, dynamic propagation environment, a need for 3‐D dynamic acoustic energy reconstruction, and an efficient visualization of a large amount of generated data. An attempt to resolve any of the mentioned issues pushes the computational time on a personal state‐of‐the‐art computer to several days (or weeks) and strongly dictates a need for upgrading these models to the high‐performance computing (HPC) environment. The range‐dependent acoustic model (RAM) was transferred into the HPC environment and upgraded to model broadband acoustic energy distribution from spatially distributed sources. The MPI domain decomposition approach to run the model on several cluster nodes is discussed. The data demonstrating computational time efficacy for multi‐node multi‐processor runs versus standard serial implementation are presented. [Research supported by TeraGrid Pathways Fellowship.]

Rationale of Combined PDT and SDT Modalities for Treating Cancer Patients in Terminal Stage: The Proper Use of Photosensitizer

We read with interest the recent article by Wang et al, reporting the clinical application of SF1 (Sonoflora 1)—a sensitizer that can be activated by light and ultrasound. SF1 is an analog of chlorophyll in that its macrocycle backbone is porphyrin-based and the center of the porphyrin ring consists of a metal ion. The chlorophyll derivative has light absorption peaks at 402 and 636 nm. A very unusual combination of this investigational agent and various prototype light sources and ultrasound devices was used in the treatment of three patients who suffered from late stages of breast cancer with systemic metastases to multiple organs. The combination of photosensitizer and light illumination is commonly known as photodynamic therapy (PDT) and the combination of drug or sonosensitizer and acoustic activation as sonodynamic therapy (SDT). In theory, the direct tumoricidal effects of these modalities are mediated by cytotoxic agents generated through photochemical or sonochemical reactions inside tumor tissue. The narrow gap between potential benefit and potential risk is determined by intrinsic cellular sensitivity and the sensitizer ratio between tumor and normal tissue. The synergistic effects of sensitizer and low-power ultrasound have been examined in many in vitro studies and to a lesser extent in in vivo models. Although the sonosensitization-induced cytotoxicity might be attributed to the sonochemical reaction, such as sensitizer-mediated energy transfer and free radical generation, data suggest that the mechanism of sonosensitization is probably not governed by a universal mechanism, but may be influenced by multiple factors including the nature of the biological model, sensitizer distribution, ultrasound parameters and acoustic energy distribution. Nevertheless, to date, the correlation between ultrasound parameters and biological effects has not been fully established in preclinical investigation (in vitro or in vivo). There is no convincing data that shows that ultrasound used in this way is effective in the treatment of primary tumor and multiple metastases. Therefore, this article raises a few basic questions. First of all, without those critical safety and efficacy information, it is unjustifiable to test the unproven prototypes in humans, particularly those in terminal stages for any purposes. The authors state that acoustic activation was delivered after intravenous administration of the chlorophyll derivative in two different modes—local and whole body ultrasound activation. A handheld ultrasound transducer was used for two patients, which was associated with a side effect of pain. Another patient was placed in a water tub to receive whole body ultrasound treatment. It was expected that ultrasound could reach deep-seated tumor(s) and sensitizers that are beyond the reach of external light of 630 nm. Although no details were provided in terms of the number of transducers in the water tub, the geometric distribution of acoustic energy within the body, and its accessibility to the multiple tumor sites (e.g., breast, lung, bones, liver, neck, axillary lymph nodes, and abdominal lymph nodes), the authors indicated that high acoustic power (2 W/cm at 1 MHz for 20 minutes) was used in both settings without providing justifications on the selection of those parameters. It is also questionable that sufficient acoustic energy will reach the deep-seated metastases in lung and bone tissues. Second, single high-dose PDT and metronomic PDT (i.e., to deliver photosensitizer and/or light doses at low rates over an extended period) have distinct and complementary therapeutic goals. In contrast to the conventional PDT regimen of single dose drug administration (intravenous or oral), the authors used a repeated lingual delivery of the chlorophyll derivative (a total dose of 30 or 60 mg) for 2 to 3 consecutive days followed by light plus ultrasound treatment daily for 3 days starting at day 3 or day 4 after the onset

Imaging Performance Evaluation Method of Wide-View Underwater Acoustic Lens by Geometrical Skew Ray Analysis

In the image formation performance of an underwater acoustic lens, the use of geometrical skew ray analysis for usually use in optical lens design field was examined. We measured acoustic pressure fields through a single lens, from which the acoustic energy distribution was obtained by using encircled energy. On the other hand, the analyzed acoustic energy distribution was evaluated by geometrical skew ray analysis under the measurement condition including the apodization of the source and effect of water temperature. We compared the measured and analyzed convergence positions, which the diameter of 80% of total amount of acoustic energy is the minimum. Then the both convergence positions correspond. As a result, it was shown that the image performance evaluation of a wide-view acoustic lens by geometrical skew ray analysis is useful.

A correction of random incidence absorption coefficients for the angular distribution of acoustic energy under measurement conditions

Most acoustic measurements are based on an assumption of ideal conditions. One such ideal condition is a diffuse and reverberant field. In practice, a perfectly diffuse sound field cannot be achieved in a reverberation chamber. Uneven incident energy density under measurement conditions can cause discrepancies between the measured value and the theoretical random incidence absorption coefficient. Therefore the angular distribution of the incident acoustic energy onto an absorber sample should be taken into account. The angular distribution of the incident energy density was simulated using the beam tracing method for various room shapes and source positions. The averaged angular distribution is found to be similar to a Gaussian distribution. As a result, an angle-weighted absorption coefficient was proposed by considering the angular energy distribution to improve the agreement between the theoretical absorption coefficient and the reverberation room measurement. The angle-weighted absorption coefficient, together with the size correction, agrees satisfactorily with the measured absorption data by the reverberation chamber method. At high frequencies and for large samples, the averaged weighting corresponds well with the measurement, whereas at low frequencies and for small panels, the relatively flat distribution agrees better.

Ray-based description of normal modes in a deep ocean acoustic waveguide

Modal structure of the wave field in a deep ocean environment with sound speed fluctuations induced by random internal waves is considered. An approximate analytical description of the modal structure at megameter ranges is derived by combining two known results: (i) relations expressing mode amplitudes through parameters of ray paths and (ii) stochastic ray theory. For a monochromatic wave field, a simple analytical estimate has been obtained for a coarse-grained distribution of acoustic energy between normal modes. Significant attention has been paid to the investigation of the mode pulses, that is, sound pulses carried by individual modes. Analytical estimates for the spread of mode pulse and bias of its mean travel time in the presence of internal waves are derived.

Investigation of acoustic cavitation energy in a large-scale sonoreactor

Acoustic cavitation energy distributions were investigated for various frequencies such as 35, 72, 110 and 170 kHz in a large-scale sonoreactor. The energy analyses were conducted in three-dimensions and the highest and most stable cavitation energy distribution was obtained not in 35 kHz but in 72 kHz. However, the half-cavitation-energy distance was larger in the case of 35 kHz ultrasound than in the case of 72 kHz, demonstrating that cavitation energy for one cycle was higher for a lower frequency. This discrepancy was due to the large surface area of the cavitation-energy-meter probe. In addition, 110 and 170 kHz ultrasound showed a very low and poor cavitation energy distribution. Therefore larger input power was required to optimize the use of higher frequency ultrasound in the sonoreactor with long-irradiation distance. The relationship between cavitation energy and sonochemical efficiency using potassium iodide (KI) dosimetry was best fitted quadratically. From 7.77 × 10 −10 to 4.42 × 10 −9 mol/J of sonochemical efficiency was evaluated for the cavitation energy from 31.76 to 103. 67 W. In addition, the cavitation energy attenuation was estimated under the assumption that cavitation energy measured in this study would be equivalent to sound intensity, resulting in 0.10, 0.18 and 2.44 m −1 of the attenuation coefficient ( α) for 35, 72 and 110 kHz, respectively. Furthermore, α/(frequency) 2 was not constant, as some previous studies have suggested.

Dynamical energy analysis—Determining wave energy distributions in vibro-acoustical structures in the high-frequency regime

We propose a new approach towards determining the distribution of mechanical and acoustic wave energy in complex built-up structures. The technique interpolates between standard statistical energy analysis (SEA) and full ray tracing containing both these methods as limiting cases. By writing the flow of ray trajectories in terms of linear phase space operators, it is suggested to reformulate ray-tracing algorithms in terms of boundary operators containing only short ray segments. SEA can now be identified as a low resolution ray-tracing algorithm and typical SEA assumptions can be quantified in terms of the properties of the ray dynamics. The new technique presented here enhances the range of applicability of standard SEA considerably by systematically incorporating dynamical correlations wherever necessary. Some of the inefficiencies inherent in typical ray-tracing methods can be avoided using only a limited amount of the geometrical ray information. The new dynamical theory— dynamical energy analysis (DEA)—thus provides a universal approach towards determining wave energy distributions in complex structures in the high-frequency limit.

Modelling for the robust design of layered resonators for ultrasonic particle manipulation

Several approaches have been described for the manipulation of particles within an ultrasonic field. Of those based on standing waves, devices in which the critical dimension of the resonant chamber is less than a wavelength are particularly well suited to microfluidic, or “lab on a chip” applications. These might include pre-processing or fractionation of samples prior to analysis, formation of monolayers for cell interaction studies, or the enhancement of biosensor detection capability. The small size of microfluidic resonators typically places tight tolerances on the positioning of the acoustic node, and such systems are required to have high transduction efficiencies, for reasons of power availability and temperature stability. Further, the expense of many microfabrication methods precludes an iterative experimental approach to their development. Hence, the ability to design sub-wavelength resonators that are efficient, robust and have the appropriate acoustic energy distribution is extremely important. This paper discusses one-dimensional modelling used in the design of ultrasonic resonators for particle manipulation and gives example of their uses to predict and explain resonator behaviour. Particular difficulties in designing quarter wave systems are highlighted, and modelling is used to explain observed trends and predict performance of such resonators, including their performance with different coupling layer materials.

Influence of acoustic pressure amplifier dimensions on the performance of a standing-wave thermoacoustic system

A standing-wave thermoacoustic engine, employing an acoustic pressure amplifier (APA), is simulated with linear thermoacoustics to study the influence of APA’s dimensions on performance of the thermoacoustic system. Variations of operating parameters, including pressure ratio, acoustic power, hot end temperature of stack etc., versus length and diameter of APA are presented and discussed based on an analysis of pressure and velocity distribution in APA. Simulation results indicate that a largest amplification effect of both pressure ratio and acoustic power output is achieved at a critical length for the occurrence of pressure node and velocity antinode in APA, close to but less than one fourth of the wavelength. The distribution characteristics of pressure and velocity in APA are similar to a standing-wave acoustic field, which is the reason for the amplification effect. From the viewpoint of energy, the amplification effect results from the changed distribution of acoustic energy and acoustic power loss in the thermoacoustic system by APA. Experiments have been carried out to validate the simulation, and experimental data are presented.