Acoustic Effects Research Articles

A framework for the acoustic simulation of passing vehicles using variable length delay lines

The sound produced by vehicles driving on roadways constitutes one of the dominant noise sources in urban areas. The impact of traffic noise on human activities and the related investigation on modeling, assessment, and abatement strategies fueled the research on the simulation of the sound produced by individual passing vehicles. Simulators enable in fact to promote a perceptual assessment of the nature of traffic noise and of the impact of single road agents on the overall soundscape. In this work, we present TrafficSoundSim, an open-source framework for the acoustic simulation of vehicles transiting on a road. We first discuss the generation of the sound signal produced by a vehicle, represented as a combination of road/tire interaction noise and engine noise. We then introduce a propagation model based on the use of variable length delay lines, allowing to simulate acoustic propagation and Doppler effect. The proposed simulator incorporates the effect of air absorption and ground reflection, modeled via complex-valued reflection coefficients dependent on the road surface impedance, as well as a model of the directivity of sound sources representing the passing vehicles. The source signal generation and the propagation stages are decoupled, and all effects are implemented using finite impulse response filters. Moreover, no recorded data is required to run the simulation, making the framework flexible and independent on data availability. Finally, to validate the framework capability to accurately simulate passing vehicles, a comparison between synthetic and recorded pass-by events is presented. The validation shows that sounds generated with the proposed method achieve a good match with recorded events in terms of power spectral density and psychoacoustics metrics as well as a perceptually plausible result.

On the influence of heat-induced evaporation over interfacial atomization driven by surface acoustic waves

In this work, the influence of evaporative flux over the atomization driven by surface acoustic waves (SAWs) of a Newtonian water drop is studied. The drop is placed on a heated substrate at constant temperature, higher than the saturation temperature at a given vapor pressure. In this manner, an interfacial temperature distribution arises along the drop free surface in terms evaporative mass flux and vapor recoil, which repercussion over aerosol size is studied by determining the asymptotic evolution equation governing the acoustically driven free surface. At such scenario, the connection between surface tension and temperature is also considered; thus, thermocapillary flow is incorporated into our drop model, described in terms of fundamental parameters, like the evaporation number, Marangoni number, and acoustic capillary number. Numerical solution of the evolution equation led us to obtain a simplified representation of the drop interfacial deformation mechanism, capable of predicting atomization and portraying the influence of evaporation over atomization. Subsequent analysis shows that the incorporation of evaporation at SAW atomization traduces in normal stresses counteracting the acoustic and thermocapillary effect, leading to the development of smaller drop aspect ratios with respect to the no-evaporative case. Being aware that the aerosol size is deeply related to the aspect ratio, we propose an analytical expression to estimate aerosol diameter under evaporative conditions. The results show that aspect ratio reduction leads to a decrement on aerosol size, up to two orders of magnitude, with respect to the no-evaporative case. Our study is a first approach providing insight about the importance of evaporation on aerosol regulation at SAW atomization.

Strengthening Cu-containing high entropy alloys through ultrasonic solidification constructed heterostructures

The solidification process of FeCoNiCu1.5Al0.2 high-entropy alloy (HEA) with two FCC phases was modulated by three-dimensional (3D) ultrasounds with 20 kHz frequency and 22 μm amplitude. The statically solidified alloy was composed of a primary γ1 phase growing into coarse dendrites and a Cu-rich γ2 phase dispersed in interdendritic spacings. Once 3D ultrasounds were applied, the primary γ1 phase was refined into small equiaxed grains and the secondary γ2 phase was distributed around their grain boundaries. Based on the estimation of local sound pressure and undercooling, as well as acoustic spectra examination, it is concluded that transient cavitation was the dominant reason for the formation of tiny equiaxed γ1 phase by remarkably increasing local nucleation rate, which also promoted the generation of connected γ2 phase together with acoustic streaming effect. The yield strength, ultimate strength and total elongation for ultrasonically solidified alloy sample were simultaneously enhanced by 73 %, 54 % and 13 %, which were up to 605 MPa, 845 MPa and 35 % respectively. According to LUR tests and dislocation characterization, both hetero-deformation induced (HDI) strengthening and grain refinement strengthening contributed to the increase of yield strength, while the former mainly enhanced ultimate strength and ductility synergistically. This indicates that 3D ultrasonic solidification provides an effective approach to overcoming the strength-ductility trade-off for Cu-containing HEAs.

Effect of ultrasonic vibration on the roll bending deformation behavior of ultra-thin-walled corrugated sheets

The ultra-thin-walled corrugated sheet is a crucial component of metal honeycomb structures. Due to the size effect, the traditional roll bend forming process often leads to significant dimensional deviations in ultra-thin-walled corrugated sheets. To address this issue, an ultrasonic vibration-assisted roll bend forming process was proposed. First, an ultrasonic vibration-assisted roll bend forming device was designed, which had a special drive roller structure that can alter the original axial direction of ultrasonic vibration to produce a radial vibration with an amplitude of 0–2 µm. Under the high-frequency impact and acoustic softening effect of ultrasonic vibration, the ultra-thin-walled corrugated sheets formed numerous plastic penetration zones. As a result, the influence of individual grain heterogeneity was weakened and the stress distribution states underwent an interchange. Therefore, the ultra-thin-walled corrugated sheets demonstrated improved edge length uniformity, increased hardness in the deformed areas, reduced surface roughness, and decreased springback angle. However, excessive ultrasonic amplitude resulted in severe thinning or even rupture. Ultimately, high-quality ultra-thin-walled corrugated sheets were successfully fabricated using pure titanium foil with a t/d of 5.4 and an ultrasonic amplitude of 1.6 μm.

Inspiring Entrepreneurship by Spreading New Technologies and Innovative Methods that Popularise Science and Art

In recent years a new term related to GPT (Generative Pre-trained Transformer) has become very popular among professional society members who develop and use computing applications. This trend has inspired entrepreneurship in education in the following aspects: Academic – in the Computer Science and Management Departments Non-academic - studies for high school pupils and for adults who wish to enrich their education. The purpose of these studies is to popularise science, technology, and art using innovative methods to make these subjects attractive. Academic entrepreneurship requires students to be innovative, namely, to create a project using their acquired professional skills. The work, called the final project, is a part of the students’ academic requirements at universities. As a promoter of these projects, I have been giving the students proposals, suggestions, and inspiration for the subjects of their projects. The article mentions and describes a database with hundreds of recommendations for subjects for projects as well as projects completed by students who previously finished their final project. This project’s database is used as a model for the current students. The database includes the project’s hierarchical classification along with subsections, according to their theme, innovation level, and completeness, indicating their practical or theoretical properties. The following projects are a sample demonstrating the variety of the final projects, for example: “Analysing the voiceless languages”, “Double buffer economic boiler”, and “Creating the most consensual coalition”. The second aspect of the entrepreneurship being developed is a series of lectures “The Popularisation of the Science and the Art”. This collection of lectures includes an innovative method for preparing and presenting the lectures, connecting attractively the way in which science and art are popularised together for an audience in a wide spectrum of society. The Power-Point presentations contain built-in programs, demonstrating dynamic and user-friendly theoretical issues that are accessible using artistic, visual, and acoustic effects, such as known clips, classical and modern paintings, sculptures, music, and other artistic creations. Some of the subjects in this series of lectures are as follows: “Cryptology”, “Illusions”, “Architecture and Mathematics”, and “Polarisation index in the society”. The main difference between the two above entrepreneurships is that in the first case, the main innovation lies in finding the subject of each final project, whereas in the second case, the innovation relies on its implementation, namely, its multi-media and multi-disciplinary presentation.

Numerical investigation of acoustic cavitation characteristics of a single gas–vapor bubble in soft tissue under dual-frequency ultrasound

The viscoelastic tissue under dual-frequency ultrasound excitation affects the acoustic cavitation of a single gas–vapor bubble. To investigate the effect of the cavitation dynamics, the Gilmore-Akulichev-Zener (GAZ) model is coupled with the Peng-Robinson equation of state (PR EOS). Results indicate that the GAZ-PR EOS model can accurately estimate the bubble dynamics by comparing with the Gilmore PR EOS and GAZ-Van der Waals (VDW) EOS model. Furthermore, the acoustic cavitation effect in different viscoelastic tissues is investigated, including the radial stress at the bubble wall, the temperature, pressure, and the number of water molecules inside the bubble. Results show that the creep recovery and the relaxation of the stress caused by viscoelasticity can affect the acoustic cavitation of the bubble, which could inhibit the bubble’s expansion and reduce the internal temperature and pressure within the bubble. Moreover, the effect of dual-frequency ultrasound on the cavitation of single gas–vapor bubbles is studied. Results suggest that dual-frequency ultrasound could increase the internal temperature of bubbles, the internal pressure of bubbles, and the radial stress at the bubble wall. More importantly, there is a specific optimal combination of frequencies for particular viscoelasticity by exploring the impact of different dual-frequency ultrasound combinations and tissue viscoelasticity on the acoustic cavitation of a single gas–vapor bubble. In conclusion, this study helps to provide theoretical guidance for dual-frequency ultrasound to improve acoustic chemical and mechanical effects, and further optimize its application in acoustic sonochemistry and ultrasound therapy.

Acoustic, aerodynamic, and vibrational effects of ventricular folds adduction in an ex vivo experiment.

The excessive adduction of ventricular folds has been observed in patients with dysphonia and professional singers. Whether these changes in the ventricular folds are the cause or just a result of disease progression remains unclear, and their potential pathological and physiological implications are yet to be determined. This study aimed to examine the impact of different degrees of ventricular adduction on acoustics, aerodynamics, and vocal fold vibration. The excised models of mild and severe ventricular adduction were established. We recorded the vibration pattern of vocal folds and ventricular folds and measured acoustic metrics, including fundamental frequency (F0), Jitter, Shimmer, harmonic-to-noise ratio (HNR), and sound pressure level (SPL). Furthermore, we evaluated the aerodynamics index through phonation threshold pressure (PTP), phonation instability pressure (PIP), mean flow rate (MFR), phonation threshold flow (PTF), and phonation instability flow (PIF). Irregular vibrations of the ventricular fold were observed during ventricular adduction. Notably, mild and severe ventricular adduction conditions showed a significant increase in PTP, Shimmer, and Jitter, whereas MFR, PIF, and HNR decreased compared with the control condition. Ventricular adduction leads to the deterioration of acoustic and aerodynamic parameters. The aperiodic and irregular vibration of the ventricular folds may be responsible for this phenomenon, although further experiments are warranted. Understanding the functioning of ventricular folds can be beneficial in directing the treatment of muscle tension dysphonia and improving voice training techniques.Level of evidence: level 4.

Small grazing angle reflection and the sound siphon effect over a low velocity layer of sediments.

The low-order normal modes with small grazing angles (SGA) often control long-range sound field characteristics in shallow water. The SGA reflection loss from a half-space low-velocity bottom (LVB) is independent of the sound attenuation, except around the angle of complete transmission; the SGA bottom reflection loss (BRL) from a seafloor with a top low-velocity layer is very insensitive to the LVB attenuation also, except around a few selected frequencies. Thus, the "seafloor velocity-attenuation coupling" problem will be more fatal for LVB geo-acoustic inversions. The dispersion equation of the normal modes in the LVB layer is coincidentally the same as the singularity expression of the SGA reflection coefficient in the water column, resulting in a sound siphon effect that causes the abnormally high SGA BRL and transmission loss in the water at the siphon frequencies. The siphon effect is very sensitive to seafloor acoustic parameters, might offer a physical base for geo-acoustic inversion, and show a dim light in a "gray area" for inverting the LVB sound attenuation at low to mid frequencies. As an example, the acoustic siphon effect and related seafloor geophysical parameters forming it in the Yellow Sea are reported in this paper.

Comment on: "Anomalous reflection from a two-layered marine sediment" [J. Acoust. Soc. Am. 155, 1285-1296 (2024)] (L).

Buckingham [(2024). J. Acoust. Soc. Am. 155, 1285-1296] analyzed the dependence of the reflection coefficient on the grazing angle in two-layer marine sediment model. The upper layer in his model consists of a fine-grained material (mud), while seawater and the basement below the mud layer are treated as homogeneous halfspaces. Buckingham's analyses revealed several narrow spikes in this dependence that appeared only in the presence of a sound velocity gradient in the mud layer, a phenomenon he called acoustic glint. His derivation was accomplished for certain specific dependencies of the sound velocity on the depth. Surprisingly, the authors appear to reach the conclusion that for a slightly different vertical sound speed profile in the mud layer the spikes are no longer present in the dependence of the reflection coefficient on the grazing angle. More precisely, the same problem is examined in this letter for the case of an n2-linear layer (often called Airy medium). Acoustic glint effect is therefore very sensitive to the exact parametrization of the mud layer.

Sound Field Visualization of Specified Frequency by Combining Scanning System with Lock-in Amplifier

Abstract Sound field visualization of specified frequency is an essential method for acoustic studies, especially in nonlinear acoustics. In this paper, we designed a sound field visualization system of specified frequency (SVSF). By combining the traditional sound field scanning system with the lock-in amplifier (LIA), the SVSF can visualize the amplitude distribution of multiple arbitrary specified frequencies with only one-time sound field scanning. Further, depending on the SVSF, we analysed the nonlinear acoustic effects around the focus of a spherical coronal ultrasonic transducer array. The excitation signal is a sinusoidal signal at 40 kHz. The results show that the acoustic waves at the focus contain fundamental frequencies at 40 kHz and harmonic frequencies at 80 kHz, 120 kHz, and 160 kHz. Comparing the amplitude distribution of those frequencies, we found that higher harmonics own smaller focus areas as well as lower amplitude, which conforms to the nonlinear acoustic theory. The system is convenient for those similar studies involving the multi-frequency amplitude field comparison.

Temperature tunability of topological phase transitions and edge states in two-dimensional acoustic topological insulators

Topological insulators are characterized by exhibiting an internal insulating state but a surface conductor state, which makes them advantageous for applications in novel devices. However, for most given acoustic topological metamaterials, the operating frequency is relatively fixed and the effect of temperature on their topological properties is rarely considered. Therefore, a temperature-tunable acoustic topological insulator is constructed in this paper. The quadruple degenerate Dirac cone formed at Γ\\documentclass[12pt]{minimal} \\usepackage{amsmath} \\usepackage{wasysym} \\usepackage{amsfonts} \\usepackage{amssymb} \\usepackage{amsbsy} \\usepackage{mathrsfs} \\usepackage{upgreek} \\setlength{\\oddsidemargin}{-69pt} \\begin{document}$$\\Gamma$$\\end{document} point can be opened by adjusting the temperature, causing topological band inversion between the doubly degenerate dipolar and quadrupole states, and achieving topological phase transition. The evolution of its topological state with temperature is numerically investigated and a novel topological acoustic waveguide is constructed. The switching effect of temperature on the waveguide device is verified by numerical simulation and experiment. Non-contact active modulation of edge states in the structure is achieved by temperature-controlled topological phases, exhibiting acoustic switching effects. This study can provide corresponding references for the intelligent control of acoustic topology in noise, vibration, and other aspects.

Dual-mode Shear Horizontal / Rayleigh-like surface-acoustic-wave configuration on lithium niobate 64° Y-cut

Technologies based on surface acoustic waves (SAWs) find widespread use in wireless communications, signal processing, and sensing applications. In this study, we present an innovative dual-mode SAW configuration using a 64° Y-cut lithium niobate (LN) substrate. The conventional setup, employing interdigital transducers (IDTs) oriented along the crystal X-axis, is known for generating the shear horizontal mode (SH-SAW) with in-plane polarization. Conversely, by utilizing IDTs oriented perpendicular to the X-axis, we introduce effective excitation of a Rayleigh-like SAW (R-SAW), a novel achievement in our research. Through finite element simulations and electro-mechanical analyses, we comprehensively characterize these modes in terms of frequencies, polarizations, propagation losses, and temperature coefficients. Furthermore, we investigate their interaction with liquids by analyzing damping characteristics and acoustic streaming effects using particle image velocimetry (PIV). SH-SAWs exhibit a leaky displacement during propagation with minimal damping in liquids, resulting in weak acoustic streaming—ideal for real-time sensing applications in wet environments. In contrast, non-leaky R-SAWs, characterized by a strong displacement component normal to the surface, exhibit enhanced acoustic streaming, facilitating microfluidic operations. Additionally, R-SAWs demonstrate high sensitivity to mass loading, making them optimal for real-time sensing in dry environments. The ability to generate both SAW modes on the same substrate offers the potential to develop fully electrical-driven, multifunctional integrated sensing platforms with SAW-driven microfluidic capabilities. This unique capability promises novel solutions in bio-sensing, leveraging the complementary strengths of the two acoustic modes in detection and sample handling.

An Evaluation of the Impact Effect on the Surface Microstructure and Its Induced Temperature Changes during Ultrasonic-Assisted Micro-Forging.

In the field of ultrasonic-assisted micro-forming, in addition to acoustic softening, impact effects also play a significant role, especially in terms of influencing the deformation behavior of surfaces, such as by generating more deformation on surface asperity. In this study, to understand the mechanisms involved in the effect of an impact, ultrasonic-assisted micro-forging tests were conducted on commercially pure copper, pure aluminum, and pure titanium. A method that can measure the increment in the temperature during ultrasonic vibration was developed. As a result, changes in the surface temperature of the material under the impact effect and acoustic softening were measured. It is indicated that, during ultrasonic vibration, the heat generated through acoustic softening is very limited and the main heat increase occurs after the impact effect. Once the impact effect occurs, the surface temperature increases with increasing amplitude. Nevertheless, for materials with different crystal structures, the influences of the impact effect are also different. The surfaces of copper and aluminum soften, creating more surface deformation, but the exact opposite effect is seen on a titanium surface. Observing the evolution of the microstructure on the material surface with EBSD demonstrates that the impact effect on FCC materials can reach deeper below the surface in terms of temperature diffusion compared to titanium. Meanwhile, the impact effect in the case of titanium causes the regeneration of twinning, which is reduced under the influence of the acoustic softening effect, consequently resulting in strain hardening.

Long-range LBL underwater acoustic navigation considering Earth curvature and Doppler effect

The accuracy of underwater acoustic navigation is significantly influenced by geometry configuration and systematic errors coming from geophysical environment. Long baseline (LBL) systems exhibit superior positioning precision than other acoustic navigation systems, primarily attributable to the better Geometric Dilution of Precision (GDOP). However, the geometry configuration tends to degrade when the underwater vehicle is far away from the seafloor beacons. Factors such as acoustic ray bending error, Doppler effect and Earth curvature may seriously affect the navigation accuracy. To address these issues, we present a robust Kalman filter with systematic error compensation for long-range LBL systems. Firstly, a reversed acoustic ray tracking method is proposed for a unique phenomenon in acoustic wave propagation. Following that, we construct an acoustic positioning model with a time bias parameter, to weaken the impact of Doppler effect on acoustic ranging. This additional parameter was estimated with the state of the user vehicle in real time. At last, an observation equation of pressure gauge considering Earth curvature is presented for depth constraint. Long-range LBL experiments conducted in the South China Sea is employed to validate the performance of the proposed methods, taking the positioning results of inverted ultra-short baseline (iUSBL) system as reference. The results show that the proposed method outperform traditional method with a decrease of about 60 % in the three-dimensional root mean square (3DRMS) of navigation errors. With mentioned three improvements, the 3DRMS of the long-range LBL system with the longest distance of 20 km from the beacon center is less than 14 m. These findings can provide theoretical basis for other long-range LBL systems.

Explaining the correlation between subharmonic amplitude and ambient pressure for subharmonic-aided pressure estimation (SHAPE)

BackgroundSubharmonic aided pressure estimation (SHAPE) is an innovative non-invasive technique that leverages ultrasound subharmonic imaging to estimate pressure. This method exploits the “negative correlation between subharmonic amplitude and ambient pressure” observed in experimental settings. Despite extensive experimental validation and some promising results in clinical studies, the underlying mechanism of SHAPE remains incompletely understood. Although some studies have attempted to provide theoretical explanations, definitive conclusions have yet to be reached. In addition, theoretical investigations have mainly focused on the steady oscillation of bubbles under long pulse excitation, which contrasts with the short pulse excitation required for clinical SHAPE applications. An understanding of the SHAPE principle under short pulse excitation is needed. MethodsThe exponential elasticity model (EEM) was used to simulate Sonazoid bubbles, and a probe-to-probe acoustic propagation model was introduced to mimic a practical SHAPE scenario. The simulated acoustic signals in response to three-cycle sinusoidal pulse excitations were analyzed for spectral composition. The relationship between microbubble oscillation patterns and subharmonic characteristics was identified through detailed investigation. ResultsFor the excitation pulse of 2.5 MHz frequency and 350 kPa magnitude, bubbles larger than the resonance radius (2.29 μm) exhibited significant subharmonics in the magnitude spectrum, while bubbles smaller than the subharmonic resonance radius (3.85 μm) showed the activity of scattering subharmonic energy and the sensitivity to ambient pressure. The emergence of subharmonics when increasing excitation power was related to the increasing amplification of the bubble self-oscillation and the period-doubling features in the acoustically forced oscillation. The negative correlation between subharmonic amplitude and ambient pressure was attributed to the reduced self-oscillation caused by increasing ambient pressure and hence bubble size reduction. Microbubbles falling between 2 and 3 μm showed the desired subharmonic sensitivity to ambient pressure under the specified excitation conditions. ConclusionThe transient oscillatory behavior of microbubbles in response to short pulse excitation, characterized by a ringing down self-oscillation after the acoustic forcing effect has ceased, is crucial for understanding the subharmonic emergence and the observed negative correlation between subharmonic amplitude and ambient pressure. The proposed concepts of subharmonic resonance radius, subharmonic-significant bubbles, and subharmonic-active bubbles provide valuable insights into the diverse subharmonic behavior of microbubbles. The theoretical explanation of this negative correlation highlights the importance of using subharmonic-significant-and-active bubbles for SHAPE applications.

Evaluation of acoustic environmental effects and improvement method of ecological fish-nest bricks in the Yangtze River Basin: A model-based case study

With the rapid development of the Yangtze River Basin, the issue of underwater noise pollution has become increasingly severe, which has adversely affected aquatic creatures, particularly fish. Ecological fish-nest bricks (EFNBs), a new type of eco-friendly revetment, can provide a favorable habitat for fish. However, its effects on the acoustic environment remain unclear. The finite element numerical simulation method of acoustic-structure coupling is adopted to explore the acoustic environment of EFNBs, analyzing the impact of sound source frequency (within 300 Hz), structural forms, and arrangement of these bricks on the internal sound pressure level. The sound pressure level distribution of A-EFNBs were also analyzed at a distance of 0–0.5 m from the opening. A method of acoustic environment improvement is proposed, which utilizes porous polyurethane sponge (PPS) sound-absorbing material to establish a conducive acoustic environment for fish in EFNBs. The study results indicate that at low frequencies of sound source (f ≤ 150 Hz), the sound pressure level within EFNBs slightly decreases compared to the adjacent areas without EFNBs. The sound pressure level variation within the bricks increases with sound source frequency. The peak sound pressure increases with the number of openings. Interval arrangements can in general decrease sound pressure by less than 20 dB. At higher frequencies(f＞200 Hz), the sound pressure level at the opening of the A-EFNBs tends to increase. However, the PPS sound-absorbing material substantially reduces the sound pressure level by 15 –55 dB, rendering it an effective method for improving the acoustic environment for fish. The PPS sound-absorbing material is more suitable for habitat improvement of black carp (Mylopharyngodon piceus) and grass carp (Ctenopharyngodon idellus) with relatively low hearing thresholds among the four famous Chinese carps. The research findings can serve as a reference for designing and implementing river ecological restoration projects.

The acoustic importance of velaria in Roman amphitheaters: Investigations on the effects of different coverage percentages in Durres and Capua

Roman amphitheaters were studied from an architectural perspective, as the geometry of elliptical or oval construction was always under discussion. The Roman amphitheaters of Durres and Capua were analysed with particular attention to the effects of the velarium on the acoustic response of the spaces. The investigations were conducted for the original shapes of the amphitheaters with different coverage percentages of the awning: no shading; half shading along the major axis; half shading along the minor axis; fully open to shade the entire seating area. The four scenarios were selected based on the shadow projection that the Romans might have used in ancient times; therefore, an additional solar analysis was performed for a summer-seasoned day based on a solar path found for the cities of Durres and Capua. The simulated results show that the acoustic effect of velarium was more efficient with half awning cut along the minor axis, as seen from the spatial distribution maps. However, the radiation analysis supports the thesis that 100% displayed surface area of the awning was in place when the cavea was fully occupied. Further discussions have been addressed based on a solar-radiation analysis of the two sites. This research study represents a scientific support for the movie industry that would like to reproduce the environment as existing in ancient times.

Development of a pump-jet piezoelectric swimmer with acoustic radiation actuation

The acoustofluidic actuation produced by piezoelectric transducer is capable of propelling micro underwater robots forward, yet the motion pattern is relatively simplistic. To solve this problem, a pump-jet swimmer with a combination of the underwater acoustic radiation effect is proposed in this work. The absorption and discharge of internal piezoelectric pump provide the linear forward power, and turning is achieved under the acoustic propulsive force of the external dual piezoelectric actuators. The working mode and optimal driving frequency of the piezoelectric actuators are determined through finite element simulation and mechanical vibration characteristic tests. And the key dimensional parameters of the piezoelectric pump are optimized in the light of the output flow measurements. Finally, a prototype with the size of Ф3.1 cm × 12 cm is fabricated for underwater driving performance experiments, which demonstrated well functions in straight swimming, turning, and loading. The swimmer with 20 g of additional load achieves a maximum speed of 105 mm s−1at the voltage of 180 Vp-p, it also completes the obstacle avoidance in water along a certain path. The rationality of this conceived actuation mechanism is preliminarily verified, which shows a potential for fixed-point transportation in the complex underwater situations.

Optimizing the Shape of Space-Constrained Silencers Composed of Multiple Straight/Reverse Chambers Using the Simulated Annealing Method

Abstract To address the issue of hearing health problems caused by the broadband noise emitted from space-constrained marine diesel engines on a ship, an efficient silencer equipped at the engine's venting outlet is necessary. In consideration of the space-constrained situation that often occurs in ships, a reverse silencer with multiple chambers is introduced. A mathematical model of eigenfunction is adopted to consider the acoustic effect in high frequencies. An optimization of the silencer will be performed using the acoustic model of an eigenfunction together with the Simulated Annealing (SA) method under space-constrained conditions to achieve the best design. To pursue an efficient silencer design, two types of reverse silencers (Silencers A and B) are adopted to reduce the engine's venting noise. Acoustical models for straight chamber and reverse chamber silencers are checked before optimization. To assure the reliability of the SA scheme, a pure tone optimization at 250 Hz is exemplified. Results in silencers A and B show that the Sound Transmission Loss is approximately maximized at the desired frequency. Thereafter, a broadband noise elimination of engine noise using silencers A and B is performed. Simulated results show that overall noise abatement can be improved when the number of inverse chambers increases. The optimization of space-constrained reverse silencers with multiple chambers using eigenfunction in cooperation with Simulated Annealing (SA) has been accomplished. The overall silencer system's four-pole matrix is used to predict the silencer's acoustical performance of STL, which is achieved by multiplying individual four-pole matrices. With the introduction of the reverse silencer, the hearing health of workers can be protected, and noise pollution can be reduced in industrial settings.

Dissociating prosodic from syntactic delta activity during natural speech comprehension

Decoding human speech requires the brain to segment the incoming acoustic signal into meaningful linguistic units, ranging from syllables and words to phrases. Integrating these linguistic constituents into a coherent percept sets the root of compositional meaning and hence understanding. One important cue for segmentation in natural speech is prosodic cues, such as pauses, but their interplay with higher-level linguistic processing is still unknown. Here, we dissociate the neural tracking of prosodic pauses from the segmentation of multi-word chunks using magnetoencephalography (MEG). We find that manipulating the regularity of pauses disrupts slow speech-brain tracking bilaterally in auditory areas (below 2Hz) and in turn increases left-lateralized coherence of higher-frequency auditory activity at speech onsets (around 25-45Hz). Critically, we also find that multi-word chunks-defined as short, coherent bundles of inter-word dependencies-are processed through the rhythmic fluctuations of low-frequency activity (below 2Hz) bilaterally and independently of prosodic cues. Importantly, low-frequency alignment at chunk onsets increases the accuracy of an encoding model in bilateral auditory and frontal areas while controlling for the effect of acoustics. Our findings provide novel insights into the neural basis of speech perception, demonstrating that both acoustic features (prosodic cues) and abstract linguistic processing at the multi-word timescale are underpinned independently by low-frequency electrophysiological brain activity in the delta frequency range.