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Micro-perforated (MPP) panels are acoustic absorbers that are non-combustible, acoustically tunable, lightweight, and environmentally friendly. In most cases, they are spaced from a wall, and that spacing determines the frequency range where the absorber performs well. The absorption is maximized when the particle velocity in the perforations is high. Accordingly, the absorber performs best when positioned approximately a quarter acoustic wavelength from the wall, and larger cavity depths improve the low frequency absorption. At multiples of one half acoustic wavelength, the absorption is minimal. Additionally, the absorption is minimal at low frequencies due to the limited cavity depth behind the MPP. By partitioning the backing cavity, the cavity depth can be strategically increased and varied. This will improve the absorption at low frequencies and can provide absorption over a wide frequency range.

Partial enclosures are commonly utilized to reduce the radiated noise from equipment. Often, enclosure openings are fitted with silencers or louvers to further reduce the noise emitted. In the past, the boundary element method (BEM) has been applied to predict the insertion loss of the airborne path with good agreement with measurement. However, an alteration at the opening requires a new model and additional computational time. In this paper, a transfer function method is proposed to reduce the time required to assess the effect of modifications to an enclosure. The proposed method requires that the impedance at openings be known. Additionally, transfer functions relating the sound pressure at one opening to the volume velocity at other openings must be measured or determined using simulation. It is assumed that openings are much smaller than an acoustic wavelength. The sound power from each opening is determined from the specific acoustic impedance and sound pressure at the opening.

Microperforated panel absorbers are best considered as the combination of the perforate and the backing cavity. They are sometimes likened to Helmholtz resonators. This analogy is true in the sense that they are most effective at the resonant frequencies of the panel-cavity combination when the particle velocity is high in the perforations. However, unlike traditional Helmholtz resonators, microperforated absorbers are broader band and the attenuation mechanism is dissipative rather than reactive. It is well known that the cavity depth governs the frequency bands of high absorption. The work presented here focuses on the development, modeling and testing of novel configurations of backing constructions and materials. These configurations are aimed at both dialing in the absorption properties at specific frequencies of interest and creating broadband sound absorbers. In this work, several backing cavity strategies are considered and evaluated.

Diesel engines produce harmful exhaust emissions and high exhaust noise levels. One way of mitigating both exhaust emissions and noise is via the use of after treatment devices such as Catalytic Converters (CC), Selective Catalytic Reducers (SCR), Diesel Oxidation Catalysts (DOC), and Diesel Particulate Filters (DPF). The objective of this investigation is to characterize and simulate the acoustic performance of different types of filters so that maximum benefit can be achieved. A number of after treatment device configurations for trucks were selected and measured. A measurement campaign was conducted to characterize the two-port transfer matrix of these devices. The simulation was performed using the two-port theory where the two-port models are limited to the plane wave range in the filter cavity.

Microperforated panel (MPP) absorbers are rugged, non-combustible, and do not deteriorate over time. That being the case, they are especially suitable for long term use in harsh environments. However, the acoustic performance is modified when contaminated by dust, dirt, or fluids (i.e. oil, water). This paper examines that effect experimentally and correlates the absorption performance with Maa's theory for micro-perforated panels. Transfer impedance and absorption coefficient are measured for different levels of aluminum oxide and carbon dust accumulation. The amount of dust contamination is quantified by measuring the luminance difference between clean and dirty panels with a light meter. The porosity and hole diameter in Maa's equation are modified to account for dust obstruction. The effect of coating the MPP with oil, water, and other appropriate viscous fluids was also measured. This effect was simulated by modifying the viscous factor in Maa's equation.

This paper revisits the popular Rayleigh integral approximation, and also considers a second approximation, the high frequency boundary element method which is similar to the Rayleigh integral. Both methods are approximations to the boundary integral equation, and can solve problems in a fraction of the time required by the conventional boundary element method. The development of both methods from the Helmholtz integral equation is demonstrated and the differences between the two methods are delineated. Both methods were compared on practical examples including a running engine, gearbox, and construction cab. It was concluded that both methods can reliably predict the sound power for many problems but are inaccurate for sound pressure computations.

Partial enclosures are a very common way to reduce noise emissions from machinery. However, partial enclosures exhibit complex acoustic behavior that is difficult to predict. The boundary element method (BEM) was used to model the airborne path of a partial enclosure. Simulation results were compared to measurement with good agreement. Special attention is given to the determination of negative insertion loss. It is demonstrated that the enclosure insertion loss will be negative at the Helmholtz frequencies for the enclosure.

The principle of vibro-acoustic reciprocity is reviewed and applied to model sound radiation from a shaker excited structure. Transfer functions between sound pressure at a point in the far field and the velocity of a patch were determined reciprocally both for the to-scale structure and also for a half-scale model. A point monopole source was developed and utilized for the reciprocal measurements. In order to reduce the measurement effort, the boundary element method (BEM) was used to determine the reciprocal transfer functions as an alternative to measurement. Acceleration and sound intensity were measured on patches of the vibrating structure. Reciprocally measured or BEM generated transfer functions were then used to predict the sound pressure in the far field from the vibrating structure. The predicted sound pressure compared favorably with that measured.

This paper explores the use of inverse boundary element method to identify aeroacoustic noise sources. In the proposed approach, sound pressure at a few locations out of the flow field is measured, followed by the reconstruction of acoustic particle velocity on the surface where the noise is generated. Using this reconstructed acoustic particle velocity, the acoustic response anywhere in the field, including in the flow field, can be predicted. This approach is advantageous since only a small number of measurement points are needed and can be done outside of the flow field, and a relatively fast computational time. As an example, a prediction of vortex shedding noise from a circular cylinder is presented.

Numerical acoustics has traditionally been relegated to a prediction only role. However, recent work has shown that numerical acoustics techniques can be used to diagnose noise problems. The starting point for these techniques is the acoustic transfer vector (ATV). First of all, ATV's can be used to conduct contribution analyses which can assess which parts of a machine are the predominant noise sources. As an example, the sound power contribution and radiation efficiency from parts of a running diesel engine are presented in this paper. Additionally, ATV's can be used to reliably reconstruct the vibration on a machine surface. This procedure, commonly called inverse numerical acoustics (INA), utilizes measured sound pressures along with ATV's to reconstruct the surface velocity. The procedure is demonstrated on an engine cover for which the reconstructed vibration had excellent agreement with experimental results.

The theory of patch (or panel) contribution analysis is first reviewed and then applied to a motorcycle engine on a test stand. The approach is used to predict the sound pressure in the far field and the contribution from different engine components to the sound pressure at a point. First, the engine is divided into a number of patches. The transfer functions between the sound pressure in the field and the volume velocity of each patch were determined by taking advantage of vibro-acoustic reciprocity. An inexpensive monopole source is placed at the receiver point and the sound pressure is measured at the center of each patch. With the engine idling, a p-u probe was used to measure particle velocity and sound intensity simultaneously on each patch. The contribution from each patch to the target point is the multiplication of the transfer function and the volume velocity, which can be calculated from particle velocity or sound intensity. There were two target points considered.