teaching room modes and diffraction using comsol multiphysics
DESCRIPTION
Presentation from Acoustical Society of America Meeting from Spring 2011TRANSCRIPT
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Teaching Room Modes and Diffraction Using Comsol Multiphysics
Ralph T Muehleisen Formerly of
Ill. Inst. of Technology
Soon to be Principal Building Engineer
Argonne National Lab
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This presentation will show the use of a finite element software for teaching room modes and diffraction
Diffraction
Room Modes
Demo
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Why Comsol Multiphysics? There are lots of good free and pay FEM software packages. I use Comsol Multiphysics because: Its a General Purpose Non-Linear Coupled PDE solver using
Finite Elements that links to MATLAB Evolved from the MATLAB PDE solver If you can write a PDE for it, it can probably solve it
Has add on Prepackaged Analysis Modes (like Matlab toolboxes) that set up the equations and analysis modes for you for easier use The program lets you modify/augment the preset modes to investigate
coupled physics EDU pricing is really pretty darn good.
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Diffraction can be difficult concept to explain
Math can be quite hard We cannot see sound
so seeing diffraction is hard
Demos/experiments like ripple tanks work well but require space and maintenance and are not portable
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Computational software lets you visualize acoustic diffraction
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Diffraction around barrier where h=4 (this is high freq where the barrier is effective)
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Diffraction around barrier where h=4 (this is high freq where the barrier is effective)
Interference patterns from reflected sound are clear
High attenuation of sound in shadow zone
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Diffraction around barrier where h= (this is low freq where the barrier is less effective)
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Diffraction around barrier where h= (this is low freq where the barrier is less effective)
Interference patterns from reflected sound are less clear
Low attenuation of sound in shadow zone
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Resonant modes are conceptually easy, except they are not .
Most texts and teachers start explaining standing waves and modes as a superposition of waves traveling in opposite direction.
In rectangular rooms the mode shapes naturally drop out of the math
( )( )( , )2 cos( )cos( )
y yx x jk y jk yjk x jk x j t
j tx y
p x y A e e e e e
A k x k y e
= + +
=
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Resonant modes are conceptually easy, except they are not .
Most texts and teachers start explaining standing waves and modes as a superposition of waves traveling in opposite direction.
In rectangular rooms the mode shapes naturally drop out of the math
( )( )( , )2 cos( )cos( )
y yx x jk y jk yjk x jk x j t
j tx y
p x y A e e e e e
A k x k y e
= + +
=
Superposition of plane waves
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The Problem With This Analysis
The problem with that analysis is students then naturally assume that if you slant the walls of the room, youll keep the plane waves from reflecting in phase and eliminate room modes
It is much harder to explain the concept of eigenfunctions of boundary value problems and even harder to convince students that all rooms have mode shapes when analytic solutions do not exist
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The Answer
FEM software lets you compute and show students that other shapes have modes too
Start with a rectangular room and show resonances Splay one wall and show the resonances Splay two walls and show resonances Splay all walls and show resonances Draw an amorphous shape room and compute the
resonances in class.
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1st 3 Modes of Several Similar Rooms
Rectangular 1 Splay Wall 2 Splay Walls Amorphous
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Questions?
In summary, FEM software like COMSOL can be very useful to visualize some complex acoustic phenomena
You can show diffractive bending of waves around objects
You can show that all rooms, of any shape, have modes
Teaching Room Modes and Diffraction Using Comsol MultiphysicsThis presentation will show the use of a finite element software for teaching room modes and diffractionWhy Comsol Multiphysics?Diffraction can be difficult concept to explainComputational software lets you visualize acoustic diffractionDiffraction around barrier where h=4 (this is high freq where the barrier is effective)Diffraction around barrier where h=4 (this is high freq where the barrier is effective)Diffraction around barrier where h= (this is low freq where the barrier is less effective)Diffraction around barrier where h= (this is low freq where the barrier is less effective)Resonant modes are conceptually easy, except they are not .Resonant modes are conceptually easy, except they are not .The Problem With This AnalysisThe Answer 1st 3 Modes of Several Similar RoomsIn summary, FEM software like COMSOL can be very useful to visualize some complex acoustic phenomena