Thesis (PhD)--University of Pretoria, 2013. / Electrical, Electronic and Computer Engineering

In search for quieter engines there is a need for a better understanding of the acoustic properties of engine intake and exhaust system components. Besides mufflers which have the purpose of reducing pressure pulses originating from the internal combustion (IC) engine, there are many components in a modern car exhaust and intake system, e.g., air-filters, coolers, catalytic converters, particulate filters - all having an effect on the pressure pulses or sound field in the system. In this work the focus is on the turbocharged IC-engine where both, sound scattering (reflection and transmission) and sound generation from automotive turbochargers are studied. In addition, sound reflection from an open ended pipe, such as the tailpipe of an IC-engine exhaust is investigated.             Accurate and efficient methods to fully characterize turbochargers by measuring the acoustic two-port have been developed.  Compared to earlier work, a number of modifications are suggested for improving the quality of the results. A study on three different automotive turbochargers is also presented, including data for sound scattering for both the compressor and turbine. The results for the transmission of sound, which is of interest for the ability of a turbocharger to reduce noise coming from the engine, is plotted for all tested cases against a dimensionless frequency scale (Helmholtz-number). This makes it possible to generalize the result in order to draw conclusions about the behavior for any turbocharger.              The sound generation was also studied and three different methods to estimate the sound power are suggested. The methods were used to investigate sound generation at different operating points and identify source mechanisms for a turbocharger compressor.             An accurate method for measuring the reflection of plane acoustic waves from a pipe termination in a duct with hot gas flow has been developed and tested. Representing the acoustical conditions at an exhaust tail-pipe, the data obtained is important for effective modeling of exhaust systems. The experimental results of the reflection coefficient were compared with Munt`s theory on flow duct openings. The measurements were carried out for air jet velocities up to Mach 0.4 and for flow temperatures up to 100°C in order to study temperature effects on the reflection properties. It was concluded, that the experimental results agree well with the Munt theory.

This thesis provides analytical and experimental proof-of-concept for a new feedback-controlled sound transmission control module for use in an active segmented partition (ASP) array. The objective of such a module is to provide high transmission loss down to low audible frequencies while minimizing the overall mass of the module. This objective is accomplished in the new module by using actively controlled panels in conjunction with analog feedback controllers. The new module also overcomes two limitations that exist in current ASP modules: the inability to control broadband random-noise and the lack of bidirectional control through the module. Overcoming these limitations represents an important advancement in the research area of actively controlled partitions and broadens the number of potential applications for ASP arrays. Analogous circuit models were developed and used to predict the performance of the new ASP module under feedback control. The preliminary design consists of two loudspeaker drivers mounted back-to-back in a duct, with two decoupled analog feedback controllers connected to reduce the vibration of the loudspeaker cones. It was found that the classical analogous circuit model of a loudspeaker proved inadequate for modeling the low- and mid-frequency transmission loss due to resonance effects of the loudspeaker surround. An enhanced model of a loudspeaker was then used to account for this phenomenon and more accurately predict the transmission loss behavior. An experimental proof-of-concept module was constructed using two 10 cm diameter loudspeaker drivers, two accelerometers, and other off-the-shelf materials. The two analog feedback controllers used in the module were designed and built using measured frequency response function techniques. The passive and active transmission loss of the module was measured using a plane-wave tube. Transmission loss of broadband random-noise in excess of 50 dB was achieved between 100 Hz and 2 kHz. The experimental transmission loss results validated the numerical model and showcased the transmission loss performance of the new module design.

This thesis investigates sound transmission loss through flat finite panels using composite materials, which incorporate both carbon and flax fibres. The study wascarried out by performing FEM simulations developed and validated in steps. Thevalidation process was time-consuming but crucial in ensuring the model’s reliability.The analysis demonstrates the relationship between the panels’ mass, stiffness, andsound reduction effectiveness by studying the sound transmission loss for a flat plate.The results show how by adjusting the plate’s stiffness, thickness, and mass one cancontrol its reaction to the incoming sound. This allows resonance frequencies to beshifted away from critical points and avoids coincidence frequencies. By understanding the acoustic behavior of composite panels, this research contributes to improvingsoundproofing properties while preserving their mechanical advantages. In an era ofgrowing demand for better acoustic performance in the automotive industry, exploring innovative methods to optimize the sound transmission loss of composite panelsis essential. / Denna studie undersöker ljudöverföringsförluster genom platta finita paneler sombestår av kompositmaterial, som innehåller både kol- och linfiber. Studien utförFEM-simuleringar som utvecklats och validerats i steg. Valideringsprocessen vartidskrävande men avgörande för att säkerställa modellernas tillförlitlighet. Analysenvisar sambandet mellan panelernas massa, styvhet och ljudreducerande effektivitetgenom att studera ljudtransmissionsförluster för en platt panel. Resultatet visarhur justering av plattans styvhet, tjocklek och massa kan styra dess reaktion på detinkommande ljudet, vilket gör att resonansfrekvenser kan flyttas bort från kritiskapunkter och undvika sammanfallande frekvenser. Genom att förstå det akustiskabeteendet hos kompositpaneler bidrar denna studie till att förbättra ljudisoleringsegenskaperna samtidigt som deras mekaniska fördelar bevaras. I en tid av växande efterfrågan på bättre akustisk prestanda inom bilindustrin, blir det viktigt att utforska innovativa metoder för att optimera ljudöverföringsförlusten hos kompositpaneler.

Résumé : Les véhicules aériens et terrestres sont constitués de systèmes bâtis complexes. La structure principale est généralement composée de panneaux légers renforcés par des éléments rigides. Cette solution de conception est répandue parce qu’elle allie la force et un faible poids. Cependant, on sait qu’elle offre des résultats vibroacoustiques médiocres, c’est à dire que l’effet des perturbations externes qui touchent le système peut générer un niveau de bruit excessif à l’intérieur de la cabine des passagers. C’est une préoccupation majeure chez les fabricants, parce que ce niveau de bruit nuit sensiblement au confort ressenti par les clients et peut causer de la fatigue chez les conducteurs et les pilotes. Pour cette raison, les composants passifs constitués de matériaux dissipatifs assemblés en mode multicouche sont généralement intégrés à la structure. Ces assemblées bordées intègrent surtout des matériaux poroélastiques, qui sont plutôt répandus, grâce à l’agencement intéressant de bonnes propriétés d’isolation sonore et de faible poids. L’intégration en amont des traitements de contrôle du bruit au processus de conception est la clé de succès d’un produit. Pour ce faire, des outils pratiques numériques en mesure de capter le comportement dynamique des systèmes vibroacoustiques impliquant les structures, les cavités et les matériaux d’insonorisation sont requis. D’une part, la modélisation de ces systèmes couplés en utilisant des procédés à base d’éléments finis peut être, bien que précis, irréalisable pour des applications pratiques. D’autre part, les approches analytiques telles que la méthode de matrice de transfert sont souvent préférées grâce à leur facilité d’utilisation, même si elles manquent de précision en raison des hypothèses rigoureuses inhérentes au cadre analytique. Dans ce contexte, les procédures de structuration hybrides sont récemment devenues très populaires. En effet, les différentes techniques de modélisation sont généralement recherchées pour décrire les systèmes vibroacoustiques complexes arbitraires sur la plus large gamme de fréquences possible. L’objectif du projet proposé est de mettre au point un cadre hybride offrant une mé- thodologie simple pour tenir compte des traitements de contrôle du bruit dans l’analyse vibroacoustique par éléments finis. A savoir, le modèle de calcul qui en découle conserve la souplesse et la précision de la méthode des éléments finis en bénéficiant de la simplicité et de l’efficacité de la méthode de matrice de transfert pour obtenir une réduction de la charge de calcul pour la modélisation de composants acoustiques passifs. La performance de la méthode pour prédire la réponse vibroacoustique de structures planes homogènes avec des traitements acoustiques attachées est évaluée. Les résultats démontrent que la méthode hybride proposée est très prometteuse, parce qu’elle permet une réduction de l’effort de calcul tout en conservant suffisamment de précision par rapport à l’analyse complète par éléments finis. En outre, la méthode de matrice de transfert proposée de modélisation des traitements de contrôle des bruits est générale, comme on peut l’appliquer dans d’autres cadres outre l’application de l’élément fini considéré dans ce travail. // Abstract : Aerial and terrestrial vehicles consist of complex built-up systems. The main structure is typically made of light panels strengthened by stiffer components. Such design solution is widely used as it combines strength and low weight. However, it is known to give poor vibroacoustic performances, i.e. the effect of external disturbances acting on the system may generate an excessive noise level inside the passengers cabin. This is a main concern for the manufacturers, as it significantly affects the comfort experienced by the costumers and may fatigue drivers and pilots. For this reason, passive components consisting of dissipative materials assembled in a multilayer fashion are typically integrated within the structure. These lined assemblies mainly involve poroelastic materials, which are commonly used thanks to the appealing combination of good noise insulation properties and low weight. The early integration of noise control treatments in the design process is the key to a successful product. For this purpose, practical numerical tools able to capture the dynamic behavior of vibroacoustic systems involving structures, cavities and noise proofing materials are demanded. On the one hand, modeling such coupled systems using finite element based methods can be, albeit accurate, time consuming for practical applications. On the other hand, analytical approaches such as the transfer matrix method are often preferred thanks to their ease of use, although they suffer from a lack of accuracy due to the stringent assumptions inherent within the analytical framework. In this context, hybrid substructuring procedures have recently become quite popular. Indeed, different modeling techniques are typically sought to describe arbitrarily complex vibroacoustic systems over the widest possible frequency range. The aim of this thesis is to devise a hybrid framework providing a simple methodology to account for noise control treatments in vibroacoustic finite element analysis. Namely, the resulting computational model retains the flexibility and accuracy of the finite element method while taking advantage from the simplicity and efficiency of the transfer matrix method to obtain a reduction of the computational burden in the modeling of passive acoustic components. The performance of the method in predicting the vibroacoustic response of flat structures with attached homogeneous acoustic treatments is assessed. The results prove that the proposed hybrid methodology is very promising, as it allows for a reduction of the computational effort while preserving enough accuracy with respect to full finite element analysis. Furthermore, the proposed transfer matrix based methodology for noise control treatments modeling is general, as it can be used in alternative frameworks besides the finite element application considered in this work.

A number of experimental and theoretical studies, performed in the field of technical flow duct acoustics are presented in this thesis. The acoustical methods treated are implemented on turbocharged IC-engines and engine gas exchange system components. A new method based on the well-known two-load technique has been developed. The method was applied to characterise the source data of various piston-engines with non-linear behaviour including a 6 cylinder turbo-charged truck diesel engine. The source characterisation results were compared to the results obtained using the linear two-load technique. It was demonstrated that the new non-linear multi-load technique gives improved results when the source is slightly non-linear. The use of active one-port models has been tested to characterize an air terminal device (ATD) as a source of flow generated noise. In order to predict the noise generation at different operating points of the device a scaling law was derived and verified. In the experimentally derived scaling law a flow speed dependence of 3 was found for the narrow band spectra, corresponding to a dipole-like behavior of the source in the plane wave range. The proposed technique was validated successfully and the results indicated a good prediction of in-duct sound generation by the air terminal device. Sound reflection from hot flow duct openings has been investigated experimentally. The reflection coefficient was measured for flow temperatures up to 500 ºC and jet velocities up to 108m/s. The results have been compared with famous Munt’s theory. It was concluded that at low Mach number and Helmholz number cases the results agree well with the Munt’s model. This was the first experimental validation of the theory for hot flow conditions. Experimental procedures to determine the sound transmission through automotive turbo-charger compressors were developed and described in detail. An overview of a unique turbocharger testing facility established at KTH CICERO in Stockholm is given. The facility can be used to measure acoustic two-port data for turbo-compressors. Results from measurements on a passenger car turbo-compressor are presented and the influence of operating conditions on the sound transmission is discussed. Current wave action models developed in CMT for computation of the gas exchange processes in I.C. engines have been implemented to determine the acoustic wave transmission through the turbo- compressor. The models are validated with the experimental data and the results are presented for different operating conditions of a Volvo passenger car turbo-compressor. / QC 20100809

<p>This thesis contains three papers investigating problems of interest for noise control in ducts.</p><p>The first part of this thesis treats the sound propagation in rectangular ducts with flexible walls. Various experimental techniques are performed to measure the internal sound propagation and radiation to the surrounding. An analytical model is derived to calculate the coupled propagation wavenumber and radiated sound power. The two-port formalism is used.</p><p>The second part starts with the sound propagation in open ended circular straight pipe with airflow (a tailpipe). Various aspects such as: acoustic damping, reflection and transmission at the open termination are investigated. Sound absorption due to vorticity shed at the opening is also treated. The geometry of the opening is then modified (oblique cuts, diffusers) and comparisons with the reference straight pipe is made for the sound transmission and flow induced noise generation. The effect of an upstream bend close to the opening is also investigated.</p><p>In the third part the acoustic impedance of perforated plates are investigated. In particular the application to small perforation ratios ( ≈ 1% ) and holes or slits with apertures of sub-millimetre size, so called micro-perforated plates, are of interest. Linear and non-linear regimes are investigated. A model is derived to calculate the linear acoustic impedance of perforated elements.</p>

<p>Intake and Exhaust system noise makes a huge contribution to the interior and exterior noise of automobiles. There are a number of linear acoustic tools developed by institutions and industries to predict the acoustic properties of intake and exhaust systems. The present project discusses and validates, through measurements, the proper modelling of these systems using BOOST-SID and discusses the ideas to properly convert a geometrical model of an exhaust muffler to an acoustic model. The various elements and their properties are also discussed.</p><p>When it comes to Acoustic properties there are several parameters that describe the performance of a muffler, the Transmission Loss (TL) can be useful to check the validity of a mathematical model but when we want to predict the actual acoustic behavior of a component after it is installed in a system and subjected to operating conditions then we have to determine other properties like Attenuation, Insertion loss etc,.</p><p>Zero flow and Mean flow (M=0.12) measurements of these properties were carried out for mufflers ranging from simple expansion chambers to complex geometry using two approaches 1) Two Load technique 2) Two Source location technique. For both these cases, the measured transmission losses were compared to those obtained from BOOST-SID models.</p><p>The measured acoustic properties compared well with the simulated model for almost all the cases.</p>

The standard, EN12354-1 describes a simplified statistical energy analysis (SEA) model to predict the apparent sound reduction index between two rooms inclusive of the contributions of the flanking paths. There is interest worldwide in applying the EN12354 model to lightweight building elements. However, lightweight elements typically do not meet the requirements of an SEA subsystem and therefore applying the EN12354 model to these elements may result in inaccurate predictions. The purpose of this investigation was to systematically evaluate the application of the EN12354 model to lightweight building constructions. The evaluation included the determination of the probability density functions and the propagated uncertainty of the calculations. Knowledge of the probability density functions resulted in alternative calculations of the structure-borne sound transmitted through the constructions. The uncertainty analysis revealed that the uncertainty of the predictions is directly affected by the variance of the vibratory field measured on the elements. The vibratory fields of lightweight elements typically show large variances and therefore the propagated uncertainty of the EN12354 predictions for these elements can be significant. The investigation included measurements both in the laboratory and in the field. The results of the laboratory measurements were compared to both predictions using the EN12354 methods and ESEA models which included higher order flanking paths and non-resonant transmission paths. The field measurements included in this investigation were unique because the flanking intensity sound reduction indices of the elements in the source room were measured. The measurements allowed for the EN12354 predictions for each flanking element to be assessed instead of just the apparent sound reduction index between the rooms. The study resulted in proposed correction factors for when reciprocity does not hold and proposed changes to ISO10848 to improve the accuracy of the predictions when the EN12354 method was applied to lightweight building elements. However, neither the proposed correction factors nor the proposed changed to ISO10848-1 could correct for the potentially large differences between the predicted and the measured results. Based on the findings of this study, the use of the EN12354 model for the calculation of the apparent sound reduction index of lightweight elements is not endorsed. Lightweight constructions may not be categorized as ideal SEA subsystems due to the lack of diffuseness of the vibratory field. Furthermore, in order for EN12354 to be applied to lightweight constructions, a reliable method of calculating the resonant component of the sound reduction index of double-leaf elements is required. Therefore, statistical methods including the EN12354 method may be unsuitable for use for the prediction of flanking noise for lightweight building constructions.

L'objectif de cette thèse consiste en l'étude d'une stratégie de contrôle actif à faible autorité avec comme application le contrôle actif du rayonnement acoustique d'une plaque. Depuis l'essor du contrôle actif, son application aux problèmes acoustiques et vibracoustiques a été investiguée par de nombreux chercheurs, exploitant soit la théorie du contrôle optimal, soit des approches originales basées plus particulièrement sur la physique. Des notions spécifiques au contrôle vibroacoustique ont été développées comme, par exemple, les modes radiatifs pouvant caractériser le rayonnement acoustique d'une plaque d'une manière adaptée au contrôle. <p>Le contrôle actif à faible autorité, pour lequel le Laboratoire de Structures Actives a développé une expertise dans le domaine de l'amortissement et du contrôle actif des vibrations, est une solution attractive par sa simplicité de mise en oeuvre. Le plus souvent implémenté sous la forme d'un contrôle décentralisé constitué de boucles indépendantes, le contrôle à faible autorité bénéficie de certaines garanties de stabilité et de robustesse. <p>Bien que notre stratégie de contrôle puisse s'appliquer à n'importe quel type de plaque, l'application considérée dans ce travail a été motivée par le contexte socio-économique actuel en rapport avec les nuisances acoustiques. Il était en effet intéressant d'évaluer la stratégie de contrôle pour le problème de la transmission acoustique d'un vitrage. La stratégie de contrôle se divise en deux étapes. Tout d'abord le développement d'un capteur unique destiné à fournir une mesure représentative du bruit rayonné par une plaque en basse fréquence. Deux capteurs de vitesse volumétrique (l'un discret, l'autre distribué) ont ainsi été développés et évalués expérimentalement. <p>Ensuite, une procédure d'optimisation de l'emplacement d'un ensemble d'actionneurs pilotés en parallèle est proposée. L'objectif de cette phase d'optimisation est de forcer la réponse fréquentielle du système à posséder les propriétés d'un système colocalisé. La stratégie de contrôle est ensuite évaluée sur deux structures expérimentales. <p><p>/ This thesis is concerned with a low authority active control strategy applied to the sound radiation control of a baffled plate. Since the development of active control ,numerous researchers have studied its application to acoustical or vibroacoustical problems using either the modern control theory or other methods based rather on the understanding of the physics of the problem. Vibroacoustical active control has lead to the definition of radiation modes allowing to describe the radiated sound of a plate in an appropriate manner for active control purposes. <p>Low autorithy control (LAC), for which the Active Structures Laboratory has gained an expertise for active vibration control applications is an interesting solution for its implementation simplicity. Most of the time it consists of several decentralized control loops, and benefits from guaranteed stability and robustness properties. Although our control strategy can be applied to any kind of plates, the application considered here has been motivated by the present socio-economical context related to noise annoyances. The active control strategy has been applied the problem of the sound transmission loss of glass plates (windows). This strategy is in two steps :first a volume velocity sensor is developed as to give a measure representative of the radiated sound at low frequencies. <p>Two sensors have been developed (one discrete and one distributed) and experimentally tested. Next, an optimisation strategy is proposed which allow to locate on the plate a set of several actuators driven in parallel. The goal of this optimisation task is to obtain an open-loop frequency response which behave like a collocated system. The control strategy is finally evaluated on two plate structures. / Doctorat en sciences appliquées / info:eu-repo/semantics/nonPublished