scholarly journals Construction of an Omnidirectional Parametric Loudspeaker Consisting in a Spherical Distribution of Ultrasound Transducers

Sensors ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 18 (12) ◽  
pp. 4317 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marc Arnela ◽  
Oriol Guasch ◽  
Patricia Sánchez-Martín ◽  
Joan Camps ◽  
Rosa Alsina-Pagès ◽  
...  

Omnidirectional sound sources are needed to perform a large variety of tests in acoustics. Typically, they consist of conventional speaker drivers arranged in a dodecahedron. However, the directivity of the speaker drivers sharpens with frequency, which induces an intense decrease of the sound pressure levels at the edges of the dodechaedron. In this work, the problem is mitigated by building an Omnidirectional Parametric Loudspeaker (OPL), which contains hundreds of small ultrasound transducers set on a sphere. Each transducer emits an ultrasonic carrier wave modulated by an audible signal. Thanks to nonlinear propagation, the air itself demodulates the signal bringing it back to the audible range. The construction of an OPL prototype is challenging. The structure has been built by 3D-printing a set of pieces that conform to the sphere. Each piece contains the exact location of the transducers, which are aligned in parallels to facilitate the structural assembly and the wiring. The performance of the OPL has been tested in an anechoic chamber. Measurements show that the OPL has a good omnidirectional behavior for most frequencies. It clearly improves the directivity of dodechaedral sources in the high frequency range, but performs worse at low frequencies.

2018 ◽  
Vol 140 (4) ◽  
Author(s):  
Xiongtao Cao ◽  
Mingsheng Wang ◽  
Lei Shi

Sound radiation from stationary and rotating point acoustic sources with shield of rigid prolate spheroidal baffles is explored in the prolate spheroidal coordinate system. The formulae of far-field sound pressure and acoustic power are derived and acoustic power spectral density (PSD) in terms of circumferential and azimuthal wavenumber is manifested from the low frequency range to high frequency range. Acoustic wave propagation features in the spherical coordinate system as a particular case of the prolate spheroidal coordinate system are presented. Rotating sound sources cause the frequency veering phenomenon and change the patterns of PSD. Some spheroidal harmonic waves with lower and higher wavenumber for the large prolate spheroids cannot contribute to far-field sound radiation in the high frequency range when sound sources are close to the axes of the spheroids. Sound pressure directivity and acoustic power of stationary point sound sources are also analyzed with the variation of source location.


2010 ◽  
Vol 458 ◽  
pp. 185-191
Author(s):  
Feng Li Luo ◽  
Guang Yu Li

When calculating sound intensity by indirectly measuring way, the sound pressures obtained from two microphones should be mathematically averaged as the sound pressure of measured point. The research showed that the method exists lower of allowable value in the high frequency area. Using the geometric average value of two measured points to replace the sound pressure of measured point, studying the measurement of sound intensity in scattering field, the errors from which were compared. The result showed that the error of geometric average sound intensity was more flat than that of mathematic average. So the sound intensity obtained from geometric average sound pressure is more suitable for the measurement of a wider frequency range. And the computing time is short, which can raise the measurement efficiency and the real-time of measurement.


1999 ◽  
Vol 5 (2) ◽  
pp. 135-140
Author(s):  
Vytautas Stauskis

The paper deals with the differences between the energy created by four different pulsed sound sources, ie a sound gun, a start gun, a toy gun, and a hunting gun. A knowledge of the differences between the maximum energy and the minimum energy, or the signal-noise ratio, is necessary to correctly calculate the frequency dependence of reverberation time. It has been established by investigations that the maximum energy excited by the sound gun is within the frequency range of 250 to 2000 Hz. It decreases by about 28 dB at the low frequencies. The character of change in the energy created by the hunting gun differs from that of the sound gun. There is no change in the maximum energy within the frequency range of 63–100 Hz, whereas afterwards it increases with the increase in frequency but only to the limit of 2000 Hz. In the frequency range of 63–500 Hz, the energy excited by the hunting gun is lower by 15–30 dB than that of the sound gun. As frequency increases the difference is reduced and amounts to 5–10 dB. The maximum energy of the start gun is lower by 4–5 dB than that of the hunting gun in the frequency range of up to 1000 Hz, while afterwards the difference is insignificant. In the frequency range of 125–250 Hz, the maximum energy generated by the sound gun exceeds that generated by the hunting gun by 20 dB, that by the start gun by 25 dB, and that by the toy gun—by as much as 35 dB. The maximum energy emitted by it occupies a wide frequency range of 250 to 2000 Hz. Thus, the sound gun has an advantage over the other three sound sources from the point of view of maximum energy. Up until 500 Hz the character of change in the direct sound energy is similar for all types of sources. The maximum energy of direct sound is also created by the sound gun and it increases along with frequency, the maximum values being reached at 500 Hz and 1000 Hz. The maximum energy of the hunting gun in the frequency range of 125—500 Hz is lower by about 20 dB than that of the sound gun, while the maximum energy of the toy gun is lower by about 25 dB. The maximum of the direct sound energy generated by the hunting gun, the start gun and the toy gun is found at high frequencies, ie at 1000 Hz and 2000 Hz, while the sound gun generates the maximum energy at 500 Hz and 1000 Hz. Thus, the best results are obtained when the energy is emitted by the sound gun. When the sound field is generated by the sound gun, the difference between the maximum energy and the noise level is about 35 dB at 63 Hz, while the use of the hunting gun reduces the difference to about 20–22 dB. The start gun emits only small quantities of low frequencies and is not suitable for room's acoustical analysis at 63 Hz. At the frequency of 80 Hz, the difference between the maximum energy and the noise level makes up about 50 dB, when the sound field is generated by the sound gun, and about 27 dB, when it is generated by the hunting gun. When the start gun is used, the difference between the maximum signal and the noise level is as small as 20 dB, which is not sufficient to make a reverberation time analysis correctly. At the frequency of 100 Hz, the difference of about 55 dB between the maximum energy and the noise level is only achieved by the sound gun. The hunting gun, the start gun and the toy gun create the decrease of about 25 dB, which is not sufficient for the calculation of the reverberation time. At the frequency of 125 Hz, a sufficiently large difference in the sound field decay amounting to about 40 dB is created by the sound gun, the hunting gun and the start gun, though the character of the sound field curve decay of the latter is different from the former two. At 250 Hz, the sound gun produces a field decay difference of almost 60 dB, the hunting gun almost 50 dB, the start gun almost 40 dB, and the toy gun about 45 dB. At 500 Hz, the sound field decay is sufficient when any of the four sound sources is used. The energy difference created by the sound gun is as large as 70 dB, by the hunting gun 50 dB, by the start gun 52 dB, and by the toy gun 48 dB. Such energy differences are sufficient for the analysis of acoustic indicators. At the high frequencies of 1000 to 4000 Hz, all the four sound sources used, even the toy gun, produce a good difference of the sound field decay and in all cases it is possible to analyse the reverberation process at varied intervals of the sound level decay.


1970 ◽  
Vol 13 (2) ◽  
pp. 254-270 ◽  
Author(s):  
Cecil K. Myers ◽  
J. Donald Harris

Seven equipment systems were assembled to examine human auditory acuity from 8 to 20 kHz. Two loudspeakers and two earphones were examined, together with two types of stimulus (pure tones and narrow bands of noise) and two psychometric methods (Limits and Adjustments). All systems were capable of providing usably reliable thresholds on 28 ears throughout the whole frequency range. When carefully calibrated, several systems (those involving loudspeakers, as well as those involving earphones) yielded comparable reference threshold sound-pressure levels at the eardrum. A preference was expressed for a system using Bekesy threshold tracking with a changing-frequency noise band of 300 Hz, and for a discrete-tone system using the Method of Constants.


1994 ◽  
Vol 72 (3) ◽  
pp. 1061-1079 ◽  
Author(s):  
Z. M. Fuzessery

1. While hunting, the pallid bat uses passive sound localization at low frequencies to find terrestrial prey, and echolocation for general orientation. It must therefore process two different types of acoustic input at the same time. The pallid bat's echolocation pulse is a downward frequency-modulated (FM) sweep from 60 to 30 kHz. This study examined the response selectivity of single neurons in the pallid bat's central nucleus of the inferior colliculus (ICC) for FM sweeps, comparing the response properties of the high-frequency population, tuned to the biosonar pulse, with the low-frequency population, tuned below the pulse. The working hypothesis was that the high-frequency population would exhibit a response selectivity for downward FM sweeps that was not present in the low-frequency population. 2. Neurons were tested for their selectivity for FM sweep direction, duration, frequency range and bandwidth, and rate of frequency change. The extent to which they responded exclusively to tones, noise, and FM sweeps was also examined. Significant differences in the response properties of neurons in the two populations were found. In the low-frequency population, all neurons responded to tones, but only 50% responded to FM sweeps. Only 23% were selective for sweep direction. In the high-frequency population, all neurons responded to FM sweeps, but 31% did not respond to tones. Over one-half of this population was selective for sweep direction, and of those that were selective, all preferred the downward sweep direction of the biosonar pulse. A large percentage (31%) responded exclusively to downward sweeps, and not to tones or upward sweeps. None of the cells in either population responded to noise, or did so only at very high relative thresholds. 3. Both populations contained neurons that were selective for short stimulus durations that approximated the duration of the biosonar pulse, although the percentage was greater in the high-frequency population (58% vs. 20%). In the high-frequency population, 31% of the neurons tested for duration responded exclusively to both the sweep direction and duration of the biosonar pulse. 4. Downward FM-selective neurons, with one exception, were generally insensitive to the rate of frequency change of the FM sweep, as well as the frequency range and bandwidth of the sweep. They responded similarly to both the full 60- to 30-kHz sweep and to 5-kHz bandwidth portions of the full sweep.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)


1968 ◽  
Vol 58 (3) ◽  
pp. 963-976
Author(s):  
Yosio Nakamura

abstract Ultrasonic, seismic-model experiments have been performed to re-examine the nature of head waves from a transition layer. Two-dimensional, layered structures, some with a transition zone and some with a sharp discontinuity, constructed by lead-aluminum laminations have served as the models. Amplitude and phase responses have been measured in a frequency range of 25 kHz to 200 kHz. At low frequencies, where the wavelength is much longer than the thickness of the transition zone, little difference is observed between head waves from a transition zone and those from a sharp discontinuity. At a certain frequency range where the wavelength is close to the thickness of the transition zone, the measured head-wave amplitude from a transition zone becomes a few times larger than that from a sharp discontinuity. This is characteristic of head waves from a poorly defined boundary and may be used to estimate the thickness of a general transition layer. A sharp, high-frequency cutoff is again observed, but the cutoff frequency is not consistent with previous studies.


2011 ◽  
Vol 20 (5) ◽  
pp. 096369351102000 ◽  
Author(s):  
S.N. Georga

The dielectric response of 10 and 15phr epoxy/HfO2 nanocomposite systems has been studied in a wide frequency and temperature range. The experimental results show an enhancement of the dielectric permittivity with increasing filler concentration. The dielectric spectra reveal the presence of α-relaxation and a weak MWS effect. In the high frequency range the real part of the electrical conductivity obeys the Universal Dielectric Response (UDR), whereas at low frequencies and high temperatures DC conductivity is observed. VFT (Vogel-Fulcher-Tamann) parameters are calculated for all measured specimens.


2017 ◽  
Vol 114 (5) ◽  
pp. 1201-1206 ◽  
Author(s):  
Magdalena Wojtczak ◽  
Anahita H. Mehta ◽  
Andrew J. Oxenham

In modern Western music, melody is commonly conveyed by pitch changes in the highest-register voice, whereas meter or rhythm is often carried by instruments with lower pitches. An intriguing and recently suggested possibility is that the custom of assigning rhythmic functions to lower-pitch instruments may have emerged because of fundamental properties of the auditory system that result in superior time encoding for low pitches. Here we compare rhythm and synchrony perception between low- and high-frequency tones, using both behavioral and EEG techniques. Both methods were consistent in showing no superiority in time encoding for low over high frequencies. However, listeners were consistently more sensitive to timing differences between two nearly synchronous tones when the high-frequency tone followed the low-frequency tone than vice versa. The results demonstrate no superiority of low frequencies in timing judgments but reveal a robust asymmetry in the perception and neural coding of synchrony that reflects greater tolerance for delays of low- relative to high-frequency sounds than vice versa. We propose that this asymmetry exists to compensate for inherent and variable time delays in cochlear processing, as well as the acoustical properties of sound sources in the natural environment, thereby providing veridical perceptual experiences of simultaneity.


2011 ◽  
Vol 243-249 ◽  
pp. 4447-4450 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yan Liu ◽  
Bing Yang ◽  
Xiao Pai Zhang ◽  
Zhi Fang Zhong ◽  
Hua Xin Dong ◽  
...  

Based on the comparative analysis on the low-noise road surface, noise reduction green belts, noise barriers and other noise reduction methods, the sound barrier is put forward as an important method for reducing the city road traffic noise. The noise reduction effects for different heights and different distances of the sound barrier are tested and analyzed through noise and vibration test and analysis system, the following conclusions can be drawn. At the same heights from the ground, the father the test points away from the noise barrier, the higher the sound pressure level will be; At the same distances from the sound barrier, the nearer the test points from the ground, the smaller the sound pressure level will be; All of the sound pressure level curves have basically the same variation trend and the main noise frequency band is from 160 to 1600Hz; In the high frequency range which is greater than 1600Hz, the sound pressure level decrease significantly, indicating that the sound barrier has better noise reduction effect for high frequency range. The results provide the basis for the design of the sound barriers.


2017 ◽  
Vol 284 (1848) ◽  
pp. 20162528 ◽  
Author(s):  
Travis Park ◽  
Alistair R. Evans ◽  
Stephen J. Gallagher ◽  
Erich M. G. Fitzgerald

Living baleen whales (mysticetes) produce and hear the lowest-frequency (infrasonic) sounds among mammals. There is currently debate over whether the ancestor of crown cetaceans (Neoceti) was able to detect low frequencies. However, the lack of information on the most archaic fossil mysticetes has prevented us from determining the earliest evolution of their extreme acoustic biology. Here, we report the first anatomical analyses and frequency range estimation of the inner ear in Oligocene (34–23 Ma) fossils of archaic toothed mysticetes from Australia and the USA. The cochlear anatomy of these small fossil mysticetes resembles basilosaurid archaeocetes, but is also similar to that of today's baleen whales, indicating that even the earliest mysticetes detected low-frequency sounds, and lacked ultrasonic hearing and echolocation. This suggests that, in contrast to recent research, the plesiomorphic hearing condition for Neoceti was low frequency, which was retained by toothed mysticetes, and the high-frequency hearing of odontocetes is derived. Therefore, the low-frequency hearing of baleen whales has remained relatively unchanged over the last approximately 34 Myr, being present before the evolution of other signature mysticete traits, including filter feeding, baleen and giant body size.


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