Anisotropic minimum dissipation subgrid-scale model in hybrid aeroacoustic simulations of human phonation.

This article deals with large-eddy simulations of three-dimensional incompressible laryngeal flow followed by acoustic simulations of human phonation of five cardinal English vowels, /ɑ, æ, i, o, u/. The flow and aeroacoustic simulations were performed in OpenFOAM and in-house code openCFS, respectively. Given the large variety of scales in the flow and acoustics, the simulation is separated into two steps: (1) computing the flow in the larynx using the finite volume method on a fine moving grid with 2.2 million elements, followed by (2) computing the sound sources separately and wave propagation to the radiation zone around the mouth using the finite element method on a coarse static grid with 33 000 elements. The numerical results showed that the anisotropic minimum dissipation model, which is not well known since it is not available in common CFD software, predicted stronger sound pressure levels at higher harmonics, and especially at first two formants, than the wall-adapting local eddy-viscosity model. The model on turbulent flow in the larynx was employed and a positive impact on the quality of simulated vowels was found.

Characterization of Supersonic Compressible Fluid Flow Using High-Speed Interferometry.

This paper presents a very effective interference technique for the sensing and researching of compressible fluid flow in a wind tunnel facility. The developed technique is very sensitive and accurate, yet easy to use under conditions typical for aerodynamic labs, and will be used for the nonintrusive investigation of flutter in blade cascades. The interferometer employs a high-speed camera, fiber optics, and available "of-the-shelf" optics and optomechanics. The construction of the interferometer together with the fiber optics ensures the high compactness and portability of the system. Moreover, single-shot quantitative data processing based on introducing a spatial carrier frequency and Fourier analysis allows for almost real-time quantitative processing. As a validation case, the interferometric system was successfully applied in the research of supersonic compressible fluid discharge from a narrow channel in a wind tunnel. Density distributions were quantitatively analyzed with the spatial resolution of about 50 µm. The results of the measurement revealed important features of the flow pattern. Moreover, the measurement results were compared with Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) simulations with a good agreement.

In vitro experimental investigation of voice production.

The process of human phonation involves a complex interaction between the physical domains of structural dynamics, fluid flow, and acoustic sound production and radiation. Given the high degree of nonlinearity of these processes, even small anatomical or physiological disturbances can significantly affect the voice signal. In the worst cases, patients can lose their voice and hence the normal mode of speech communication. To improve medical therapies and surgical techniques it is very important to understand better the physics of the human phonation process. Due to the limited experimental access to the human larynx, alternative strategies, including artificial vocal folds, have been developed. The following review gives an overview of experimental investigations of artificial vocal folds within the last 30 years. The models are sorted into three groups: static models, externally driven models, and self-oscillating models. The focus is on the different models of the human vocal folds and on the ways in which they have been applied.

Comparison of acceleration and impact stress as possible loading factors in phonation: a computer modeling study.

Impact stress (the impact force divided by the contact area of the vocal folds) has been suspected to be the main traumatizing mechanism in voice production, and the main cause of vocal fold nodules. However, there are also other factors, such as the repetitive acceleration and deceleration, which may traumatize the vocal fold tissues. Using an aeroelastic model of voice production, the present study quantifies the acceleration and impact stress values in relation to lung pressure, fundamental frequency (F0) and prephonatory glottal half-width. Both impact stress and acceleration were found to increase with lung pressure. Compared to impact stress, acceleration was less dependent on prephonatory glottal width and, thus, on voice production type. Maximum acceleration values were about 5-10 times greater for high F0 (approx. 400 Hz) compared to low F0 (approx. 100 Hz), whereas maximum impact stress remained nearly unchanged. This suggests that acceleration, i.e. the inertia forces, may present at high F0 a greater load for the vocal folds, and in addition to the collision forces may contribute to the fact that females develop vocal fold nodules and other vocal fold traumas more frequently than males.

Geometry of human vocal folds and glottal channel for mathematical and biomechanical modeling of voice production.

Current models of the vocal folds derive their shape from approximate information rather than from exactly measured data. The objective of this study was to obtain detailed measurements on the geometry of human vocal folds and the glottal channel in phonatory position. A non-destructive casting methodology was developed to capture the vocal fold shape from excised human larynges on both medial and superior surfaces. Two female larynges, each in two different phonatory configurations corresponding to low and high fundamental frequency of the vocal fold vibrations, were measured. A coordinate measuring machine was used to digitize the casts yielding 3D computer models of the vocal fold shape. The coronal sections were located in the models, extracted and fitted by piecewise-defined cubic functions allowing a mathematical expression of the 2D shape of the glottal channel. Left-right differences between the cross-sectional shapes of the vocal folds were found in both the larynges.

Estimation of impact stress using an aeroelastic model of voice production.

The maximum impact stress at the contact of the vocal folds achieved during the oscillation cycle was estimated in phonation using an aeroelastic model of voice production. Relations of impact stress to the lung pressure, fundamental frequency of self-oscillations, prephonatory glottal width, sound pressure level generated at the end of the glottis and vibration amplitude of the vocal folds were studied. Using the fundamental frequency, prephonatory glottal width, lung pressure and airflow rate values found in normal speech, maximum impact stress values of 2-3 kPa were obtained. The results fall well within the limits reported for excised canine larynges and human subjects. Impact stress increased with lung pressure almost linearly after the phonation threshold but reached a plateau when the limit of maximum glottal opening was reached. When the fundamental frequency and lung pressure were kept constant, impact stress appears to fit closely with a parabolic function of prephonatory glottal half-width.