Nonreciprocal acoustic propagation and leaky-wave radiation in a waveguide with flow.

Isolators, devices with unidirectional wave transmission, are integral components in computing networks, enabling a one-way division of a large system into independent subunits. Isolators are created by breaking the inversion symmetry between a source and a receiver, known as reciprocity. In acoustics, a steady flow of the background medium in which sound travels can break reciprocity, but significant isolation is typically achieved only for large, often impractical speeds. This article proposes acoustic isolator designs enabled by duct flow that do not require large flow velocities. A basic isolator design is simulated based on the acoustic analogue of a Mach-Zehnder interferometer, with monomodal entry and exit ports. The simulated device footprint is then reduced by using bimodal ports. Further, a nonuniform velocity profile combined with a grating to induce phononic transitions is considered, which, combined with filters, can provide significant isolation. By coupling a waveguide with flow to free space through an array of small apertures, largely nonreciprocal leaky-wave radiation is demonstrated, breaking the symmetry between reception and transmission patterns of an acoustic linear aperture array. These investigations open interesting pathways towards efficient acoustic isolation, which may be translated into integrated acoustic and surface acoustic waves, as well as phononic technology.

Comparison of multimicrophone probe design and processing methods in measuring acoustic intensity.

Three multimicrophone probe arrangements used to measure acoustic intensity are the four-microphone regular tetrahedral, the four-microphone orthogonal, and the six-microphone designs. Finite-sum and finite-difference processing methods can be used with such probes to estimate pressure and particle velocity, respectively. A numerical analysis is performed to investigate the bias inherent in each combination of probe design and processing method. Probes consisting of matched point sensor microphones both embedded and not embedded on the surface of a rigid sphere are considered. Results are given for plane wave fields in terms of root-mean-square average bias and maximum bias as a function of angle of incidence. An experimental verification of the analysis model is described. Of the combinations considered and under the stated conditions, the orthogonal probe using the origin microphone for the pressure estimate is shown to have the lowest amount of intensity magnitude bias. Lowest intensity direction bias comes from the six-microphone probe using an average of the 15 intensity components calculated using all microphone pairs. Also discussed are how multimicrophone probes can advantageously use correction factors calculated from a numerical analysis and how the results of such an analysis depend on the chosen definition of the dimensionless frequency.

Comparison of methods for processing acoustic intensity from orthogonal multimicrophone probes.

One design for three-dimensional multimicrophone probes is the four-microphone orthogonal design consisting of one microphone at an origin position with the other three microphones equally spaced along the three coordinate axes. Several distinct processing methods have been suggested for the estimation of active acoustic intensity with the orthogonal probe; however, the relative merits of each method have not been thoroughly studied. This comparative study is an investigation of the errors associated with each method. Considered are orthogonal probes consisting of matched point sensor microphones both freely suspended and embedded on the surface of a rigid sphere. Results are given for propagating plane-wave fields for all angles of incidence. It is shown that the lowest error for intensity magnitude results from having the microphones in a sphere and using just one microphone for the pressure estimate. For intensity direction, the lowest error results from having the microphones in a sphere and using Taylor approximations to estimate the particle velocity and pressure.