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

This presentation will show the use of a finite element software for teaching room modes and diffraction
Diffraction

Room Modes

Demo

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 Has add on Prepackaged Analysis Modes (like Matlab toolboxes) that set up the equations and analysis modes for you for easier use EDU pricing is really pretty darn good.
Evolved from the MATLAB PDE solver If you can write a PDE for it, it can probably solve it

The program lets you modify/augment the preset modes to investigate coupled physics

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

Computational software lets you visualize acoustic diffraction

Diffraction 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)

Interference patterns from reflected sound are clear

High attenuation of sound in shadow zone

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)

Interference patterns from reflected sound are less clear

Low attenuation of sound in shadow zone

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
p ( x, y ) = A e

jk x x

+e

jk x x

) (e

jk y y

+e

jk y y

e jt

= 2 A cos(k x x) cos(k y y )e jt

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
p ( x, y ) = A e

jk x x

+e

jk x x

) (e

jk y y

+e

jk y y

e jt

= 2 A cos(k x x) cos(k y y )e jt

Superposition of plane waves

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

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.

1st 3 Modes of Several Similar Rooms

Rectangular 1 Splay Wall 2 Splay Walls Amorphous

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 Questions?