Spatio-temporal filter bank for visualizing audible sound field by Schlieren method

Abstract Visualization of sound field using optical techniques is a powerful tool for understanding acoustical behaviors. It uses light waves to examine the acoustical quantities without disturbing the sound information of the field under investigation. Schlieren imaging is an optical method that uses a camera to visualize the density of transparent media. As it uses a single shot to capture the information without scanning, it can observe both reproducible and non-reproducible sound field. Conventionally, the Schlieren system is applied to high-pressure ultrasound and shock waves. However, since the density variation of air caused by the audible sound field is very small, this method was not applicable for visualizing these fields. In this paper, a spatio-temporal filter bank is proposed to overcome this problem. As the sound is a very specific signal, the spatio-temporal spectrum (in two-dimensional space and time) of the audible sound is concentrated in a specific region. The spatio-temporal filter bank is designed for extracting the sound field information in the specific region and removing noise. The results indicate that the visibility of the sound fields is enhanced by using the proposed method.