Investigation of a broadband duct noise control system inspired by the middle ear mechanism

Abstract A new duct noise control device is introduced based on the mechanism of human middle ear which functions as a compact, broadband impedance transformer between the air motion in the outer ear and the liquid motion in the inner ear. The system consists of two rigid endplates, simulating the tympanic membrane and the stapes footplate, and they are connected by a single rigid rod, simulating the overall action of the ossicular chain. These three pieces are placed in a side-branch cavity, and the whole device is called an ossicular silencer. A specific configuration is investigated numerically with a two-dimensional finite element model. Results show that broadband noise attenuation can be achieved in the very low frequency regime. Typically, two or more resonance peaks are found and the transmission loss between two neighbouring peaks is maintained at a high level. The cavity length is found to be the most crucial parameter that determines the effective frequency range of the ossicular silencer. The total cavity volume, which is a major controlling factor in most existing noise control devices, becomes less influential. The fluid medium in the enclosed cavity mainly acts like an added mass, while its stiffness effect is negligible. Simplified plane wave analysis is also conducted to reveal the mechanisms of the system resonances. The first resonance is identified as of the mass-spring system with mass contributions from both fluid and the plates, while the second one is of the Herschel–Quincke (HQ) tube resonance.