Numerical optimization of violin top plates

Wood for musical instruments exhibits large variations in the material parameters, directly influencing the properties of the vibrating structure. The objective of this study is to show that it is possible to compensate for differences in the material parameters of violin top plates by changing the distributions of plate thickness and arch height, thus keeping the eigenfrequencies unchanged. Wood has a cellular structure and is here modeled with a honeycomb model. The thickness and arch height compensation is determined through a stochastic optimization method called simulated annealing (35 refs.)