Simulation of sound radiation from vibrating surfaces using approximation methods

Integral-based numerical methods can be used to simulate the sound radiation of vibrating surfaces. For higher frequencies, the discretization must be refined. With the higher number of discretization points the computational effort increases significantly. Therefore, approximation methods with less computational effort are desirable. The visible element Rayleigh integral (VERI) and the high frequency boundary element method (HFBEM) are already known from the literature for a reduced computational effort by using approximations applicable at high frequencies. A recently introduced method, which we have labeled plane projection Rayleigh integral (PPRI), aims to reduce computational effort further while maintaining accuracy. Therefore the PPRI approximates the sound radiation by applying the Rayleigh integral to a vibrating virtual plane representing the object in two dimensions. The method s performance is evaluated by comparing it to VERI and HFBEM. The results of the sound radiation simulation focus on the accuracy and its dependence on radius of surface curvature, sound frequency, and distance from the surface. Analytical solutions for the breathing and oscillating sphere are used as benchmarks. In our studies, the PPRI was three times faster than the HFBEM with comparable quality of results.