435 A Study of Airflow Velocity Distribution Just Above the Glottis During Phonation

Human voices are originated by vibration of vocal folds in larynx. This vibration is induced by the airflow that is expelled through glottis, and causes a series of the pulses of the airflow. These pulses excite vocal tract and bring about the passive resonance of the vocal tract in all voiced sounds. Therefore, detailed study of vocal fold vibration is believed to be important to elucidate mechanism of human phonation. Thus, in the present study, experimental analysis of vocal folds vibration during phonation was made to clarify phonation mechanism and seek better modeling of vocal folds, focusing on simultaneous measurement of glottal velocity. The vocal folds vibration was also recorded by means of a high-speed digital camera synchronized with the measurement of the glottal velocity. The distribution of the glottal velocity during phonation can be explained well by the experimental results.