Study of acoustic and aerodynamic performance of reactive silencer with different configurations: Theoretical, modeling and experimental

Periodic sound reduction at some frequencies and high pressure loss could be considered as the disadvantages of simple expansion silencers. Generally, reactive elements are applied in silencers to optimize their acoustic and aerodynamic performance. In this paper, we were going to investigate the combined and independent effects of reactive elements, baffle and extended tubes at the inlet and outlet of simple expansion silencer, on the acoustic performance and pressure loss of simple expansion silencer. Firstly, simple expansion silencer dimensions were determined based on theoretical calculations to attenuate the noise by 10 dB. Secondly, the simulation was performed using COMSOL acoustical module software based on finite element method to predict silencer sound transmission loss and pressure loss, respectively, before and after adding reactive elements. Then, according to ISO7235, ISO3744 and ISO3746 standards noise insertion loss of various silencers under study was measured in a free field and in the following that silencers pressure loss evaluated. Finally, the predicted results with the software were compared with the experimental ones. The addition of the extended tubes increased the transmission loss and insertion loss at low and medium frequencies and mitigated the pressure loss of the silencer compared to the simple expansion silencer. The baffle increased the transmission loss curve in the medium frequencies compared to the simple expansion silencer. The combination of baffle and extended tube elements caused an extraordinary increase in insertion loss and transmission loss at the medium frequencies and a decrease in pressure loss. It could be concluded from the present study that using extended tube might be probably the best choice to reduce pressure loss and increase the acoustic performance of simple expansion silencer at low and medium frequencies and what's more is that the best acoustic performance in medium frequencies can be achieved by using a combination of baffle and extended tube.