Hybrid modelling techniques using acoustic boundary and finite element methods

摘要

Acoustic analysis is becoming more commonplace due to the evolution of suitable analysis techniques and the increase in computational power of affordable computers. For small acoustic problems, i.e., where the region to be modelled is not large numbers of acoustic wavelengths in extent, the two most commonly used methods are finite elements (FE) and boundary elements (BE). These two techniques both have their advantages and disadvantages, depending on the problem to be solved. FE are definitely better if the fluid medium has inhomogeneous properties. BE do not deal as well with natural frequency calculations. For steady state harmonic response the BE method is better at exterior problems. For steady state harmonic response the BE method is better at exterior problems. For interior problems, either technique could be used - the author's opinion is that FE has the edge. The relative computational advantage of the FE will increase with the ratio of boundary to volume, as the geometry of the problem changes. Ease of mesh creation is another factor to be taken into account.