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Appl Acoust 2022 Jun 6;194:108809. Epub 2022 May 6.

Department of Mechanical Engineering, National University of Singapore, 9 Engineering Drive 1, Singapore 117575, Singapore.

The aviation industry has seen dramatic growth over the decades till the recent disruption due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Moreover, long-haul routes with a distance of more than 4000 km are common for major airlines worldwide. Therefore, aircraft cabin noise assessment is essential, especially in long-haul flights, for passenger and flight crew health wellness. Read More

Appl Acoust 2022 Mar;190:108639

AudioLab, Department of Electronic Engineering, University of York, UK.

Hypernasality is a disorder where excess nasal resonance is perceived during speech, often as a result of abnormal coupling between the oral and nasal tracts known as velopharyngeal insufficiency (VPI). The most common cause of VPI is a cleft palate, which affects around 1 in 1650 babies, around ⅓ of whom have persistent speech problems after surgery. Current equipment-based assessment methods are invasive and require expert knowledge, and perceptual assessment methods are limited by the availability of expert listeners and differing interpretations of assessment scales. Read More

Appl Acoust 2022 Mar 2;191:108691. Epub 2022 Mar 2.

Department of Languages and Literature, University of Nicosia, Nicosia, Cyprus.

The wide spread of SARS-CoV-2 led to the extensive use of face masks in public places. Although masks offer significant protection from infectious droplets, they also impact verbal communication by altering speech signal. The present study examines how two types of face masks affect the speech properties of vowels. Read More

Appl Acoust 2021 Feb 10;173:107695. Epub 2020 Oct 10.

Politecnico di Milano, Italy.

Large spaces, circular in plan, can be preferred by architects to design large auditoria, even though they can cause acoustical singularities such as focusing and whispering gallery. In large auditoria for multipurpose functions are becoming a common request to use the space for different activities such as conferences, concerts of classical and amplified music, shows, etc. and the necessity to find architectural solutions in order to consider the variable acoustic demands according to different possible layouts, are growing. Read More

Appl Acoust 2020 May;162:107183

Department of Music, University of York, United Kingdom.

This project set out to develop an app for infants under one year of age that responds in real time to language-like infant utterances with attractive images on an iPad screen. Language-like vocalisations were defined as voiced utterances which were not high pitched squeals, nor shouts. The app, BabblePlay, was intended for use in psycholinguistic research to investigate the possible causal relationship between early canonical babble and early onset of word production. Read More

Appl Acoust 2019 May;148:423-433

William & Mary Applied Science Department, Williamsburg, VA 23187-8795, United States.

We describe a series of measurements to assess the practicality of a length limited parametric array in air. This study shows that the length limited effect is a measurable phenomenon that can be produced using pairs of commercial off the shelf parametric array speakers. We generated the effect using parametric arrays mounted so that two directional audio beams were simultaneously co-propagating through the open air. Read More

Appl Acoust 2018 Oct;139:93-100

Nuffield Department of Clinical Neurosciences, Level 6, West Wing, John Radcliffe Hospital, Oxford OX3 9DU, United Kingdom.

An approach is described to apply spatial filtering with microphone arrays to localize acoustic sources in an Intensive Care Unit (ICU). This is done to obtain more detailed information about disturbing noise sources in the ICU with the ultimate goal of facilitating the reduction of the overall background noise level, which could potentially improve the patients' experience and reduce the time needed for recovery. This paper gives a practical description of the system, including the audio hardware setup as well as the design choices for the microphone arrays. Read More

Appl Acoust 2016 Dec;114:99-110

Acoustics Research Institute, Austrian Academy of Sciences, Wohllebengasse 12-14, Vienna 1040, Austria.

Head-related transfer functions (HRTFs) describe the directional filtering of the incoming sound caused by the morphology of a listener's head and pinnae. When an accurate model of a listener's morphology exists, HRTFs can be calculated numerically with the boundary element method (BEM). However, the general recommendation to model the head and pinnae with at least six elements per wavelength renders the BEM as a time-consuming procedure when calculating HRTFs for the full audible frequency range. Read More

Appl Acoust 2015 Jan;102:1-11

Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, Bethesda, MD 20852.

Knowledge of the auditory and non-auditory effects of noise has increased dramatically over the past decade, but indoor noise exposure measurement methods have not advanced appreciably, despite the introduction of applicable new technologies. This study evaluated various conventional and smart devices for exposure assessment in the National Children's Study. Three devices were tested: a sound level meter (SLM), a dosimeter, and a smart device with a noise measurement application installed. Read More

Appl Acoust 2015 Jan 24;87:153-161. Epub 2014 Jul 24.

Department of Mechanical Engineering, McGill University, Montreal, QC H3A 0C3, Canada.

The Lattice Boltzmann method was used to perform numerical simulations of the sound and turbulent flow inside a standing wave tube terminated by a circular orifice in presence of a forced mean flow. The computational domain comprised a standard virtual impedance tube apparatus in which sound waves were produced by periodic pressure oscillations imposed at one end. An orifice plate was located between the driver and the tube termination. Read More