Péter Rucz

Budapest University of Technology and Economics · Department of Networked Systems and Services

A three-dimensional coupled vibroacoustic finite element model for physics-based simulations of the sound generation by mallet percussion instruments in the time domain is discussed in the present paper. The mechanical model takes the orthotropic material properties of the wooden sound bars and the nonlinear nature of the interaction force between...

A simulation method relying on the finite and infinite element techniques and a post-processing routine is introduced in this paper for the calculation of self and mutual radiation impedances of horns and acoustical resonators. The proposed procedure can be applied for the evaluation of the frequency dependent coupling impedance matrix of an arbitr...

The pipe organ produces a majestic sound that differs from all other musical instruments. Due to its wide tonal range, its ability of imitating the sound of various instruments, and its grandiose size, the pipe organ is often called the “king of musical instruments”. The richness and variety of sound color (timbre) produced by a pipe organ is very...

Despite the fact that organ building is quite an orthodox art with roots going back more than two thousand years, organ builders are still looking for improvements of the quality of their instruments. Pipe organ research aims at providing answers to the questions of the craftsmen by seeking the physical explanations of the phenomena observed, and t...

Abstract This paper introduces NiHu, a C++ template library for boundary element methods (BEM). The library is capable of computing the coefficients of discretised boundary integral operators in a generic way with arbitrarily defined kernels and function spaces. NiHu’s template core defines the workflow of a general BEM algorithm independent of the...

Pitch detection and tracking is a classical problem of signal processing. Over the years, many approaches have been elaborated that can be applied in various fields, including the analysis of musical or speech signals. In this contribution, a method is introduced for extracting the frequencies and amplitudes of partials in transient musical signals...

The flow-excited Helmholtz resonator is a classical example of acoustical resonance induced by fluid flow. In this paper a simulation approach is presented that allows for the investigation of hydrodynamic and acoustic oscillations both in coupled and uncoupled setups using the same computational framework. The geometry examined in this contributio...

Dynamic lingual organ pipes utilize a blown open free tongue which allows for changing the loudness of the pipe by the blowing pressure with maintaining a steady pitch. This principle is in contrast with traditional reed pipes that have blown closed tongues and always operate at a specified windchest pressure. A physics-based model of the sound ge...

In aeroacoustic simulations the velocity and pressure fields consist of compressible and incompressible components. Computing both parts numerically in one system is a hard task, because of the different scales in the fields. Using acoustical analogies, this problem can be solved, but in this case the feedback of the acoustical part onto the flow i...

Physical modeling of the sound generation in recorder-like instruments is a challenging task due to the complex interaction of the air jet and the acoustical field occuring in the mouth region of the instrument. On one hand, simplified, lumped models were shown to capture some of the key properties of the process, while on the other hand, well-reso...

Noise impact management goes hand in hand with the capability to predict the noise impact on exposed communities. Three tools to that purpose are presented in this chapter: the Noise Management Toolset (NMT), the Demo Virtual Community Tool (VCT) and Dynamic Noise Mapping. The NMT is a web-based tool giving stakeholders the opportunity to evaluate...

This paper presents the experimental examination of an alternative lingual organ pipe construction that uses a free tongue which, in contrast with traditional lingual organ pipes, operates in a blown open manner. A possible advantage of the construction is that it can enable changing the windchest pressure and thus, achieving an extended dynamic ra...

The sound production in mallet percussion instruments involves mechanical vibrations, acoustical resonance, and radiation inherently coupled. The source of energy is the mallet that excites mechanical oscillations in the sound bar when the player hits one of the notes. The sound bar in itself is an inefficient radiator, therefore acoustical resonat...

En este trabajo se presentan explicaciones científicas para tener un mejor entendimiento de cómo funcionan los órganos tubulares y revisar algunas creencias comunes en su construcción, buscando mejorar este arte.

The flow-excited Helmholtz resonator is a classical example of acoustical resonance induced by fluid flow. When the frequency of the hydrodynamic instabilities of the shear layer formed at the orifice of the cavity is close to the natural resonance frequency of the resonator, high amplitude pressure oscillations occur, and a strong acoustical feedb...

Computer-aided design and simulation-based virtual prototyping play an increasingly important role in the design and optimization of new musical instrument models. These methods help to create precisely tuned, high-quality products and also facilitate the preparation of series production. In the case of the xylophone, two elements have a decisive r...

Creating a musical instrument often involves designing acoustical resonators. The natural frequency and the quality factor of the resonator are affected by the radiation impedance to a significant extent. Therefore attaining as much a priori knowledge as possible on the radiation characteristics is desirable. On the other hand, for the sake of effi...

Throughout the world, musical instruments are deeply rooted in cultural traditions. They are part of our cultural heritage, and their preservation and further development deserves our utmost attention. For many years, the Fraunhofer Institute for Building Physics IBP has been engaged in the research of European musical instruments, the pipe organ i...

Most modern flutes are designed based on the construction proposed by Theobald Boehm in the middle of the 19th century. Since the appearance of Boehm's reformed flute several flutists and flute makers suggested minor improvements to compensate certain imperfections of the instrument. Recently, a new flute head construction was proposed and patented...

Predicting the sound field scattered by objects with uncertain geometry plays an important role in source localisation, shape optimisation or modelling reflections from rough surfaces. Boundary integral equation methods are an adequate choice for the simulation of scattering into free field, as they inherently model the radiation condition. In the...

Sopranorecorders are among the most popular wind instruments in music education for children. As these instruments are played by amateurs, they should be easy to play even by beginner players. The investigations reported in this paper were initiated by an instrument maker company. It was found that their plastic sopranorecorders often had unsatisfa...

The sound characteristics of both labial and lingual organ pipes are affected to a great extent by the reflection properties of the resonators. In this paper, the reflection properties of sloped pipe terminations are examined and the possible applications in organ building practice are investigated. Sloped shallots of reed organ pipes with differen...

In a traditional pipe organ, the dynamic range of both labial (flue) and lingual (reed) pipe ranks are strictly limited as each rank is tuned and voiced to a nominal windchest pressure. Changing this pressure not only affects the amplitude of the radiated sound but both the pitch and the timbre of the pipes. A new pipe construction with a blown ope...

Within the framework of a European research project exciting new results have been achieved recently in the research of lingual organ pipes. The main objectives of the project are to solve practical problems of the dimensioning of reed organ pipes, to develop innovative methods and software for helping the sound design work of organ builder enterpr...

In a traditional pipe organ the pipe ranks are composed of labial (flue) and lingual (reed) pipes. Both kinds of ranks are tuned and voiced to a nominal windchest pressure. Changing this pressure not only affects the volume of the radiated sound but both the pitch and the timbre of the pipes. This means a strict limitation to the dynamic range of t...

In most cases, 2D transient edge tone simulations are carried out with finite elements, where modeling of the the transient behavior is straightforward, but the radiation condition is not properly fulfilled. As an alternative, the time domain boundary element method can be applied, where the main difficulty lies in the computationally intensive num...

An acoustic model suitable for the characterization of tuning slots of labial organ pipes is presented in this paper. Since the tuning slot arrangement is similar (but not identical) to that of toneholes in woodwind instruments, the adaptability of the well-established tonehole model for the specific problem is examined. A numerical model utilizing...

The aim of this paper is to present a novel approach for the design and implementation of an onboard nonlinear state estimation system for an autonomous aerial vehicle. The tasks of such a system include collection of measurement data from different navigation sensors, and estimation of all the quantities describing the system's state of motion bas...

The aim of this paper is to present a novel approach for the design and implementation of onboard nonlinear control systems for different types of unmanned air vehicles. The essential difficulty of creating such controllers is the inherent nonlinearity of the dynamics of the system, which also introduces a great complexity. Our proposed approach re...

The effect of tuning slots on the sound characteristics of labial organ pipes is investigated in this paper by means of laboratory experiments. Besides changing the pitch of the pipe, the tuning slot also plays an important role in forming the timbre. The objectives of this contribution are to document the influence of tuning slots built with diffe...

The focus of investigations was the influence of certain shallot parameters on the sound of reed pipes. Since the dimensioning of organ pipes is mainly based on the experience of organ builders at present, the aim is to provide scientific data for organ builders explaining the influence of various shallot parameters on the sound. Due to this knowle...

Lingual organ pipes produce sound by means of the interaction of a vibrating tongue and an acoustic resonator. The pitch of the pipe is determined by the frequency of tongue vibration, whereas the sound character is mostly influenced by the resonator. The two components form a strongly or weakly coupled vibroacoustic system depending on the pipe fo...

An optimization method, based on an acoustic waveguide model of chimney and resonator, was developed and tested by laboratory measurements of experimental chimney pipes. The dimensions of the chimney pipes are modified by the optimization algorithm until the specified fundamental frequency is achieved, and a predetermined harmonic partial overlaps...

Sound design methods for flue organ pipes can be developed for the practical application in organ building due to the high performance of modern computers and the advanced level of the scientific research on flue organ pipe acoustics. The research of Neville Fletcher and the team around him has contributed in a high extent to the scientific underst...

In the present contribution optimization and simulation methods are investigated in order to attain optimal scaling of labial organ pipes. The goal is to determine the optimal dimensions of the pipe, by which a desired steady state sound spectrum can be achieved. By modifying the geometry of the pipe body, the eigenfrequencies of the acoustic reson...

Im Verlaufe der Jahrhunderte wurde stets nach neuen Möglichkeiten gesucht, der Orgel neue Klänge zu entlocken. In der musikalischen Romantik wurden zu diesem Zweck vermehrt Pfeifen mit Expressionen, das heißt mit kleinem Fenster am oberen Ende des Resonators, eingesetzt. In diesem Vortrag wird erläutert, in welcher Weise die Breite und Höhe sowie d...

Designing and manufacturing processes of organ pipes are still based on traditional prototyping methods and applying step-by-step tuning and voicing adjustments. To speed up this rather time and resource consuming procedure, a modeling approach is being developed. To be able to simulate complex physical phenomena of the sound generation process, a...

The sound generation of an organ pipe is a very complex physical process, since the acoustical phenomena take place coupled with fluid flow effects. Even so, by modeling the organ pipe merely as an acoustic resonator, one can predict several key parameters of the sounding with sufficient accuracy. As these parameters are highly affected by even sma...