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The Mechanism of Sound Production in Organ Pipes
The Mechanism of Sound Production in Organ Pipes
Samuel A. Elder
A new unified method of treating the sounding mechanism of organ pipes and cavity
resonators replaces the control volume method which until recently has been the most
widely accepted theory. It is shown that shear layers contain a dividing surface whose
motions control the production of sound in the resonant cavity. Both jet-drive and
force drive contributions are found to be involved in the sounding mechanism. The
present approach shows the drive system to be inherently linear over a range of shear
layer widths, so that sinusoidal oscillation is readily achievable. For voicing situa
tionscalling for spectra rich in harmonics, nonlinear drive is attained by resorting to a
smaller ratio of jet width to lip cutup which, at high enough Reynolds number, permits
the growth of eddies which result in impulsive action at the lip.
Key words:Sound production, Cavity resonator, Organ pipe, Separated shear layer,
Jet instability, Flow tone
PACS number:43. 75. Np, 43. 28. Py, 43. 28. Ra, 43. 50. Nm, 43. 20. Ks
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J. Acoust. Soc. Jpn.(E) 13, 1 (1992)
assumed to take place by flow of jet fluid, Qj, into decay, a "force-drive" theory as opposed to "jet-
the parallel resonant mechanical circuit consisting drive." This meant that the reactive elements of the
of positive mouth reactance and negative pipe re pipe were driven in series rather then in parallel (see
actancebranches as shown in Fig. 1. The pipe is Fig. 2) and in addition implied that the amplitude of
then assumed to act as a linear amplifier, producing the oscillation should be proportional to the square
an acoustic flow QM=-(Zp/Zs)Qj, where Zp is the of the jet speed without the need of entrained fluid,
acoustic impedance of the cavity looking into the as postulated for the jet-drive approach. However
mouth and where Zs is the combined series imped in later measurements of the timing of the arriving
anceof the resonant system. The acoustic flow in jet pulse at the lip of the pipe, Coltman 9) found that
turn, acting on the jet fluid in the plane of the the phase relations seemed to support the jet-drive
mouth, produces more jet-drive flow Qj, completing theory.
the feedback loop. Using root locus methods they In 1973, Elder10) used a control volume approach
were able to account at least qualitatively for many of to show that both jet-drive and force-drive were con
the observed properties of organ pipe oscillation. sistentand suggested that there should be a third,
To get improved agreement with experiment they nonlinear, contribution to the oscillation due to
found it necessary to assume that entrained jet fluid intermodulation distortion caused by the nonlin
added to the drive, resulting in an oscillation ampli earityof the momentum conservation process. This
tudeproportional to the square of the jet speed. was followed in 1976 by a paper due to Fletcher11)
A divergent line of reasoning was followed by which showed that Elder's nonlinear term was un
Coltman, 8) in a paper which appeared also in 1968. necessary,leaving only the contributions due to
Following Rayleigh, Coltman reasoned that the jet force-drive and jet-drive. Fletcher and his associates
interacted with the pipe by generating a fluctuating have developed a comprehensive feedback theo
force across the mouth asscoiated with its own ry12,13)which goes further than any to date in ex
plainingthe physics of organ pipes. Nevertheless
there remain some areas where the model appears to
be deficient, such as in the prediction of threshold
a. b.
blowing pressures, and the amplitude of underblown
regimes.
In 1980 an important new approach was intro
ducedby Yoshikawa and Saneyoshi,14) who sug
gestedthe possibility of direct feedback from the
action of the jet as a vibrating diaphram. This idea
is the starting point for a new concept developed by
Elder15) whose theory represents the latest effort in
Fig. 1 Jet drive model. a. Qj is jet-drive the field of organ pipe physics and which will be
flow, QM and Qp represent acoustic flow. described in this paper.
b. Parallel-resonant equivalent circuit,
consisting of pipe impedance, Zp, and
mouth impedance, ZM. 1.2 Recent Studies of Cavity Resonators
A closely related phenomenon is the cavity reso
nator,or "Helmholtz" resonator problem. Wind
blowing past a slot or cavity along the side of a
moving vehicle may cause sound and vibration with
frequency proportional to the speed. If a resonant
volume or plate is present to couple with the oscilla
tion,a strong fixed-frequency tone may be produced
at certain speeds. This sometimes occurs in auto
mobileswith a single window open, manifesting itself
as a very low frequency (infrasonic) rumble or feel
Fig. 2 Force drive model:series resonant ingof pressure sensation to the occupant of the auto
circuit. •¢p is acoustic driving pressure. mobile.The effect has been studied extensively in
12
S. A. ELDER:SOUND PRODUCTION IN ORGAN PIPES
placement:
b.
(1)
where A is the amplitude of the disturbance at x,
13
J. Acoust. Soc. Jpn.(E) 13, 1 (1992)
U, surrounded above and below by masses of sta velocity profiles for the ideal halfjet and "full" jet
tionaryfluid, instability also is present. However and their real-world viscous counterparts. At the
for this case, the two vortex sheets making up the upstream, or trailing, edge of a slot the existing wall
edges of the jet will tend to move in synchronism boundary layer at that point must be continuously
with each other, forming either a "sinuous" pair of converted to a separated shear layer. The stream
waves or a "varicose" pair, in the words of Ray linethat forms at the edge itself must therefore
leigh,19) as shown in Fig. 5. In this case the wave begin as a stagnation point in order to match the
speed depends on the wavelength. Rayleigh's solu zero-velocity boundary layer condition at the wall.
tionfor the sinuous case leads to a wave speed: As the flow along this streamline accelerates up to
the local stream speed, U, the streamline will be
(2a)
for thin jets and comea dividing line for flow in the outside fluid,
which is moving, and flow of the fluid inside the
(2b)
cavity, which initially is not. As the flow pro
in the limit for very thick jets, which is of course to
gressesalong the mouth of a cavity or pipe, viscous
be expected since for a very thick jet we should be
(or turbulent) shear will produce a profile of posi
aware of only one shear layer at a time. The jet tivecurvature below this point due to acceleration of
waves also begin with exponential growth and tend
fluid while above the point the curvature will be
to roll up into a row of eddies, first to one side and negative due to deceleration of fluid. This means
then the other, as may be seen in Brown's photo
that the streamline that begins at the edge is actually
graphs 1)of edgetone jets. the locus of points corresponding to the inflection
point in the velocity profile. The inflection point
2.2 The Inflection Point Streamline:A Flow
locus is therefore the dividing streamsurface which
Divider
separates outside from inside fluid as waves form
Inviscid vortex sheets are a useful idealization, but
along the shear layer.
in the real world the edge of a jet or separated shear
β=nondimensional frequency
stant.
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S. A. ELDER:SOUND PRODUCTION IN ORGAN PIPES
3.2 Cavity Resonator Edge Conditions Creamer and Ising 6) invoked this condition in
In order to insure that the velocity vanish at x=0 their description of organ pipe jet motion, showing
(i.e. at the upstream edge), forces in the shear layer that it leads to a second pair of stability waves
15
J. Acoust. Soc. Jpn.(E) 13, 1 (1992)
along the jet, moving in the upstream direction. For we must require that the jet-drive flow, Qj, must be
the top-hat profile considered by Cremer and Ising, introduced by means of a "branch" circuit into the
this leads to a jet centerline wave of the form: loop containing the reactive elements, so that the
(6) total acoustic discharge into the cavity, Qp, is given
by:
where
(11)
To establish the legitimacy of this relation, which is
a kind of flow-conservation rule, we compute Qp by
and where C1 and C2 are given in terms of k1, k2, α1, integrating the dividing surface velocity over the
α2. entire surface of the mouth:
For jet with a more realistic profile, numerical
(9) (15)
This may be written
If there is assumed to be no fluid motion below the
(10) dividing surface, the effect of the motion of the shear
By substituting the appropriate value of ƒÌ we may layer is to cause an amount of fluid Qj to enter the
obtain v as a function of x over the mouth. cavity each cycle, but not to remove any. There is
therefore both a dc and an ac component of QJ.
4.2 The Flow Conservation Rule For a real shear layer, there is some motion of the
If the cavity or pipe is to be driven by a parallel fluid below the dividing surface, so that fluid will
resonantcircuit representation, as shown in Fig. 1, be also ejected from the cavity each cycle, but in
16
S. A. ELDER:SOUND PRODUCTION IN ORGAN PIPES
(16)
(18)
tributionthat is not.
To compute the force term from which •¢p is (22)
found, we must take the material derivative of the
dividing surface velocity which is proportional to Noting that the integrands of all the terms on the
the force on the fluid per unit volume fluid due to right side of this equation involve at least one space
shear layer motion: derivative of 6, and therefore operate on the stability
wave alone, it is clear that the term on the left must
(19) contain any reaction forces associated with the
or
purely acoustic field. If we further separate the
integral on the left into two parts, the first con
tainingno x-dependent terms and the latter a func
tionof x, we may then identify the former term as
due to the acoustic pressure difference, ZSQM, that
(20) drives the standing wave in the cavity:
Given a function ƒÌ(x, y, z, t) we may determine the
17
J. Acoust. Soc. Jpn.(E) 13, 1 (1992)
(24)
is:
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S. A. ELDER:SOUND PRODUCTION IN ORGAN PIPES
(29)
Here at last is the correct explanation of the "U2"
dependence of the acoustic amplitude!
To find the amplitude and frequency of the oscilla
(25)
tionat a given speed we make use of Eq.(18), in the
where we have left the pressure terms in the order
form:
A, B, C, and D.
sustainedoperation. Now for all types of jet/edge which may be read as follows:for simultaneous
resonator systems, feedback is applied from the values of wind speed, U, oscillation amplitude, UM,
downstream edge or lip to the upstream edge with a and sounding frequency, ƒÖ, that give the same com
180•‹ shift. Since the feedback is applied via some plexnumber on either side of the equation, we have
form of acoustic radiation, and so travels from the a solution point. This is a form of "root locus"
downstream to upstream edge effectively instanta method and the solution may be performed either
neously(the acoustic wavelength being large compar by computer or by graphical analysis.28) Without
edto H), travel time of information along the jet or actually going through this process, which is rather
shear layer must adjust itself to one-half period of tedious, we can gain some useful insights by ex
the oscillation. This means that the disturbance aminingthe known form of the ZS impedance
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J. Acoust. Soc. Jpn.(E) 13, 1 (1992)
(32)
where Sp is the cross sectional area of the pipe.
Equating this to the nonlinear term we obtain:
(33)
Since ƒÌ(H)=0 for laminar cavity at resonance, there
(30) is
Substituting in Eq.(34), we obtain a computed value function applies over only part of the path. This is
of U=1,382cm/s which is in the neighborhood of because we need integrate either function only over
the measured value, 1,300cm/s. the integrals that contain functions of x.) Sub
5.2 Effect of Turbulent Boundary Layer on Cavity four force terms contribute to the drive term re
Resonance sultingin:
20
S. A. ELDER:SOUND PRODUCTION IN ORGAN PIPES
This prediction is strikingly confirmed in the data of sinuous, doubling the total drive force. To cal
DeMetz and Farabee31 who observed a distinct culatethe force drive terms, one must determine the
cut-off effect for resonant cavities with lower value for k1H. It seems likely that
Strouhal number!
(40)
From Fig. 9 it is clear than ξ does not vanish at
x=H for this case, so there should be a contribution Over the early portion of its path, the jet centerline
to QJ. However since the peak value ofξarrives travels very fast on account of the action of the
90° out-of-phase with the sound pressure in the counter wave at x=0, so that there is little phase
pipe, QJ does not contribute to the power stroke shift. Over the rest of the path, the acoustic particle
for turbulent cavity resonance. displacement is smaller than the displacement due
to the stability wave, which has large gain in a jet,
5.3 Organ Pipes so that k1 and k, are approximately the same over
As shown in Fig. 3, the organ pipe jet may be the entire path of the wave.
thought of as a pair of shear layers of opposite We will not attempt to integrate Eq.(24) for the
vorticity, separated by the jet width, δ.Although fulljet. On account of the standing wave conditions
on account of their proximity, the two shear layers near x=0 and the fact that k1* is a complex number,
exhibit coupled motion, with propagation constants a simple result such as Eq. (25) is not feasible.
characteristic of the system as a whole, force-drive Some things can be said about the solution however.
and jet-drive may still be thought of as coming from Generally speaking, jet width is small compared to
each layer separately. The lower layer produces the cut-up, H. For a typical diapason pipe, for
forces across the mouth plane according to Eq. (24), example, the ratio of δ/H might be 1/30, while the
and delivers a jet-drive flow ratio ofδ0/H is even smaller. Therefore organ pipe
jets voiced for bright tone must fall into the limiting
(39)
category for which eddies are expected to travel
to the pipe each cycle. On account of the in along the jet. Currently halfjet resonators with
stabilitygrowth of the jet displacement along its δ0/H in this range are being studied at the U.S.
path,ξ(H,t) does not vanish for the organ pipe and Naval Academy (results are still unpublished), and
we expect a contribution from jet-drive so long as it has been found that below a critical value of δ0/H,
there is a component of QJ in phase with the sound the spectrum of the radiated sound suddenly be
pressure in the pipe. In an ideal top-hat jet, there comesvery rich, indicating transition to a new type
is no moving fluid below the dividing surface and of drive. It appears that for shear layers thin
so no return flow is removed from the pipe by the enough to permit the buildup of spinning vortices
lower layer. The upper layer, however, removes in the mouth, a large inertia is added to the motion
an amount-QJ from the jet, that is, the same of the layer, producing impulsive drive at the lip,
amount out-of-phase, and introduces no fluid from with a resulting spectrum not unlike that of a di
the outside. Provided the maximum displacement apasonpipe. The matter is still under study, but
at the lip,ξ(H), is at leastδ/2, all the jet fluid con already shows much promise for increasing the
tributesto QJ. understanding of organ pipe physics, particularly
The drive flow QJ introduced inside the pipe is with regard to the manipulations involved in voic
amplified by the acoustic resonator to give an ing.
acoustic standing wave through the mouth of the
pipe, QM,with total acoustic discharge into the pipe 5.4 Organ Pipe with Wide Jet.
QP as given by Eq. (11). The flow-QJ produces Until now we have tacitly assumed that jet widths
no amplification, but does combine with the acoustic are narrow enough that upper and lower shear layers
flow in the mouth,-QM, to produce the total radiat are able to move in a coupled, sinuous mode and
eddischarge,-QP. Therefore, the total radiation that both shear layers are able to react with the
from either end of an open pipe is the same, as cavity. Clearly, as the width of the jet becomes
shown experimentally by Coltman.32) greater, there must come a point at which one or
The forces from the upper layer act in phase with both of these assumptions is not valid. Assuming
those from the lower layer when the jet motion is that the width of the shear layer lies within the range
21
J. Acoust. Soc. Jpn.(E) 13, 1 (1992)
for instability for the halfjet, what are the limits on The historical controversy as to whether pipes are
δthat distinguish halfjet from fulljet resonator and driven by force-drive or jet-drive is thus resolved
is there a continuous operational mode for the in in favor of both. Jet-drive is possible whenever the
betweenstate? Clearly there are two ratios that jet arrives at the lip with finite displacement and
need to be specified in order to distinguish single with a component in phase with the sound pressure
shear layer from double shear layer situations:δ/λ, in the pipe.
whereλis the wavelength of the stability wave along The present approach shows the drive system to
the shear layer, determines the complex propagation be inherently linear over a range of shear layer
constant for the top-hat profile, whileδ/H deter- widths, so that sinusoidal oscillation is readily
mines whether one or two shear layers interact with achievable. For voicing situations calling for
the lip. For the former, Rayleigh showed that the spectra rich in harmonics, nonlinear drive is attained
top-hat eigenvalues change smoothly into step by resorting to a smaller ratio of jet width to lip
profileeigenvalues forδ/λ ≫1, so we are assured cutup which, at high enough Reynolds number,
that there is a proper value of wave propagation permits the growth of eddies which result in im
constant,κ+jα, for all widths of the jet. Likewise pulsiveaction at the lip.
it seems obvious that for δ/H≫1, it must be impossi
blefor the full jet to interact with the lip by crossing ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
into the pipe, regardless of whether the sinuous The work herein reported was supported by the
mode is present or not. United States Naval Academy Research Council.
It would be interesting to investigate experi
22
S. A. ELDER:SOUND PRODUCTION IN ORGAN PIPES
13) See, for example, the tutorial material in the text by 23) S. A. Elder, T. M. Farabee, and F. C. DeMetz,
N. H. Fletcher and T. D. Rossing, The Physics of "Mechanisms of flow -excited cavity tones at low
Musical Instruments (Springer-Verlag, New York, Mach number," J. Acoust. Soc. Am. 72, 532-549
1991), Chap. 16. (1982).
14) S. Yoshikawa and J. Saneyoshi,"Feedback excita 24) We must necessarily restrict our attention to the
tionmechanism in organ pipe," J. Acoust. Soc. Jpn. case for which the vorticity has not rolled up into
(E) 1, 175-191 (1980). an eddy.
15) S. A. Elder,"On the theory of resonant cavity 25) See Ref. 17), p.391.
excitation by an unstable jet," paper submitted to 26) H. Lamb, Hydrodynamics, 6th ed., 1st paperback
J. Acoust. Soc. Am.(1992). ed. (Dover, New York, 1945), Sect. 9.
16) for a comprehensive bibliography, see W. K. Blake, 27) Ideally, in a fully developed velocity profile, the
Aero-Hydroacoustics for Ships, Vol. I (David average inflection point of a free shear layer lies
Taylor Naval Ship Research and Development along the plane z=0. In the simple model, velocity
Center, Carderock, MD, 1984), pp.219-228a. perturbations move about this point while the
17) Lord Rayleigh (J. W. S. Strutt), The Theory of average profile remains stationary, even though the
Sound (Dover, New York, 1945), Vol. 2, Chap. 21. actual velocity profile moves up and down with the
18) L. Rosenhead,"The formation of vortices from a wave as it descends into the cavity along the path.
surface of discontinuity," Proc. R. Soc. London 28 ) See examples of similar analysis in Refs. 6), 21), and
Ser. A134, 170-192 (1931). 23).
19) See Ref. 17), p.402. 29 ) See Refs. 6) or 21).
20) A. Michalke,"On spatially growing disturbances 30) U. Ingard and H. Ising,"Acoustic nonlinearity of
in an inviscid shear layer," J. Fluid Mech. 23, 521- an orifice," J. Acoust. Soc. Am. 42, 6-17 (1967).
544 (1965). 31) F. C. DeMetz and T. M. Farabee,"Laminar and
21) S. A. Elder "Self-excited depth-mode resonance for turbulent shear flow induced cavity resonances,"
a wall-mounted cavity in turbulent flow," J. Acoust. #77-1293 AIAA 4th Aeroacoustics Conf., Atlanta,
Soc. Am. 64, 877-890 (1978). GA (October 3-5, 1977).
22) S. A. Elder,"Forced oscillations of a separated 32) J. M. Coltman,"Sound radiation from the mouth
shear layer with application to cavity flow-tone of an organ pipe," J. Acoust. Soc. Am. 46, 477
effects," J. Acoust. Soc. Am. 67, 774-781 (1980). (1969).
23