PAPERS

On the Directivity of Horn Loudspeakers*

TONNI FRANKE JOHANSEN

Division of Telecommunications, Acoustics, Norwegian Institute of Technology,

University of Trondheim, N-7034 Trondheim, Norway

A numerical method is used to calculate the directional properties of unbaffled horn

loudspeakers. Both axisymmetric horns and horns with rectangular cross sections are investi-
gated. The conical horn is investigated in most detail. Based on numerical results a simple
method to determine the directional properties of a horn is proposed.

0 INTRODUCTION diffraction, and radiation problems. When compared

Horn loudspeakers are often used to control the direc-
tivity of public address systems. Horns with different
shapes have been used with impressive results. (See, for
example, Henricksen and Ureda [ 1] and Keele [2]-[4].)
Up to now few theoretical results have been published
which can be used to predict the directional properties
of horn loudspeakers. The variety of horn shapes and
the problem of joining the sound field in the interior of
the horn to the external field make calculations difficult,
Most current designs seem to be based on accumulated
practical knowledge and some simple physical princi-
ples. In the literature several "rules of thumb" have been
proposed to help designers. There exist, however, differ-
with the finite-element method (FEM), it uses fewer
degrees of freedom. This is because FEM is a domain
method whereas IEM is a boundary method. FEM also
needs some sort of coupling to the infinite exterior field.
(See, for example, Kagawa et al. [5] and Kristiansen
[6].) The method used here is presented in [7] and inves-
tigated in detail in [8].
The method uses the idea presented by Filippi [9]
for diffraction from thin screens. The thin horn wall is
replaced by a screen with zero thickness. The geometry
of the driver is believed to be insignificant to the radiated
field. The geometrical approximation is shown in Fig.
1. The integral equation to be solved is then

ent numerical methods that might be used. A purpose 0p+(7) 1 --, I' Og(7lTo)
dF(70)
of this paper is to use one such method, the integral 2 go(r) - Jr IX°(7°) On
equation method (IEM), to test these rules of thumb and On ^,r_
to be able to do systematic investigations.

andCalculations are carried cross

horns with rectangular out forsections.
axisymmetric
All the horns
horns = - fr^.r, tx_tr°)
"' 02g(717°) dF(70),
OnOn----_ V7 E F A F B
are unbaffled.The conicalhornis investigatedin more (1)
detail. The directional properties of a horn are investi-
gated using both directivity plots in the horizontal and where g(-_0) is the Green's function for the Helmholtz
vertical planes and two-dimensional mapping on a equation in free space,_ and-_0 are coordinates of the
sphere, measurementpoint and sourcepoint, respectively,and
O/Onis the normal derivative operator. Instead of the
I NUMERICAL METHOD pressure and its normal derivative the discontinuities of
these quantities across the boundaries are used as vari-
The integral equation method (IEM), also called the ables in the integral equations, IX0= Op+/an - Op-/On
boundary-element method, is often used in scattering, and IX_= p+ - p-. The superscripts denote the sides
of the horn wall with respect to the orientation of the
* Manuscript received 1994 July 15; revised 1994 Septem- normal.
bet 23. The pressureis calculatedeverywhereoutsideandon

1008 J. AudioEng.Soc.,Vol.42,No.12,1994December
PAPERS DIRECTIVITY
OFHORNLOUDSPEAKERS

the horn wall by

p(7)-- - ^,FB og(7)l(;o)

OhO o(7o)g(7)l(7o)
dr(7o) (2)'

where curved.We will call the first type mantaray-typehorns

0, -_ _ f_
ct =
1 -_ E F^,F B.
2'
There are several advantages to using this method corn-
pared to IEM, based on the Helmholtz integral equation
(see, for example, Seybert et al. [10]).
1) The number of unknowns is reduced because the
discontinuity properties over the screen are treated as
unknowns instead of pressures,
2) The problems reported for objects having small
dimensions compared to the wavelength, are eliminated
because of the zero-thickness screen [9].
3) There will be no problem with irregular wave num-
bers because there is no enclosed volume,
The programs developed use zeroth-order elements,
The term coverage angle will be used here to describe
the directional properties of a horn. However, since cal-
culations are carried out at discrete frequencies, the
definition used is different from the usual one. The cov-
erage angle is found from a directivity plot. It is the
angle between the two directions having sound pressure
levels 6 dB below the maximum level obtained,
2 SOME PRELIMINARIES ON THE DIRECTIONAL
PROPERTIES OF HORN LOUDSPEAKERS
because of their similarity to the well-known design
from Altec Lansing. The second type will be referred
to as conicalhornwith a curvedflange(Fig. 2).
These horns benefit from the conical horns' properties
at high wave numbers. It is well known that at very low
wavenumbers,a horn's radiationwill be determinedby
the mouth diameter, irrespective of the actual horn
shape. In a certain wave number region, "low-wave-
number narrowing," there is a narrowing to coverage
angles considerably smaller than 0i.
The wave front in the mouth of the horn will determine
the properties of the radiation. The horn's shape will
determine the shape of the wave front. However, it is
known that for horns with curved horn walls, the wave
will not cling to the more rapidly flaring part of the horn
(see Morse [12] and Benade and Jansson [13]). Only the
moderately flaring part of the horn will influence the
wave front. This will be more and more important at
higher wave numbers.
When directional properties are considered, the manta-
ray-type horn and the conical horn with curved flange
act as horns with wide included angles at low wave
numbers. At high wave numbers the inner conical part
dominates. The problem is to determine what wave num-
ber regions are dominated by the different parts of a horn
and to find out what happens in the intermediate range.

2.1 Conical Horns __ _,_r^ /_

ment by Olson [11, p. 50]: rB

A portionof a sphericalsurface,large comparedto the _,

wavelength and vibrating radially, emits uniform sound
Itradiation over many
seems that a solid horn
angle designs
subtendedarebybased
the surface at
on a state- r-'A_//x_fi'__88f
fi. __fi' r_'
.4_--- FAfi.
the center of the curvature.
(a) (b)
As a consequence, horns designed for directivity con- Fig. 1. Example of (a) real horn and (b) model used for IEM.
trol have been made with mouth geometries that are
close to sectors of spherical surfaces.
The conical horn is ideal for this purpose. The wave /

continuities until it reaches the mouth. The wave front

will be purely spherical.

2.2 Constant-Directivity Horns

The designs of constant-directivity horns described in
propagating
the literature outwardin
have conicalthehorn
horns aswill notstarting
their meetany dis-
point. _1
The inner part of the horn is conical with the same
includedangle0ias the wantedcoverageangle0_6.The (a) (b)
outer part of the horn is wider than the inner conical Fig. 2. Horns designed for constant directivity. (a) Mantaray-
section. The outer part may be conical, or it may be type horn. (b) Conical horn with curved flange.

J. Audio Eng. Soc., Vol. 42, No. 12, 1994 December 1009
 JOHANSEN PAPERS

2.3 Independence of the Different Directions

It is often assumed that the wave fields in the ortho-
' gonal ·planes including the horn axis are independent. LO
Therefore horns are made by designing shapes that will Jo
give the wanted directivity in the horizontal and vertical z<10o
planes and simply putting them together. If different ,,,
properties in the vertical and horizontal directions are <_
wanted, the horn will normally have a rectangular cross c_
Ld

section. These assumptions will be investigated by cal- >

O
culationsfor someexamples, o

3 AXISYMMETRIC HORNS

3.1 Simple Model for Radiation from Conical ,0 _ ! ! _ _ _ ! _1 _ a

Horns , lO
The wave traveling outward in the horn will not meet k
any change in shape creating higher order modes of (a)
propagation before the mouth. It is therefore appropriate
to assume that the wave front in the conical horn's mouth o.0 j
will be a spherical cap.
The radiated field from the cap may be found by the
series x
O
E -10.0

p(r, O) = AmPm(cos 0) hm(kr) (3) o_

m=O _ _2o.0
5
where Pm(x) are the Legendre functions and hm(x ) the -_
spherical Hankel functions. The center of the sphere is mx_
positioned in the origin; r and 0 are spherical coordinates _ -30.0

(Fig. 3). The coefficients A m may be found as described o_

in Morse and Ingard [14, pp. 338-346].
The results for the pulsating spherical cap and the '-
conical horncalculatedbyIEMareveryclose. Thesimi- -,o.o i i i i _ { i i i m m i f i i i I
larity is found over a wide range of wave numbers, 30 60 90 12o ,so 18o
several wavelengths over the horn's mouth [Fig. 4(a)]. THETA
Even for the very wide horn in Fig. 4(b), where the (b)
horn is deformed into a baffle, the results for the horn Fig. 4. Calculations on spherical cap by Eq. (3) and conical
and the pulsating spherical cap are in good agreement, horn using IEM. a0--horn driver radius. (a) Coverage angles.
The wavelength is in this case approximately 0.67 m, 0i -- 60°, am = 1.0 m, a0 = 0. lin. -- pulsating cap; ©--©
conical horn. (b) Directivity patterns. 0i -- 180°, am ----- 1.0
nearly one-third of the diameter of the baffle, m, ao = 0.1 m, k = 9 (a fiat circular baffle). *--* pulsating
These and many other numerical experiments have cap; O--[--] conical horn.

(a) (b)

Fig. 3. Definition of conical horn with included angle 0i and its equivalent pulsating spherical cap in rigid sphere, am--horn
mouth radius. (a) 0i = 40°. (b) 0i -- 90°.

1010 d. Audio Eng. Soc., Vol. 42, No. 12, 1994 December
PAPERS DIRECTIVITY OF HORN LOUDSPEAKERS

shown the radiation from a conical horn and that from 4

a pulsating spherical cap in a rigid sphere to be basically 3-
identical [8]. On this background Eq. (3) will be used 2- _,.
for investigating the properties of conical horns, i.tj -,,,
CD
Z
3.2 Coverage Angle and Break Wave Number < 1O0 _-
When describing the directional properties of horns, co
CD _ r
the break wave number k 1 is an important measure. It _ _ {
w _ J
was introduced by Keele [2]. For wave numbers lower >
than k_, the coverage angle is inversely proportional to
o
c>
I
the wavenumber.The breakwavenumberis the lowest 2 I
wave number at which the coverage angle is equal to
the includedangleof the horn. Abovethiswavenumber _'
it is possible to have control over the directional proper- 10 _
2 m 4_ _5 _6 } 89_ _I
3 m
2 3

ties of the horn, 1 10

k
K
kI - 0_6a m (4) (a)
4

where K is a constant to be discussed later. ,

Fig. 5(b) shows clear differences between the cover-
age angles obtained by Henricksen and Ureda [1], on co
...J
2
their asymptotic model and those for the spherical cap.

At wave
at the numbers
same rate inbelow kI the
the two coverage
curves. anglesthe
However, decrease
values
CD

<z
co 100 _-
CD ?
%. % /- "-) (r-
of kl are different. Keele gives the constant K in Eq. (4) <
0:5
65- 1 _J
as approximately equal to 230. The foregoing calcula- _ 4- i
tions indicate K _ 270. o 'x

thisHenricksen and though

to 230. Even Ureda, not
who stated
use the
in Keele value, this
their paper, set c_ 2
_- !- ,._,_ !
j
mightbe due to HenricksenandUredausinghornswith
rectangular cross sections. Their model is only good for 10 m _ _ _ _ m_ _I m
rectangular-shaped horns. 2 3 · _ 6 7 89 2 3
An argumentfor this is as follows. The directivityat 1 10
k
low wave numbers is similar to that of a piston. Let us
compare the directivity function for circular and rectan- (b)
gular pistons in baffles, nr

2Jl(ka sin 0) (5a) ,

Rcire(O) -- ka sin 0

Rrect(O, qo) CD
z

=
(,
sin _ k/_ sin 0 cos qo ) (,
sin _ klo sin 0 sin qo ) _ ., : II
1 klbsin 0 sin q0 o
1 0cosq> 2 o
(5b)

where Rcirc (0) is the directivity function for a circular

piston with radius a, and Rrectthat of a rectangular piston o _ m m m m m_ _I m
with sides la and lb. From this the coverage angle is _ _ _ _ _ _ __ _
found as ka sin 0 _ 2.2 for the circular piston and t/2kl 1 10 k
sin 0 _ 1.9 for the rectangular piston, that is, if the two
pistons have the same size, 1 = 2a, the rectangular (c)
Fig. 5. Coverage angle, pulsating spherical cap. am = 1.0 m.
piston will have the widest coverage angle. Furthermore, (a) 0i = 90°. pulsating cap; __asymptotic
we have modelaccording to Henricksen andUreda[1].(b) - - - 0i
= 40°; -- -- 0 i = 60°; --0 i = 90°; 0_ -
120°. (c) As (b), but with coverage anglesnormalized with
l .__99
_ 2300 respect to included angle and results scaled in order to have
2.2 270 ' same break wave number.

J. Audio Eng. Soc., Vol. 42, No. 12, 1994 December 1011
JOHANSEN PAPERS

The constants should be used for axisymmetric horns

and rectangular horns, respectively. On this background _
10
let us assume that the asymptotic curves are deduced ?
from measurements on conical type horns with rectangu- _-
larcrosssections..._, -1
The coverage angle curves in Fig. 5(a) have further
differences. The low-wave-number narrowing is wider _ 'E_
for the pulsating spherical cap, which also has the small- Ch ' _
est minimum value of the coverage angle. At higher '_ "_B
wave numbers the coverage angle of the pulsating spher-
ical cap is not as wide as its included angle. _ 'S0 '

different included angles but identical mouth radii am, '"

it canbe seenthattheshapesof thecurvesfor thediffer- _ e,"
Comparing coverage angles of spherical caps with o __ero_
'->o I
ent caps are similar. For low wave numbers the coverage -_ _ '_-'__ _ I _-6_... _.e,
angles are determined by am [Fig 5(b)]. _ '_"o-x_<e--_q?_-
When normalizing coverage angles with respect to
the included angle and scaling for equal break wave Fig. 6. Selection of directivity curves for pulsating spherical
cap with 0i = 90°. Integer wave numbers from I to 30; am =
numbers, the curves are almost identical [Fig. 5(c)]. 1.0 m.
This shows that the directional properties of the pulsat-
ing spherical cap, and thereby the conical horn, can be
represented by one single curve.
At low wave numbers the radiation for the cap is wide, _.oo
becoming more and more narrow with increasing wave
numbers (Fig. 6). A hump appears outside the main 0.80
lobe, and at k = 10 it becomes a secondary maximum.
At higher wave numbers the patterns are almost parallel
outside the included angle of the horn, but closer to 060
the axis clear deviations are found. This shows that the
radiation is not uniform as stated by Olson. 0.40

3.3 TWO Interesting Observations I _

The main problem of the conical horn is the low- 0.20
wave-number narrowing, which might be avoided by f \
I
altering the outer part of the horn. It is of interest to 0.00 _ , , , , , _1_ f i_ i a i _ i J _ _ i
determine the wave number range where the outer part of 0.00 0.20 0.40 0.$0 0.80 1.00
a horn dominates the directional properties of the horn. (a)

3.3.1 Exponential Horns with Different

Driver Sizes _
It is interesting to investigate how the directional proper- 3-
ties of a horn are changed when the size and the geometry u 2-
of the driver of the horn are changed. As an example -J
an exponential horn is investigated [Fig. 7(a)]. The ref- z
erence horn has a driver assumed to be too small to have <_oo
,,r _E
any influence on the directional properties of the horn· c9
<12 '-
6--
The two other horns investigated have the same shape rr
Ld 5-
as the outer part of the reference horn but larger drivers, >
O _-
one plane piston and one pulsating spherical cap. The co 3
cap has the same included angle as the exponential horn 2
in that cross section.
At low wave numbers the three horns have very sim-
ilar coverage angles [Fig. 7(b)]. At higherwave numbers 10 2i m 4_ } _ } _ _ I
5 _
2 i
3 4

there are deviations. 1 10

1)Thehornswiththe largepistonhavenarrowercov- k
erage angles than the reference horn, and close to those (b)
of a piston with the same size placed in an infinite baffle. Fig. 7. Exponential horns having same outer parts but different
2) At high wave numbers the horn with the spherical driver sizes and geometries. (a) Geometry of horns. Dimen-
sions in meters. (b) Coverage angles of horns. O--O reference
cap has coverage angles wider than the reference horn. horn; * * pulsating cap; [] [] large piston driver;
To summarize, the outer part of the horn dominates -- -- large piston in baffle.

1012 J. Audio Eng. Soc., Vol. 42, No. 12, 1994 December
PAPERS DIRECTIVITY OF HORN LOUDSPEAKERS

the directional properties of a horn at low wave numbers, of a horn are determined by the outer part of the horn
Above a limit wave number the driver dominates the at low wave numbers and by the inner part at high wave
directional properties. However, this limit wave number numbers. Furthermore there exist limit wave numbers
is dependent on the shape of the driver, where the inner part starts to affect the directional prop-
In [8] it is found that a circular piston driver will not erties of the horn. If the inner part of the horn is conical,
influence the directional properties of the horn as long as it may, as a fair approximation, be replaced by a driver
the wavelength is larger than the diameter of the piston, having the same geometry as the expected wave front
out of the inner section, that is, a spherical cap.
3.3.2 Replacing the Inner Part of a Mantaray-Type
Horn with a Driver Surface 3.4 Experiments on'Mantaray-Type Horns
Another interesting example is shown in Fig. 8. Cov- Calculations are made for a set of horns having the
erage angles are compared for a mantaray-type horn and same included angles of the inner and outer sections but
a short conical horn with a spherical cap as the driver, different size in the cross sections where they are joined
The driver of the short horn has the size and geometry (different Zo)[Fig. 9(a)].
appropriate for the expected spherical wave front coming The horn with smallest z0 is expected to have direc-
out from the inner conical part. The coverage angles for tional properties dominated by the outer part of the horn
the two horns are similar [Fig. 8(b)]. over a wide range of wave numbers (a small cap replac-
These examples show that the directional properties lng the inner part of the horn). The horn with the largest
value of z0 will be dominated by the outer part only at
_.o, / the lowest wave numbers.
- // These expectations are confirmed in Fig. 9(b). Fur-

0.s - the outer part, up to an upper wave number kmax, after

- whichthe curves tend towardthe curvesof the inner
- / ther, the different horns follow the coverage angles of
part of the horns.
0.s It seems that kmaxmay be determined by the properties
of the two conical sections using two criteria:
_- _ 1) The wavenumbermustbe abovethe breakwave
number of the cap replacing the inner section, k].
0.4 \ 2) Higher order modes must be able to propagate
\ throughout the outer part of the horn, k2.
0.2 \ We used the cutoff wave number of the first radial
mode at z0 as criterion, k2 (0i/2);
_ /

o.o -
0.0
i t i I i i i i i i [ i i i
0.2 0.4 0.6
I
0.8
i i i i
1.0
k2 (?)j=_' 1 IXH · IXH + 1 ] (6a)

(a) R = r sin ,
4
{

2-- IX. = 219 · (0i/2)(1 + 0.00244 0i/2) (6b)

LJJ
....1
see Benade and Jansson [13]. The higher of kl and k2
7'

< 100 9- determines kmax.

c9 7- Now we are in a position to determine the range of wave
< 6- numbers where the outer part of the horns dominates. At
t3_ 5
w the highestwavenumbersthe innerpart is expectedto
> 4
© dominate. The numerical results further show that for the
c_ a intermediatewavenumbersthefollowingholds:
2 1) Horns having low k.... less than or equal to the
minimum coverage angle of low-wave-number nar-

10 2_ __ 4m 5_ } } _ _ I 2s a_ rowing for the

curves with outer part alone,
negativeradius have coverage
of curvature (case 1).angle
1 10 2) Horns having kmax above the mentioned limit have
k
coverage angle curves with positive radius of curvature
(b) (case 2).
Fig. 8. Mantaray-type horn. Comparison with inner part of By trial and error we found that two simple formulas
horn replaced by spherical cap. (a) Geometry of horns. Dimen-
sions in meters. (b) Coverage angles of horns. O O refer- may be used to predict, with reasonable accuracy, the
ence horn; [] [] pulsatingcap. coverage angles of these horns. Eq. (7a) applies for case

J. Audio Eng. Soc., VoL 42, No. 12, 1994 December 1013
JOHANSEN PAPERS

2 and Eq. (7b) for case 1, Here kt is the wave number where the inner part is said
to dominate. For kt we chose to use the wave number
0_ 6,2(kmax) - 0_ 6,1(kt) (k - kmax) where the outer part of the horn has a dip in the
0-6(k) = kmax- kt angle curve. 0_6.1 and 0_6, 2 are the coverage anglesC°Verageof
the caps with including angles equal to those of the inner
+ 0_ 6,2 (kmax) (7a) and outer parts of the horn. The formulas are satisfactory
as first predictions of the behavior of a mantaray-type
_ kmax 0_6,1(k) horn (Fig. 9).
0_6(k ) = 1 + kk _ kmax 2,
3.5 Horns Having Three Conical Sections

+ 1
k -Z kma
kk _m_x) 0_ 6,2(k)
2 (7b) gated
Horns
sider using
the with
thethree
horns same conical
simple the
all having approach
sections have
as described.
same includedbeen investi-
anglesCon-
for
where the three sections, 0i,_ = 90 °, 0i. 2 = 112.6 °, and
0i,3 = 163.7 ° [Fig. 10(a)]. The intersections between
the different sections, labeled z_ and z2, vary.

kk = to state the following.

3kmax, 3kma_>
kt, 3kmax< kt
kt · According to thenumbers
1) At low wave previous theresults it seems section
outer conical reasonable
will
dominate. The horn will radiate as a conical horn with

,o I included angle 0i, 3.

0.B 180 ---_

200 ff t
-- 160 --
Ld
-- _j
o.6 CD 14o
g
- <C 12o

- CD loo--
<_
0.4 -- I_ --
-- _ 80--

0
CD 60--
0.2 40 --

/ 20--

o i T ] f t [ i m i t i i i i t i ] i I
0.0 ' I i i I I f [ I i i i I i t i I i i I 0 5 10 15 20
O.O 0.2 0.4 0.6 O.B 1.0

z k
(a) (c)

180 -- 180

200 11 [ 200
160 160 --
Ld DJ
140 0 140-
Z - Z -
<_ 12o <_ 12o-

CD 100 _ 100-

{3_ -
LO 80 -- W ao-- /
> - > _ 1
0 60 *o--
c) o
4'0 40 --
- ! I
20
_ 20 '_-

o i i i i [ i i i t i i i i i i i i i I o i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i l
5 10 15 20 5 10 15 20

· k k
(b) (d)
Fig. 9. Selection of mantaray-type horns having included angles of inner part 0i = 90 ° and outer part 0i = 120°. am = 1.0 m.
(a) Geometry of horns. Dimensions in meters. (b) Coverage angles of horns. 'k--'k zo = 0.15 m; x -- x Zo= 0.25 m; O--O
zo = 0.35 m; O--O zo = 0.45 m; F']--[-] Zo= 0 55 m; A--A z0 = 0.65 m; + -- + Zo = 0.75 m; spherical cap
0i = 90°; spherical cap 0i = 120°; both with am -- 1.0 m. (c), (d) Coverage angles (linear axes). F-]--F-] simple formula;
O--O IEM. (c) zo = 0.25 m. (d) zo = 0.65 m. '

1014 J. Audio Eng. Soc., Vol. 42, No. 12, 1994 December
PAPERS DIRECTIVITY OF HORN LOUDSPEAKERS

,.0 2) Abovea limitwavenumberthemiddlesectionwill

influence the directional properties of the horn. The inner
section will not play any role. The outer two sections
0.8 havethe geometryof a mantaray-type horn.
3) Above a new limit wave number the inner section
will influence the directional properties of the horn.
0.6 4) At high wave numbers the inner section will domi-
_. nate the directional properties of the horn.
_ In Fig. 10(c) the coverage angles of spherical caps
o._ having included angles 0i,], 0i,2, and 0i, 3 are shown. The
caps all have the same size as the mouth of the horn.
It seems as if the rules used to determine kmax may be
o.2 used to find the limit wave numbers. Then it is possible
to determine the coverage angles of the horn. We tried
using the simple formulas of Eqs. (7) to calculate first
o.o ' the coverage angles of the two outer (mantaray-type)
o.o o.: o., 0.6 0.8 ,.o sections. Then we combined the results from this calcu-
z lation with the inner horn using the same formulas. The
(a) approximations are fair [see Fig. 10(b)]. Such calcula-
4 tions may be used as a first evaluation of the directional

It has been found that the directional properties of

w · horns based on the horn with three conical sections will
J
C_9 not change much if the horn is "made smooth" in order
7 i_ propertiesof hornswiththreeconicalsections.
to have a continuous derivative horn wall [8].
<100 9.= _,,_-__--_.4S_ma_._ --
h-I 8-- o...on_ --_a4o -
(._ 7--
< 6- 4 HORNS WITH RECTANGULAR CROSS
L_J
> ·- SECTIONS
O
(._.3 3-
Some observations on horns with rectangular cross
2- sectionsare reportedhere. Wewill use the term "ver-
sions of a horn." This means that the shape of the horn
in one plane is, for example, equal to the cross section
10 _' ,' ,I _ _l,, I _' 3
, of an axisymmetric horn while the horn may have a
1 10 differentshapein the otherplane. Hornshavingthe same
(b) k shape in the horizontal and vertical directions will be
called square versions. The horns' mouths are dimen-
d
3
\ sionedsuchthat theyhave equalbreak wavenumbers.
Whenthis is not possible,the resultsobtainedwillbe
t_ 2 .._ scaledsuchthat equalbreakwavenumbersare obtained.
C.9 '_x'x. _ _ Primarilythe conicaltype horn is investigated.From

z< 1O0 _ / j_ .--, experiments on axisymmetric horns, these horns seem

r._9
ta_/ 7 _'_'_ "Jr
..F -I r-
to be a "worst case." They have the widest range of
< 6 '-x / low-wave-number narrowing, the most narrow coverage
_: 5- _ J l angles in the low-wave-number narrowing, and large
>
0
o
4-
s
-. J deviations from the desired uniform radiation within the
included angle. Experiments also indicate that horns
with more smooth walls have smaller differences be-
J
tween various versions of the horns [8].

10 2' 3' _ _ _ _ _ _ I =' 3' · 4.1 Comparison between Axisymmetric and

1 10 Square Versions of Horns
k Coverage angles in the horizontal (and vertical) planes
(c) for the square version are compared to those of the axi-
Fig. 10. Geometry and coverage angle curves of horns with symmetric horn. The result for a conical type horn with
three conical sections. (a) Geometry of horns, a0 = 0.1 m,
am = 1.0 m. Dimensions in meters. (b) Coverage angles, z l an included angle of 90 ° is shown in Fig. l l(a). There
= 0.3 m, z2 = 0.5 m. A_A simple formula; ©--© IEM. are clear differences between the two versions, particu-
(c) Coverage angle curves of spherical caps replacing three larly in the low-wave-number narrowing. The square
sections of horn. Cap sizes are same as sizes of mouth of
horn. - - - 0i = 90°; ---- 0i = 112.6°; -- 0i version is closer to the asymptotic curve of Henricksen
= 163.7% and Ureda than the axisymmetricone. However, the

J. Audio Eng. Soc., Vol. 42, No. 12, 1994 December 1015
JOHANSEN PAPERS

square version has a wider wave number range of the
low-wave-number narrowing and also somewhat nar-
rower coverage angles when compared to the asymptotic
curve. This trend is confirmed when conical type horns
of other included angles are investigated [8].
The differences are not as clear when square and axi-
symmetric versions of an exponential horn are investi-
gated [Fig. 1l(b)]. The main deviations are found at
wave numbers somewhat above the break wave number,
that is, the main deviations are found for the same wave
numbers as for the conical horns,
4.2 Comparison between Square and
Rectangular Versions of Horns
For rectangular versions of horns there might be very
different properties' in the different planes. Indepen-
dence in the different directions is generally assumed,
but there might be problems near the axis of the horn
because it is common for the horizontal and vertical
planes,
4_
Fig. 12(a) and (b) compares the coverage angles for
different versions of conical type horns with included
angles 0i = 90 ° in the horizontal plane and 0 i = 60 ° in
the vertical plane. The different versions are similar for
high and low wave numbers, but in the low-wave-num-
bet narrowing the results show clear deviations between
the versions. It seems that the most narrow direction has
the most clear deviations. These results were confirmed
by further experiments in [8].
An explanation for the differences is the already men-
ti©ned problem close to the axis. This is displayed in
Fig. 12 (c) and (d), where directivity patterns for conical
type horns are presented. In the widest direction there
should be a dip on axis, whereas the narrow direction
has a high level on axis compared to the rest of the
pattern. For the rectangular version the result on axis is
somewhat between that for the corresponding square
versions. The directivity pattern in the wide direction is
similar for the two versions outside the maximum level
of the pattern. The narrow direction has more deviations,
however. It may be said that the coverage angle curves
forthe twoversionsare similarin shapebut at different

i theaxis.
,.,
.J , Fig. 12(e)showscoverageanglesfor combinedexpo-
nential horns in the horizontaldirectionand conical
z
< 100 horns With different included angles in the vertical direc-
w
c._9 78
!--"
_ '__-×' _,,_ tion. The
levels, thatcoverage
is, the angles for the rectangular
main deviations are foundversion
close of
to
_,., :< x_ p I the
squareexponential hornfordeviate
version than conical less
horns.from those for the
© It has been found that the coverage angles and there-
o fore also the directional properties for different versions
of horns are similar at high and at low wave numbers.
In the low-wave-number narrowing the deviations are
most clear. The exponential horn, being smoother than
10 2' '3 ' fi''_ _1
4 '
2 '
5
the conicalhorns, has more similaritybetweenits differ-
1 10 entversions thanthelatter.
k
(a) 4.3 Properties between Horizontal and Vertical
Directions
4 _

dicular planes, the pressure is calculated on a sphere in

,,,
_..J
2- the far field: Only the hemisphere in front of the horn
c9 is used. To ease.the presentationof the field,the field
z
<
,,, 100 ]- on
Fig.the13.
hemisphereis
_Because of projected onto aofdisk,
the symmetry the as shown
field only ina
(..9 _
7-__ To investigatethe radiatedfieldbetweenthe perpen-
< 6- quarter of the disk is presented. The horizontal plane
u coincides with the y axis and the vertical plane with the
> 4
o x axis.
c..)
' Resultsfromthesecalculationsare shownin Figs. 14
2 and 15. In order to ease the discussion somewhat let
us introduce the term coverage area. Analogous to the

10 2_ 3i 4i _ __ _9
_i I 2_ 3i 4 coverage angle,
isobar having theitlevel
is defined as the the
6 dB below areamaximum
limited bylevel
the
1 10 foundonthesphere.
k Ideally, on the disk the coverage area from a rectangu-
(b) lar horn should be rectangular and that from a square
Fig. 11. Comparison coverage angles for Square and axisym- horn should be square. Fig. 14 shows the results for a
metric versions Ofhorns. *--* square version; ©--© axisym-
metric version; ---Henricksen and Ureda's asymptotic square ve'rsion of a conical horn. The lowest wave num-
model. (a) Conical type horn, 0i = 90°. (b) Exponential horn. ber [Fig. 14(a)] is in the low-wave-number narrowing

1016 J. AudioEng.Soc.,Vol.42,No.12,1994December
PAPERS DIRECTIVITY OF HORN LOUDSPEAKERS

2 X
b_l' O
_.1
,E -,o.o
z
<100
I,i 9.
4 __ o_ o.o _:'_
(..9 7 -:
G)
<_ 6 _ -20,0
n-- 5
luJ
4 m

C) 3
. -30.0
2 O_

l0 ,
2 , ,, 5, s,,;;t
3 7 ,
2 ,
3 L. -,o.o I I I I I m i i { i I i i i i i i
' 0 ', 30 60 90 120 150 180
1 10
k THETA
(a) (c)
4
0,0
3

2
LLJ X
_j 0
(-9 E -10.0
Z I

<100
i,i _
< 6 -- _- -=o.o
C_ 5
Ld
4 m

3
_ -30.0
2 f)_

10 ,
2 , ,4
3 , 5,6
I _ 8.
r, I '
2 '
3 .o.o I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I
1 10 o 3o so *o ,20 ,50 , ,.o
k THFTA
(b) (d)
4

<100 9-
I,I 8--

<
rw 5
LI

©
(3 3-

2-

10 '
2 '
3 * 5' 6'_''1
4 8 9 '
2 '
3

1 10
k
(e)
Fig. 12. Directional propertiesfor squareand rectangularversionsof horns. Note coverageanglesare scaledto havebreakwave
numberslike a horn of size 1.65 m. (a) Conical type horn, ei h = 90°, el, = 60% Horizontal direction. O--© squareversion,
mouth size 1.65 x 1.65 m; x -- x rectangular version, mouth size 1.6'5 x 1.65 m; I-'-I--[-] rectangularversion; mouth size
1.65 x 1.38 m. (b) Conical type horn, 0i h = 90°, ei, = 60°- Vertical direction. O--O squareversion, mouth size 1.65 x
1.65 m; x -- x rectangular version, mouth size !.65 'x 1.65 m; I-I-r-] rectangular version, mouth size 1.65 x 1.38 m. (c)
Conical type horn, ei h = 120°, ei, = 90°. Vertical direction, k = 9. O--© sqaareversion, mouth size 1.65 x 1.65 m;
+ -- + rectangularV_rsion, mouth'size 1.65 x ] .65 m. I-i--I--] rectangularversion, mouth size 2.72 x 1.65 m. (d) Conical
type horn, 0ih _--- 120°, 0i,, = 90 °. Horizontal direction, k = 9. O--O square version, mouth size 1.65 x 1.65 m; +--+
rectangular (;ersion, mouth size 1.65 × 1.65 m. x- x rectangular version, mouth size 1.65 x 1.04 m. (e) Combined
exponential type horn, horizontal direction, and conical type horn, vertical direction. Horizontal direction. Coverage angles.
©--© square version, mouth size 1.65 x 1.65 m; A--A rectangular version, 0i, = 60°, mouth size 1.65 x 0.96 m; x -- x
rectangular version, 0i., = 90 °, mouth size 1.65 × 1.52 m; 0--[-] rectangular version, 0i,v = 120°, mouth size 1.65 × 2.48 m.

d. Audio Eng. Soc., Vol. 42, NO. 12, 1994 December 1017
JOHANSEN PAPERS

of the axisymmetric version of the horn whereas the bers the coverage areas are similarly square, but not as
square version has a wide coverage angle. The wide close as at k = 8 [Fig. 14(b)].
coverage angle is found in the horizontal and vertical The results for a rectangular version are shown in Fig.
directions. However, if the coverage angle were calcu- 15. For this example the results do not deviate as much
lated in the direction of $ = 45 °, a much narrower from expectation at the low wave number. The Coverage
angle would be found, which is close to that of the area is similar to an ellipse. At the high wave number
axisymmetric version at this wave number, the coverage area is also similar to an ellipse, although
At the higher wave number the coverage area is more distorted into a shape resembling a rectangle.
in accordance with expectations. 'At higher wave num- It seems that the less symmetric of the rectangular
versions gives coverage areas more in accordance with
the results wanted. Furthermore the wave front in the
mouth of the horn will not be similar to a cap of a sphere
because o f the difference between the two directions.
Therefore it may be stated that the results are in accor-
dance with Olson's prediction, even if his restriction
(all particles in phase over a spherical wave front) is
not satisfied.

5 CONCLUSIONS

The model presented offers good possibilities for

studying the directional properties of horns. The direc-
tional properties of the conical horn may be studied

Fig.. 13. Field between horizontal and vertical planes. The through the radiation from a pulsating spherical cap in
field on a hemisphere in front of horn is projected on a disk. a rigid sphere.

100 100.

80 80

60 60

40 \ 40

20 20

0 ill ' 0 '

-0 20 40 60 80 100 -0 20 40 60 80 100
X X
(a) (a)

100_ 100

80 80
-5 - --_._ :q ,

60 , 60

40 40

20 _ 20

0 I _ 0
-0 20. 40 60 80 1O0 -0 20 40 60 80 1O0
'× 'X
(b) (b)
Fig. 14. Field on frontal hemisphere from a conical type horn. Fig. 15. Field on frontal hemisphere from a conical type horn.
0 i = 120% square version. Coverage area is marked by heavy 0i, = 90 °, 0i x = 60°, rectangular version. CoVerage area is
line. (a) k -- 6. (b) k = 8. m'_rked by heavy line. (a) k -- 5 (b) k = 20.

1018 J.AudioEng.Soc.,Vol.42, No.12, 1994December

PAPERS
It is found that a preliminary study of the radiation
from mantaray-type horns is possible using the knowl-
edge of the radiation from conical horns and simple rules
for the domination of the inner and outer parts of the
horn.
The radiation from square and rectangular versions of
horns has directional properties similar to those of their
axisymmetric versions. However, deviations, most distinct
in the low-wave-number narrowing, are found. It seems
that different versions of exponential horns have less devia-
tions in directional properties than do conical horns, indi-
eating that the conical horns are difficult cases,
The results for the horizontal and vertical planes indi-
cate that the directional properties are in accordance
with the expectations over a wide frequency range. The
deviations are most distinct in the low-wave-number
narrowing.
6 ACKNOWLEDGMENT
The author would like to thank Prof. A. Krokstad and
Prof. U. R. Kristiansen at the Norwegian Institute of
Technology andK. Holland atISVR, Southampton, UK,
for their help.
7 REFERENCES
[1] C. A. Henricksen and M. S. Ureda, "The Manta-
Ray Horns," J. Audio Eng. Soc., vol. 26, pp. 629-634
(1978 Sept.).
[2] D. B. Keele, Jr., "What's So Sacred about Expo-
nential Horns?" presented at the 51st Convention of the
Audio Engineering Society, J. Audio Eng. Soc. (Ab-
stracts), vol. 23, p. 492 (1975 July/Aug.), preprint
1038.
[3] D. B Keele, "Loudspeaker Horn," U.S. patent
4308932 (1982).
[4] D. B. Keele, Jr., "A Loudspeaker Horn That Cov-
THE AUTHOR
Tonni Franke Johansen was born on April 8, 1960,
in Asker near Oslo, Norway. He received an M.S. de-
gree from the Institute of Telecommunications/Acous-
tics at the Trondheim Institute of Technology in 1984
and, in 1991, a Ph.D. with a thesis on horn loudspeakers
and numerical techniques from the same institute,
J. Audio Eng. Soc., Vol. 42, No. 12, 1994 December
DIRECTIVITY OF HORN LOUDSPEAKERS
ners a Flat Rectangular Area from an Oblique Angle,"
presented at the 74th Convention of the Audio Engi-
neering Society, J. Audio Eng. Soc. (Abstracts), vol.
31, p. 964 (1983 Dec.), preprint 2052.
[5] Y. Kagawa, T. Yamabuchi, T. Yoshikawa, S.
Ooie, N. Kyouno, and T. Shindo, "Finite Element Ap-
proach to Acoustic Transmission-Radiation Systems and
Applications to Horn and Silencer Design," J. Sound
Vibration, vol. 69, pp. 207-228 (1980).
[6] U. R. Kristiansen, "Sound Radiation from Axi-
symmetric Sources of Complex Shape," J. Sound Vibra-
tion, vol. 113, pp. 204-207 (1987).
[7] U. R. Kristiansen and T. F. Johansen, "The Horn
Loudspeaker as a Screen-DiffractionProblem."J. Sound
Vibration, vol. 133, pp. 449-456 (1989).
[8] T. F. Johansen, "Implementation and Use of a
Numerical Technique for Studies of the Directional
Properties of Sound Radiation from Horn Loudspeak-
ers," Dr. Ing. thesis, Rep. 429102, Trondheim, Norway.
[9] P. J. T. Filippi, "Layer Potentials and Acoustic
Diffraction," J. Sound Vibration, vol. 54, pp. 473-
500 (1977).
[10] A. F. Seybert, B. Soenarko, F. J. Rizzo, and
D.J. Shippy, "An Advanced Computational Method for
Radiation and Scattering of Acoustic Waves in Three
Dimensions," J. Acoust. Soc. Am., vol. 77, pp. 362-
386 (1985).
[11] H. F. Olson, The Fundamentals of Acoustical
Engineering (Van Nostrand, Princeton, NJ, 1957).
[12] P. M. Morse, Vibration and Sound, 2nd ed
(McGraw-Hill, New York, 1948).
[13] A. H. Benade and E. V. Jansson, "On Plane and
Spherical Waves in Horns with Nonuniform Flare. I.
Theory ofRadiation, Resonance Frequencies, and Mode
Conversion," Acustica, vol. 31, pp. 185-202 (1974).
[14] P. M. Morse and K. U. Ingard, Theoretical
Acoustics (Princeton University Press, Princeton, NJ,
1986).
He is now an assistant professor at S0r-Tr0ndelag
College, Norway. For the year 1994/95, Dr. Johansen
participated in the European research program Sound
and Vibration Network in Europe (SAVANTE), special-
izing in numerical modeling of porous materials. His
research interest is numerical techniques in acoustics.
1019