Muffler Basics

Muffler Performance
Requirements
Suitable outer geometry.
Low pressure drop.
Sufficient sound attenuation.
MUFFLER BASICS
Definition: A device for reducing sound
in pipe or duct systems.
Classification
Flow
constriction
Reactive
(reflective)
Dissipative
Area change Resonators
Active
Porous
material
Active
A number of measures exist. The most common are:

- Transmission Loss (TL)

where a reflection free termination is assumed. The TL only
depends on the property of the muffler and is independent
of the source.
10
10 log
in
tr
W
TL
W
| |
=
|
\ .

Incident
Sound power
Transmitted
Sound power
Measures of damping
- Insertion Loss (IL)

For a given source the transmitted sound power (W) is
measured downstream for a reference system (e.g. a
straight pipe) and with a muffler system. This measure will
in particular for low frequencies (plane waves) depend on the
properties of the entire system (source + pipe lengths +
muffler).

- Noise Reduction (NR)

Here the sound pressure is measured in a cross-section
before and after the muffler. This measure depends on the
muffler + the termination.
10
10 log
ref
muffler
W
IL
W
| |
=
|
|
\ .
|
|
.
|

\
|
=
2
,
2
,
10
log 10
after RMS
before RMS
p
p
NR
Insertion Loss
Change in Sound Pressure Level at the tail pipe outlet resulting from the
insertion of a muffler.








IL=SPL1-SPL2
10
10 log
ref
muffler
W
IL
W
| |
=
|
|
\ .
Noise Reduction
Difference between sound pressure levels measured
upstream and downstream of muffler







NR = SPLu - SPLd
|
|
.
|

\
|
=
2
,
2
,
10
log 10
after RMS
before RMS
p
p
NR
Area Discontinuity
) 4 ) ( log( 10
2 1
2
2 1
S S S S D
TL
+ =









Increase or Decrease
Reactive mufflers
Application: Effective for tones in the low
frequency range (plane waves).
Area change:

f [Hz] c/4L 3c/4L 5c/4L
TL(dB)
L
Note the position of the maxima depends on the temperature
since , where T is the temperature in K.
0 0
T T c c =
Expansion Chamber
High Frequency Effects

TL
2073 Hz
Cross section
D
[dB]
0 500 1000 1500 2000
0
5
10
15
20
25
30
Frequency [Hz]
Reactive mufflers...
Resonators: A reflection factor close to -1 is
created when the input impedance (Z
in
) is zero
(resonance condition).

Z
in
0 when 0 ~ ~
in in
Z p
f [Hz]
TL[dB]
f
r

Side Branches

Z
in
0 when 0 ~ ~
in in
Z p
f [Hz]
TL[dB]
f
r

2
0
2 1 log 10
s s TL
S c S D Z + =

a
L
S
s
S
p
1
+
p
1
-
p
2
+
p
s
Z
in
The Helmholtz-resonator
Z
in
The Quarter wave
resonator
Reactive mufflers...
L
TL[dB]
f
r

f [Hz]
TL[dB]
c/4L
f [Hz]
3c/4L 5c/4L
0
2
0 0
V i S c L i
s s
e e + = Z
0
2 LV
S c
f
s
r
t
=
) cot(
0
kL c i
s
= Z
Dissipative mufflers
Application: Effective for broad-band sounds.
The standard types are based on porous
materials and are mainly efficient at mid- or
high frequencies.

TL[dB]
f [Hz]
Increased length and
thickness gives increased
damping
Based on porous mtrl.
Plane wave
range
Dissipative mufflers
Based on flow constrictions Typically realised via
perforated pipes or plates with through flow. Can give
damping also at low frequencies
TL[dB]
f [Hz]
Increasing with
flow speed
01 04
24 20 19 16 15 14 11 10 09 08 07 06 05
25 28 31
21
1 2 4
5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 14 15 16
17 19
20 21 22 24 25
32 31 29
28 26
02 03
17 18
3
2
3
3
3
4
12 13
3
7
3
6
3
5
26 27
22 23
4
0
3
9
3
8
29 30
3
18
27 30
13 23
Example: Combined reactive-dissipative car muffler
1
2
3 4
5
6 7
11
22
33 44
55
66 77
Measured and simulated TL
in the plane wave range
(SIDLAB)
0 100 200 300 400 500 600
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
Frequency, Hz
T
r
a
n
s
m
i
s
s
i
o
n

l
o
s
s
,

d
B
Measurements
Simulations
0 100 200 300 400 500 600
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
Frequency, Hz
T
r
a
n
s
m
i
s
s
i
o
n

l
o
s
s
,

d
B
Measurements
o = 0
o = 1
o = 2
Without flow With flow M = 0.15
Flow generated noise
Created at flow constrictions i.e. regions which
create flow separation (turbulence)
The sound power generated will limit the
maximum damping that can be obtained by a
muffler
The sound power scales as W ~ U
o
, where o = 4-6.
For dissipative mufflers (of porous type) it is also
proportionell to the muffler length.
( )
tr flow
flow in
in
W W TL
W W
W
TL / 1 log 10 log 10
10 0 10
+ =
+
=
t
W
tr
Structural by-pass and break-
out breakin effects
Sound propagating in ducts and pipes create wall vibrations.
These vibrations can propagate as structural waves across a muffler
thereby creating an alternative transmission path for the acoustic
energy. This is called structural by-pass and will limit the maximum
damping.
The wall vibrations can also radiate sound to the surrounding air
(break-out). This energy can, if reflected from external boundaries,
excite pipe wall vibrations after the muffler and induce acoustic
waves (break-in). This type of phenomenon is particular important for
rectangular pipe and duct sections.


The plane wave range - 2-ports
q
a
p
b
q
b
a
b
p
a
p
a
q
a
p
b
q
b
T
|
|
.
|

\
|
=
|
|
.
|

\
|
b
b
a
a
q
p
q
p

T
Physical system Equivalent circuits
q
a
q
b
p
b
p
a


2-ports in series and parallell
m
M
m
tot
T T
[
=
=
1
1 2 M
This configuration is best
treated using the mobility
matrix. Then the T-matrix
can be calculated
2 1
M M M + =
tot
1
2


A single expansion chamber
m
m
tot
T T
[
=
=
3
1
1 2 3
L
A
1
A
2
1 2 3


Calculate TL using SIDLAB
( )
2
1 1 22 1 21 1 12 11
2
1 1
2
1 1
10
/ /
) 1 (
) 1 (
2
1
log 10
+ +
+
+
+ + +
+
+
=
M
tot tot
M
tot tot
M
M
Z Z T Z T Z T T
M Z
M Z
TL
Example: A1=0.0025 m2, A2=0.025 m2, L=1 m
TLmax=14.1 dB.
For a single expansion chamber:
1 2
2
2 2
4
1
10
/
, sin ) 1 ( 1 log 10
A A m
kL /m m- TL
=
+ =
f [Hz]
c/4L 3c/4L 5c/4L
TL(dB)


Improved performance by adding a
/4 wave resonator
m
m
tot
T T
[
=
=
4
1
1 3
2
4
1 3 4
2
l= ? m
SIDLAB simulation.....