In the Rigid Walled Room episode we seen how to model a rectangular room with rigid walls. We driven the room at the modal frequencies and compared the solution field with the theoretical modal shapes, finding that the results matched single modal shapes real well until, at a frequency high enough, the contribution of multiple modes (in addition to that related to the driving modal frequency) became important. In this episode we will look at making the model more realistic.

In the Acoustic Modes of a Rectangular Room episode we explored the analytical model of a rigid walled room with some Julia code. We focused on finding the resonance frequencies (or eigenfrequencies) of the room and calculating the related modal patterns (eigenfunctions). Now that, thanks to The Pulsating Sphere episode, we know how to setup Helmholtz problems with Elmer we can approach the problem with the FEM method. In this episode we will solve for the modal superposition in a rectangular rigid walled room and use the results from the Acoustic Modes of a Rectangular Room episode to check the accuracy.

In the last episode we seen that our model solution for the modes of vibration of a metal bar wasn’t looking particularly good for the highest mode. In fact, when we clipped into the bar, we seen few bubbles of discontinuity in the displacement field that are not expected for linearly elastic homogeneous and isotropic bodies. To understand this we have to step back a little and think about FEM some more.

In the last episode we examined the analytical solution of the acoustic modes of a rectangular room and we are now ready to take steps into moving in the world of FEM modelling. Elmer is a powerful package, but it is not extremely user friendly. So, it is best to have a gentle introduction to it first before dwelling into the intricacies of FEM modelling of acoustic fields. One of the simplest problems to solve with Elmer is that of the elastic vibration modes of solids.

In this episode we will look at how to make a simple Julia model of one of the simplest systems in acoustics, a rectangular room with rigid walls, assuming adiabatic wave propagation. Even if this system is among the simplest in acoustics it is actually already very complicated. As such, we will focus only on the modes, one part of the problem, without attempting impulse response simulation or other fancy things like that, for now.