Applied Acoustics 35 (1992) 1-24

Design Curves for Rectangular Splitter Silencers

Ramani Ramakrishnan*
41 Watson Avenue, Toronto, Ontario, Canada, M6S 4C9

&

Willie R. Watson
NASA-Langley Research Center, Hampton, Virginia, 23665, USA

(Received 18 October 1990; revised version received 4 June 1991;

accepted 14 June 1991)

ABSTRACT

Passive silencers with acoustic fill such as glass fiber, rock wool or foam are
commonly used in conventional heating, ventilation and air conditioning
systems. Acoustic performance can be estimated for a few basic silencers
through the use of design curves available in the literature. Recently, a large
microcomputer data base using design curves generated to cover the entire
range of manufactured rectangular silencers was made available. Details of
the design curves and the mathematical model are presented. Insertion loss of
the silencers is estimated from attenuation rates calculated from a finite
element method. Unlike existing models, the present method considers
multimodal acoustic propagation and can be extended to account for the
effects of shearing airflows in the airway. The sound-absorbing material is
considered to be bulk reacting. Wave propagation in the material is thus
included. Design curves are grouped by using three nondimensional
parameters, thereby covering the entire line of conventional rectangular duct
silencers. Results from the model are compared to least attenuated mode
predictions and to actual test data. The results show that the present model
gives better predictions than least attenuated mode models. Good comparison
between the current model and the test data was also observed. Development
of a computer program for a quick estimation of the insertion loss is also
described.
* Present address: Ontario Hydro, Toronto, Canada.
1
Applied Acoustics 0003-682X/92/$05.00 © 1992 Elsevier Science Publishers Ltd, England.
Printed in Great Britain
 2 Ramani Ramakrishnan, Willie R. Watson

1 INTRODUCTION

Ramakrishnan and Watson 1 recently submitted design curves for circular

and annular duct silencers for publication. The structure and organization
of the present paper is similar to Ref. 1, but the results presented here apply
to rectangular silencers. Passive silencers are the most commonly used
devices to reduce the fan noise in commercial air handling systems. The
performance rating of the duct silencers can be evaluated by methods that
rely on simplistic schemes such as those reported in A S H R A E guidelines 2 or
by the use of a number of different methods. 3-1° Some of these methods
assume the sound-absorbing material to be locally reacting, a.4,7.a while
others consider the material to be bulk reacting. 6.9.1°
All of the above methods consider only the least attenuated mode and in
addition, only simple silencer configurations can be analyzed. The existing
methods must be extended so as to provide the heating, ventilation, and air
conditioning (HVAC) system engineer with a quick, but accurate procedure
to evaluate the acoustic insertion loss of conventional silencers. One result of
a modification of the available methods was presented by Ramakrishnan
and Ball 1~ where a microcomputer-based software was developed for the
conventional line of rectangular silencers. The software was based on design
curves generated by applying a finite element scheme to the fundamental
wave equation of the silencer model.
The details of the generation of the design curves for rectangular ducts
silencers are presented in this paper. Design curves for half unit as well as for
full unit silencers are shown. Details of the mathematical model along with
the assumptions used in the model derivation are also presented. Results are
compared to the least attenuated mode predictions and to experimental data
gathered from standard test methods. A procedure for developing a linear
interpolation scheme in a microcomputer environment is highlighted. It
should be noted that the design curves presented here are only a small
percentage of the total number generated for the development of the silencer
program.

2 THEORETICAL MODEL

Four configurations of rectangular silencers commonly used in H V A C

systems are shown in Fig. 1. The full unit, two unit and three unit silencers
have the same basic unit width, M, which equals 2 d + 2h. However, the basic
unit width, M, of the half unit silencer equals 3 d + 2h. Here, the dimensions
of the basic unit are described using the general convention of major silencer
manufacturers in Canada. 12 The ultimate goal of the theoretical model is to
 Design curves for rectangular splitter silencers 3

I- M _,

(a): Full Unit Silencer 'M' (b): Two Unit Silencer' 2M'

(c): Three unit Silencer' 3M'

(d): 'M', Half unit silencer

Fig. !. C o n v e n t i o n a l silencers used in r e c t a n g u l a r ducts.

obtain a good estimate of the insertion loss of the silencers with confidence
limits of 3 dB in each frequency band of interest. A number of simplifications
is therefore inherent in the theoretical model and these will be discussed in
the appropriate sections.
The conventional line of rectangular silencers include single unit (Fig. la)
and multi-unit silencers (Figs lb and c). The multi-unit models consist of a
number of splitters used to divide the duct into many small identical units.
All of the available methods assume that the passive silencers consist of a
single unit, namely, acoustic fill-open airway-acoustic fill. Existing
acoustical evaluation methods assume a hard septum to separate each
identical single unit in a multi-unit system. This allows one to estimate the
insertion loss of a single duct of size M. The same result is then applied for
silencers with splitters such as two unit model of size 2M, three unit model of
 4 Ramani Ramakrishnan, Willie R. Watson

size 3M, and so on. The above procedure is valid if it can be shown that only
plane waves propagate in the duct system. Ramakrishnan and Watson la
have shown that applying the same procedure for all possible propagating
modes is still valid and hence the use of a single unit model to represent the
family of rectangular splitter silencers is followed in the present work.
H V A C system ducts are usually designed for flow speeds of the order of
l0 m/s (2000 ft/min) so that the Mach number in the ventilation duct is well
below 0-1. Therefore a zero-flow model is used. The results presented here
are therefore applicable only to low speed HVAC system ducts and are not
applicable to, for example, aircraft engines or automobile mufflers.
The basic configuration consists of a hard walled duct with two liners of
depth d, separated by an open airway of depth 2h. Layers of isotropic,
homogeneous sound-absorbing material are used for the lining. The open
airway of the duct is separated from the liners by sheets of perforated
material with uniformly spaced holes. Such a model is referred to as the full
unit silencer. The unit width, M, is equal to 2 d + 2h for a full unit silencer.
Sometimes, silencer manufacturers will supply a half unit silencer to
accommodate space constraints. A half unit silencer consists of a hard
walled duct with liner material of depth, d, open airway of depth, 2h, and
liner material of depth, 2d(Fig. ld). The unit width, M, is equal to 3 d + 2h for
a half unit silencer. The structure of the sound field in the open airway of the
two silencers is identical, however, the attenuation characteristics of the two
silencers are different due to the different liner depths. The solution
procedure is identical for the two types of silencers and hence the prediction
method will be described only for the full unit silencer. The silencer of size M
is installed in the main duct of size M and hence creates an open air passage
discontinuity at the entrance.
Two assumptions are implicit in the basic construction described above.
First, the liner made up of foam or fibrous type material is considered to be
isotropic and homogeneous. Second, the effect of the perforated sheet is
assumed to be marginal. Cummings 1° has discussed these two assumptions
in detail citing a number of references. The perforate sheet used in
conventional H V A C systems has porosity in excess of 30% and hence the
present procedure would underestimate the insertion loss at the low
frequency bands. The anisotropy of the material would influence the results
at the higher frequency bands. F r o m the discussion and conclusions
contained in Cummings, the two assumptions are seen to be valid and the
errors associated with them are within the assumed accuracy for H V A C
system silencers.I° It must be emphasized that detailed analysis of the basic
assumptions is beyond the scope of the present paper and hence their
validity will be reflected in the accuracy of the theoretical prediction when
compared to the test results.
 Design curves for rectangular splitter silencers 5

The theoretical model assumes that the governing equation in the liner
material is the wave equation
82~b 82~b 1 82~=0 (1)
•X 2 "[ C3Z2 C2 0 t 2

where ~b is the velocity potential and cb is the complex wave speed of the
linermaterial. The justification of applying an equation of the form given
above to describe the acoustics in the liner material has been given by Scott. 6

3 ANALYSIS

The rectangular duct geometry and the coordinate system for the three types
of silencers are shown in Fig. 2. The sound propagation in the duct is
described by eqn (1) and the following equation:

82~p 82~p 1 82~p = 0 (2)

3x 2-t 8z 2 c°2 8 t 2

where tp is the velocity potential and Co is the wave speed in air. Equation (1)
is applied in region 0 _<x _<xl and x2 _<x _<x a of the silencer. Equation (2) is
used in region xl _<x _<x2 of the silencer. It should be noted that the analysis
presented here can be extended to include the effects of shearing flows in the
open airway. This can be achieved by replacing eqn (2) by the linearized
acoustic equations governing conservation of mass, momentum and energy
in the airway. Most of the existing methods that include the effects of a
shearing flow in the airway assume the material to be locally reacting.
The sound field in the duct can be represented by an infinite set of modes.
The velocity potential for any one mode can then be expressed as

z, t) = e- e,O,, (3)
tp(x, z, t) = tp(x) e - r~ ei~, (4)
where, 1-" is the axial wave number, and co the circular frequency. U p o n

' ~ ~ X
0 xl ~ x3 Fig. 2. C o o r d i n a t e system used for the analysis.
 6 Ramani Ramakrishnan, Willie R. Watson

substitution, eqns (I) and (2) reduce to the following:

Ox-----
f + 22c~ = 0 (5)

"02--Y+
-~ v2~o = 0 (6)
~x 2

where
V2 = F 2 q- k 2 2 2 = F 2 + rl 2

and
(D
k = -- r/= - i~
Co

where y is the complex wave propagation constant in the liner material.

The b o u n d a r y conditions are given below:

x= 0 a---x-= 0 (7a)

x ~ X3 0__~
~x = 0 (7b)

x = x1 pb~b= potp (7C)

X = X2 potp = pbq~ (7d)

c~q~ atp (7e)

X = Xl t~X = OX

a~o O~b (7f)

X = 9172 OX = ~X

where, P0 is the density of air and Pb is the complex density o f the sound-
a b s o r b i n g material used for the liner. Equations (7a) and (7b) are rigid wall
conditions. Equations (7c) and (7d) express continuity o f acoustic pressure at
the liner/airway interfaces and eqns (7e) and (7f) express the condition that
the normal c o m p o n e n t o f acoustic particle velocity is c o n t i n u o u s across the
liner/airway interfaces.
Equations (5) and (6) are solved with the appropriate b o u n d a r y conditions
given in eqn (7), for the axial wave n u m b e r F. A single infinity o f axial wave
numbers, F. results from the solution to these equations. T h e a t t e n u a t i o n
rate per unit length o f the silencer due to m o d e n, A., is given by

A. = 8.6859 Re (F.), dB (8)

 Design curves for rectangular splitter silencers 7

where the notation Re ( ) denotes the real part of the complex expression
within the parentheses. Major inputs necessary for the evaluation of the
axial wave number F, are the proper acoustical representation of the sound
absorbing material. It was pointed out earlier that the liner material is of the
fibrous type and is assumed to be homogeneous and isotropic.
Empirical expressions can be used to represent the propagation constant,
y, as well as the characteristic impedance, Z b, of the material in terms of its
flow resistivity a. 14 Similar empirical expressions for foam material were
given by Astley and Cummings.~ 5 The relevant expressions were outlined in
Beranek 7 and are given below:

Z b = Z 1 + iZ 2 (9)
where
Z 1 = PoCo[l + 0.0571g -°'v54]
Z2 = _ poCo[0.0870 ~- 0"'/32]

and
= oc + i/3 (lO)

where
CD
= - - [0"189(q) -°'s95] 0"01 < q _< 1
Co

/3 = C~o[1 + 0"0978(~) -°'v°°] 0.01 < c . < 1

pof
O"

here, f is the sound frequency and a is the specific flow resistance of the
sound-absorbing material. The complex density of the material can be
expressed as
- iZbY
Pb -- - - (11)
O)

Equation (10) can be extended for values of q outside the specified range by
using the expressions given by Ver 9 and Bies and Hansen. 16 A combination
of the expressions of Ref. 16 and eqn (10) are used in the present study and
hence the present results are applicable for the entire range of ~ values.
Analogous values for the various coefficients in eqns (9) and (10) for foam
material can be obtained. ~5
 8 Ramani Ramakrishnan, Willie R. Watson

4 COMPUTATIONAL METHOD

The Helmholtz equations (eqns (5) and (6)) are solved for the axial wave
number, F. The solution to the governing equations can be expressed in
terms o f modified complex trignometric functions and each axial wave
number for a given mode can be evaluated by a n u m b e r o f iterative
methods. Examples o f such iterative schemes can be found in Cummings 1°
and Watson. 17 The problems associated with these iterative schemes are well
documented.l 7 Instead, a Galerkin finite element m e t h o d is utilized in the
present work as a convenient way to evaluate the different axial wave
numbers. The general formulation o f the m e t h o d is given in Desai and
A b e P s and the details o f the application o f the m e t h o d can be found
elsewhere.15,19 Only a brief description o f the formulation is given in this
section.

4.1 Galerkin method

The basic philosophy o f the m e t h o d consists of minimizing the residual error

o f the governing equations. The two wave equations, eqns (5) and (6) can be
combined into the following single equation:
4)" + [K2(x) + 1"2](1) = 0 (12)
where, K ( x ) = k, and • = (o for values o f x within the airway, and K ( x ) = rl,
and • = ¢ for values o f x in the sound-absorbing material.
In the Galerkin m e t h o d the residual error is minimized by making it
orthogonal to a complete set o f basis functions, f~(x)

3 [(I)" + (F 2 + K 2 ) O ] F ~ ( x ) d x = 0 (13)

where x3 is the total width o f the silencer. The divergence theorem is used to
modify eqn (13) to give

f: [~'F/(x) -- K2~F~(x)] dx + [F~(x)~ t Ix=

X=X3
o = F2~F~(x) d x

Applying the b o u n d a r y conditions at x = 0 and at x = x 3, it is seen that the

(14)

term in the second set o f square brackets o f eqn (14) vanishes and eqn (14)
reduces to

[¢'F/(x) -- K2¢F~(x)] d x = F 2 eFt(x) dx (15)

The eigenfunction, ¢P, is expressed in terms o f the basic functions, F~, and a
 Design curves for rectangular splitter silencers 9

set of complex coefficients chosen to satisfy the boundary conditions

between the open airway and the sound-absorbing material:
oo

, =)'~,,F, (16)
s=l

Equation (15) can then be written as

[A]{*} = r~[83{,} (17)

X,s =
£3
where the element in row r and column s of [A] and [B] respectively are

[F/F~' -- K2F, F,] d x

B,, = F,F~dx

The finite element m e t h o d will be used here to construct [A] and [B].

4.2 Finite element construction

The complex matrices [A] and [B] are constructed using the finite element
method by dividing the interval 0 < x < x3 into N elements or intervals as
shown in Fig. 3. Each element is denoted by J and the end points or nodes of
each element is denoted by the index j and j + 1.
Cubic finite elements are used for the construction and the functions for
each element are then given by
j=,l.

,a(x) )} [r~(x)%] (18)

j=l
where
• 1=*J *==*J
dO
"3 =*J+l *4 ,}s+, dx
and

Fl=l ~-+
2X3
a3
,2[ q
F3=~-T 3--

Ex]
F2=x a--1 F4=
a La
x--1

here, a is the element length (x~ + 1 - x j), and x i is the value of x at node j.
10 Ramani Ramakrishnan, Willie R. Watson

rym rmq
j j+l j+2 j+3 X

J- ~ t Number, j - Node Number

Fig. 3. Finiteelement discretization along the X direction.

Therefore for a typical element J, the contribution to I-A] and I-B] for each
of the N elements are computed by evaluating the integrals given below in
eqns (19) and (20) over each element, 'J':

A~ = xCj +1[F[Fj - K2F~Fi] dx (19)

J

= f xCj+F~F~dx
I
(20)
J
The matrix coefficients are simple closed-form quadratures of the basis
functions and their derivatives within the element.

4.3 Assembly of elements

The assembly of the N elements 2° is performed in the usual manner, except

for those at the liner/open airway interface. The assembling for these
elements is aided by the condition
pJ + l,,~J+ 1
w~+ 1 = P J ~ +J 1 (21)
where pJ is P0 in the open airway and Pb in the sound-absorbing material.
Equation (21) is applied directly at the element level before assembly of the
elements at the liner/open airway interface. The elements are then grouped
together into two large tri-diagonal block matrices A and B, resulting in a
classical eigenvalue problem. A standard Gaussian elimination procedure is
applied for the evaluation of the eigenvalues.

5 E S T I M A T I O N OF I N S E R T I O N LOSS

In this paper, the attenuation rate calculation will be used to estimate

insertion losses. The silencer of width M is inserted in an open main duct of
the same size. The insertion loss of a duct silencer is made up of three
components, namely, entrance loss, exit loss, and the loss due to the sound-
absorbing material. The combined entrance and exit loss is generally of the
order of 2-3 dB, but increases with duct size and also with decreasing values
of 2h/M, the free air space/duct size ratio. It can be as high as 10 dB at higher
frequencies. The results presented in this paper will be limited to the loss due
 Design curves for rectangular splitter silencers 11

to the absorbing material. Thus, it is assumed that the insertion loss due to
each mode equals the attenuation rate given by eqn (8). Proper adjustments
may have to be added or the additional loss can be considered as a safety
factor in the design. Henceforth, the attenuation rate and insertion loss
estimate are used interchangeably.
The cut-on frequency for any m o d e in the main duct is given by

fm - (m -- 1)co m = 1, 2 , 3 . . . . ~ (22)
M
Cut-on modes in the duct satisfy the condition fro < f The silencer creates an
open air passage discontinuity to the propagation of the modes that are cut-
on in the main duct. In this paper, the insertion losses are assumed due only
to cut-on modes. The insertion loss estimates are evaluated at a given
frequency by applying the finite element model described above and solving
eqn (17) for the cut-on modes. The overall attenuation due to the cut-on
modes can be determined once the incident sound energy in each m o d e is
known.
The sound that is generated and propagates in conventional H V A C
system ducts is broad band in character without any strong tonal
components. Preferential mode patterns are not easily sustained in the duct,
such as, for example, in aircraft engines. Therefore, it is assumed all modes
carry equal amounts of incident sound energy. In addition, only those modes
with slow attenuation rate are utilized in estimating the overall insertion
loss. If the attenuation rate of a particular mode is 20 dB or more than the
least attenuated mode, that mode is not included in the estimation.
The total attenuation per unit length at a given frequency is obtained by
summing the decay rate of the modes that are to be included. Denote the
total number of modes to be included by L. The overall attenuation rate A is
then
L

m=l

where A o is some large reference value, set here to 100dB. The summing
procedure outlined in eqn (23) is analogous to the m e t h o d given in Ref. 21
and is applied when one has to combine noise attenuation values.

6 NONDIMENSIONAL PARAMETERS

F o u r parameters must be investigated in order to generate the design curve.

The unit size parameter, M, of conventional H V A C system ducts varies from
12 Ramani Ramakrishnan, Willie R. Watson

about 250 to 910mm. The frequency of interest, f, varies from 100Hz to

approximately 10000Hz, i.e. most manufacturers' catalogues report the
results from octave band numbers 2-8. Octave band number 2 is the
constant percent band centered at 125 Hz and octave band 8 is centered at
8000Hz. The band numbering system is used by major silencer manu-
facturers in North America. 12 The depth of the sound-absorbing material, d,
is the third parameter that can vary. Most silencer manufacturers provide
approximately five models with different d/h values for a given unit width M.
The type of absorbing material is the fourth parameter that must be
investigated. It is seen then that the number of design curves that need to be
generated is high.
Sound propagation in the duct can be completely described by a set of
nondimensional parameters which are given below:

d
NI = ~ (24a)

ad
R = -- (24b)
z0

2fh
# = -- (24c)
Co

where z 0 = poCo is the characteristic impedance of air. The nondimensional

parameters given above are valid for both half unit and full unit silencers.
The total number of design curves necessary to cover the range of silencers
can be substantially reduced to a manageable number by using these
nondimensional parameters.

7 RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

Acoustical design information for rectangular silencers used in air moving

ducts can be obtained by using the finite element m e t h o d outlined above.
The attenuation rates generated are compiled together in a series o f design
curves which are presented in the first part o f this section. Only
representative samples o f the design curves are presented to highlight their
versatility and discuss parameter trends. Predictions from multimodal finite
element methods are then compared to least attenuated mode predictions.
The range of parameters for which the two theories differ is discussed. Next,
estimated insertion losses obtained from the model are compared to actual
test data in order to give further credibility to the model. Finally, the
development of a computer program to enable a quick estimation of the
 Design curves for rectangular splitter silencers 13

insertion loss of a conventional rectangular silencer used in HVAC systems

is described.

7.1 Design curves

A number of design curves were generated to cover the range of

conventional rectangular silencers used in HVAC systems. The design
curves have used fibrous type absorbing materials for the liners. Similar
results can be generated for foam type materials. Astley and Cummings 15
have shown that results for the two type of materials are similar and the
same is assumed in the present project. The results are presented in terms of
the normalized frequency, /z, and the normalized attenuation rate. The
attenuation rate per unit length is normalized with h, the half open airway
width, i.e. Ah is shown to represent the estimated insertion loss, following the
convention of Mechel. 8
The results for full unit silencers are presented in Figs 4 and 5 for
representative values o f N 1 and R. In addition, the results are summarized in
Table 1 in terms of N1, R, peak attenuation frequency, peak attenuation rate
and effective band width. The band width is evaluated from the two
frequencies where the attenuation rates are one-half of the peak attenuation
rate.
The effect of liner thickness can be deduced from Fig. 4. It is seen that the
effective band width increases with increasing liner thickness. The results of
Fig. 4a and Table 1 show that the effect is very pronounced for materials with
low flow resistances, in the range of 5000-8000 MKS Rayls/m. The effective
band width nearly doubles for a five-fold increase in the liner thickness.

TABLE 1
Full Unit Silencer Performance

Material d/h Peak Effective Peak attenuation

parameter frequency band width rate
( R) (#) (octaves) (dB)

5 0.45 4.55 2"3

2 2 0.30 2.73 3.3
1 0.45 2.25 3.5
5 0-45 4.74 2-5
5 2 0.60 3.59 2-7
1 0.80 3.22 2.7
5 0.70 2.80 2.7
20 2 0.95 2-19 2-6
1 1.20 2.00 2.5
14 Ramani Ramakrishnan, Willie R. Watson

(a)

Normalized
Attenuation Rate, tUB

0.01 0.1 1 10
Normalized Frequency, ix

(b)

Normalized
Ateuustloa Rate, dB

O~ I
0o01 0.1 1 10
Normalized l~reqetacy, p

(c)

Normalized
Atitnustien Rate, dB
l

O.Ol o.! 1 lO
Normalized Frequency, p

Fig. 4. A t t e n u a t i o n rate f o r full u n i t silencer, ( m ) N I = 5, (I-]) N t = 2, a n d ( 0 ) N I = 1. (a)

R = 2, (b) R = 5, a n d (c) R = 20.
 Design curves for rectangular splitter silencers 15

(-)

2
Nol'm.li~
At~numfloo Rite, dB

o I

0.01 0.1 1 10
Normalized Frequency, I~

(b)

4.

Normalb~l 2
Atmmnu~bu ~ dis

0
0.01 0.1 1 lid
Normalized Frequency, p.

(¢)

Normslh~cd
Attenuation Rate, dB 2

O~ ~ ~ • o
0.01 0.1 1 10
Normmlized Frequency, B
F i g . 5. Attenuation r a t e f o r full u n i t s i l e n c e r , ( m ) R = 20, (i-I) R = 5, a n d ( 0 ) R = 2. (a)
N t = 4, (b) N I = 1"5, a n d (c) N I = 0"5.
16 Ramani Ramakrishnan, Willie R. Watson

(a)

Normalizd
Attenuation Rate, dB

0'
0.01 0.1 1 10
Normalized Frequency,

(b)

2
Nomali:ed
Attenuation Rate, dB

0~ I
0.01 0.1 1 lO
Normalized Frequency, I~

(c)

Normalized
Attenuation Rate, dB
1

0.01 0.1 1 10
Normalized Frequency, p~

Fig. 6. A t t e n u a t i o n r a t e f o r h a l f unit silencer, (11) N I = 3.33, (I-q) N1 = 1.33, a n d ( 0 )

N 1 = 0"67. (a) R = 2, (b) R = 5, a n d (c) R = 20.
 Design curves for rectangular splitter silencers 17

Liner thickness seems to have minimal effect beyond a certain value of flow
resistances, i.e. dense sound-absorbing materials with flow resistance more
than 40 000 MKS Rayls/m seem to have little influence on b o t h t h e effective
band width and the peak attenuation rate (Figs 4b and c, and Table 1).
The effect of flow resistance can be inferred from the results presented in
Fig. 5 and Table 1. The peak frequency increases with increasing flow
resistance. The increase is not very pronounced for large values of d/h (Table
1). For small liner thickness, the peak frequency increases by an octave or
more with increasing flow resistance (Figs 5b and c). The results also show
that the peak attenuation rate is higher at low frequency with low density
sound-absorbing materials than the peak attenuation rate at high frequency
with high density materials (Fig. 5c). One can conclude from Figs 5b and c
that it is possible for a certain combination of d/h values to use materials
with low flow resistance to achieve a better low frequency attenuation.
A similar trend was also observed in the design curves ofVer 9 where only
the least attenuated mode was used in generating the design curves. The
major difference between the sets presented here and that of Ref. 9 is that the
curves presented here are not as s m o o t h due to higher order mode effect.
Design curves for half unit silencers are presented in Figs 6 and 7 for
representative values o f N 1 and R. In addition, the results are summarized in
Table 2 in terms of NI, R, peak attenuation frequency, peak attenuation rate
and effective band width. Most of the silencer manufacturers supply half unit
silencers to accommodate special duct sizes. Design curves have therefore
been presented for the first time for half unit models. The entire range of
conventional rectangular silencers are thus included in the present set of

TABLE 2
Half Unit Silencer Performance

Material d/h Peak Effective Peak attenuation

parameter frequency band width rate
( R) (It) (octaves) (dB)

3"33 0"25 4"55 2"3

2 1"33 0"40 3"58 2"8
0"67 0"50 2"58 3"1

3"33 0"50 3-81 2"7

5 1-33 0"70 3-22 2"7
0"67 0"90 2"68 2"6
3"33 0"75 2"80 2"7
20 1'33 1"20 2-00 2-5
0'67 1"20 1"869 2"4
 18 Ramani Ramakrishnan, Willie R. Watson

(a)

2
Normalized
Attenuation Rate, dB
1

I 0 I

0.01 0.1 1 10
Normalized Frequency, p.

(b)

2
Normalized
Attenuation Rate, dB

0
0.01 0.1 1 10
Normalized Frequency,

(c)

Normalized 2
Attenuation Rate, dB

0 ~ i
0.01 0.I 1 I0
Normalized Frequency, I~

Fig. 7. A t t e n u a t i o n r a t e f o r h a l f u n i t silencer, ( i ) R = 20, (I--1) R = 5, a n d ( 0 ) R = 2 . (a)

N1 = 2, (b) N 1 = 1, a n d (c) N1 = 0"33.
 Design curves for rectangular splitter silencers 19

attenuation rate curves. The half-unit silencers seem to behave very similarly
to the full unit silencers shown in Figs 4 and 5.
The effect of liner thickness can be deduced from Fig. 6. It is seen that the
effective band width increases with increasing liner thickness. The results of
Fig. 6a and Table 2 show that the effect is very pronounced for materials with
low flow resistances, in the range of 5000-8000 M K S Rayls/m. The effective
band width nearly doubles for a five-fold increase in the liner thickness. Like
the full unit models, liner thickness seems to have minimal effect beyond a
certain value of flow resistances, i.e. dense sound-absorbing materials with
flow resistance more than 40 000 M K S Rayls/m seems to have little influence
on both the effective band width and the peak attenuation rate (Figs 6b and
c, and Table 2).
The effect of flow resistance can be inferred from the results presented in
Fig. 7 and Table 2. The peak frequency increases with increasing flow
resistance. The increase is similar for all values of d/h (Table 2). The peak
frequency increases by nearly three octaves with increasing flow resistance
(Table 2). The results also show that the peak attenuation rate is higher at
low frequency with low density sound-absorbing materials than the peak
attenuation rate at high frequency with high density materials. (Fig. 7c). It is
seen from Fig. 7c that it is possible for a certain combination ofd/h values to
use materials with low flow resistance to achieve a better low frequency
attenuation. The same result was observed for full unit silencers.

7.2 Comparison with least attenuated mode results

The attenuation rates calculated for the generation of the design curves
include all possible modes. Existing methods use only the least attenuated
mode. The results for 11 conventional silencer configurations are presented
in Table 3 where the two prediction schemes are compared. The estimated
insertion loss results are shown in terms of six octave band frequencies. The
results show that the least attenuated mode methods are accurate for small
silencers as the two methods produce identical results. The same is true for
low bands even for silencers of unit width as large as 610 mm, but in the high
bands the plane wave methods under predict by as much as 5 d B as
compared to the present method where all the necessary modes are included.
The differences between the two schemes become larger for large unit width
silencers with small liner thickness. The deviations are in the range of 4-5 dB.
In the next section it will be shown that the present scheme gives better
comparison to measured data than the least attenuated mode results and
hence to an improved prediction. It should be noted that other noise
suppression systems such as that used in high bypass ratio aircraft engines
have cross-sectional dimensions of the order of 3 m or more. The use of a
20 Ramani Ramakrishnan, Willie R. Watson

TABLE 3
C o m p a r i s o n between Present Scheme a n d Least A t t e n u a t e d M o d e M o d e l

Silencer d/h Silencer Attenuation rate (dB in octave bands)

unit size length
'M" (mm) 2 3 4 5 6 7
(mm)

a 8 20 38 50 50 34
305 2 1525 b 8 20 38 50 50 34

° 1 5 14 26 17 7
305 1 915 b 1 5 14 26 17 7

a 14 24 37 50 50 25
408 3"2 1 525 b 14 24 37 50 50 25

° 6 13 25 30 16 8
408 1-13 1 525 b 6 13 25 30 16 5

° 14 22 36 47 29 13
610 2 2135 b 14 22 36 47 27 9

° 8 13 21 26 12 7
610 1.4 1 525 b 8 13 21 26 10 3

a 13 26 39 50 21 14
610 1"4 2 775 b 13 26 39 50 21 9

° 8 13 22 28 12 8
760 2 1525 b 8 13 22 28 12 3

° 6 11 18 16 7 6
760 1 1 525 b 6 11 16 15 4 1

a 7 11 19 22 10 7
910 2 1525 b 7 11 19 22 8 2

° 5 9 18 14 7 5
910 1 1525 b 5 9 14 10 2 0

° Present scheme.
b Least a t t e n u a t e d m o d e model.

multimodal analysis such as used here may prove essential in order to obtain
good estimates of the noise suppression produced by these systems.

7.3 Comparison with test data

One aim of the present work is to provide the system engineer with a quick
insertion loss estimation method of conventional rectangular silencers. The
results of insertion loss estimation obtained by using the design curves is
 Design curves for rectangular splitter silencers 21

TABLE 4
Comparison between Theory and Experiment

Silencer d/h Silencer Insertion loss (dB in octave bands)

unit size length
' M" (ram) 2 3 4 5 6 7
(turn)

Test data 8 20 38 47 51 34
305 2 1 525
Estimated 8 21 37 50 50 34
Test data 4 12 27 41 37 20
305 1 1 525
Estimated 4 12 26 44 36 13
Test data 17 27 38 48 50 31
408 3.2 1 525
Estimated 14 24 37 50 50 26
Test data 5 12 20 26 16 9
408 1.13 1 525
Estimated 6 14 21 29 17 8
Test data 17 24 36 49 33 18
610 2 2 135
Estimated 14 22 36 47 29 13
Test data 11 16 25 30 17 11
610 1.4 1 525
Estimated 8 13 21 26 12 7
Test data 18 25 37 50 30 16
610 1-4 2 775
Estimated 15 25 40 50 22 14

compared to actual test data in this section to determine their effectiveness.

Test data for full unit silencers only were available and hence the
comparisons are presented only for the full unit silencers.
Here, the attenuation rate curves are used to evaluate the insertion loss of
conventional silencers. The exact shape of the silencer and the liners were
included, that is, different curves were used for various portions of the
silencer. The averaged attenuation rates at 18 third octave bands from 100 to
5000 Hz were evaluated for the seven silencer configuration chosen for the
comparisons. The averaging procedure is the same as that outlined by Bies
and Hansen. 16 The third octave bands values were combined into six octave
bands. Results for seven silencers at the six octave bands are presented in
Table 4. No adjustments were made to the predicted values for entrance and
exit losses.
Actual test data from a laboratory measurement is also shown in Table 4.
The test data was obtained from measurements conducted as per the ASTM
standard. 21 The agreement between theory and experiment on the whole is
good. Maximum deviation of 4-5 dB is noted mostly for the fifth, sixth and
seventh octave band (1000-200(0-4000Hz) in a few cases. The maximum
deviation was 8 dB in the sixth octave band in one case. It was pointed out
22 Ramani Ramakrishnan, Willie R. Watson

earlier that the discrepancy can be as high as 10 dB at higher frequencies.

There are two possible reasons for such a discrepancy. One is that the
entrance and exit losses for the test silencers are high. A second likely reason
could be experimental errors of the test data. The deviation at other
frequencies for the various silencers is within 2-3 dB. In particular the
comparison between theory and experiment in the low frequency bands
(125, 250 and 500Hz) is excellent. It is clear that the current model gives
comparisons with the measured data that is superior to that of the least
attenuated mode predictions in Table 3. It is seen that comparison of even a
small sample shows that the design curves can be used as a design tool as well
as to check the performance ratings provided by conventional silencer
manufacturers.

7.4 Computer program

It was shown earlier that the design curves produce silencer attenuation
rates that are accurate estimates of the insertion loss for engineering
purposes. Unfortunately the generation of design curves requires a consider-
able a m o u n t of time in a microcomputer. The required time to produce one
design curve is 2.5 h in a XT environment and 25 min in an AT-386 type
personal computer equipped with a Math Coprocessor. A linear inter-
polation algorithm can be applied to enable a quick estimation of the
insertion loss of a conventional rectangular silencer used in H V A C
systems.11 The details of such a scheme are as follows: a large set of design
curves are generated to cover the entire range of silencers used in H V A C
systems; the design set is stored in a data base and is used by a simple
interpolation routine; average insertion loss at 18 frequencies from 100 to
5000 Hz in third octave band steps is evaluated for a given set of geometrical
parameters and absorbing material; the results in the 18 bands are then
combined to determine the insertion loss in six octave bands from band
numbers 2-7. The evaluation time is about 30--40s. It is seen that the
computing time can be substantially reduced.

8 CONCLUSIONS

Design curves for half unit and full unit rectangular duct silencers used in air
moving devices were presented. A finite element model was employed to
generate the design curves. Unlike existing models, the current model
incorporates multiple modes and can be extended to account for the
influence of shearing flows in the open airway. The silencers were
constructed with conventional fibrous type passive sound absorbers.
 Design curvesfor rectangular splitter silencers 23

Representative samples of the design curves were shown and the effects of a
number of parameters were highlighted. Results from the model were
compared to attenuation rates calculated using least attenuated mode
results of existing models. The superiority of the model over existing models
was demonstrated. Comparisons of predicted insertion losses with actual
test data were presented and shown to agree well. The use of the design
curves in a computer software was outlined. Results show that the design
curves can be used as a quick evaluation tool by duct system engineers.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

The authors would like to thank M r T. L. Parrot of NASA Langley

Research Center for his constructive criticisms. The helpful suggestions of
Mr Parrott has greatly enhanced the presentation of this paper. Thanks also
to one of the reviewers of a companion paper for bringing to our attention
additional information contained in Ref. 16 which improved the accuracy of
the predicted results in the low frequency bands.

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24 Ramani Ramakrishnan, Willie R. Watson

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