Articles 2017 - WAVES Magazine

75 years of progress

For the past 75 years, visionary engineers and inventors at Brüel & Kjær have been responsible for innovative breakthroughs and many world-firsts. We have a long and impressive track record and, as we look back, we wanted to share with you some of the highlights.

A space for creativity

Dynaudio, leading Danish producer of hand-crafted, high-end loudspeakers, recently opened the doors of its new, three-storey, 1600 m2 R&D centre.

AIISH - Developing Speech and Hearing

The All India Institute of Speech and Hearing (AIISH) develops methods for assessing and rehabilitating people with communication disorders all across India.

Beijing’s big bell rings – Loudly

Beijing’s Bell Tower and Drum Tower were used to mark time from the 13th century until 1924.

Easy rider? Measuring motorbike vibrations

If you ride a motorbike for any length of time, you might notice that vibration from the engine causes hand numbness – or white-finger syndrome – and other unpleasant physical sensations. Vibration levels can have a negative impact on health and on a rider’s reactions, contributing to accidents.

End-of-line testing – All geared up and ready to go

Customer expectations for the durability and comfort of cars, vans and trucks are ever increasing. Combine this with the highly competitive nature of the auto market, and manufacturers must find a balance point for producing quality products that are cost-effective, not only for themselves, but also to ensure that any added cost remains lower than the increased quality passed on to the customer.

Five questions for Niels-Jørgen

Born on the Danish island of Bornholm, Niels-Jørgen Jacobsen is Brüel & Kjær’s Product Manager for Structural Dynamics. This Wagner aficionado is also a self-confessed foodie with a dream of starting his own winery. He also runs marathons, believing that good health is synonymous with a good life.

Five questions for Thomas

Dr. Thomas Lewien founded Discom, provider of automotive production test systems, in 1995. His background in acoustics, NVH and signal processing, has resulted in 35 years of experience in developing electronics and software.

Fusing Form and Function In Room Acoustics

Keith Yates and his team have been engineering purpose-built director screening rooms and private theatres for 26 years, serving an international client base that ranges from well known directors, to private, unknown movie lovers.

Golf cart noise and vibration troubleshooting

Expectations for noise and vibration performance of personal vehicles such as golf carts, ATVs, and side-by-side vehicles continue to evolve, requiring additional efforts from manufacturers to meet customer expectations in comfort and the ability to converse with passengers.

Great minds think alike

When product development presents you with a challenge you can be sure you’re not the only one facing it.

Keeping a lid on nightlife noise

It’s summer, it’s hot, people vie for places to sit outside restaurants and cafés and people spill out from the bars onto the pavement – the weekend is kicking off in Copenhagen.

Listening in 3d

One of the remarkable abilities of our auditory system is that it can pinpoint the location of sound sources.

Listening to customers

Subaru has always had a people-first approach to car making. As one of the hottest car brands – 2016 was its ninth consecutive year of sales increases in the US – it plans to continue its success by listening to customers’ needs and preferences, and it has gained valuable results from sound simulation tests.

Making life a bit better under the sea

Noise pollution, in general, can have some particularly adverse effects on mental and physical health: increased stress levels, tinnitus, hearing loss and disrupted sleep make up only a partial list. Noise pollution is made up of noise intrusions and the gradual fluctuations in the soundscape’s ambient noise.

Outsource or in-house?

For the past 20 years, Pro-Plan Ltd. has provided architectural and engineering services to support sound and vibration testing, including tailor-made, turnkey acoustic test rooms and cabins, on-site training and in-house testing.

Sounds like fun

Experimentarium is a Danish non-profit foundation whose sole purpose is to encourage people, particularly children, to develop an interest in the sciences and investigate how the world around them works.

Technical review

The Brüel & Kjær ‘Technical Review’ offers a deeper understanding of the many specialized disciplines within sound and vibration. It is where you will find the latest in-depth theory, measurement techniques, and details about specific instrumentation and technology.

Testing evolution: Shaking up the status quo

For over 15 years, PAConsult – with laboratories in Germany and Switzerland – has been providing high-quality support and independent test house services. It offers environmental simulation tests on container prototype units as well as transport simulation for packaging systems.

Testing for clarity: from the lab to the consumer

Jabra is a Danish company that designs and produces quality headphones, headsets and speakerphones. Its focus is ensuring that its products – headsets, speakerphones, headphones and all their associated accessories – combine to enable clear, accurate and effortless communication.

The green man – the next chapter

Walk into any acoustic laboratory and you will inevitably see a device that stands out because, unlike most of the boxy instruments in the room, it has the shape of a human head and torso. No surprise then that it’s called a head and torso simulator, or HATS for short.

The sound of music

Yasuhisa Toyota studied acoustic design at the Kyushu Institute of Design, Japan. Today, he is one of the world’s leading acousticians as well as President of Nagata Acoustics America Inc.

The sound of summer

Summer is watermelons, rainstorms, mosquitoes, burning sunshine and air conditioning. But a summer is not a summer without the chirping of cicadas.

Vibration analysis helps neutrino experiment

Fermilab is America’s leading particle physics laboratory and operates the world’s most advanced particle accelerators. Scientists use particle accelerators to research some of the least understood particles in the universe: neutrinos.

Vibration-based SHM System On A Operating Vestas V27 Wind Turbine

Can you detect a 15 cm crack in a wind turbine blade without stopping the wind turbine? A three-year-long research project, partly financed by the Danish government, proved that this is indeed possible

Vibrations in ice

From building giant ice sculptures in the Rocky Mountains in Colorado to creating Ice Music in Swedish Lapland, Tim Linhart is pushing the boundaries of what can be done with ice.

Wavelength, frequency and speed of sound

When you play music through a loudspeaker, the loudspeaker’s membrane is set in motion, alternately moving in and out. On its way out, the membrane compresses the air right in front; when moving back into the loudspeaker cabinet, it leaves more space for the air in front, causing it to rarefy.

What is cavitation?

Cavitation is a primary source of propeller noise. The noise is caused by popping bubbles, sort of. They aren’t air bubbles, and they’re not actually popping. They are imploding bubbles of steam.

Working together for the greater quiet

Partnerships bring together different skill sets, resources and complementary areas of expertise, ensuring that the whole is greater than the sum of its parts. Cummins Inc. and Purdue University began a partnership that has done just that.