Articles 2014 - WAVES Magazine

Aiming for absolute
precision

It is a philosophical realisation that no perfect measurement can be made. While we might trust instruments completely, they rely on mechanical and electrical mechanisms that are affected by the stresses of the world.

Award-winning construction noise management

Cited as Europe’s largest civil engineering project and jointly sponsored by the Department for Transport and Transport for London, Crossrail will provide a new railway linking Heathrow Airport, the West End, the City of London and Canary Wharf.

Cloud computing brings test data down to earth

From helicopters to medical screening CT machines, air-conditioning units and cars, manufacturers depend on accurate sound and vibration measurements to assess quality and confirm correct operation. These measurements need to be accurate, repeatable and easy to obtain.

Cutting-edge blade maintenance

Since September 2011, an exciting EUDP project has been underway to develop a practical way to detect, localize and predict damage to wind turbine blades. The associated cost of maintaining and repairing blades is a very real issue for wind farm operators and so far no remote inspection method has offered a viable solution.

Five questions for Dmitri

45-year-old Russian Dmitri Tcherniak is a Research Engineer specialising in structural dynamics and vibration, and is part of Brüel & Kjær’s Innovation group. He has an MSc in Naval Architecture and a PhD in Applied Mechanics from the Marine Technical University of St Petersburg.

Five questions for Nishikubo-san

49-year-old Takeshi Nishikubo is Country Manager for Brüel & Kjær Japan. He has accumulated immense experience of sound and vibration in the automotive industry, as well as fatigue and durability testing.

From atomic physics to aeroacoustic consulting

Paul Murray is at the peak of a career that has taken him throughout the western hemisphere: from wind tunnel testing the Joint Strike Fighter to acoustic liner research on both sides of the Atlantic.

In pursuit of the Windsor Hum

There is a rumble in the air in Windsor, Ontario, Canada, or more accurately, a hum. A low-frequency, rumbling sound rattles the windows in this border community, which lies just across the river from motor city – Detroit.

In pursuit of the Windsor Hum – Revisited

A mysterious noise has long plagued the residents of the City of Windsor in Canada. Since the Canadian government engaged the University of Windsor to investigate its origins, there have been concrete developments in the case of the Windsor Hum.

Inside headphones

With a wide variety of headphones to choose from, many users are looking for guidance to help them select the right headphones for their application.

Japanese professor of human vibration

When a typhoon wreaked havoc during his formative years, Dr Setsuo Maeda altered the course of his career, resolving to help Japanese workers in the clean-up effort by reducing their vibration injuries.

Jet engine know-how helps voice studies take off

Taking principles used to analyze jet engines, researchers are studying the mechanisms that generate the human voice. With precise sound mapping, they seek to understand the specific contributions of all the biological components to sound quality, pitch and strength, and find the origins of specific speech problems.

Reigniting guitar evolution

In Spain, an aura of mysticism surrounds the construction of guitars, with the best concert-level instruments commanding enormous respect.

Searching for The World's Quietest Car

Engine, car body, tyres, chassis – every part of a car produces noise of some sort. German magazine AUTO BILD decided to thoroughly test and evaluate the resulting impact of the total noise of 14 different cars

Sounds like a Ferrari

Ferraris are distinguished by an unmatched combination of beauty, power and responsiveness – and a unique sound that is as carefully tuned as a piece of music.

Taking the sting out of vibration

Human vibration can be a nasty thing. Too much exposure to certain frequencies can lead to hand-arm vibration syndrome (HAVS) or even whole-body vibration syndrome – both of which damages nerves.

Targeting vibration

In the bowhunting world, vibration is a big deal. It causes noise that can spook the target animal, and it creates unpleasant hand shock. This is why G5 Outdoors needed assistance to gain technical insight into their bows.

The birth of calibration

One of the earliest known units to measure length is the Egyptian cubit, which dates from the 3rd millennium BC.

The father of dolby
technology

Born in Portland, Oregon, the inventor and founder of Dolby Laboratories made his name by reducing the background hiss on magnetic tape recordings.

Trial by combat

Military equipment failing in battle or aircraft components breaking under pressure are nightmare scenarios that require punishing test regimes. And as quality standards intensify, test houses are guaranteeing more hardware is ready to survive.

Using hand-held arrays for automotive NVH measurements

Microphone arrays help engineers develop sound quality on vehicles, giving fast and effective noise source identification. Now, advanced new techniques improve the insights possible.