Aerodynamics of human speech sound production
Pennsylvania State University
Abstract
This talk will describe the principal features of human speech aerodynamics, focusing on the voice. Aerodynamic mechanisms are those corresponding to terms in the Bernoulli and integral momentum equations. We estimate these terms using measurements of flow a scaled-up model, and in a life-scale model of the human airway, as well as aeroelastic–aeroacoustic simulations. It will be shown that the glottal jet affects the driving pressure force, by estimating Bernoulli equation terms in the contraction and jet regions. We further show, by estimating the terms of the integral momentum equation, that vocal fold drag, the principal source of sound, is nearly balanced by a pressure force driving flow through the vocal folds. Furthermore, amplitudes of these two forces vary with vibration frequency. The equivalence between drag and driving pressure force is further demonstrated using measurements of fluctuating driving pressure and radiated sound pressure.
About the speaker
Dr. Michael Krane is Research Professor at the Penn State Applied Research Laboratory, where he has worked since 2006. Prior to Penn State he worked at jointly at École Centrale de Lyon, AT&T/Lucent, and Rutgers University. He studied Mechanical Engineering (B.S., M.S., Case-Western Reserve University), and Aerospace Engineering (Ph.D., Penn State University). Research interests include unsteady fluid mechanics, focusing on aero/hydroacoustics, fluid–structure interaction, high-speed imaging, optical fluid flow measurements, and signal and image processing. Application areas include: human speech sound production, avian aeroacoustics, mammalian olfaction aerodynamics, and flow noise prediction and reduction.
