A direct mixed-body boundary element method for mufflers with internal thin components covered by lining and a perforated panel

Thin components, such as baffles, extended inlet/outlet tubes, and internal connecting tubes, are commonly used in reactive mufflers for cancelation of sound at particular frequency peaks. To provide additional absorption effects at higher frequencies, porous sound absorbing materials may be used on the muffler interior wall surface or on any internal thin components. If the sound absorbing material is backed by a rigid surface, it is usually modeled by the local normal impedance approach. The local impedance modeling on the interior wall surface is straightforward and has been extensively used in the boundary element method, in which the boundary surface is just moved forward to the contact surface between the lining and air. On the other hand, the local impedance modeling on any internal thin components is relatively rare. This paper first presents a direct mixed-body boundary element formulation for a thin body covered by local impedance on either side or both sides of the thin body. The local impedance can be from the lining material itself, or from the lining material plus a protective perforated metal cover. Several test cases with experimental comparison are presented in this paper.