Modeling of duct acoustics in the high frequency range using two-ports

Design of duct networks is challenging because the design should consider the required flow rate, acceptable noise levels, and minimum pressure drop to achieve optimum performance. This paper presents acoustic analysis in high frequency range using sound power two-ports applied to Heating, Ventilation, and Air Conditioning (HVAC) systems. To simulate the acoustic behaviour one need to model three mechanisms; the sound power generated from sound sources (e.g. Fans), the regenerated sound power caused by the flow in different elements in the network (e.g. junctions), and the sound power loss across different elements of the network. The general approach considered here is based on two-port theory that divides the duct network into two-port elements. Each element can be described by 2 x 2 scattering matrix where the state variables are the acoustic power flow in both up and downstream directions. Junctions and branching are described by multi-port elements depending on the number of elements connected to this multiport. This algorithm is compared to measurements of HVAC system located in an academic building that shows good agreement. An advantage of this approach is the ability to use the same formalism of the two-port network theory to analyse the acoustic behaviour in both low and high frequency ranges beside the flow distribution and the pressure drop.