Prediction of sound level at high-frequency bands by means of a simplified boundary element method

A simplified boundary element method (BEM) for dealing with high-frequency sound is proposed. The boundary integral equation is modified into a quadratic form to enable the prediction of sound levels in the one-third octave band analysis. Monopole and dipole source terms in the conventional BEM are transformed into the auto- and cross-spectra of two vibrating sources, in which the cross-spectra are eventually neglected by assuming that the correlation coefficients involved are negligible. The present method is compared with the Rayleigh integral for calculating the sound pressure radiated from a baffled panel, in terms of the application limit. The characteristic length of the boundary element and the applicable frequency range can be determined by the lower limit value of the correlation coefficient. As a test example, the field pressure radiated from a partially vibrating sphere is predicted and the resultant trend is in good agreement with the analytic solution as far as the related correlation coefficient satisfies the assumption. The overdetermination process for overcoming nonuniqueness in exterior radiation problems is unnecessary in the present method because phase information can be ignored. The results of the calculation show that the proposed method is acceptable for solving the exterior radiation problem at a high-frequency range in a timely manner. (C) 2002 Acoustical Society of America.