CFD Analysis of the Acoustic and Mean Flow Performance of Simple Expansion Chamber Mufflers

The acoustic and mean flow performance of different configurations of simple expansion chamber mufflers has been considered. The different configurations include extended inlet/outlet pipes and baffles inside the expansion section of the muffler. Both the acoustic and mean flow performance has been evaluated for each muffler. The acoustic CFD model of the muffler uses an axisymmetric grid with no mean flow and a single period sinusoid of suitable amplitude and duration imposed at the inlet boundary. The time history of the acoustic pressure and particle velocity are recorded at two points, one in the inlet pipe and the other in the outlet pipe. These time histories are Fourier transformed and the transmission loss of the muffler is calculated. The mean flow model of the muffler uses the same geometry, but has a finer mesh and has a suitable inlet velocity applied at the inlet boundary and the pressure drop across the muffler is found. The acoustic performance is compared with published experimental results.