Acoustic impedance measurements - Correction for probe geometry mismatch

The effect of evanescent mode generation, due to geometrical mismatch, in acoustic impedance measurements is investigated. The particular geometry considered is that of a impedance probe with an annular flow port and a central microphone, but the techniques are applicable to other geometries. It is found that the imaginary part of the measured impedance error is proportional to frequency, and that the sign of the error is positive for measurements made on tubes with diameter much larger than that of the inlet port, but negative for tubes with diameter close to that of the inlet. The result is a distortion of the measured frequencies of the impedance minima of the duct while the maxima are largely unaffected. There is, in addition, a real resistive component to the error that varies approximately as the square root of the frequency. Experiment confirms the results of the analysis and calculations, and a calibration procedure is proposed that allows impedance probes that have been calibrated on a semi-infinite tube of one diameter to be employed for measurements on components with an inlet duct of some very different diameter.