An algorithm for the efficient acoustic analysis of silencers of any general geometry

Transfer matrix analysis provides a very efficient means to analyse the linear plane-wave acoustic performance of silencer systems in the frequency domain. However, the nature of the algorithm for combination and reduction of the matrices is different for different combinations of elements. This paper describes an efficient algorithm for acoustic analysis of any general silencer system. The basic format of the algorithm is the identification of sub-systems of two-port acoustic elements. Computational time is also reduced by recording the order in which all of the elements are analysed and the sub-systems are reduced. Examples of the analysis of several complex silencer systems are presented. The gain in efficiency over a general global matrix approach is exceptional.