Biomedical subjects

Lixi Huang

Publications and source records attributed to Lixi Huang.

6 recordsLinked to original sources

PubMed2004

Measurement of in-duct acoustic properties by using a single microphone with fixed position.

Acoustic properties of sound absorption materials and other acoustic structures can be measured in an impedance tube using the well-established two-microphone method to resolve the two traveling wave components of a standing wave pattern. The accuracy of such measurements depends crucially on the calibration of the two microphones placed in close proximity. To eliminate such calibration, the one-microphone method [Chu, J. Acoust. Soc. Am. 80, 555-560 (1986)] uses the same microphone to probe at two positions sequentially using the voltage driving the loudspeaker as a reference signal. A variant of this method is introduced in this study in which the microphone is fixed at one position while a rigid end plate moves between two positions to resolve the standing wave. The sound source is installed as a side branch, and its driving signal is also used as a reference in the two-step measurement. Close agreement is found with the established two-microphone method, and factors which might affect the accuracy of the new technique are discussed. As a demonstration of the robustness of the method, a low-budget electret microphone is used and the result also matches well with those obtained by the two-microphone method with high-quality condenser type microphones.

Journal Article↗

PubMed2003

Drum silencer with shallow cavity filled with helium.

The motivation of this study is twofold: (a) to produce a flow-through silencer with zero pressure loss for pressure-critical applications, and (b) to tackle low frequency noise with limited sideway space using cavities filled with helium. The work represents a further development of our recently conceived device of a drum-like silencer with conventional air cavity [Huang, J. Acoust. Soc. Am. 112, 2014-2025 (2002); Choy and Huang, ibid. 112, 2026-2035 (2002)]. Theoretical predictions are validated by experimental data. The new silencer consists of two highly tensioned membranes lining part of a duct, and each membrane is backed by a cavity filled with helium. For a typical configuration of a duct with height h, membrane length L = 7h, cavity depth h = 0.2h, and tension T = 0.52rho0c0(2)h2, where rho0 and c0 are the ambient density and speed of sound in air, respectively, the transmission loss has a continuous stop band of TL > 6.35 dB for frequency 0.03c0/h to 0.064c0/h, which is much better than traditional duct lining. In addition to the mechanisms at work for drum silencers with air cavity, the low density of helium reduces the masslike reactance of the cavity on the second in vacuo mode of membrane vibration. The reduction greatly enhances the membrane response at this mode, which is found to be critical for achieving a broadband performance in the low-frequency regime.

Journal Article↗

PubMed2003

Characterizing computer cooling fan noise.

Computer cooling fan noise is studied theoretically, focusing on the radiation from the interaction between rotor blades and motor struts. The source is decomposed into axial thrust, circumferential drag, and radial force. There is no sound-power coupling among the three components. The index of spatial spinning pressure mode plays the key role in noise radiation. The leading modes are the zeroth, or coincident, mode for thrust and the first mode for the drag and radial force. The effect of source noncompactness is quantified and found to be substantial only for higher-order radiation modes. The sound powers of the leading modes follow a sixth-power law, while the next high-order modes follow an eighth-power law. Quantitative analysis shows that the drag force can be equally noisy as the coincident thrust force. Based on an empirical aerodynamic model of rotor-strut interaction, it is found that the total sound power is more sensitive to the number of struts than rotor blades. Numerical examples are given to demonstrate how the struts can be optimized for typical cooling fan conditions.

Journal Article↗

PubMed2002

Modal analysis of a drumlike silencer.

Low-frequency duct noise is difficult to deal with by passive methods such as porous duct lining. Reactive methods like expansion chamber are rather bulky, while compact resonators are too narrow banded. This study shows that a suitably stretched thin membrane backed by a slender cavity can achieve a satisfactory performance from low to medium frequencies over an octave band. The present paper focuses on the details of the modal behavior of the fully coupled membrane-cavity system, and examples are given with parameters set in a practical range. Typically, the membrane has a structure to air mass ratio of unity, and is stretched towards the elastic stress limit for a material like aluminum. The backing cavity has a depth equal to the duct height and a length five times the duct height. Three resonant peaks are found in the low to medium frequency range while the transmission loss between adjacent peaks remain above 10 dB. For the first peak, almost complete sound reflection occurs as a result of an out-of-phase combination of the first and second in vacuo modes of simply supported membranes. The second peak is solely contributed to by the first mode, while the third peak features mainly the second mode vibration.

Models, Theoretical↗

PubMed2002

Experimental studies of a drumlike silencer.

The theoretical finding of the broadband performance of a reactive silencer is validated experimentally. The silencer consists of two highly stretched membranes lining part of the duct and backed by two long and shallow cavities. The test rig was built with a small square duct of 5 cm in dimension, and each cavity is 5 cm deep and 25 cm long. Two types of metal foils, stainless steel and copper, were used, and the lowest membrane-to-air mass ratio was 1.3. A transmission loss in excess of 10 dB was achieved over more than one octave band. For one configuration close to the optimal parameters, the predicted ratio of the frequency band limits is 2.47, while the experiment gave 2.35. Three spectral peaks were found in the stopband, as predicted, but the peaks were broader than prediction, indicating the presence of significant sound energy dissipation mechanisms. Comparison with theoretical simulation shows that the cavity damping dominates over membrane friction. Tests using heavier membranes and membrane with different levels of tension also agree with predictions. Issues of practical implementation of the concept as a flow-through silencer are also addressed.

Journal Article↗

PubMed2002

High frequency loss of heterozygosity on the long arms of chromosomes 13 and 14 in nasopharyngeal carcinoma in Southern China.

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the loss of heterozygosity (LOH) on chromosomal arms 13q and 14q in nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) using 21 microsatellite polymorphic markers and to study whether there is a correlation between LOH and clinicopathologic parameters and/or Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) infection in NPC. METHODS: Sixty cases of NPC were studied using polymerase chain reaction based microsatellite analysis with genescan and genotyping techniques. RESULTS: LOH was detected on 13q in 78% of NPC tumors, high frequency LOH loci (more than 30%) clustered to 13q12.3-q14.3 and 13q32. On chromosome 14q, LOH was detected in 80% of NPC tumors; high frequency LOH loci clustered to 14q11-q13, 14q21-q24 and 14q32. High frequency LOH at 13q31-q32 correlated with a lower level of EBV infection; LOH on chromosome 14q was closely associated with poor differentiation of NPC tumor cells. CONCLUSION: Our results suggest that in NPC, LOH on chromosome 13q and 14q are common genetic events, and putative tumor suppressor genes (TSG) residing in these regions may be involved in tumorigenesis.

Adult↗