Brüel & Kjӕr acoustical arrays are usable indoors or outdoors

Durham Instruments supplies acoustical arrays.

Danish manufacturer Brüel & Kjӕr makes world-leading measurement devices available through Durham Instruments. The lineup includes acoustical arrays, which rapidly produce detailed noise maps of different types of noise sources. The supplier offers a wide selection, from small, two-microphone units to arrays with hundreds of microphones.

Durham Instruments has a Customized Products Department that helps to configure a complete system for every customer’s needs – including an array, analysis software, positioning systems, and robots.

Quality control or leak detection

A common example of these array systems is one for detecting acoustical leaks on hearing aids, using a single-reference mic and a robot-controlled one. Another system conducts quality control during the manufacture of electrical transformers.

Brüel & Kjӕr makes several models of acoustical arrays, and customers should consider several important factors when choosing one. These factors include the environment (e.g., cabin interior, indoors, outdoors, or underwater), frequency range of interest, the resolution needed in the noise map, distance to the source (i.e. near- or far-field), and whether the sound source is stationary or moving.

Types of acoustical arrays available include the following:

• Spherical. For in-cable or indoor use. Spherical beamforming offers a complete omnidirectional noise map in any environment, based on a single measurement, using a spherical, harmonics-based algorithm called SHARP.
• Planar wheel. For indoor or outdoor use. These innovative arrays come in myriad diameters and microphone configurations, depending on the application, and work with PULSE beamforming software.
• Foldable. Outdoor use only. These arrays allow a large measurement area that is easy to transport. They are used either completely flat or with arms set at an angle to produce a funnel-shaped array, enabling extraneous noise from the back of the array to be suppressed by up to ten decibels.
• Handheld. For indoor or in-cabin applications. Handheld arrays measure sound field near the source where space is limited; examples include leak detection and conformal mapping.
• Grid. Indoor use only. This is a regular lattice of acoustical transducers (microphones or hydrophones) typically used for measurements on stationary sound fields near the test object.

To learn more, contact Durham Instruments.

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