Recent Applications of the Boundary Element Method to Problems in Acoustics

In this paper the application of the Boundary Element Method (BEM) to problems in acoustics and noise control will be reviewed. The BEM is a computational method for solving the acoustic wave equation when the acoustic domain has an irregular or arbitrary shape. Examples of such problems in the automotive industry include the radiation of sound from engines and other vibrating structures, the scattering (diffraction) of sound from irregular surfaces and obstacles, the acoustical response of passenger compartments of vehicles and the attenuation of mufflers and other exhaust or intake system components. The BEM is distinguished from other numerical methods such as the finite element method in that with the BEM only the surface or boundary of the acoustic domain must be discretized. This is an important feature in solving radiation problems, where the domain is infinite or semi-infinite, but is also beneficial for cavity and muffler problems as well.