Stage M2 – Experimental investigation of turbulence-induced broadband noise in a pre-Hispanic Andean flute mockup

From the mechanical point of view, flute-like instruments is a class of musical instruments in which the sound oscillation is generated and sustained by a coupling that involves on one hand a non-linear fluid interaction between an air jet and an edge, and an acoustic resonator on the other hand.
Flute-like instruments have existed for thousands of years in many parts of the world. Consequently, their design meets certain aesthetic criteria that may vary drastically from one instrument to the other, partly for cultural reasons. For instance, some pre-Hispanic Latin American panflutes are specifically crafted for being played in outdoor spaces during ceremonies, which requires a substantially higher jet flux than for comparable Western instruments. Physically, this means that the Reynolds number can reach sufficiently high values in the instrument for the jet to transition to turbulence. In a recent study, it has been shown that the presence of turbulence in the instrument induced a characteristic broadband noise on top of the pipe natural resonant frequencies. While broadband noise is a characteristic in its own right of the Andean flute and other non-Western musical expressions, this phenomenon has been the subject of very little research as of today. Thus, the aim of this internship is to set up a controlled experiment allowing to study the relationship between turbulence within the instrument and broadband noise generation.

More informations on the link below.