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Aerodynamic excitation of the harmonium reed

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  29 March 2006

Arthur O. St Hilaire
Affiliation:
Department of Aerospace Engineering and Mechanics, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, Minnesota Present address: Mechanical Engineering Department, Tufts University.
Theodore A. Wilson
Affiliation:
Department of Aerospace Engineering and Mechanics, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, Minnesota
Gordon S. Beavers
Affiliation:
Department of Aerospace Engineering and Mechanics, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, Minnesota

Abstract

An investigation of the mechanism responsible for the self-excited oscillations of a harmonium reed is presented. Experiments show that the amplitude of vibration of the reed grows exponentially, and measurements of the growth rate as a function of the flow past the reed are reported. Flow visualization studies lead to the conclusion that jet or wake instability is not important in exciting the reed vibration. An analysis of the flow around the reed as an unsteady potential flow results in the evaluation of the aerodynamic forces exciting the reed. The analysis shows that the pressure which excites the reed motion is of the order of $\rho U_0\dot{a}$, where U0 is the flow velocity and $\dot{a}$ is the reed velocity.

Type
Research Article
Copyright
© 1971 Cambridge University Press

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