RUI: High Speed Electronic Speckle Pattern Interferometer for Undergraduate Research in Musical Acoustics

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This award supports the design and construction of a high-speed electronic speckle pattern interferometer for use by undergraduate students in the study of musical instruments. Of specific interest are the motions of idiophones and membraphones during and immediately after the initial transient. The interferometer will have an acquisition rate in excess of 40,000 frames per second and will be able to resolve sub-micrometer motion of diffusely reflecting objects. After construction, the interferometer will be used to study the transient response of the American five-string banjo and the soundboard of a piano as it transitions to the steady-state. This work will demonstrate the effectiveness of the new interferometer, result in the first measurements of the transient motion of the banjo head, and provide direction for a more detailed theoretical investigation of this complex musical instrument. In addition to the banjo, the interferometer will be used to investigate the transient motion of a piano soundboard. The new interferometer will allow a detailed investigation of how the soundboard makes the transition to steady-state and will help validate a time-dependent finite-element model of the soundboard. Results from the study of the five-string banjo will have application to various problems involving transient phenomena in circular membranes. Likewise, investigations of the piano soundboard will have direct application to the study of the vibrations of plates and shells. This research project is also designed to enhance the laboratory's ability to attract and develop undergraduate research students, especially women.