The plan for the experimental procedure was to obtain measurements for the sound reflection from the surface of a cylindrical trunk at different angles around it. The tree will be placed on the centre of the anechoic chamber with a loudspeaker at a fixed position directly facing towards it. Then a microphone will pick up the sound reflections at different angles around the tree. This can be achieved by building a metallic mechanism to hold the microphone at a fixed distance and allowing it to rotate around the maple trunk.
The experimental procedure was planned thanks to the help of Andrew Chadwick [1], the Technical Assistant of the Audio Lab of the University of York. With his design, the angles will ranging from 180 to 15 degrees. A 0-degree-angle will not be required as the source and receiver cannot exist in the same position. Laser pointers will be used to mark and track the exact positions for the measurements.
Andrew will be responsible for designing and building the mechanism. In the meantime, I will need to find a cylindrical tree with hard and smooth surface for the experiment. If such a tree is not found, the procedure will be carried out using a normal cylinder instead, and the project’s focus would shift significantly.
Figure: A diagram of the set up of the anechoic chamber with the exact position of the tree, loudspeaker and microphone as well as the angle of rotation around it in a bird’s eye view.
[1] Andrew J. Chadwick, “University of york directory :: People directory :: Mr AJ chadwick,” https://www.york.ac.uk/directory/user/searchdetail.cfm?scope=staffref=M95.
George Sarantinos 