aMcGill University
bComputational acoustic modeling laboratory, CIRMMT, McGill University
Abstract :
Research into the vibrational properties of woodwind reeds, and
potential synthetic replacements, requires the consideration of
several factors. To date, analysis of pertinent properties of natural
cane reeds has mostly been limited to reeds in their initial “unplayed”
state. One important mechanical aspect of reed-life and durability
that should be considered is fatigue behaviour. Fatigue is concerned
with the degradation of mechanical stiffness over the lifespan of a
reed and is important for understanding changing vibrational
behaviour. It is also likely that reed properties reach a steady-state
after initial playing, but before they begin to significantly degrade,
with mechanical properties (elastic, damping) during this period being
most important for synthetic material development. Here an artificial
player system is developed and used to evaluate the long-term
mechanical behaviour of cane reeds. Reeds are “played” on the
system with control over playing time, input pressure and playing
frequency. In this way, the dependency of mechanical fatigue on
frequency is evaluated. During the study, reeds are also tested under
static bending conditions to characterise mechanical degradation
rates. Results will aid in understanding the importance of playing time
and frequency on reed lifespan, properties, degradation and
potentially lead to comparisons with current synthetic reeds.