Partial sound field decomposition in multireference near-field acoustical holography by using optimally located virtual references

It has been shown previously that the multiple reference and field signals recorded during a scanning acoustical holography measurement can be used to decompose the sound field radiated by a composite sound source into mutually incoherent partial fields. To obtain physically meaningful partial fields, i.e., fields closely related to particular component sources, the reference microphones should be positioned as close as possible to the component physical sources that together comprise the complete source. However, it is not always possible either to identify the optimal reference microphone locations prior to performing a holographic measurement, or to place reference microphones at those optimal locations, even if known, owing to physical constraints. Here, post-processing procedures are described that make it possible both to identify the optimal reference microphone locations and to place virtual references at those locations after performing a holographic measurement. The optimal reference microphone locations are defined to be those at which the MUSIC power is maximized in a three-dimensional space reconstructed by holographic projection. The acoustic pressure signals at the locations thus identified can then be used as optimal "virtual" reference signals. It is shown through an experiment and numerical simulation that the optimal virtual reference signals can be successfully used to identify physically meaningful partial sound fields, particularly when used in conjunction with partial coherence decomposition procedures. (C) 2004 Acoustical Society of America.