Phonation is a component of speech communication with a highly complex interplay of physiological and physical properties. Phonation is the vibratory system in the larynx that changes air flow from the lungs into sound in the throat. The process of vocal fold vibration and the conversion of air flow into sound is insufficiently understood for the purposes of making precise diagnostic decisions in the voice clinic, targeting optimal intervention strategies for voice problems, and achieving high quality articulatory speech synthesis. The long range goal of the proposed research program is to determine an optimal numerical model of phonation for normal and pathological conditions, where the complexities of both tissue and flow-acoustic dynamics are taken into account. The focus of this research proposal is to resolve basic issues related to the aerodynamics and acoustics of phonation. Those issues include (1) the relevance of quasi steady assumptions and steady flow modeling, (2) the effects of turbulence, flow separation, and moving glottal walls, and (3) the effects of flow-acoustic interactions. Once the details of the basic physics are determined, the criteria for a highly effective numerical model of phonation can be established. Two general types of models are used to study these issues, numerical and physical. The physical models (both static and dynamic) will generate data to validate the numerical methods, as well as to directly study basic physics related to phonation. The numerical methods (both static and dynamic) will provide detailed information linking the glottal aerodynamics to the intraglottal pressures and the creation of sound at the glottal exit. The effects are studied for a wide range of glottal conditions with and without the presence of vocal tract loading. The research program is a collaboration between the Voice Research Laboratory at Bowling Green State University and the Ray Herrick Laboratories and the Thermal Sciences and Propulsion Center at Purdue University.

Agency
National Institute of Health (NIH)
Institute
National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders (NIDCD)
Type
Research Project (R01)
Project #
5R01DC003577-04
Application #
6379410
Study Section
Sensory Disorders and Language Study Section (CMS)
Program Officer
Shekim, Lana O
Project Start
1998-07-01
Project End
2002-06-30
Budget Start
2001-07-01
Budget End
2002-06-30
Support Year
4
Fiscal Year
2001
Total Cost
$312,372
Indirect Cost
Name
Bowling Green State University
Department
Psychology
Type
Schools of Allied Health Profes
DUNS #
617407325
City
Bowling Green
State
OH
Country
United States
Zip Code
43403
Fulcher, Lewis P; Scherer, Ronald C; Powell, Travis (2013) Viscous effects in a static physical model of the uniform glottis. J Acoust Soc Am 134:1253-60
Li, Sheng; Scherer, Ronald C; Wan, MingXi et al. (2012) The effect of entrance radii on intraglottal pressure distributions in the divergent glottis. J Acoust Soc Am 131:1371-7
Fulcher, Lewis P; Scherer, Ronald C (2011) Phonation threshold pressure: comparison of calculations and measurements taken with physical models of the vocal fold mucosa. J Acoust Soc Am 130:1597-605
Fulcher, Lewis P; Scherer, Ronald C; Powell, Travis (2011) Pressure distributions in a static physical model of the uniform glottis: entrance and exit coefficients. J Acoust Soc Am 129:1548-53
Fulcher, Lewis P; Scherer, Ronald C; De Witt, Kenneth J et al. (2010) Pressure distributions in a static physical model of the hemilarynx: measurements and computations. J Voice 24:2-20
Khosla, Sid; Murugappan, Shanmugam; Gutmark, Ephraim (2008) What can vortices tell us about vocal fold vibration and voice production. Curr Opin Otolaryngol Head Neck Surg 16:183-7
Garrel, Renaud; Scherer, Ronald; Nicollas, Richard et al. (2008) Using the relaxation oscillations principle for simple phonation modeling. J Voice 22:385-98
Suh, Jungsoo; Frankel, Steven H (2008) Comparing turbulence models for flow through a rigid glottal model. J Acoust Soc Am 123:1237-40
Park, Jong Beom; Mongeau, Luc (2007) Instantaneous orifice discharge coefficient of a physical, driven model of the human larynx. J Acoust Soc Am 121:442-55
Suh, Jungsoo; Frankel, Steven H (2007) Numerical simulation of turbulence transition and sound radiation for flow through a rigid glottal model. J Acoust Soc Am 121:3728-39

Showing the most recent 10 out of 30 publications