Simple rules for design of exhaust mufflers and a comparison with four-pole and FEM calculations

For good muffler design it is advisable to use an advanced computational method such as four-pole theory or FEM or BEM. To get a starting points for these methods and to suggest adjustments to the geometry and materials it is useful to have some simple rules of thumb. This paper presents a number of such "rules", and illustrates their reliability and limitations by comparing with results using some of the advanced computational methods.

At the same time, this investigation also gives a comparison between four-pole theory and BEM.