Keynote: Electroacoustics and FEA: A Long and Successful Relationship

In the world of electroacoustics, finite element analysis (FEA) has been in use for decades. The COMSOL Multiphysics^® software is particularly well suited for studying engineering systems where electromagnetic, mechanical, acoustical, and thermal phenomena occur simultaneously and constantly interact.

In this keynote talk, Roberto Magalotti of Bowers & Wilkins shows how COMSOL Multiphysics^® has supported the development of notable electroacoustic technologies featured in recent Bowers & Wilkins products. He opens the talk by defining electroacoustics and introducing Bowers & Wilkins and its product history. After this, Magalotti briefly explains the construction of a loudspeaker and its magnet and moving assembly. When modeling the flux density in a speaker's magnet assembly, Magalotti noticed a difference between the simulation and experimental results and was able to improve agreement by using a Jiles–Atherton model.

Magalotti also discusses how Bowers & Wilkins approached the optimization of the spider within a design's moving assembly, as well as the pros and cons of a cloth spider in a speaker. His team investigated a biomimetic suspension design, compared its attributes (such as stiffness consistency) to a traditional cloth spider, and simulated its sound output in COMSOL^®.

Roberto Magalotti is a principal research engineer at Bowers & Wilkins and graduated with a degree in physics from the University of Bologna, Italy, with a thesis on the physical modeling of musical instruments.