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Acentech has a long history of conducting innovative research and development in the fields of acoustics and vibration.

RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT

Acentech has a long history of conducting innovative research and development in the fields of acoustics and vibration. Many of our staff hold doctorate level degrees and have made significant contributions to their field. While various government agencies and programs, such as the U.S. Small Business Innovation Research and U.S. Small Business Technology Transfer programs, have sponsored many of Acentech’s R&D projects, we have also performed cutting edge R&D work for commercial clients.

One of our earliest R&D projects involved the development of unique methods to detect and diagnose problems in diesel engines using vibration. The techniques we developed were later applied to systems used to monitor the condition of motor-operated valves in nuclear power plants, and to monitor and adjust process conditions in manufacturing environments. Other R&D projects of which we are especially proud include the development of:

  • A portable system that used acoustical signals to remotely map the geometry of caves and tunnels.
  • An ultrasound-based method for determining bolt tension in petroleum piping junctions.
  • A system that uses vibration to detect and locate machinery in a building – from the outside of the building.
  • A novel high output transducer for use in an active noise reduction earplug.
  • In-ear underwater earphones with minimal sound leakage into the surrounding water.
  • A unique signal processing technique to adaptively control transient vibration in imaging satellites.
  • Portable device for detecting and quantifying the severity of tinnitus.

Acentech also investigated and designed metamaterials for the acoustic “cloaking” of underwater vehicles, a noise cancellation device for improved speech intelligibility, and conducted a large-scale investigation of human sensitivity to ground borne rail vibration.