Acoustic transfer admittance of cylindrical cavities

The reciprocity calibration method uses two microphones acoustically connected by a coupler, a cylindrical cavity closed at each end by the diaphragms of the transmitting and receiving microphones. The acoustic transfer admittance of the coupler, including the thermal conductivity effect of the fluid, must be modelled precisely to obtain the accurate sensitivity of the microphones from the electrical transfer impedance measurement. It appears that the analytical model quoted in the current standard [International Electrotechnical Commission IEC 61064-2, Measurement Microphones, Part 2: Primary Method for Pressure Calibration of Laboratory Standard Microphones by the Reciprocity Technique, 1992] is not the appropriate one and that it should be revised, as also suggested by a recent EUROMET project report [K. Rasmussen, Datafiles simulating a pressure reciprocity calibration of microphones, EUROMET Project 294 Report PL-13, 2001]. Thus, it is the aim of the paper to investigate analytically the acoustic field inside the coupler, revisiting the assumptions of the earlier work, leading to a coherent description and therefore providing clarity which should facilitate discussion of a possible revised standard.