Viability of COMSOL within the silencer selection process

Silencer selection has long been a burdensome, and occasionally iterative process. It is typically done based on tested sound attenuation values obtained using large facilities and costly equipment - making the process time-consuming and unsustainable. Fortunately, Finite Element Analysis (FEA) continues to become a more viable intermediary step between design and construction. COMSOL Multiphysics(r) is an FEA solver and simulation software. COMSOL's acoustics module can determine full octave decibel values of Transmission Loss.This paper goes through parameters and model setup in the COMSOL environment as well as the practicality and convenience of using such a software. It also investigates the reliability of such methods of acoustic analysis compared to empirical data, where it may fall short, and identifies areas in need of more analysis.