High sensitivity strain measurement on a vibrating saxophone reed using stroboscopic digital image

Abstract

In this paper, we present a study of different optical textures and techniques to apply very fine, non-specular reflecting random speckle texture, which makes it possible to measure surface strains with a sensitivity better than 0.01 % strain on a vibrating object. The method is based on triggered stroboscopic digital image correlation, which is able to obtain time-resolved full-field measurements of displacement and strain fields. The method is demonstrated on reeds of the saxophone to investigate their role in sound production and playability. Such high-sensitivity measurements allow the detection of subtle effects, such as artefacts on synthetic saxophone reeds caused by the production process.