Eur. Phys. J. B (2018) 91: 24
https://doi.org/10.1140/epjb/e2017-80485-8

Regular Article

Synchronization of organ pipes

¹ Institut für Theoretische Physik, Technische Universität Berlin, Hardenbergstraße 36, 10623 Berlin, Germany
² Department of Physics and Astronomy, Potsdam University, Karl-Liebknecht-Straße 24, 14476 Potsdam, Germany

^a e-mail: zergon@gmx.net

Received: 22 August 2017
Received in final form: 27 October 2017
Published online: 5 February 2018

Abstract

We investigate synchronization of coupled organ pipes. Synchronization and reflection in the organ lead to undesired weakening of the sound in special cases. Recent experiments have shown that sound interaction is highly complex and nonlinear, however, we show that two delay-coupled Van-der-Pol oscillators appear to be a good model for the occurring dynamical phenomena. Here the coupling is realized as distance-dependent, or time-delayed, equivalently. Analytically, we investigate the synchronization frequency and bifurcation scenarios which occur at the boundaries of the Arnold tongues. We successfully compare our results to experimental data.