Mufflers & Exhaust
If you’ve ever heard a car engine running without a muffler, you know what a huge difference a muffler can make to the noise level. Mufflers are typically installed along the exhaust pipe as part of the exhaust system of an internal combustion engine (of a vehicle, or stationary) to reduce its exhaust noise.
The muffler accomplishes this with a resonating chamber, which is specifically tuned to cause destructive interference, where opposite sound waves cancel each other out.
An exhaust system is usually tubing used to guide reaction exhaust gases away from a controlled combustion inside an engine. The entire system conveys burnt gases from the engine and includes one or more exhaust pipes. Depending on the overall system design, the exhaust gas may flow through one or more of:
- A cylinder head and exhaust manifold
- A turbocharger to increase engine power.
- A catalytic converter to reduce air pollution.
- A muffler to reduce noise.
