Research on the characteristics of dynamic behavior of basilar membrane in spiral cochlea

• Main Authors: Zhi Tang, Qiong Shen, Chang Xu, Xi Hou, Qian Wang, Zhi-hui Liu, Shu-jia Li
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: JVE International 2017-08-01
• Series: Journal of Vibroengineering
• Subjects: cochlea; basilar membrane; dynamic behavior; travelling wave
• Online Access: https://www.jvejournals.com/article/17911

This paper used PATRAN software to establish a three-dimensional spiral cochlear model according to the actual human ears, combined with NASTRAN software to conduct a harmonic response analysis on it and studied the impact of curvature on the amplitude of basilar membrane when spiral basilar membrane was excited. The computational result of the model was consistent with the experimental result reported by previous researchers, which verified the correctness of the model established by this paper. Research found the change rule of ratio of outer radius amplitude to inner radius amplitude in the longitudinal direction of basilar membrane and the change trend of the horizontal amplitude with frequency along the basilar membrane. At high frequencies, it was found that curvature had a great influence on the horizontal amplitude of basilar membrane. In the meanwhile, the structural form of spiral basilar membrane and its change trend with frequency at the position of 12 mm reflected the basilar membrane’s amplification for sound intensity. Regarding the controversial issue in the academic at present, does travelling wave exist in basilar membrane? The theory of travelling wave in basilar membrane was supported by a lot of phase accumulation and delay as shown in phase diagram.