One of the most noticeable negative aspects of internal combustion engines is noise. With the growing number of cars on the road, governments attempted to limit this noise by insisting on muffler installation. Put most simply, a muffler is any device that reduces sound.
In the context of automobiles, this sound reduction is done by catching the exhaust of the engine and routing it through a series of baffles. These baffles force the sound waves to collide and cancel each other out.
While this noise reduction is necessary, it comes at a price – engine efficiency. The process of catching and forcing the exhaust through sound baffles slows it down so that the exhaust behind it builds up as back pressure. This back pressure works through the entire system and creates a bottleneck. The entire performance automobile industry has been working for years to eliminate this problem while still retaining the noise deadening effect.
The first, and to date most effective, measure has been the simple increase of exhaust capacity. Using larger than normal exhaust pipes to route the exhaust to multiple mufflers reduces the back pressure. The stereotypical hot rod car with several exhaust pipes peering out the sides or back of the vehicle is using this strategy.
The second area where experimentation in the muffler world is happening is baffle design. By changing the shape of the sound baffles that eliminate the noise, many designers are hoping to come upon a shape that serves the primary purpose while still allowing free exhaust passage.
The third option being explored is creating separate systems that interrupt the exhaust process to reduce back pressure. Periodically sucking the pressurized exhaust into a separate muffler chamber can temporarily reduce the back pressure. This approach is a cousin to the classic increased exhaust capacity option, but the goal is to create a bolt on option that can eliminate the issue without a complete rebuild of the exhaust system.
They say that necessity is the mother of invention. Mufflers are one of those fascinating case studies where governmental regulation creates a necessity that is pushing the entire automobile industry to find an invention.
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