• The Journal of the Acoustical Society of Korea
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• v.36 no.3
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• pp.186-193
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• 2017

Silla Great Bell was manufactured in order to ring for the new millennium in succession to King Seongdeok Divine Bell. This study investigates how Silla Great Bell is similar to King Seongdeok Divine Bell in respect of structure and sound. First, design and manufacturing processes are introduced and dimensions of the two bells are compared and the similarity is estimated. Three main characteristics of the sound of a Korean bell are magnificent and harmonic striking sound, dynamic beat, and long lasting hum tone. These three features are compared and objectively estimated using physical parameters. The purpose of the study is to provide useful information to manufacture Korean bell which has beautiful appearance and excellent sound.

• The Journal of the Acoustical Society of Korea
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• v.36 no.3
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• pp.194-201
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• 2017

Silla Great Bell was made to reproduce King Seongdeok Divine Bell and it was restored to have the same structure and patterns. The most difficult problem was to reproduce the magnificent striking sound and dynamic hum tone with strong beat like in King Seongdeok Divine Bell. Especially, beating sound is attributed to the uncontrollable asymmetry occurring in the casting process, so it can not be predicted or controlled before casting. In this study, we introduce the method and process to make Silla Great Bell have a strong beat with a proper period. Position conditions of mode pairs and striking point for a strong beat were identified. Bell thickness was locally decreased to make proper period of beat. The process was performed according to the simulation result of an equivalent bell model. As a result, the original weak and long beat was made to a strong beat with a proper period.

• Proceedings of the Korean Society for Noise and Vibration Engineering Conference
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• 2014.10a
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• pp.604-607
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• 2014

The Seongdeok Divine Bell(nicknamed "Emile Bell") represents the bell of the Silla dynasty. However, ringing it was stopped since 2003 for the safety of the bell. Currently, Kyungju city is performing a project casting a new great bell(tentatively named "Great Bell of Silla") that inherits the beautiful appearance and the sound of the Seongdeok Divine Bell in order to ring a new coming millenium. The new bell is designed to be almost same as the Seongdeok Divine Bell in terms of size, weight and shape as well as its sound. In this study, we investigate the problems occurring in the design of the bell structure and propose the design strategy for the reconstruction of the traditional large bells.