Sound-wave coherence in atmospheric turbulence with intrinsic and global intermittency

The coherence function of sound waves propagating through an intermittently turbulent atmosphere is calculated theoretically. Intermittency mechanisms due to both the turbulent energy cascade (intrinsic intermittency) and spatially uneven production (global intermittency) are modeled using ensembles of quasiwavelets (QWs), which are analogous to turbulent eddies. The intrinsic intermittency is associated with decreasing spatial density (packing fraction) of the QWs with decreasing size. Global intermittency is introduced by allowing the local strength of the turbulence, as manifested by the amplitudes of the QWs, to vary in space according to superimposed Markov processes. The resulting turbulence spectrum is then used to evaluate the coherence function of a plane sound wave undergoing line-of-sight propagation. Predictions are made by a general simulation method and by an analytical derivation valid in the limit of Gaussian fluctuations in signal phase. It is shown that the average coherence function increases as a result of both intrinsic and global intermittency. When global intermittency is very strong, signal phase fluctuations become highly non-Gaussian and the average coherence is dominated by episodes with weak turbulence.     

Modelling of a city canyon problem in a turbulent atmosphere using an equivalent sources approach

The sound propagation into a courtyard shielded from direct exposure is predicted using an equivalent sources approach. The problem is simplified into that of a two-dimensional city canyon. A set of equivalent sources are used to couple the free half-space above the canyon to the cavity inside the canyon. Atmospheric turbulence causes an increase in the expected value of the sound pressure level compared to a homogeneous case. The level increase is estimated using a von Kármán turbulence model and the mutual coherences of all equivalent sources' contributions. For low frequencies the increase is negligible, but at 1.6 kHz it reaches 2-5 dB for the geometries and turbulence parameters used here. A comparison with a ray-based model shows reasonably good agreement.     

Nature of inlet turbulence and strut flow disturbances and their effect on turbomachinery rotor noise

Results of an investigation in which turbomachinery rotor sound spectra were correlated with aerodynamic measurements of the inlet turbulence, strut wake, and vortex flow strengths are reported. Aerodynamic measurements included mean velocity profiles, turbulence intensity, and axial length scales. Inlet turbulence data indicate that the major effect of flow contraction appears to be the elongation of turbulent eddies. Eddies of this size dominate the blade passing frequency (BPF) tones. Decreasing eddy size by use of a grid revealed vortex flow strength to be the second major sound source. A doubling of vortex flow strength produced a 6 dB increase in the SPL of the first BPF. The sound pressure level showed less than a 2 dB change with doubling of strut wake turbulence intensity or velocity defect. A discussion of the relative importance of various sources of noise due to flow non-uniformities at the inlet is given.     

Thick barrier noise-reduction in the presence of atmospheric turbulence: measurements and numerical modelling

Atmospheric turbulence causes scattering of sound, which can reduce the performance of sound barriers. This is an important inclusion in prediction models to obtain a correct picture of the sound reduction at higher frequencies. Here a prediction method is applied that uses the strengths of the wind and temperature turbulence to estimate the scattered power into the shadow zone of a barrier. The predictions are compared to full-scale measurements on a thick barrier, where both acoustic and meteorological data were recorded simultaneously under both calm and windy conditions. Comparison between the measurements and the predictions indicate that the method gives reasonably accurate results for mid to high frequencies and a slight overestimation at very high frequencies.     

Effect of Mesoscale eddies on underwater sound propagation

The effects of sound speed variables induced by an anticyclonic eddy and a field of three cyclonic eddies on long-range sound propagation are investigated respectively. A deep-sea analytical eddy model [Henrick RF, Siegmann WL, Jacobson MJ. General analysis of ocean eddy effects for sound transmission applications. J Acoust Soc Am 1977;62:860-870] is used to determined sound speed distributions produced by warm-core ring in the southwest of South China Sea. Furthermore, the above analytical eddy model is generalize to include the azimuth angle variation and is used to determined sound speed distributions produced by Gulf Stream rings with different strengths. The theoretical temperature fluctuations induced by the warm eddy and a eddy field including three cyclonic eddies agree qualitatively with the in situ investigation data. The transmission loss of acoustic energy through the cross section of the warm-core ring center and three cyclonic eddy centers is simulated using 2-D parabolic-equation (PE) numerical modeling. It is found that the acoustic field has a significant change with variation of the location of SOFAR axis in the presence of the warm eddy and three cyclonic eddies comparing with the scenario of no eddies. When the source is located in the outside of the warm-core eddy and three cyclonic eddies respectively, and the receiver is located in outside of the eddy, the transmission loss as a function of range is investigated at different receive depth. It is shown that the changes of transmission loss caused by the warm-core eddy and three cyclonic eddies are as much as 20 dB than that of no-eddy situation. In the case of three cyclonic eddies, the largest discrepancy of transmission loss is about 40 dB near the range of 45 km for a 25-Hz source being located at a depth of 1500 m.     

Noise generation by vacuum cleaner suction units: Part II. Effect of vaned diffuser on noise characteristics

Noise emitted by a vacuum cleaner suction unit has aerodynamic, mechanical and electromagnetic noise origins. The aerodynamically generated noise within the blower mostly prevails in the total emitted noise at design and off-design operations. The vaned diffuser built into the blower has an important effect on the aerodynamically generated noise and its spectra. Therefore, in this part of the paper, the effects of the vaned diffuser on the performance and noise characteristics have been measured and analysed at the design and off-design operation. Analysis of measurement results have shown that the built-in vaned diffuser has numerous disadvantages, including: increase in the rotational noise, increase in the non-rotational turbulent noise, especially at off-design operation, increase in production costs and reduction of the flow rate. Therefore, and due to variable operating conditions of the suction units built into a vacuum cleaner, it could be omitted or replaced by a vaneless one.     

Observation of laser light scattering by a turbulent gas without seeding

An experiment of laser light scattering by a turbulent highly subsonic free jet of air is presented. The originality of the method lies in the fact that no particle seeding is needed. The experimental scattering cross section, which can be interpreted from the three-dimensional spectral density of temperature fluctuations, is compared to the theoretical one obtained by turbulent mixing theories. The scattered field time correlations measured in the heterodyne mode are interpreted by considering the Doppler effect on moving turbulent eddies and compared with theory. The intensity time correlations measured in the homodyne mode are interpreted in terms of local properties of the turbulence.     

Large eddy simulation of turbulent premixed flames using level-set G-equation

Level-set G-equation and stationary flamelet chemistry are used in large eddy simulation of a propane/air premixed turbulent flame stabilized by a bluff body. The aim was to study the interaction between the flame front and turbulent eddies, and in particular to examine the effect of sub-grid scale (SGS) eddies on the wrinkling of the flame surface. The results indicated that the two types of turbulence eddies—the resolved large scale eddies and the unresolved SGS eddies—have different effects on the flame. The fluctuation of the flame surface, which is responsible for the broadening of the time averaged mean flame brush by turbulence, depends on the large resolved turbulence eddies. Time averaged mean flow velocity, temperature, and major species concentrations mainly depend on the large scale resolved eddies. The unresolved SGS eddies contribute to the wrinkling at the SGS level and play an important role in the enhancement of the propagation speed of the resolved flame front. In addition, the spatially filtered intermediate species, such as radicals, and the spatially filtered reaction rates strongly depend on the small SGS eddies. The asymptotic behavior of flame wrinkling by the SGS eddies, with respect to the decrease in filter size and grid size, is investigated further using a simplified level-set equation in a model shear flow. It is shown that to minimize the influence of the SGS eddies, fine grid and filter size may have to be used.     

Noise generation by vacuum cleaner suction units. Part III. Contribution of structure-borne noise to total sound pressure level

Noise emitted by a vacuum cleaner suction unit consists of airborne and structure-borne noise. The airborne noise is generated mainly by the turbo blower and the structure-borne noise is generated mainly by the driving electric motor. The structure-borne noise depends on the suction unit design and on operating conditions, and is especially distinct at partial flow rates when rotating stall and surge appear. Among geometrical parameters, the stator of the blower and the electric motor, or metal shield if any, have the greatest effect on the structure-borne noise. Therefore, in this part of the paper, the effects of vibrations of the electric motor structure on the noise characteristics have been measured and analysed at the design and off-design operation. The contribution of structure-borne sound to the total sound pressure level becomes relatively less important at higher flow rates and with a vaned diffuser built-in the blower.     

Wave-vector filtering effect of electric–magnetic barrier in HgTe quantum wells

Because of helicity of electrons in HgTe quantum wells (QWs) with inverted band structure, the electrons cannot be confined by electric barriers since electrons can tunnel the barriers perfectly without backscattering in HgTe QWs. This behavior is similar to Dirac electrons in graphene. In this paper, we propose a scheme to confine carriers in HgTe QWs using an electric-magnetic barrier. We calculate the transmission of carriers in 2-dimensional HgTe QWs and find that the wave-vector filtering effect of local magnetic fields can confine the carriers. The confining effect will have potential application in nanodevices based on HgTe QWs.     

肋片对后台阶湍流流动影响的数值模拟

采用二阶全展开ETG有限元方法作为大涡模拟空间离散格式,计算了Reynolds数为47625条件下的后台阶湍流流动,结果与相关实验资料符合良好,在此基础上分析了附加肋片高度和肋距对后台阶湍流流动的影响.计算结果表明,不同肋高和肋距对台阶下游流动具有较大的影响,相应条件下台阶下游的涡系及其时变过程都发生了很大的变化,计算给出了台阶回流段长度随肋高和随肋距变化的曲线,并指出,在台阶下游附加肋片可以作为后台阶湍流流动一种简单有效的被动控制方式.     

Two-dimensional electron-hole pair diffusivities in thin GaAs/AlGaAs Quantum Wells

Diffusivities of two-dimensional electron-hole pairs in thin GaAs/AlGaAs Quantum Wells (QWs) are studied experimentally and theoretically as functions of temperature and well-width. With growing well-widths, increasing diffusivities are observed for fixed Al-contents. Experimental diffusivities for the lateral carrier motion in continuously as well as in interrupted-grown thin QWs of different barrier Al-content are presented for T>150 K. Increasing diffusivities are observed for rising temperatures in the range T190 K. A comparison of the experimental data and results of theoretical model calculations indicates that the increase is partly related to thermal dissociation of excitons into free carrier pairs. The effective diffusivity of this two-component system is calculated using a system of rate equations and considering acoustic-deformation-potential scattering, polar-optical scattering and barrier-alloy-disorder scattering.The experimental data were obtained at: 4. Physikalisches Institut, Universität Stuttgart, Pfaffenwaldring 57, W-7000 Stuttgart 80, Germany     

Scattering of wavepackets by a flat plate in the vicinity of a turbulent jet

We present an investigation of the acoustic scattering due to the presence of a flat plate in the vicinity of a turbulent subsonic jet. Experiments have been performed to measure changes in the velocity and sound fields for Mach numbers ranging from 0.4 to 0.6, and for distances between the plate and the jet axis ranging from 1 to 2 jet diameters. Results show only very slight changes in the mean flow induced by the plate, and no differences in the velocity fluctuation amplitudes on the jet centreline, suggesting that wave-packet models derived for jets without installation effects may be representative of the installed case, at least for the jet–plate distances considered here. The acoustic results, on the other hand, include a significant increase in the low-frequency sound radiation, and phase opposition between the shielded and unshielded sides of the plate. There is an exponential decay of the scattered sound with increasing jet–plate distance, suggesting that low-frequency radiation is due to the scattering of evanescent hydrodynamic wavepackets in the jet near field. To model this phenomenon, we calculate sound generation from wave-packet sources in two ways: on one hand we use a tailored Green?s function that accounts for the presence of a semi-infinite, rigid flat plate; and, on the other, we solve numerically the Helmholtz equation, with boundary conditions representative of a finite flat plate, using a fast multipole boundary element method. In agreement with the experimental measurements, numerical calculations capture the phase opposition between shielded and unshielded sides, and the scattered sound depends exponentially on the position of the plate. This exponential dependence is related to non-compact effects associated with wavepackets, as compact sources would lead to an algebraic dependence. Acoustic pressure directivities computed for the finite and semi-infinite flat plates agree well where acoustic reflection and diffraction from the trailing edge of the plates are concerned. However, additional diffraction effects associated with the leading and lateral edges of the finite plate, and which take the form of multiple lobes in the directivity, are illustrated by the comparison. As the plate dimensions are increased, i.e. the Helmholtz number is increased, the solution approaches that obtained for the semi-infinite plate.     

Wave-vector filtering effect of the electric-magnetic barrier in HgTe quantum wells

Because of the helicity of electrons in HgTe quantum wells(QWs) with inverted band structures,the electrons cannot be confined by electric barriers since electrons can tunnel the barriers perfectly without backscattering in the HgTe QWs.This behavior is similar to Dirac electrons in graphene.In this paper,we propose a scheme to confine carriers in HgTe QWs using an electric-magnetic barrier.We calculate the transmission of carriers in 2-dimensional HgTe QWs and find that the wave-vector filtering effect of local magnetic fields can confine the carriers.The confining effect will have a potential application in nanodevices based on HgTe QWs.     

NUMERICAL MODELLING OF MEDIAN ROAD TRAFFIC NOISE BARRIERS

Outdoor sound propagation from road traffic is modelled by solving a boundary integral equation formulation of the wave equation using boundary element techniques in two dimensions. In the first model, the source representing a traffic stream can be considered as a coherent line source of sound. The results can then be transformed to derive a pseudo-three dimensional solution to the problem. In the second model the line source is incoherent. For receivers near the ground, the second model predicted significantly higher values of ground attenuation than the first. The first model generally produced better agreement with ground attenuation results obtained using the U.K. traffic noise prediction model. For conditions when a noise barrier was present and the ground was absorbent, the incoherent line source model generally predicted significantly higher values of attenuation than those from the barrier and ground attenuation calculated separately. Over a range of receiver positions and barrier heights a similar, but less marked effect was observed when the coherent line source model was used. On dual carriageway roads, it is possible to incorporate barriers on the central reservation as a noise control measure. These are “median” noise barriers. The incoherent line source model is used to assess the performance of median barriers in reducing noise when installed alone and also with associated roadside barriers. A sound absorbent median noise barrier 1m in height produced consistent values of insertion loss of between 1 and 2dB over the range of receiver positions and ground conditions considered. When the median barrier was used in conjunction with a roadside barrier it produced a consistent improvement in insertion loss of between 1 and 2 dB over the range of conditions considered.     

水下涡流场前向声散射特性分析

研究水下涡声散射特性,在目标探测和流场声成像领域具有重要意义。针对水下低马赫数涡流场前向声散射建立了数值计算方法,探究了其形态函数和指向性。首先,基于摄动声学理论给出了考虑流声耦合作用的涡声散射模型,采用时域有限差分结合完美匹配层构建了数值求解方法;随后,在算法验证的基础上,预报分析了高斯涡涡核尺寸在1~10 m,同时入射平面波无量纲波数在1~10范围内,涡流场强度对前向声散射特性的影响。结果表明,低马赫数下,声散射场具有对称性,且有明显的主瓣和指向性。其前向散射形态函数随入射波波数、涡核尺寸、涡流场强度增加而增大;主瓣方位角随波数增加而趋近入射波传播方向。      

Effects of mesoscale eddies on the spatial coherence of a middle range sound field in deep water

Mesoscale eddies have a remarkable influence on the underwater sound field. Many previous studies have investigated the effects of eddies on transmission loss, the convergence zone, time delay, etc. However, the effects of eddies on spatial coherence are less well studied and remain unclear. In this paper, the effects of eddies on spatial coherence at the subsurface in deep water are investigated. The eddy environments are simulated with Gaussian eddy equations, the complex pressure field is obtained using a range-dependent parabolic equation model and the associated mechanism is analyzed based on ray theory and models. The results show that cold/warm mesoscale eddies affect spatial coherence in a high-intensity zone by changing the locations and width of the convergence zone. In the shadow zone, the horizontal correlation radius and the vertical correlation radius increase with range and decrease with depth, and they are increased by warm eddies and decreased by cold eddies, mainly caused by variation of the multipath structure.     

Sound propagation in railway line cuttings

Sound propagation in and around railway line cuttings is in many cases dominated by multiple reflections between train body and cutting wall or between the cutting walls. Typical situations were examined by a large number of scale model experiments. Based on these results a simple empirical calculation scheme was deduced to estimate sound fields in the surroundings of railway line cuttings. The basic idea is to compose the sound field from three parts: the direct sound from the wheels, first order specular reflections and a diffuse sound portion that is emitted from the upper edges of the train body. The scheme can easily be incorporated into existing railway noise models.