Optimisation of ground attenuation for moving sound sources

In an earlier study, Attenborough and Li [Attenborough K, Li, KM. Ground effect for A-weighted noise in the presence of turbulence and refraction. J Acoust Soc Am 102:1997;1013-22] derived a closed form analytical formula to calculate optimum ground parameters for reducing the A-weighted noise due to a stationary point source. This paper extends this earlier study by deriving an expression to calculate the sound field due to a source moving at a constant speed above a ground surface. An A-weighted mean-square sound pressure has been derived that enables one to estimate the sound exposure levels of a moving source. Numerical calculations for a realistic range of speeds show the influence of the source motion on the noise levels. Although the predicted effects on the ground attenuation are moderate, they are significant at a relatively low Mach number. In addition, the sensitivity to the atmospheric turbulence and the geometrical parameters tends to be altered by the source motion. On the other hand, it is demonstrated that the optimum ground parameters are similar for stationary and moving sources.     

Engineering formulas for ground effects on broad-band noise

A simple approximation of ground effect is analyzed for two cases: (1) stationary point source and (2) moving line source (train). The approximation contains three adjustable parameters that are estimated from the exact theory (case 1) and from field measurements (case 2). Finally, the results of computation are used for noise prediction.     

Sound radiation from inflow turbulence in axial flow fans

The sound radiated when inflow turbulence is present in axial flow fans has been investigated. Theoretically, two noise radiating mechanisms can be identified: (i) interaction of turbulence with the rotor potential field results in a quadrupole-type volume source distribution, producing “flow-interaction” noise; (ii) impingement of turbulence on the blades results in a dipole-type (fluctuating force) surface source distribution, producing “fluctuating lift” noise. A theoretical expression for the flow interaction sound power in the upstream radiation field has been developed, in terms of parameters that can be experimentally determined by near field flow measurements involving spatial cross-correlations of the fluctuating axial velocity, with respect to both radial and circumferential position. Both these measurements and radiated sound pressure measurements have been made for eight- and ten-bladed rotors of relatively low tip Mach number (< 0·3). The sound pressure measurements revealed the occurrence of band-spreading of discrete tones at the blade passing frequency and its harmonics, as would be theoretically predicted for quadrupole-type sources here. The theoretical predictions and the measurements, respectively, of the sound power radiated upstream were compared. The results indicated that, for the fans tested, the “fluctuating lift” noise strongly predominated over the “flow-interaction” noise. The observed sound power levels were consistent with levels estimated from the theory.     

Determination of equivalent sound speed profiles for ray tracing in near-ground sound propagation

The determination of appropriate sound speed profiles in the modeling of near-ground propagation using a ray tracing method is investigated using a ray tracing model which is capable of performing axisymmetric calculations of the sound field around an isolated source. Eigenrays are traced using an iterative procedure which integrates the trajectory equations for each ray launched from the source at a specific direction. The calculation of sound energy losses is made by introducing appropriate coefficients to the equations representing the effect of ground and atmospheric absorption and the interaction with the atmospheric turbulence. The model is validated against analytical and numerical predictions of other methodologies for simple cases, as well as against measurements for nonrefractive atmospheric environments. A systematic investigation for near-ground propagation in downward and upward refractive atmosphere is made using experimental data. Guidelines for the suitable simulation of the wind velocity profile are derived by correlating predictions with measurements.     

Sound radiation into air by a point source moving underwater

Based on the discovery that the majority of radiated energy of a stationary sound source in shallow water is into the air at infrasonic frequencies, the sound transmission into air from a point source moving underwater is investigated in this letter. It is found that a moving sound source can radiate more acoustic energy into the air than a stationary one and the amount of energy radiated into the air increases with the speed of the moving source. Simulations show that the sound transmission into air is dominated by the inhomogeneous waves generated by the moving source.     

A moving medium formulation for prediction of propeller noise at incidence

This paper presents a time domain formulation for the sound field radiated by moving bodies in a uniform steady flow with arbitrary orientation. The aim is to provide a formulation for prediction of noise from body so that effects of crossflow on a propeller can be modeled in the time domain. An established theory of noise generation by a moving source is combined with the moving medium Green's function for derivation of the formulation. A formula with Doppler factor is developed because it is more easily interpreted and is more helpful in examining the physic of systems. Based on the technique presented, the source of asymmetry of the sound field can be explained in terms of physics of a moving source. It is shown that the derived formulation can be interpreted as an extension of formulation 1 and 1A of Farassat based on the Ffowcs Williams and Hawkings (FW–H) equation for moving medium problems. Computational results for a stationary monopole and dipole point source in moving medium, a rotating point force in crossflow, a model of helicopter blade at incidence and a propeller case with subsonic tips at incidence verify the formulation.     

Simulation of anisoplanatism of adaptive optical system in inhomogeneous turbulent atmosphere

The goal of this study was to analyse anisoplanatism of adaptive optics under an inhomogeneous turbulent atmosphere over a pupil of finite size. By means of a numerical model with layers of turbulence software was proposed by which point spread function (PSF), optical transfer function (OTF) as well as system isoplanatic angle can be calculated. Atmospheric turbulence was simulated with the aid of a set of moving random phase screens with arbitrary statistics. Both reference and target are assumed to be the point light sources. To simulate atmospheric turbulence we applied the concept of a number of moving random phase screens with Kolmogorov spectrum. In my investigation I used the model of the Shack-Hartmann wave front sensor and the ideal model of a wave front adaptive mirror that is assumed to reproduce a given number of Zernike polynomials without time delays. The designed software allows calculation of instantaneous and average values of phase correction errors at different angles between a reference beacon and target source. Simulations can be made with a broad range of parameters of an adaptive system and atmospheric turbulence. The system of the model allows changing of the control algorithm of phase correction. Both common phase conjugation and weighted phase conjugation algorithm have been tested. This program is capable of calculating the effects of beam diffraction during propagation in the atmosphere.     

Influence of turbulence on train noise

The subject of this paper is the long distance propagation of train noise. The sound exposure level of train noise L_AE was measured. To describe the results of measurements, a semi-analytical model was used. It takes into account the wave-front divergence, air absorption, ground effect, and the turbulence destroying the coherent nature of the ground effect. The model contains three adjustable parameters that must be estimated at the site. To verify the model, we performed measurements of L_AE at the distance D = 450 m from the train track center. The difference between the calculated and measured mean values of L_AE equals 1.3 dB.     

Wind noise measured at the ground surface

Measurements of the wind noise measured at the ground surface outdoors are analyzed using the mirror flow model of anisotropic turbulence by Kraichnan [J. Acoust. Soc. Am. 28(3), 378-390 (1956)]. Predictions of the resulting behavior of the turbulence spectrum with height are developed, as well as predictions of the turbulence-shear interaction pressure at the surface for different wind velocity profiles and microphone mounting geometries are developed. The theoretical results of the behavior of the velocity spectra with height are compared to measurements to demonstrate the applicability of the mirror flow model to outdoor turbulence. The use of a logarithmic wind velocity profile for analysis is tested using meteorological models for wind velocity profiles under different stability conditions. Next, calculations of the turbulence-shear interaction pressure are compared to flush microphone measurements at the surface and microphone measurements with a foam covering flush with the surface. The measurements underneath the thin layers of foam agree closely with the predictions, indicating that the turbulence-shear interaction pressure is the dominant source of wind noise at the surface. The flush microphones measurements are intermittently larger than the predictions which may indicate other contributions not accounted for by the turbulence-shear interaction pressure.     

In situ measurements of surface impedance and absorption coefficients of porous materials using two microphones and ambient noise

An in situ measurement method is proposed for obtaining the normal surface impedance and absorption coefficient of porous materials using two microphones located close to the material without a specific sound source such as a loudspeaker. Ambient environmental noise that does not excite distinct modes in the sound field is employed as the sound source. Measurements of the normal surface impedance of glass wool and rockwool have been made using this method in various sound fields. The repeatability and wide applicability of the method are demonstrated by comparing results of measurements in one room with different noise conditions and in three other environments (corridor, cafeteria and terrace). The assumed diffuse nature of the sound field on the material is validated by using absorption characteristics obtained experimentally at oblique incidence. This method allows simple and efficient in situ measurements of absorption characteristics of materials in a diffuse field.     

Diffraction of sound from a dipole source near to a barrier or an impedance discontinuity

Pierce's formulation for the diffraction of spherical waves by a hard wedge has been extended to the case of the sound field due to a dipole source. The same approach is also used to extend a semiempirical model for sound propagation above an impedance discontinuity due to a dipole source. The resulting formulas have been validated by comparing their numerical solutions with that computed by summing the sound fields due to two closely spaced monopole sources of equal magnitude but opposite in phase. These new formulations are then used to develop a simple model for calculating the dipole sound field diffracted by a barrier above an impedance ground. Applications of these models relate to transportation noise prediction, particularly railway noise abatement, for which dipole sources are commonly used. The numerical predictions have been found to compare reasonably well with indoor measurements using piezoceramic transducers as dipole sources.     

An experimental and theoretical study of the modelling of road traffic noise and its transmission in the urban environment

This paper describes experiments conducted on the modelling of traffic noise using a $\text{1}\text{80th}$ scale model of a subdivision of a city. The emphasis in this study was on the correct evaluation of ground absorption effects. There were essentially four phases to the study. First, the applicability of various scaling law regimes was examined. It was shown that $\text{1}\text{80th}$ scaling using air as a transmission medium was at least a practical choice. The second phase concerned itself with the choice of materials for the model, particularly that which was to simulate the ground. An impedance measuring apparatus was developed and used to test materials. The third part of the work concerned itself with the development of an anechoic enclosure and a sound source to simulate traffic noise; modulated Hartmann whistles were used for this purpose. Finally, a model of part of a residential area of Calgary was built and sound transmission measurements obtained. These results were compared with field measurements. It was shown that good agreement existed between the field and model measurements.     

Noise duration for a single overflight

Overflights in national parks and preserves interfere with communication and sounds of nature. The percentage of time that an aircraft is audible, P, can be used as a noise metric. To calculate P the overflight time for a single aircraft, tau, has to be known. The method of tau calculation is based on the assumption that an aircraft is a point source and the noise propagation is governed by geometrical spreading, air absorption, and refraction. The atmosphere is characterized by the effective sound speed gradient. Analytical formulas for tau are derived for down- and crosswind flights.     

Noise Sources of Aerodynamic Origin in Air Blowers

The paper presents the results of theoretical and experimental studies of the occurrence and locations of aerodynamic noise sources in air blowers related to air flow around stationary and moving elements inside a machine body. These studies were based on basic research by Lighthill and Curle and used a developed method for measuring pressure pulsations on rotating blades and stationary elements of a machine body. The most significant sources of discrete and broadband components of aerodynamic noise were revealed. The role of blades in an impeller in the emission of discrete noise components was studied. It was established that broadband peaks in the emitted noise are associated with acoustic resonances of the internal volume of the air blower. It was shown that the turbulence and velocity of the incoming flow influence the intensity of aerodynamic sources inside the body. Our studies spurred both deeper research into the nature of aerodynamic noise sources that form in air blowers and recommendations for reducing the noise produced by these sources.     

Effects of acoustic source and filtering on time-of-flight measurements

Time-of-flight (TOF) measurements are valuable in the estimation of distances, displacements and velocities of moving objects, phase differences of wave pulses, temperature of the atmosphere, and so on. The effects of sound source on time-of-flight measurements have been investigated in this paper. The sound sources considered are: electric horn, impact noise source, aerodynamic noise from a free jet, and the Hartmann whistle. The focus of the present study is to highlight the advantage of using Hartmann whistle for TOF measurements as this device is simple and attractive, without any moving parts. Time-of-flight of sound waves is calculated by cross-correlating the signals received by two microphones. Further, the effect of signal filtering on TOF measurements is demonstrated. The results indicate that the sound source has considerable effect on TOF measurements, and the accuracy can be significantly enhanced by appropriate signal conditioning. Hartmann whistle proves to be a good candidate as an acoustic source for TOF measurement.     

Effect of randomly varying impedance on the interference of the direct and ground-reflected waves

A randomly varying ground impedance is introduced into the solution for the sound field produced by a point source in a homogeneous atmosphere above a flat ground. The results show that in general the ground with a random impedance cannot be represented by an effective, non-random impedance. The behavior of the solution is studied with a relaxation model for the impedance in which porosity and the static flow resistivity are random variables. Mean values and standard deviations are adopted from measurements of two types of ground surfaces. For both surfaces, the mean intensity of the sound field above a random-impedance ground deviates only slightly from the intensity above a non-random impedance. The normalized standard deviation of intensity fluctuations can, however, be greater than one, thus indicating that for a particular realization of the random impedance, the sound intensity might significantly deviate from the intensity for a non-random impedance.     

The simulation of acoustic radiation from a moving line source with variable speed

The purpose of this work is to simulate and investigate the sound field generated by a moving line source with finite length and variable speed. Expect for the variation of the acoustic pressure at the specific field point, the distribution of the surface pressure along the surface of the line source was also considered. For achieving this purpose, a numerical method which combines the Time Domain Boundary Element Method (TDBEM) and moving sound source theory was developed in the present work. After comparing the results with the constant and the variable speed case, it showed that the effect of the variable speed not only influenced the variation rate of the frequency modulation, i.e., Doppler effect, but also the time about the maximum acoustic pressure being observed. In addition, the simulation results also presented that the difference as to the amplitude variation of the acoustic pressure still existed between the moving case and the stationary case even if the length of the line source is very long.     

Linear time domain model of the acoustic potential field

A new time domain formulation of the acoustic wave is developed to avoid approximating assumptions of the linearized scalar wave equation that limit its validity to low Mach particle velocity modeling or to a smooth potential field in a stationary medium. The proposed model offers precision of the moving frame while retaining the form of the widely used linearized scalar wave equation although with respect to modified coordinates. It is applicable to field calculations involving transient waves with unlimited particle velocity, propagating in inhomogenous fluids or in those with time varying density. The model is based on the exact flux continuity equation and the equation of motion, both using the moving reference frame. The resulting closed-form free space scalar wave equation employing total derivatives is converted back to the partial differential form by using modified independent variables. The modified variables are related to the common coordinates of space and time following integral expressions involving transient particle velocity representing wave radiated by each point of a stationary source. Consequently, transient field produced by complex surface velocity sources can be calculated following existing surface integrals of the radiation theory although using modified coordinates. The use of the proposed model is presented in a numerical simulation of a transient velocity source vibrating at selected magnitudes, leading to the determination of the propagating pressure and velocity wave at any point.     

Sound propagation through vegetation

The propagation of sound through a large number of scatterers (i.e., trees) is treated in a similar way to a classical diffusion problem. A general differential equation governing the sound intensity is derived which is valid under certain conditions, notably that the depth of the belt of vegetation is large, and absorption small. The predictions of this theory are compared with results derived from a small scale model study, and with some field measurements. They are also compared with published field data. The implications of some of the conclusions reached for the practical achievement of effective sound attenuation are pointed out. In general, it would appear that significant noise reductions may be achieved for a predominantly high frequency source if the existing ground cover is acoustically hard, or if there is no “ground effect” attenuation between source and receiver for some other reason. In other cases, the noise reduction will be much lower and may be negative.