Turbulence and heat excited noise sources in single and coaxial jets

The generation of noise in subsonic high Reynolds number single and coaxial turbulent jets is analyzed by a hybrid method. The computational approach is based on large-eddy simulations (LES) and solutions of the acoustic perturbation equations (APE). The method is used to investigate the acoustic fields of one isothermal single stream jet at a Mach number 0.9 and a Reynolds number 400,000 based on the nozzle diameter and two coaxial jets whose Mach number and Reynolds number based on the secondary jet match the values of the single jet. One coaxial jet configuration possesses a cold primary flow, whereas the other configuration has a hot primary jet. Thus, the configurations allow in a first step the analysis of the relationship of the flow and acoustic fields of a single and a cold coaxial jet and in a second step the investigation of the differences of the fluid mechanics and aeroacoustics of cold and hot coaxial jets. For the isothermal single jet the present hybrid acoustic computation shows convincing agreement with the direct acoustic simulation based on large-eddy simulations. The analysis of the acoustic field of the coaxial jets focuses on two noise sources, the Lamb vector fluctuations and the entropy sources of the APE equations. The power spectral density (PSD) distributions evidence the Lamb vector fluctuations to represent the major acoustic sources of the isothermal jet. Especially the typical downstream and sideline acoustic generations occur on a cone-like surface being wrapped around the end of the potential core. Furthermore, when the coaxial jet possesses a hot primary jet, the acoustic core being characterized by the entropy source terms increases the low frequency acoustics by up to 5 dB, i.e., the sideline acoustics is enhanced by the pronounced temperature gradient.     

Flow field and acoustic properties of a Mach number 0·9 jet at a low Reynolds number

An experimental study of the flow field and acoustic properties of a low Reynolds number (Re ? 3600), M = 0·9 jet has been performed in our low pressure anechoic test chamber. The mean flow field was surveyed with a conventional Pitot pressure probe and flow fluctuations were detected with a normal hot wire probe. Also, condenser microphone measurements were made in the acoustic field. The major goal of the study was to develop a better understanding of the noise generation mechanisms of subsonic jets. The flow fluctuations within the jet were found to be dominated initially by a relatively discrete, large-scale, wave-like instability centered around a Strouhal number of 0·44. The axial wavelength of this instability was determined to be 1·45 jet diameters and its azimuthal character includes the n = 0 and n = ± 1 modes. The growth of this instability coupled with its non-linear breakdown are major contributors to the termination of the potential core region of the jet. The acoustic field of the jet, in contrast to the flow field, has a broad frequency spectrum with a peak amplitude near a Strouhal number of St = 0·2. The results indicate that a non-linear mechanism involving the large scale flow instability is responsible for a dominant portion of the noise generated from this jet.     

Noise generation by instabilities in low Reynolds number supersonic jets

An experimental investigation of noise generation by instabilities in low Reynolds number supersonic air jets has been performed. Sound pressure levels, spectra and acoustic phase fronts were measured with a traversing condenser microphone in the acoustic field of axisymmetric, perfectly expanded, cold jets of Mach numbers 1·4, 2·1 and 2·5. Low Reynolds numbers in the range from Re = 3700 to Re = 8700 were obtained by exhausting the jets into an anechoic vacuum chamber test facility. This contrasts with Reynolds numbers of over 10⁶ for similar jets exhausting into atmospheric pressure. The flow fluctuations of the instability in all three jets have been measured with a hot-wire and the results are documented in a previous paper by Morrison and McLaughlin. Acoustic measurements show that the major portion of the sound radiated by all three jets is produced by the instability's rapid growth and decay that occurs near the end of the potential core. This takes place over a relatively short distance (less than two wavelengths of the instability) in the jet. In the lower two Mach number jets the instability has a phase velocity less than the ambient acoustic velocity. In the Mach number 2·5 jet the instability phase speed is 1·11 times the ambient acoustic velocity. In this case the acoustic phase fronts indicate the possibility of a Mach wave component. It was also determined that low level excitation at the dominant frequency of the instability actually decreased the radiated noise by suppressing the broad band component.     

In-flight simulation experiments on turbulent jet mixing noise

The effects of aircraft forward motion on pure turbulent mixing noise from unheated jets have been examined experimentally in the in-flight simulation mode. Both acoustic and flow characteristics were determined by testing model-scale nozzles in an anechoic free jet facility and a wind tunnel, respectively. Scaling laws were derived from each set of experiments and found to be complementary. The implications are discussed in detail. In particular, it is shown that the measured reduction in noise at 90° to the jet axis is a pure source alteration effect.     

An experimental study of the influence of outflow conditions on the acoustomechanic efficiency of a turbulent jet

The acoustomechanic efficiency of a turbulent jet is determined as the ratio of acoustic radiation power to the kinetic energy flux of the jet. According to the Lighthill acoustic analogy, the acoustomechanic efficiency of axially symmetric jets is proportional to the fifth power of the Mach number. In this paper, on the basis of an experimental study and an analysis of published data, the influence of various factors that can affect the structure of a jet and, consequently, its acoustomechanic efficiency is investigated. In particular, the influence of water injection on the reduction of the jet noise is analyzed. The results of analyzing experimental data show that a systematic deviation from the relation between acoustic and mechanical jet energies obtained from the Lighthill acoustic analogy arises in the case of the outflow of low-velocity jets of low density and with the development of longitudinal vorticity in the flow.     

Numerical visualization of vortex flow behavior in square jets in cross-flow

Direct numerical simulations have been performed in this study to visualize the flow behavior of single and multiple square jets issuing normally into a cross-flow. Three configurations are considered, a single jet located in the centre of the domain, twin jets in side-by-side (SBS) arrangement in the spanwise direction and triple jets in tandem arrangement with twin jets at the front and a third jet in downstream along the centre line. Simulation uses a jet to cross-flow velocity ratio of 2.5 and the Reynolds number 225, based on the free-stream quantities and the jet width. While the vortical structures predicted from single jet case were in good qualitatively agreement with the findings of other researchers, our results show that the process of merging between two counter-rotating vortex pairs (CRVP) in twin jets configurations is strongly dependent on the jet-to-jet edge distance. Further downstream in the far-field, results from the SBS twin jets show a most dominating larger CRVP accompanied with a smaller inner vortex pair. The observations are in good qualitative agreement with the experimental findings in the literature. The resulting flow structures of triple jets in tandem configuration have revealed, for the first time, more complicated flow interactions between individual jets and cross-flow, providing further insights of complex flow physics and its potential engineering applications.     

Acoustic properties of heated twin jets

A thorough experimental study of the noise characteristics of twin jets is presented in this paper. Twin round jets are investigated at typical jet engine conditions: that is, with heated high velocity flow. By varying the nozzle to nozzle spacing, it is possible to discriminate between the effects of turbulent mixing and acoustic shielding. As a result of this investigation, it was established that the turbulent mixing effects (both interaction noise generation and mixing suppression) occur for closely spaced nozzles. While acoustic shielding occurs at all nozzle spacings, it plays the dominant role at wide nozzle spacings. The levels of this acoustic shielding afforded by an adjacent jet can be sufficient to cause a nearly complete masking of the noise of the shielded jet. A significant discovery of this investigation was the importance of the layer of cooler, slower moving ambient air that exists between the twin jet plumes. This inter-jet layer causes acoustic refraction and reflection, and as the nozzle separation increases, the layer extends to shield more of the jet noise sources.     

A numerical study of rotation effects on jets effusing from inclined holes into a cross-flow

In this work, the complexity of the flow field arising from the impact of the interaction of coolant jets with a hot cross-flow under rotation conditions was numerically simulated using large eddy simulation with artificial inflow boundary condition. The finite-volume method and the unsteady PISO (Pressure Implicit with Splitting of Operators) algorithm were applied on a non-uniform staggered grid. The simulations were performed for four different values of rotation number (Ro) of 0.0, 0.03021, 0.06042, and 0.12084, a jet Reynolds number of 4700, based on the hole width and the jet exit velocity. The air jet was injected at 30° and 90° in the streamwise direction with a density ratio of 1.04 and a velocity ratio of 0.5. The flow fields of the present study were compared with experimental data in order to validate the reliability of the LES technique. It was shown that the rotation has a strong impact on the jet trajectory behaviour and the film cooling effectiveness. The film trajectory always inclines centrifugally. Under rotating conditions, the film trajectory departs from the centreline to the left boundary. The deflection becomes greater as Ro increases. Furthermore, it was also found that the injection angle has a strong impact on separation and reattachment behaviour as well as the strength of the penetration into the cross-flow. As it increases, the distribution of the film cooling downstream the jet exit is more non-uniform and the film cooling effectiveness level slightly decreases.     

The effect of forward flight on the noise and flow field of inverted profile jets

Noise and flow field measurements are reported for an inverted profile coannular jet (where the annular jet speed exceeds the center jet speed) under simulated flight conditions. The annular and center jets were cold and both were operated subsonically. Forward flight was simulated by placing the coannular jet inside a larger open jet. Acoustic measurements show the effects of inverted profile shape and simulated flight on far field directivity, total radiated power, and spectral content. Measurements of total acoustic power demonstrate that the acoustic efficiency of inverted profile jets is about 3 dB less than the efficiency of “top hat” profile jets, and that the noise decreases as the seventh power of the relative jet velocity in the limit of small flight velocity, U_f. Flow measurements demonstrate that the jet spreading parameter λ = (U_j ? U_f)/(U_j + U_f) scales the thickness of the outer shear layer and the passage frequencies of the large turbulence scales. Comparisons between the turbulence time scales and the noise spectra suggest that coherent noise sources may become more important in forward flight.     

Acoustic characteristics of interacting supersonic jets

This study was intended primarily to reveal more information about the noise producing mechanisms of supersonic jets. Two identical, small, cold air, supersonic, overexpanded jets were tested at selected angles, varying from parallel to 90 degrees intersecting, and at various distances apart. Schlieren photographs of the jet structure and far field sound data were obtained. Close spacing of the parallel jets caused acoustic attenuation, which reached a maximum at one diameter centerline spacing, where the sound of two jets nearly equals that of a single jet. In every case the intersecting jets merged into a single supersonic jet.The overall sound power level of intersecting jets is generally higher than that of two independent jets, because of the turbulent mixing of the two jet flows. A maximum level is reached when the jets intersect at a point near the middle of the flow region containing repetitive shocks. For the parallel jets and intersecting jets at large separation, the sound levels are lower in the plane containing the jet centerlines. For intersecting jets at small separation, however, this shielding effect is reversed.     

Jet noise control using the dielectric barrier discharge plasma actuators

We study experimentally how plasma actuators operating on the basis of surface barrier high-frequency discharge affect jet noise characteristics. The results of investigations of air jets (100?C200 m/s) have demonstrated that the studied plasma actuators have control authority over the noise characteristics of these jets. An actuator??s effect on the jet in the applied configuration is related to acoustic discharge excitation and to a large extent is similar to the well-known Vlasov-Ginevsky effect. It has been shown that jet excitation in the case of St ?? 0.5 using the barrier-discharge plasma actuator leads to broadband amplification of jet sound radiation. The jet excitation in the case of St > 2 leads to broadband noise reduction if the action is sufficiently intensive.     

Investigation of the noise emitting zones of a cold jet via causality correlations

Within the framework of lighthill's acoustic analogy the causality method proposed by Ribner and Siddon is used to identify equivalent noise sources inside a cold jet. An exploration of a few cross-sections shows that a two-dimensional investigation suffices in a first approach for integrating the source function provided the upper frequency limit does not exceed a Strouhal number approximately equal to 0·5. Furthermore the transverse distribution of the source term shows the jet region located on the microphone side to be dominant; the effective diameter of the source region is comparable with that of the nozzle. It is shown that in a direction with an angle of 30° to the jet axis, the “shear noise” is dominant (about 70% of the noise measured in the same frequency range). The noise emanates essentially from the transition region and from layers located between $\text{r}\text{D}\text{= ±0·25}$ and $\text{r}\text{D}\text{= ±0·375}$. This analysis is suitable for frequency range bounded above by St = 0·54. For the direction with an angle of 45° to the jet axis comparable results are obtained in a frequency range also limited at St = 0·54. However, this range contains only 40% of the total acoustic energy. The source region of the “shear noise” (near 70% of the total energy) and that of the “self-noise” remain always in the transition region located at 4–11 D. Radially the main part of the noise originates from the layers located on the microphone side between $\text{r}\text{D}\text{= 0·25}$ and 0·375. For the direction with an angle of 60° to the jet axis the “shear noise” is no longer measurable and the calculated “self-noise” represents only a few percent of the noise measured. For an acoustically excited jet (white noise filtered between St = 0·39 and St = 0·52, 320 Pa at the nozzle) another type of correlation appears which is believed to be related to a coherent structure travelling inside the jet at 0·75 v_j. The study of the source term shows that this structure must be related to noise originating from the nozzle outlet.     

Interaction of two parallel plane jets of different velocities

The interaction of two parallel plane jets of different velocities is studied by flow visualization and PIV measurement to examine the influence of velocity ratio on the development ofjets in the initial region. It is found that the parallel plane jets develop toward the high velocity side and the jet width is reduced with a decrease in the jet velocity ratio. Corresponding to the variation of mean velocity field to the velocity ratio, the magnitudes of turbulence intensities, Reynolds stress and static pressure are weakened in the merging region of the jets and their peak locations of the properties are shifted to the high velocity side. These results indicate that the interaction of two parallel jets is weakened with a decrease in the velocity ratio of the jets.     

Quasi-radial wall jets as a new concept in boundary layer flow control

This work aims to introduce a novel concept of wall jets wherein the flow is radially injected into a medium through a sector of a cylinder, called quasi-radial (QR) wall jets. The results revealed that fluid dynamics of the QR wall jet flow differs from that of conventional wall jets. Indeed, lateral and normal propagations of a conventional three-dimensional wall jet are via shear stresses. While, lateral propagation of a QR wall jet is due to mean lateral component of the velocity field. Moreover, discharged Arrays of conventional three-dimensional wall jets in quiescent air lead to formation of a combined wall jet at large distant from the nozzles, while QR wall jet immediately spread in lateral direction, meet each other and merge together very quickly in a short distance downstream of the jet nozzles. Furthermore, in discharging the conventional jets into an external flow, there is no strong interaction between them as they are moving parallel. While, in QR wall jets the lateral components of the velocity field strongly interact with boundary layer of the external flow and create strong helical vortices acting as vortex generators.     

An experimental study of jet noise part II: Shock associated noise

The characteristics of the sound field of shock-containing under-expanded jet flows are studied by measuring the noise from a convergent nozzle operated over an extensive envelope of supercritical jet operating conditions. The measurements were conducted in an anechoic facility. They are complementary to the turbulent mixing noise experiments (described in Part I) for subsonic and fully-expanded (shock-free) supersonic jets. The overall results from shock-containing jets are compared directly with the corresponding results from shock-free jets, and the effects of nozzle pressure ratio and jet exhaust temperature on broadband shock-associated noise are assessed independently. For a supersonic jet, the regimes of jet operating conditions, observer angles, and frequencies over which the sound field is dominated by shock-associated noise are identified. Finally, the spectral results are compared in a preliminary manner with the spectra predicted by an existing theoretical model, and good agreement is obtained in most cases.     

On the Mach number and temperature dependence of jet noise: Results from a simplified numerical model

Numerical simulations of sound radiation from perturbed round jets are used, firstly to explore the structure of the sound sources and then to carry out a parametric study of the effect of jet Mach number and jet temperature. The simplified model problem includes a steady base jet flow, maintained in the absence of disturbances, superimposed with instability waves that are free to interact nonlinearly. Simulations over a range of subsonic jet Mach numbers show that a nonlinear mechanism dominates over a linear mechanism for low-frequency sound radiation, while for supersonic Mach numbers the linear mechanism is dominant. Additional insight is gained from a frequency-wavenumber analysis, including a transformation in the radial direction. With this decomposition, the acoustic field is located by the arc of a circle in plots of radial against streamwise wavenumber for discrete frequencies. The transformation is applied to both the pressure field, showing the sound directivity, and to selected source terms, showing characteristic directivity patterns for the streamwise and radial quadrupole terms. Decreasing the Mach number leads to a reduction in amplitude of the sources and of the sound radiation. Simulations with broadband forcing show that the qualitative effects of Mach number and jet heating are captured by this approach, which requires less resolution than a direct numerical simulation. A significant increase in the strength of the acoustic radiation for cold jets is observed, which is worthy of further investigation.     

Application of RANS-based method to predict acoustic noise of chevron nozzles

Passive noise control devices for jet flows, such as chevron nozzles, have been studied for a long time due to their large application in turbofan engines. The main purpose of their usage is the reduction of low-frequency noise generation and thus decreasing the noise perceived at the far field. This work is a numerical study of acoustic noise generated by jet flow operating at Mach number 0.9 and Reynolds number 1.38 × 10⁶, considering two chevron nozzle geometries that differ from each other by the penetration angle into the flow. The main aim was to demonstrate that Reynolds averaged Navier Stokes (RANS)-based methods are reliable means to obtain acoustical noise predictions for the industry with a considerably low computational cost. In order to achieve this objective, computational fluid dynamics (CFD) RANS simulations were performed with a cubic k-ɛ model and the acoustic noise spectrum for different angles of radiation was obtained via the Lighthill ray-tracing (LRT) method. The numerical results for the acoustic and flow fields were seen to be in reasonable agreement with the experimental data, suggesting that this methodology can be used as a fast and useful option to predict acoustic noise of jet flows from chevron nozzles.     

Developments in jet noise modelling—theoretical predictions and comparisons with measured data

Spectral information on the sound radiated from turbulent shock-free jets is now available over a wide range of Strouhal numbers, for jet densities ranging from 0·3 to 2 times the ambient density and jet velocities ranging from 0·3 to 2 times the ambient sound speed. In order to account for some of the trends observed, a jet noise model is developed which takes account of acoustic-mean flow interaction. The model is based on a shear flow analogy, for which the governing equation is Lilley's equation, and numerical solutions are obtained for sources representative of turbulent mixing noise. Analytic solutions developed for low- and high-frequency excitation show good agreement with the numerical results. Finally, the model predictions are compared with measurements on hot and isothermal jets.     

Magnetic resonance imaging and pulsed Doppler sonography of poststenotic jets: Correlation between signal void and flow velocity distribution

To correlate the appearance of poststenotic jets on gradient echo images with features of localized Doppler spectra of the jets, we studied an in vitro model of steady flow-through stenoses of 86, 96, and 99% area reduction. As fluids, water and a 40% glycerol solution in water were used. MRI was performed with a 1.5 T whole body imager and gradient echo images were obtained in planes parallel to the direction of flow. Doppler spectra were acquired separately from the MR measurements at 1 cm intervals for a distance of 10 cm downstream from the stenosis. Poststenotic signal void was observed for water and for the 40% glycerol solution only if the mean velocity within the stenosis exceeded a limit of 50–60 cm/sec. On the MR images, the jets could be divided into two segments: A proximal jet segment of uniform width equal to the diameter of the stenosis, followed by a distal jet segment which was characterized by broadening and then dissipating signal void. Except for the 99% stenosis, a high signal intensity core was present within the proximal jet segment. In the proximal jet segment, the Doppler measurements showed a low temporal fluctuation of the maximal flow velocity and only little flow opposite to the main flow direction. In the distal jet segment, the velocity fluctuation and the intensity of reverse flow increased sharply. The high signal intensity core of the jet was associated with a poststenotic zone of constant maximal flow velocity. The results demonstrate a close relationship between characteristic features of poststenotic jets in MRI and pulsed Doppler sonography.     

Digital spectral analysis of the noise from short duration impulsively started jets

Techniques in which a shock tube is used to produce short duration jets are discussed briefly. The method adopted involves using the shock tube as a static reservoir with the jet exhausting through a nozzle originally closed by a diaphragm. Short duration noise samples of a Mach 0·9 air jet are recorded digitally and narrow band and one-third octave spectra are evaluated. Average spectra from a number of samples are presented. Comparison with both digital and analogue spectra from the equivalent continuous jet demonstrates that it is possible to obtain meaningful spectra by averaging short duration samples of impulsively started jets. The technique is therefore suitable for the relatively cheap exploration of the noise field of jets of a wide variety of gases.