“Buzz-saw” noise: Prediction of the rotor-alone pressure field

Public expectations of lower environmental noise levels, and increasingly stringent legislative limits on aircraft noise, result in noise being a critical technical issue in the development of jet engines. Noise at take-off, when the engines are at high-power operating conditions, is a key reference level for engine noise certification. “Buzz-saw” noise is the dominant fan tone noise from modern high-bypass-ratio turbofan aircraft engines during take-off. Rotor-alone tones are the key component of buzz-saw noise. The rotor-alone pressure field is cut-off at subsonic fan tip speeds; buzz-saw noise is associated with supersonic fan tip speeds, or equivalently, high power engine operating conditions. A recent series of papers has described new work concerning the prediction of buzz-saw noise. The prediction method is based on modelling the nonlinear propagation of one-dimensional sawtooth waveforms. A sawtooth waveform is a simplified representation of the rotor-alone pressure field. Previous validation of the prediction method focussed entirely on reproducing the spectral characteristics of buzz-saw noise; this was dictated at that time by the availability of spectral data only for comparison between measurement and prediction. In this paper, full validation of the method by comparing measurement and prediction of the rotor-alone pressure field is published for the first time. It is shown that results from the modelling based on a one-dimensional sawtooth waveform capture the essential features of the rotor-alone pressure field as it propagates upstream inside a hard-walled inlet duct. This verifies that predictions of the buzz-saw noise spectrum, which are in good agreement with the measured data, are based on a model which reproduces the key physics of the noise generation process. Validation results for the rotor-alone pressure field in an acoustically lined inlet duct are also shown. Comparisons of the measured and predicted rotor-alone pressure field are more difficult to interpret because the acoustic lining significantly modifies the sawtooth waveform, but there remains good agreement with the measured spectral data. The buzz-saw noise prediction code used to generate the simulations in this paper has been used by the Rolls–Royce Noise Department since 2004.     

On the prediction of “buzz-saw” noise in acoustically lined aero-engine inlet ducts

Aero-engines operating with supersonic fan tip speeds generate an acoustic signature containing energy spread over a range of harmonics of the engine shaft rotation frequency. These harmonics are commonly known as the “buzz-saw” tones. The pressure signature attached to a supersonic ducted fan will be a sawtooth waveform. The non-linear propagation of a high-amplitude irregular sawtooth upstream inside the inlet duct redistributes the energy amongst the buzz-saw tones. In most modern aero-engines the inlet duct contains an acoustic lining, whose properties will be dependent on the mode number and frequency of the sound, and the speed of the oncoming flow. Such effects may not easily be incorporated into a time-domain approach; hence the non-linear propagation of an irregular sawtooth is calculated in the frequency domain, which enables liner damping to be included in the numerical model. Results are presented comparing noise predictions in hard-walled and acoustically lined inlet ducts. These show the effect of an acoustic liner on the buzz-saw tones. These predictions compare favourably with previous experimental measurements of liner insertion loss (at blade passing frequency), and provide a plausible explanation for the observed reduction in this insertion loss at high fan operating speeds.     

流管实验装置中声传播计算的模态方法

流管实验装置是测量有流动情况下航空发动机消声短舱内声衬声阻抗的主要装置。本文发展了一种解析的模态匹配方法进行在平均流有声衬条件下矩形流管中声传播的计算。用同伦方法求解特征值问题,并与用环绕积分求解的结果进行比较。声场通过轴向阻抗间断面的声压和声质点速度积分相等计算。第一个算例是无流动、硬壁、有限长、考虑端口反射的情况,并与北航流管实验台测量数据进行了对比;第二个算例为有流动情况下有限长声衬管道不考虑端口反射的声场计算,它与文献中NASA流管实验结果和CAA计算结果符合得很好。     

发动机圆形管道内噪声衰减谱模态分析

本文应用模态分析方法建立了剪切流存在条件下,发动机多段声衬圆形管道声传播工程计算模型,对管内各模态频谱和总噪声衰减频谱进行了算例计算,并与有关文献试验数据进行了对比。结果表明,多段声衬圆形管道中声传播工程计算方法是可行的,从而为发动机前短舱管内声传播研究提供了一种模态分析工程预测方法。     

Modal decomposition method for acoustic impedance testing in square ducts

Accurate duct acoustic propagation models are required to predict and reduce aircraft engine noise. These models ultimately rely on measurements of the acoustic impedance to characterize candidate engine nacelle liners. This research effort increases the frequency range of normal-incidence acoustic impedance testing in square ducts by extending the standard two-microphone method (TMM), which is limited to plane wave propagation, to include higher-order modes. The modal decomposition method (MDM) presented includes four normal modes in the model of the sound field, thus increasing the bandwidth from 6.7 to 13.5 kHz for a 25.4 mm square waveguide. The MDM characterizes the test specimen for normal- and oblique-incident acoustic impedance and mode scattering coefficients. The MDM is first formulated and then applied to the measurement of the reflection coefficient matrix for a ceramic tubular specimen. The experimental results are consistent with results from the TMM for the same specimen to within the 95% confidence intervals for the TMM. The MDM results show a series of resonances for the ceramic tubular material exhibiting a monotonic decrease in the resonant peaks of the acoustic resistance with increasing frequency, resembling a rigidly-terminated viscous tube, and also evidence of mode scattering is visible at the higher frequencies.     

Random particle methods applied to broadband fan interaction noise

Predicting broadband fan noise is key to reduce noise emissions from aircraft and wind turbines. Complete CFD simulations of broadband fan noise generation remain too expensive to be used routinely for engineering design. A more efficient approach consists in synthesizing a turbulent velocity field that captures the main features of the exact solution. This synthetic turbulence is then used in a noise source model. This paper concentrates on predicting broadband fan noise interaction (also called leading edge noise) and demonstrates that a random particle mesh method (RPM) is well suited for simulating this source mechanism. The linearized Euler equations are used to describe sound generation and propagation. In this work, the definition of the filter kernel is generalized to include non-Gaussian filters that can directly follow more realistic energy spectra such as the ones developed by Liepmann and von Kármán. The velocity correlation and energy spectrum of the turbulence are found to be well captured by the RPM. The acoustic predictions are successfully validated against Amiet’s analytical solution for a flat plate in a turbulent stream. A standard Langevin equation is used to model temporal decorrelation, but the presence of numerical issues leads to the introduction and validation of a second-order Langevin model.     

Sound source in the presence of wall shear layers

Numerical solution techniques for evaluating the acoustic field generated by a single line source located inside or outside a wall shear layer of an infinitely long lined rectangular duct are presented. A formula for calculating wave attenuation due to an acoustic lining is given.     

Comparison of measured broadband noise attenuation spectra from circular flow ducts and from lined engine intakes with predictions

Sound propagation in lined circular ducts is investigated in the presence of uniform and sheared flow. The modal solutions are obtained by solving an eigenvalue equation which, in the case of sheared flow, is derived by using finite differences and by matching the pressure and the radial component of the particle velocity at the interface of the regions of uniform and sheared flow. For the uniform flow region, standard Bessel function solutions are used. The attenuation of acoustic energy at a given frequency and for a given liner length is computed on the assumption that at the inlet to the lined duct, the acoustic energy is equally distributed among the propagating modes. The total number of propagating modes is determined from the hard wall “cut off” condition. The failure to find some of the modal solutions on the attenuation computed in this way is discussed. It is shown that the reliability of this method of computing liner attenuation depends on the ability to successfully compute most of the modal solutions over a large range of frequencies, flow conditions and duct wall impedance values. A numerical technique is developed which uses a fraction of the total number of solutions to compute the total attenuations without appreciable loss of accuracy. Measured attenuation spectra from a flow duct facility and from lined intake ducts of the RB.211 engine are compared with predictions. In general very good agreement between predictions and measurements is obtained.     

Computational aero-acoustics for fan duct propagation and radiation. Current status and application to turbofan liner optimisation

Novel techniques are presented to reduce noise from turbofan aircraft engines by optimising the acoustic treatment in engine ducts. The application of Computational Aero-Acoustics (CAA) to predict acoustic propagation and absorption in turbofan ducts is reviewed and a critical assessment of performance indicates that validated and accurate techniques are now available for realistic engine predictions. A procedure for integrating CAA methods with state of the art optimisation techniques is proposed in the remainder of the article. This is achieved by embedding advanced computational methods for noise prediction within automated and semi-automated optimisation schemes. Two different strategies are described and applied to realistic nacelle geometries and fan sources to demonstrate the feasibility of this approach for industry scale problems.     

Failure of the Ingard-Myers boundary condition for a lined duct: an experimental investigation

This paper deals with experimental investigation of the lined wall boundary condition in flow duct applications such as aircraft engine systems or automobile mufflers. A first experiment, based on a microphone array located in the liner test section, is carried out in order to extract the axial wavenumbers with the help of an "high-accurate" singular value decomposition Prony-like algorithm. The experimental axial wavenumbers are then used to provide the lined wall impedance for both downstream and upstream acoustic propagation by means of a straightforward impedance education method involving the classical Ingard-Myers boundary condition. The results show that the Ingard-Myers boundary condition fails to predict with accuracy the acoustic behavior in a lined duct with flow. An effective lined wall impedance, valid whatever the direction of acoustic propagation, can be suitably found from experimental axial wavenumbers and a modified version of the Ingard-Myers condition with the form inspired from a previous theoretical study [Aure?gan et al., J. Acoust. Soc. Am. 109, 59-64 (2001)]. In a second experiment, the scattering matrix of the liner test section is measured and is then compared to the predicted scattering matrix using the multimodal approach and the lined wall impedances previously deduced. A large discrepancy is observed between the measured and the predicted scattering coefficients that confirms the poor accuracy provided from the Ingard-Myers boundary condition widely used in lined duct applications.     

Noise simulation of aircraft engine fans by the boundary element method

Numerical simulation results of the civil aircraft engine fan stage noise in the far field are presented. Non-steady-state rotor–stator interaction is calculated the commercial software that solves the Navier–Stokes equations using differentturbulence models. Noise propagation to the far acoustic field is calculated by the boundary element method using acoustic Lighthill analogies without taking into account the mean current in the air inlet duct. The calculated sound pressure levels at points 50 m from the engine are presented, and the directional patterns of the acoustic radiation are shown. The use of the eddy resolving turbulence model to calculate rotor–stator interaction increases the accuracy in predicting fan stage noise.     

An improved multimodal method for sound propagation in nonuniform lined ducts

An efficient method is proposed for modeling time harmonic acoustic propagation in a nonuniform lined duct without flow. The lining impedance is axially segmented uniform, but varies circumferentially. The sound pressure is expanded in term of rigid duct modes and an additional function that carries the information about the impedance boundary. The rigid duct modes and the additional function are known a priori so that calculations of the true liner modes, which are difficult, are avoided. By matching the pressure and axial velocity at the interface between different uniform segments, scattering matrices are obtained for each individual segment; these are then combined to construct a global scattering matrix for multiple segments. The present method is an improvement of the multimodal propagation method, developed in a previous paper [Bi et al., J. Sound Vib. 289, 1091-1111 (2006)]. The radial rate of convergence is improved from O(n(-2)), where n is the radial mode indices, to O(n(-4)). It is numerically shown that using the present method, acoustic propagation in the nonuniform lined intake of an aeroengine can be calculated by a personal computer for dimensionless frequency K up to 80, approaching the third blade passing frequency of turbofan noise.     

Broadband noise reduction by circular multi-cavity mufflers operating in multimodal propagation conditions

In this study, sound propagation through a circular duct with non-locally lining is investigated both numerically and experimentally. The liner concept is based on perforated screens backed by air cavities. Dimensions of the cavity are chosen to be of the order or bigger than the wavelength so acoustic waves within the liner can propagate parallel to the duct surface. This gives rise to complex scattering mechanisms among duct modes which renders the muffler more effective over a broader frequency range. This work emanates from the Cleansky European HEXENOR project which aim is to identify the best multi-cavity muffler configuration for reduction of exhaust noise from helicopter turboshaft engines. Here, design parameters are the cavity dimensions in both longitudinal and azimuthal directions. The best cavity configuration must in addition fit weight specifications which implies that the number of walls separating each cavity should be chosen as small as possible. To achieve these objectives, the scattering matrix of the lined duct section is obtained experimentally for two specific muffler configurations operating in multimodal propagation conditions. The good agreement with numerical predictions serves to validate the perforate plate impedance model used in our calculation. Finally, given an incident acoustic pressure which is representative of typical combustion noise spectrum, the best cavity configuration achieving the maximum overall acoustic Transmission Loss is selected numerically. The study also illustrates how the acoustic performances are dependent on the nature of the incident field.     

Bulk reaction modeling of ducts with and without mean flow

A general formulation for analysis of sound field in a uniform flow duct lined with bulk-reacting sound-absorbing material is presented here. Presented theoretical model predicts the rate of attenuation for symmetric as well as asymmetric modes in rectangular duct lined with loosely bound (bulk-reacting) sound-absorbing material, which allows acoustic propagation through the lining. The nature of attenuation in rectangular ducts lined on two and four sides with and without mean flow is discussed. Computed results are compared with published theoretical and experimental results. The presented model can be used as guidelines for the acoustic design of silencers, air-conditioning ducts, industrial fans, and other similar applications.     

Inverse method predicting spinning modes radiated by a ducted fan from free-field measurements

In the study the inverse problem of deducing the modal structure of the acoustic field generated by a ducted turbofan is addressed using conventional farfield directivity measurements. The final objective is to make input data available for predicting noise radiation in other configurations that would not have been tested. The present paper is devoted to the analytical part of that study. The proposed method is based on the equations governing ducted sound propagation and free-field radiation. It leads to fast computations checked on Rolls-Royce tests made in the framework of previous European projects. Results seem to be reliable although the system of equations to be solved is generally underdetermined (more propagating modes than acoustic measurements). A limited number of modes are thus selected according to any a priori knowledge of the sources. A first guess of the source amplitudes is obtained by adjusting the calculated maximum of radiation of each mode to the measured sound pressure level at the same angle. A least squares fitting gives the final solution. A simple correction can be made to take account of the mean flow velocity inside the nacelle which shifts the directivity patterns. It consists of modifying the actual frequency to keep the cut-off ratios unchanged.     

Numerical simulation of the nonlinear ultrasonic pressure wave propagation in a cavitating bubbly liquid inside a sonochemical reactor

We investigate the acoustic wave propagation in bubbly liquid inside a pilot sonochemical reactor which aims to produce antibacterial medical textile fabrics by coating the textile with ZnO or CuO nanoparticles. Computational models on acoustic propagation are developed in order to aid the design procedures. The acoustic pressure wave propagation in the sonoreactor is simulated by solving the Helmholtz equation using a meshless numerical method. The paper implements both the state-of-the-art linear model and a nonlinear wave propagation model recently introduced by Louisnard (2012), and presents a novel iterative solution procedure for the nonlinear propagation model which can be implemented using any numerical method and/or programming tool. Comparative results regarding both the linear and the nonlinear wave propagation are shown. Effects of bubble size distribution and bubble volume fraction on the acoustic wave propagation are discussed in detail. The simulations demonstrate that the nonlinear model successfully captures the realistic spatial distribution of the cavitation zones and the associated acoustic pressure amplitudes.     

Analysis of liner performance using the NASA Langley Research Center Curved Duct Test Rig

The NASA Langley Research Center Curved Duct Test Rig (CDTR) is designed to test aircraft engine nacelle liner samples in an environment approximating that of the engine on a scale that approaches the full scale dimensions of the aft bypass duct. The modal content of the sound in the duct can be determined and the modal content of the sound incident on the liner test section can be controlled. The effect of flow speed, up to Mach 0.5 in the test section, can be investigated. The results reported in this paper come from a study to evaluate the effect of duct configuration on the acoustic performance of single degree of freedom (SDOF) perforate-over-honeycomb liners. Variations of duct configuration include: asymmetric (liner on one side and hard wall opposite) and symmetric (liner on both sides) wall treatment; inlet and exhaust orientation, in which the sound propagates either against or with the flow; and straight and curved (outlet is offset from the inlet by one duct width) flow path. The effect that duct configuration has on the overall acoustic performance is quantified. The redistribution of incident mode content is shown, in particular the mode scatter effect that liner symmetry has on symmetric and asymmetric incident mode shapes. The Curved Duct Test Rig is shown to be a valuable tool for the evaluation of acoustic liner concepts.     

Time-domain characterization of the acoustic damping of a perforated liner with bias flow

Combustion instabilities are caused by the interaction of unsteady heat releases and acoustic waves. To mitigate combustion instabilities, perforated liners, typically subjected to a low Mach number bias flow (a cooling flow through perforated holes), are fitted along the bounding walls of a combustor. They dissipate the acoustic waves by generating vorticity at the rims of perforated apertures. To investigate the absorption of plane waves by a perforated liner with bias flow, a time-domain numerical model of a cylindrical lined duct is developed. The liners' damping mechanism is characterized by using a time-domain "compliance." The development of such time-domain compliance is based on simplified or unsimplified Rayleigh conductivity. Numerical simulations of two different configurations of lined duct systems are performed by combining a 1D acoustic wave model with the compliance model. Comparison is then made between the results from the present models, and those from the experiment and the frequency-domain model of previous investigation [Eldredge and Dowling, J. Fluid Mech. 485, 307-335(2003)]. Good agreement is observed. This confirms that the present model can be used to simulate the propagation and dissipation of acoustic plane waves in a lined duct in real-time.     

内部体积源作用下的圆柱壳内外声场特性

圆柱壳内各型体积源辐射噪声特性研究是声场建模和声场预报的前提.为了研究具有指向性的大尺度体积源特性对水下航行器结构内外声场的影响,本文结合薄壳理论、等效源和柱腔Green函数构造了体积源激励下的壳体振动耦合方程,研究了体积源表面声散射作用和指向性强弱对圆柱壳内外声场的影响.数值计算结果表明,体积源构造的准确性与其等效源位置有关,等效源配置在体积源几何中心与其结构表面之间0.4—0.6时,可以提高声场计算结果的准确性;大尺度体积源表面的声散射作用会导致壳体内部声场结构发生改变,内声场声腔共振峰发生偏移,并且在部分频段引起较强的声透射现象;此外,体积源指向性变化对壳体内外声场强弱影响较小,其显著作用表现在改变了外辐射声场的远场指向性.该研究结果对噪声预报和控制有一定的参考价值.     

船尾伴流场-导管-螺旋桨互作用噪声预报研究

研究了导管螺旋桨低频离散谱噪声辐射机理和预报方法。依据线性声学原理,导管螺旋桨噪声场为螺旋桨直接辐射噪声与导管散射噪声之和,并利用速度势面元法分析流场,得到导管螺旋桨非定常力,将其作为FW-H方程的源项,求解得到螺旋桨直接辐射声。导管散射声通过Kirchoff积分方程求解获得。由于导管桨的导管是短导管,其算例分析计算表明,低频情况下导管散射声级远小于螺旋桨直接辐射声级。并将导管螺旋桨离散谱噪声级与测量所得的实桨离散谱噪声级进行了比较,证实导管螺旋桨离散谱噪声理论预报结果能够较合理的反映实桨离散谱噪声的量值。