Numerical analysis and passive control of a car side window buffeting noise based on Scale-Adaptive Simulation

Flow over an open side window in a car exhibits similar characteristics as the flow over an open cavity. Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) simulation over a cavity was done as a benchmark. The unsteady flow simulation was carried out using Scale Adaptive Simulation (SAS) turbulence model. The benchmark results, frequency and sound pressure levels of feedback and resonance modes, all well matched with the experimental data. Then, with the right rear window, for example, the mechanism of the side window buffeting was investigated. The simulation results show that side window buffeting noise is generated by large scale vortices and in low frequency. Furthermore, buffeting noise characteristics under several patterns of side windows opening were also numerically investigated. As a result, rear window buffeting noise is more severe than that of front window when one window open, and combination pattern of side windows open can reduce buffeting noise. To decrease the interior noise and improve car ride comfort, four suppression measures through adding a side window weather deflector at the A-pillars, constructing a cavity at the B-pillars, combination of the front and rear windows and installing a row of square cylinder deflector at the B-pillars were also studied, respectively. In conclusion, certain noise reduction can be achieved through four passive control methods.     

Airfoil self noise reduction by non-flat plate type trailing edge serrations

This paper represents the results of a preliminary study which aims to reduce the airfoil trailing edge self noise by employing non-flat plate type trailing edge serrations. This configuration offers better structural strength and integrity, as well as a more straightforward manufacturing process compared to the conventional flat plate type serrations. We found that the non-flat plate serration not only reduces the broadband self noise significantly, but also eliminates the high-frequency noise that was observed by others who used flat plate type serration. However, due to the presence of certain bluntness at the sawtooth root, vortex shedding noise in a narrow frequency bandwidth is also produced. This extraneous noise is found to be less significant if a wider-angle serration is used. To increase the effectiveness of the proposed serration geometry a hybrid configuration composed of a non-flat plate type trailing edge serration with woven-wire mesh screen is employed for the reduction of the narrowband vortex shedding noise.     

Numerical study on reduction of the elevated structure noise by surface absorption on plate girders

With the aim to propose a reasonable and effective countermeasure for the elevated structure noise, the sound field radiated by a steel plate girder, which is the main source of the elevated structure noise, have been theoretically analysed. In the present study, steel plate girders are modelled as infinitely long elastic plate strips placed in parallel and numerical examples on the sound field radiated by the steel plate girders are shown. In the analysis of the radiated sound field, the equivalent source method is employed. Effect of the surface absorption on the sound field radiated by the girders is discussed through numerical examples. The results show that the surface absorption is effective for reduction of the radiated sound field, especially in the area that increase of sound pressure due to reflection by adjacent plate girders is observed. Furthermore, to design for reasonable countermeasure, variation of the noise reduction effect due to changing the pattern of surface absorption area on plate girders is classified.     

Prediction of aerodynamic noise reduction by using open-cell metal foam

As the speed of high-speed train (HST) increases continuously, aerodynamic noise has become more remarkable compared with the wheel/rail noise, which affects the inhabited environment along the railway and the riding comfort. This paper preliminarily investigates the feasibility of using open-cell metal foam covering layer to reduce the low Mach number aerodynamic noise generated by the flow around a circular cylinder which is the typical section of pantographs. The aerodynamic noises radiated from the circular cylinder with and without metal foam are calculated. The hybrid method combining two-dimensional large eddy simulation (LES) with Ffowcs Williams–Hawkings (FW–H) equation is employed. The calculated Strouhal number, time-averaged drag coefficient, base pressure and overall sound pressure level agree well with some available experimental data. Then, the influences of metal foam porosity, pore density, thickness of covering layer and the speed of train on the aerodynamic noise and the aerodynamic forces are investigated, and some detailed comparisons of flow field are made. The numerical results indicate that as a passive scheme, the open-cell metal foam with high porosity can modify the flow, adjust the vortex shedding frequency and regularize the wake, leading to a significant reduction of aerodynamic noise. The results are expected to provide useful information for the control of aerodynamic noise using this new material.     

A piezo-based bearing for the active structural acoustic control of rotating machinery

This paper presents an active bearing for reducing the radiated structure borne noise of rotating machinery. This modular bearing uses piezostacks to generate secondary forces in the vibration transmission path of the controlled structure. The bearing is tested on an experimental test bed comprising a rotating shaft, which is mounted in a frame. Noise is radiated by a plate that is attached to the frame. To evaluate different control approaches, a simplified model of the set-up was made. Based on the simulation results, a combination of feedback and repetitive control is implemented, using a force and acceleration measurement. This way, a noise reduction of more than 10 dB is achieved at the most important resonance frequencies of the system below 1 kHz.     

Multimode shunt damping of piezoelectric smart panel for noise reduction

Multimode shunt damping of piezoelectric smart panel is studied for noise reduction. Piezoelectric smart panel is a plate structure on which a piezoelectric patch is attached with an electrical shunt circuit. When an incidence sound is impinged on the panel structure, the structure vibrates and the attached piezoelectric patch produces an electrical energy, which can be effectively dissipated as heat via the electrical shunt circuit. Since the energy dissipation strongly depends on the vibration mode of the panel structure, many patches are required for multiple vibration modes. Instead of using multiple piezoelectric patches, a single piezoelectric patch is used in conjunction with a blocked shunt circuit for multimode shunt damping. Modeling, shunt parameter tuning, and implementation of the blocked shunt circuit along with an acoustic test of the panel are explained. A remarkable reduction of the transmitted noise was achieved for multiple modes of the panel. Since this technology has many merits in terms of compactness, low cost, robustness, and ease of installation, practical applications in many noise problems can be anticipated.     

Flow characteristics of pressure reducing valve with radial slit structure for low noise

Pressure reducing valves are widely used to maintain the pressure of gas reservoirs to specific values. In a normal valve, supply pressure is decompressed with an orifice structure. When compressed air passes through the orifice structure, considerable noise occurs at the downstream side. In this paper, we have developed a radial slit structure that can reduce pressure without noise. The noise is reduced by changing the orifice structure into the radial slit structure. The radial slit structure valve reduces pressure without noise by suppressing the generation of turbulence and shock wave at the downstream. The analysis of the flow in radial slit structure was achieved by CFD2000 software. The flow rate and pressure distribution were simulated and compared with the experimental result. To confirm the generation of shock wave, the flow of orifice and radial slit structure at the downstream was visualized by Schlieren photography method. A shock wave was generated in the orifice structure, but no shock wave was generated in the radial slit structure. Noise reduction efficiency was investigated by the experiment. The experiment apparatus was set up to JIS standards. The experimental results indicated that the noise level decreased by approximately 40 dB in the slit structure. It is confirmed that the radial slit structure has effectiveness for low noise in the pressure reducing flow. And, it is expected that it can be applied to various kinds of industrial fields.     

Noise reduction analysis for a stiffened finite plate

This paper presents an analytical solution for the vibration and acoustic responses of a finite stiffened plate that is covered with decoupling layers and subjected to external excitation. The theory of elasticity is used for the decoupling layer, and the stiffened plate is modeled by the plate theory and Euler–Bernoulli beam equation. Equations are constructed by the boundary conditions at the plate/coating and coating/fluid interfaces. The problem can be solved by the proposed method in this paper. Test verification shows that a good correlation exists between theoretical and test results. Thus, the theoretical study in this paper is correct. Numerical results show that shear waves insignificantly affect the structural vibration level difference (VR) under low frequencies. The noise reduction of the stiffened plate covered with decoupling layers is greatly influenced by the decoupling layer loss factor. A failure region of the vibration level difference is present in the low frequency band of the decoupling layer. Furthermore, the thickness of the decoupling layer significantly affects noise reduction.     

Development of composite plate for compact silencer design

A compact flow-through plate silencer is constructed for low frequency noise control using new reinforced composite plates. The concept comes from the previous theoretical study [L. Huang, Journal of the Acoustical Society of America 119 (2006) 2628–2638] which concerns a clamped supported plate enclosed by rigid cavities. When the grazing incident sound wave comes and induces the plate into the vibration, it will radiate sound and reflect sound. Such sound reflection causes a desirable noise reduction from low to medium frequency with wide broadband. The structural property of the very light plate with high bending stiffness is very crucial element in such plate silencer. In this study, an approach to fabricate new reinforced composite panel with light weight and high flexibility to increase the bending stiffness is developed in order to realize the function of this plate silencer practically. The plate silencer can be constructed in more compact size compared with the previous two-plate silencer with two rectangular cavities and the performance with the stopband of the range from 229 to 618 Hz, in which the transmission loss is higher than 10 dB over the whole frequency band without flow or with flow at the speed of 15 m/s, can be achieved. The experimental data also proves that the non-uniform clamped plates with thinner ends perform very well. To implement the use of such silencer practically in controlling noise at different dominant frequency ranges, a design chart has been established for searching the optimal bending stiffness and corresponding stopband at different geometries.     

Materials for noise reduction in food processing environments

Government standards for noise levels in industrial environments including the food processing industry have led to a program of materials selection for noise reduction. In addition to traditional architectural considerations, the constraints of sanitation and cost were factors. Primary materials systems studied were: (i) metal/polymer composites for impact noise reduction, (ii) polymer film/foam composites for sound absorption and (iii) transparent polymer barrier/enclosures. Of these three material systems, the third appears to be the most effective choice for reducing noise in the canneries.     

Active absorption to reduce the noise transmitted out of an enclosure

This paper investigates the potential of active absorbers for reducing low-frequency noise transmission through an enclosure. Active absorbers are intended to obtain a purely real prescribed impedance at the front face of a porous layer. This is achieved by an active control system which cancels the acoustic pressure at the rear face. The test bench was a simplified enclosure: a rigid-wall cavity coupled to a baffled elastic plate. The modeling of the system was based on an analytical modal approach. The purpose of this simulation was first to calculate the optimal impedance, providing maximal reduction in radiated power, and then to define a sub-optimal strategy for actual absorber production. Two 3-cell configurations were implemented on the test bench. Active control used a multichannel feedforward algorithm. In line with prediction, the absorbers provided a 5.5 dB overall reduction while covering only 2% of the cavity surface.     

Reduction of radiated exterior noise from the flexible vibrating plate of a rectangular enclosure using multi-channel active control

This study attempted to control the radiated exterior noise from a rectangular enclosure in which an internal plate vibrates by acoustic excitation and noise is thus radiated from that plate. Multi-channel active control was applied to reduce the vibration and external radiation of this enclosed plate. A piezoelectric ceramic was used as a distributed actuator for multiple mode control of the vibration and radiated noise in the acoustically excited plate. To maximize the effective control, an approach was proposed for attachment the piezoelectric actuator in the optimal location. The plate and internal acoustic space in the enclosure are coupled with each other. This will change dominant frequency characteristics of the plate and, thus, those of the externally radiated noise. Active noise control was accomplished using an accelerometer attached to the plate and a microphone placed adjacent to that plate as an error sensor under acoustic excitation of sine wave and white noise. It was found that the control of radiated external radiation noise requires a microphone as an error sensor, a sound pressure sensor due to vibration of the plate, differences in the dominant frequency of externally radiated noise, and complex vibration modes of the plate.     

Experimental investigation of metal foam for controlling centrifugal fan noise

This paper presents an experimental investigation on the metal foam for controlling a centrifugal fan noise. Nine samples of metal foam with different types of cells, i.e., open, semi-open and close, are employed to compare their effects on the aerodynamic performance and noise level of the centrifugal fan. Experimental data confirms that the open cell metal foam is the most effective to control the fan noise because it not only significantly suppresses the tonal noise but also attenuates the broadband noise. Moreover, the geometrical parameters of the open cell metal foam, i.e., pores per inch and porosity, are studied to investigate their effects on the aerodynamic performance and noise level of the centrifugal fan.     

Intensity noise reduction in a multiwavelength distributed Bragg reflector fiber laser

Noise reduction in a multiwavelength distributed Bragg reflector fiber laser was demonstrated. A 20 dB reduction of in-phase intensity noise was achieved by using negative feedback to modulate the drive current of the laser pump diode. Strategies for reducing antiphase noise components are discussed.     

船舶典型结构损耗因子试验及应用研究

损耗因子是衡量系统阻尼特性并决定其振动能量耗散能力的重要参数,对船舶水下噪声预报分析具有重要影响。针对船舶结构特点,选取内底板、舱壁板和甲板等典型结构建立试验模型,基于瞬态衰减法,对船舶典型结构损耗因子进行测试,分析、掌握其特性规律。在此基础上,开展船舶典型结构损耗因子水下噪声预报应用研究,结果表明,损耗因子对船舶水下噪声具有较大影响,进行船舶水下噪声预报时需开展相关损耗因子测试。     

阻尼贴片式高速列车车轮振动声辐射试验分析

为了研究辐板不同阻尼贴片装置对高速列车车轮的减振降噪效果,在半消声室内进行标准车轮与阻尼贴片式车轮自由状态下的振动声辐射试验研究,并基于有限元法对车轮模态进行了仿真计算。研究结果表明：施加辐板阻尼贴片后,两种阻尼贴片车轮的固有频率与标准车轮相比变化不大,但对于频率在1600Hz以上各阶模态阻尼比显著增加。径向与轴向激励下的降噪效果均达到10dB(A)以上,可见两种阻尼贴片装置均具有良好的降噪效果。其中在多了0.3mm铝合金薄板的情况下,W2车轮的降噪效果要略优于W1车轮,轴向激励下更加明显。     

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.     

A compound secondary source for active noise radiation control

Based on the analysis of active noise control system with multi-channel monopole secondary sources, a kind of compound secondary source is proposed in this paper. The proposed compound secondary source consists of two closely located monopole sources with their distance much smaller than a wavelength. The characteristics of the compound source are analyzed, and the performances of the active noise control system with the compound secondary sources on the monopole primary sound field and sound radiated by a plate are investigated both numerically and experimentally. It has been found that the proposed compound secondary sources control system can provide higher noise reduction for free field noise radiation control with the same number of control channels. It is shown that the better performance in noise reduction of the compound secondary sources control system is mainly due to the directivity of the secondary sources where the energy radiation pattern of the compound sources is similar to that of the primary sources.     

Evaluation of wheel dampers on an intercity train

Pass-by noise from high-speed trains is one important area that has to be handled in all new train projects. For the new line between Oslo and the Gardemoen Airport which opened in 1998, very stringent requirements were set out regarding external noise. To reach the target it was decided that the train should be equipped with wheel dampers. Two different types of wheel dampers were used on the train; a ring damper was mounted on the wheels of the driven bogies, whilst plate dampers divided into tuned absorber fins were mounted on the wheels of the trailer bogies.During the type testing of the Airport Express Train, additional measurements were performed in order to evaluate the acoustic effect of the plate wheel dampers. Two test series were performed with the same train set; first with the train in standard configuration and secondly with the wheel dampers removed from the second and third bogie. The external noise was measured at 5 and 25 m distance from the centre of the track at speeds ranging from 80 to 200 km/h. The third-octave filtered time histories were analyzed to calculate the effect of the wheel dampers. As expected, there was a significant reduction of 4-6 dB at frequencies above 2000 Hz, but there was also a reduction of 2 dB for frequencies as low as 800 Hz. This reduction was also found in the parts of the time histories when the rail should be dominating. This implies that the wheel dampers also reduce the rail noise. The total rolling noise reduction for the trailer bogie was 3 dB at 200 km/h and 1 dB at 80 km/h. From comparison with TWINS-calculated sound power levels it was estimated that the wheel noise would be reduced by 5 dB and the rail noise would be reduced by 1 dB at 200 km/h.     

不同铺设角度下层合板结构参数对声功率影响*

本文研究了不同纤维铺设角度的层合板结构参数对声功率的影响,从而为层合板的低噪声设计提供理论依据。通过分层有限元理论获得层合板结构动力学响应,基于声辐射模态概念分析不同铺设角度下层合板不同铺设方式、宽厚比和弹性模量比对其声功率影响。结果表明,层合板的铺设角度和宽厚比对复合材料层合板结构的声辐射功率影响较大。首先相同铺设角度的层合板,改变弹性模量比,声功率变化不明显;其次改变不同的铺设角度,宽厚比较小的层合板声功率下降的空间更大,更易于声功率的降低。层合板作为结构件时,从降低声功率角度而言总体上对称铺设结构比单向铺设层合板结构有优势,并且相同铺设角度下,反对称铺设层合板可获得更小的辐射声功率。