An experimental study of jet noise part I: Turbulent mixing noise

The characteristics, both spectral and directivity, of turbulent mixing noise in the far field from subsonic and fully-expanded supersonic jet flows have been studied experimentally over an extensive envelope of jet operating conditions (jet exit velocity and temperature). The measurements were conducted in an anechoic room which provides a free-field environment. The results are presented in a systematic manner, and the observed trends and dependencies are discussed in detail. In particular, the changes in detailed jet noise features with varying velocity and exhaust temperature are assessed independently. Empirical prediction schemes or comparisons with recent theoretical investigations are not attempted here. However, the isothermal jet noise results are compared with those predicted by the freely-convecting quadrupole theories (that is, in the absence of any mean flow shrouding effects). The discrepancies between this model and the measurements, many of which have been recently shown to occur due to the presence of mean velocity and temperature gradients surrounding the sources, are obtained accurately over all jet operating conditions of interest.