Search NASA⌕ Search

SEARCH · Search NASA

Results for “nonlinear acoustics”

Search indexed NASA NTRS and DOE OSTI research on propulsion, heat transfer, battery materials and energy systems. Follow report and document links to the original sources.

Quote a phrase for an exact phrase match. Source license links do not imply unrestricted reuse.

At least 109 records · Page 6

A model for the pressure excitation spectrum and acoustic impedance of sound absorbers in the presence of grazing flow

The acoustic impedance of sound absorbers in the presence of grazing flow is essential information when analyzing sound propagation within ducts. A unification of the theory of the nonlinear acoustic resistance of Helmholtz resonators including grazing flow is presented. The nonlinear resistance due to grazing flow is considered to be caused by an exciting pressure spectrum produced by the interaction of the grazing flow and the jets flowing from the resonator orifices. With this exciting pressure spectrum the resonator can be treated in the same manner as a resonator without grazing flow but with an exciting acoustic spectrum.

Rice, E. J.↗

Time dependent inflow-outflow boundary conditions for 2D acoustic systems

An analysis of the number and form of the required inflow-outflow boundary conditions for the full two-dimensional time-dependent nonlinear acoustic system in subsonic mean flow is performed. The explicit predictor-corrector method of MacCormack (1969) is used. The methodology is tested on both uniform and sheared mean flows with plane and nonplanar sources. Results show that the acoustic system requires three physical boundary conditions on the inflow and one on the outflow boundary. The most natural choice for the inflow boundary conditions is judged to be a specification of the vorticity, the normal acoustic impedance, and a pressure gradient-density gradient relationship normal to the boundary. Specification of the acoustic pressure at the outflow boundary along with these inflow boundary conditions is found to give consistent reliable results. A set of boundary conditions developed earlier, which were intended to be nonreflecting is tested using the current method and is shown to yield unstable results for nonplanar acoustic waves.

Watson, Willie R.↗

Interaction of the sonic boom with atmospheric turbulence

Theoretical research has been carried out to study the effect of free-stream turbulence on sonic boom pressure fields. A new transonic small-disturbance model to analyze the interactions of random disturbances with a weak shock has been developed. The model equation has an extended form of the classic small-disturbance equation for unsteady transonic aerodynamics. An alternative approach shows that the pressure field may be described by an equation that has an extended form of the classic nonlinear acoustics equation that describes the propagation of sound beams with narrow angular spectrum. The model shows that diffraction effects, nonlinear steepening effects, focusing and caustic effects and random induced vorticity fluctuations interact simultaneously to determine the development of the shock wave in space and time and the pressure field behind it. A finite-difference algorithm to solve the mixed-type elliptic-hyperbolic flows around the shock wave has also been developed. Numerical calculations of shock wave interactions with various deterministic and random fluctuations will be presented in a future report.

Rusak, Z.↗

Interaction of the sonic boom with atmospheric turbulence

Theoretical research was carried out to study the effect of free-stream turbulence on sonic boom pressure fields. A new transonic small-disturbance model to analyze the interactions of random disturbances with a weak shock was developed. The model equation has an extended form of the classic small-disturbance equation for unsteady transonic aerodynamics. An alternative approach shows that the pressure field may be described by an equation that has an extended form of the classic nonlinear acoustics equation that describes the propagation of sound beams with narrow angular spectrum. The model shows that diffraction effects, nonlinear steepening effects, focusing and caustic effects and random induced vorticity fluctuations interact simultaneously to determine the development of the shock wave in space and time and the pressure field behind it. A finite-difference algorithm to solve the mixed type elliptic-hyperbolic flows around the shock wave was also developed. Numerical calculations of shock wave interactions with various deterministic and random fluctuations will be presented in a future report.

Rusak, Zvi↗

Assessment of shock capturing schemes for resonant flows in nonlinear instability analysis

The paper presents computational assessment of advanced numerical schemes for nonlinear acoustic problems related to combustion instabilities in liquid rocket engines. Several time-accurate, shock capturing schemes have been evaluated on a benchmark, closed-end resonant pipe flow problem. It involves the numerical solution of inviscid, compressible gas dynamics equations to predict acoustic wave propagation, wave steepening, formation of shocks, acoustic energy dissipation and wave-wall reflection for several hundred wave cycles. It was demonstrated that high accuracy TVD type schemes can be used for direct, exact nonlinear analysis of combustion instability problems, preserving high harmonic energy content for long periods of time. The selected scheme was then applied to analyze the acoustic responses of resonant pipe-resonator, radial acoustic modes and hub-baffle configurations. Interesting observations of wave shape and damping characteristics have been drawn from presented computational studies.

Przekwas, A. J.↗

Numerical model for the weakly nonlinear propagation of sound through turbulence

When finite amplitude (or intense) sound, such as a sonic boom, propagates through a turbulent atmosphere, the propagation is strongly affected by the turbulence. The interaction between sound and turbulence has mostly been studied as a linear phenomenon, i.e., the nonlinear behavior of the intense sound has been neglected. It has been shown that turbulence has an effect on the perceived loudness of sonic booms, mainly by changing its peak pressure and rise time. Peak pressure and rise time are important factors that determine the loudness of the sonic boom when heard outdoors. However, the interaction between turbulence and nonlinear effects has mostly not been included in propagation studies of sonic booms. It is therefore important to investigate the influence of acoustical nonlinearity on the interaction of intense sound with turbulence.

Lipkens, Bart↗

Program in acoustics

Relevant research projects conducted by faculty and graduate students in the general area of aeroacoustics to further the understanding of noise generation by aircraft and to aid in the development of practical methods for noise suppression are listed. Special activities summarized relate to the nonlinear acoustic wave theory and its application to several cases including that of the acoustic source located at the throat of a near-sonic duct, a computer program developed to compute the nonlinear wave theory, and a parabolic approximation for propagation of sounding in moving stratified media.

Source record↗

Acoustic Liquid Manipulation Used to Enhance Electrochemical Processes

Working in concert with the NASA Technology Transfer and Partnership Office, the Great Lakes Industrial Technology Center, and Alchemitron Corporation of Elgin, Illinois, the NASA Glenn Research Center has applied nonlinear acoustic principles to industrial applications. High-intensity ultrasonic beam techniques employ the effects of acoustic radiation pressure and acoustic streaming to manipulate the behavior of liquids. This includes propelling liquids, moving bubbles, and ejecting liquids as droplets and fountains. Since these effects can be accomplished without mechanical pumps or moving parts, we are exploring how these techniques could be used to manipulate liquids in space applications. Some of these acoustic techniques could be used both in normal Earth gravity and in the microgravity of space.

Oeftering, Richard C.↗

Numerical computation of steady-state acoustic disturbances in flow

Two time domain methods for computing two dimensional steady-state acoustic disturbances propagating through internal subsonic viscous flow fields in the presence of variable area are investigated. The first method solves the Navier-Stokes equations for the combined steady and acoustic field together and subtracts the steady flow to obtain the acoustic field. The second method solves a system of perturbation equations to obtain the acoustic disturbances, making use of a separate steady flow computation as input to the system. In each case the periodic steady-state acoustic fluctuations are obtained numerically on a supercomputer using a second order unsplit explicit MacCormack predictor-corrector method. Results show that the first method is not very effective for computing acoustic disturbances of even moderate amplitude. It appears that more accurate steady flow algorithms are required for this method to succeed. On the other hand, linear and nonlinear acoustic disturbances extracted from the perturbation approach are shown to exhibit expected behavior for the problems considered. It is also found that inflow boundary conditions for an equivalent uniform duct can be successfully applied to a nonuniform duct to obtain steady-state acoustic disturbances.

Watson, W. R.↗

Ultrasonic Nondestructive Characterization of Adhesive Bonds

Adhesives and adhesive joints are widely used in various industrial applications to reduce weight and costs, and to increase reliability. For example, advances in aerospace technology have been made possible, in part, through the use of lightweight materials and weight-saving structural designs. Joints, in particular, have been and continue to be areas in which weight can be trimmed from an airframe through the use of novel attachment techniques. In order to save weight over traditional riveted designs, to avoid the introduction of stress concentrations associated with rivet holes, and to take full advantage of advanced composite materials, engineers and designers have been specifying an ever-increasing number of adhesively bonded joints for use on airframes. Nondestructive characterization for quality control and remaining life prediction has been a key enabling technology for the effective use of adhesive joints. Conventional linear ultrasonic techniques generally can only detect flaws (delamination, cracks, voids, etc) in the joint assembly. However, more important to structural reliability is the bond strength. Although strength, in principle, cannot be measured nondestructively, a slight change in material nonlinearity may indicate the onset of failure. Furthermore, microstructural variations due to aging or under-curing may also cause changes in the third order elastic constants, which are related to the ultrasonic nonlinear parameter of the polymer adhesive. It is therefore reasonable to anticipate a correlation between changes in the ultrasonic nonlinear acoustic parameter and the remaining bond strength. It has been observed that higher harmonics of the fundamental frequency are generated when an ultrasonic wave passes through a nonlinear material. It seems that such nonlinearity can be effectively used to characterize bond strength. Several theories have been developed to model this nonlinear effect. Based on a microscopic description of the nonlinear interface binding force, a quantitative method was presented. Recently, a comparison between the experimental and simulated results based on a similar theoretical model was presented. A through-transmission setup for water immersion mode-converted shear waves was used to analyze the ultrasonic nonlinear parameter of an adhesive bond. In addition, ultrasonic guided waves have been used to analyze adhesive or diffusion bonded joints. In this paper, the ultrasonic nonlinear parameter is used to characterize the curing state of a polymer/aluminum adhesive joint. Ultrasonic through-transmission tests were conducted on samples cured under various conditions. The magnitude of the second order harmonic was measured and the corresponding ultrasonic nonlinear parameter was evaluated. A fairly good correlation between the curing condition and the nonlinear parameter is observed. The results show that the nonlinear parameter might be used as a good indicator of the cure state for adhesive joints.

Qu, Jianmin↗

Light Diffraction by Large Amplitude Ultrasonic Waves in Liquids

Light diffraction from ultrasound, which can be used to investigate nonlinear acoustic phenomena in liquids, is reported for wave amplitudes larger than that typically reported in the literature. Large amplitude waves result in waveform distortion due to the nonlinearity of the medium that generates harmonics and produces asymmetries in the light diffraction pattern. For standing waves with amplitudes above a threshold value, subharmonics are generated in addition to the harmonics and produce additional diffraction orders of the incident light. With increasing drive amplitude above the threshold a cascade of period-doubling subharmonics are generated, terminating in a region characterized by a random, incoherent (chaotic) diffraction pattern. To explain the experimental results a toy model is introduced, which is derived from traveling wave solutions of the nonlinear wave equation corresponding to the fundamental and second harmonic standing waves. The toy model reduces the nonlinear partial differential equation to a mathematically more tractable nonlinear ordinary differential equation. The model predicts the experimentally observed cascade of period-doubling subharmonics terminating in chaos that occurs with increasing drive amplitudes above the threshold value. The calculated threshold amplitude is consistent with the value estimated from the experimental data.

Adler, Laszlo↗

Demonstration of acoustic monitoring for structural health of microreactors: Through use of neural networks and resonant ultrasound spectroscopy

Nuclear microreactors prioritize modularity and portability and are intended to be a cost-effective technology for non-conventional nuclear markets. As such, the development of microreactors into a safe and feasible solution for energy security applications will necessitate the development of non-destructive technologies to monitor the integrity of inaccessible reactors components during operation. This demonstration applies linear and nonlinear acoustic techniques, in combination with machine learning, to detect and classify mechanical changes (stress and damage) in a test article which are broadly representative of potential operating challenges within a functioning microreactor. All necessary data has been collected for this demonstration, with minor experimental issues identified that can be addressed in follow-on work. Motivated by the expected conditions within a functioning microreactor, we have demonstrated our monitoring techniques on a core-block-like test article using an unstructured excitation source that approximates the noisy acoustic environment expected during reactor operation. At all stress states mechanically applied to the test article, a machine learning model using an artificial neural network was able to classify with 100% accuracy whether a 3D laser vibrometry point measurement was made on an intact or artificially defective test article. Further, model predictions about whether the defect interface was rough or smooth were 95% accurate, indicating the ability of acoustic techniques to recover defect characteristics. Resonant ultrasound spectroscopy (RUS) was also applied to the dataset to provide further quantitative insights about material properties. RUS analysis was ultimately hampered by several minor experimental and data issues, limiting results to certain cases for this demonstration. Last, analysis using nonlinear RUS exhibited sensitivity to changing levels of applied stresses for each intact and defective state. As presented in this demonstration, acoustic monitoring exhibits sensitivity to stress changes, which are of concern due to high thermal gradients expected during startup and operation. Further, our techniques distinguish between measurements made on intact and damaged test articles.

21 SPECIFIC NUCLEAR REACTORS AND ASSOCIATED PLANTS↗

A finite difference solution for the propagation of sound in near sonic flows

An explicit time/space finite difference procedure is used to model the propagation of sound in a quasi one-dimensional duct containing high Mach number subsonic flow. Nonlinear acoustic equations are derived by perturbing the time-dependent Euler equations about a steady, compressible mean flow. The governing difference relations are based on a fourth-order, two-step (predictor-corrector) MacCormack scheme. The solution algorithm functions by switching on a time harmonic source and allowing the difference equations to iterate to a steady state. The principal effect of the non-linearities was to shift aocustical energy to higher harmonics. With increased source strength, wave steepening was observed. This phenomenon suggests that the acoustical response may approach a shock behavior at higher sound pressure level as the throat Mach number approaches unity. On a peak level basis, good agreement between the nonlinear finite difference and linear finite element solutions was observed, even through a peak sound pressure level of about 150 dB occurred in the throat region. Nonlinear steady state waveform solutions are shown to be in excellent agreement with a nonlinear asymptotic theory. Previously announced in STAR as N83-30167

Hariharan, S. I.↗

A finite difference solution for the propagation of sound in near sonic flows

An explicit time/space finite difference procedure is used to model the propagation of sound in a quasi one-dimensional duct containing high Mach number subsonic flow. Nonlinear acoustic equations are derived by perturbing the time-dependent Euler equations about a steady, compressible mean flow. The governing difference relations are based on a fourth-order, two-step (predictor-corrector) MacCormack scheme. The solution algorithm functions by switching on a time harmonic source and allowing the difference equations to iterate to a steady state. The principal effect of the non-linearities was to shift acoustical energy to higher harmonics. With increased source strengths, wave steepening was observed. This phenomenon suggests that the acoustical response may approach a shock behavior at at higher sound pressure level as the throat Mach number aproaches unity. On a peak level basis, good agreement between the nonlinear finite difference and linear finite element solutions was observed, even through a peak sound pressure level of about 150 dB occurred in the throat region. Nonlinear steady state waveform solutions are shown to be in excellent agreement with a nonlinear asymptotic theory.

Hariharan, S. I.↗

Combustion stabilization with acoustic cavities.

An experimental and analytical study has been performed to develop the technology necessary for effective use of acoustic cavities to suppress acoustic modes of combustion instability. An unbaffled variation of the LM ascent engine has been made dynamically stable with acoustic cavities only; five different cavity configurations were found sufficient to produce dynamic stability. An analytical model was developed to calculate the damping contributed by the cavity. Further, subscale tests were made to determine the nonlinear acoustic impedance of these cavities.

Oberg, C. L.↗

Phased array-based nonlinear wave mixing technique: Application to lack-of-fusion porosity characterization in additively manufactured metals

The objective of this research is to demonstrate the effectiveness of a phased array-based nonlinear wave mixing technique to characterize internal, localized microscale damage in an additively manufactured (AM) component. By using phased arrays for the generation of the incident waves, it is possible to produce a nonlinear wave mixing scanning technique without the need for immersion or changing coupling conditions. The phased arrays can be configured to generate incident waves in multiple directions that meet the resonance conditions required for nonlinear wave mixing at a variety of internal locations. This allows for the scanning of a specimen without the removal and re-coupling of the source transducers, leading to greater scanning speed and repeatability. To demonstrate the accuracy of this phased array wave mixing approach, measurements of acoustic nonlinearity in an AM component are first made with a bulk wave second harmonic generation through thickness measurement. Next, nonlinear wave mixing measurements are made with single element transducers to confirm the sensitivity of the proposed nonlinear wave mixing approach to lack-of-fusion porosity in AM metals. Finally, phased arrays are used to highlight the effectiveness of the proposed nonlinear wave mixing technique in these same AM components.

Acoustics↗

Acoustoelastic characterisation of materials

Recent developments in the use of nonlinear acoustoelastic techniques for the characterization of materials are reviewed, with particular attention given to the quantitative modeling of the acoustoelastic properties of multiphase alloys in terms of material composition. Topics discussed include general theory of acoustoelasticity, models of two-phase systems, measurement techniques, acoustic nonlinearity parameters and material properties, stress-temperature dependence of sound velocity, and low field magnetoacoustics. The discussion is illustrated by results obtained for steels and aluminum alloys with second phase precipitates.

Cantrell, J. H.↗

Modelling Sonic Boom Propagation through Planetary Boundary Layer Turbulence near the Lateral Extent of the Carpet

Nonlinear acoustic propagation of sonic booms in the atmospheric boundary layer is considered in the context of a one-way solution to a third order wave equation. A split-step approach is utilized to compute different physical effects efficiently. Unlike previous approaches, the diffraction effects are computed exactly in the forward direction with no restriction on the angle of propagation. This results in more accurate modelling of sonic boom near the carpet edge. Heterogenous flow effects are incorporated with a wide-angle parabolic approximation. Nonlinear propagation is computed with a Burgers-Hayes method. Turbulence in the medium is constructed by the method of random Fourier modes. The turbulence spectra are constructed using an altitude dependent 3-dimensional von Karman spectrum. The turbulence field is considered frozen, as the eddy turnover time in the atmospheric boundary layer is generally much larger than the propagation time of the acoustic wave. Comparisons with benchmark predictions from the PCBoom software are conducted. The benchmark cases provide insight into the accuracy of the current prediction code for non-turbulent atmospheres. Future work is discussed regarding the prediction of shaped booms, boundary conditions, and predictions near the lateral extent of the boom carpet where previous approaches fail to capture the diffraction effects.

sonic boom↗