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At least 127 records · Page 7

Directional Electrostatic Accretion Process Employing Acoustic Droplet Formation

The present invention is directed to an apparatus for manufacturing a free standing solid metal part. In the present invention, metal droplets are ejected in a nozzleless fashion from a free surface pool of molten metal by applying focused acoustic radiation pressure. The acoustic radiation pressure is produced by high intensity acoustic tone bursts emitted from an acoustic source positioned at the bottom of the pool which directs the acoustic energy at the pool surface. The metal droplets are electrostatically charged so their trajectory can be controlled by electric fields that guide the droplets to predetermined points on a target. The droplets impinge upon the target and solidify with the target material. The accretion of the electrostatically directed solidified droplets forms the free standing metal part.

Oeftering, Richard↗

Pressure Fluctuations Induced by a Hypersonic Turbulent Boundary Layer

Direct numerical simulations (DNS) are used to examine the pressure fluctuations generated by a spatially-developed Mach 5.86 turbulent boundary layer. The unsteady pressure field is analyzed at multiple wall-normal locations, including those at the wall, within the boundary layer (including inner layer, the log layer, and the outer layer), and in the free stream. The statistical and structural variations of pressure fluctuations as a function of wall-normal distance are highlighted. Computational predictions for mean velocity pro les and surface pressure spectrum are in good agreement with experimental measurements, providing a first ever comparison of this type at hypersonic Mach numbers. The simulation shows that the dominant frequency of boundary-layer-induced pressure fluctuations shifts to lower frequencies as the location of interest moves away from the wall. The pressure wave propagates with a speed nearly equal to the local mean velocity within the boundary layer (except in the immediate vicinity of the wall) while the propagation speed deviates from the Taylor's hypothesis in the free stream. Compared with the surface pressure fluctuations, which are primarily vortical, the acoustic pressure fluctuations in the free stream exhibit a significantly lower dominant frequency, a greater spatial extent, and a smaller bulk propagation speed. The freestream pressure structures are found to have similar Lagrangian time and spatial scales as the acoustic sources near the wall. As the Mach number increases, the freestream acoustic fluctuations exhibit increased radiation intensity, enhanced energy content at high frequencies, shallower orientation of wave fronts with respect to the flow direction, and larger propagation velocity.

Lian Duan↗

Noise Generation by Fans with Supersonic Tip Speeds

Fan noise continues to be a significant issue for commercial aircraft engines and there still exists a requirement for improved understanding of the fundamental issues associated with fan noise source mechanisms. At the present time, most of the prediction methods identify the dominant acoustic sources to be associated with the stator vanes or blade trailing edges which are downstream of the fan face. However recent studies have shown that acoustic waves are significantly attenuated as they propagate upstream through a rotor, and if the appropriate corrections are applied, sound radiation from the engine inlet is significantly underpredicted. The prediction models can only be applied to fans with subsonic tip speeds. In contrast, most aircraft engines have fan tip speeds which are transonic and this implies an even higher attenuation for upstream propagating acoustic waves. Consequently understanding how sound propagates upstream through the fan is an important, and not well understood phenomena. The objective of this study is to provide improved insight into the upstream propagation effects through a rotor which are relevant to full scale engines. The focus of this study is on broadband fan noise generated by boundary layer turbulence interacting with the trailing edges of the fan blades. If this source mechanism is important upstream of the fan, the sound must propagate upstream through a transonic non uniform flow which includes large gradients and non linearities. Developing acoustic propagation models in this type of flow is challenging and currently limited to low frequency applications, where the frequency is of the same order as the blade passing frequency of the fan. For trailing edge noise, much higher frequencies are relevant and so a suitable approach needs to be developed, which is not limited by an unacceptably large computational effort. In this study we are in the process of developing a computational method which applies for the high frequencies of interest, and allows for any type of flow field associated with the fan. In this progress report the approach to be used and the basic equations will be presented. Some initial results will be given, but these are preliminary and need further verification.

Glegg, Stewart↗

Program for the feasibility of developing a high pressure acoustic levitator

This is the final report for the program for the feasibility of developing a high-pressure acoustic levitator (HPAL). It includes work performed during the period from February 15, 1987 to October 26, 1987. The program was conducted for NASA under contract number NAS3-25115. The HPAL would be used for containerless processing of materials in the 1-g Earth environment. Results show that the use of increased gas pressure produces higher sound pressure levels. The harmonics produced by the acoustic source are also reduced. This provides an improvement in the capabilities of acoustic levitation in 1-g. The reported processing capabilities are directly limited by the design of the Medium Pressure Acoustic Levitator used for this study. Data show that sufficient acoustic intensities can be obtained to levitate and process a specimen of density 5 g/cu cm at 1500 C. However, it is recommended that a working engineering model of the HPAL be developed. The model would be used to establish the maximum operating parameters of furnace temperature and sample density.

Rey, Charles A.↗

Comparison of Acoustic Models and Trajectory Generation Methods for an Acoustically-Aware Aircraft

This paper presents a comparison of trajectory generation methodologies using acoustic source noise models of different fidelity for motion planning for an acoustically-aware aircraft subject to constraints on the vehicle dynamic performance, mission, and acoustic footprint of the vehicle at a set of (three-dimensional) observer locations. The performance of a pre-mission Bézier curve-based planner and a (near) real-time stochastic model predictive control planner are compared. Additionally, a comparison is made between the motion planning performance using a lower-fidelity acoustic model based on propeller tip Mach number and omni-directional sound power radiation, and a hemisphere-based higher-fidelity acoustic model. It is demonstrated that the asymmetry in hemisphere-based acoustic model can be exploited for improved flight path planning and trajectory-tracking performance in the presence of acoustic constraints.

Kasey A Ackerman↗

Acoustic imaging for diagnostics of chemically reacting systems

The concept of local diagnostics, in chemically reacting systems, with acoustic imaging is developed. The elements of acoustic imaging through ellipsoidal mirrors are theoretically discussed. In a general plan of the experimental program, the first system is chosen in these studies to be a simple open jet, non premixed turbulent flame. Methane is the fuel and enriched air is the oxidizer. This simple chemically reacting flow system is established at a Reynolds number (based on cold viscosity) of 50,000. A 1.5 m diameter high resolution acoustic mirror with an f-number of 0.75 is used to map the acoustic source zone along the axis of the flame. The results are presented as acoustic power spectra at various distances from the nozzle exit. It is seen that most of the reaction intensity is localized in a zone within 8 diameters from the exit. The bulk reactions (possibly around the periphery of the larger eddies) are evenly distributed along the length of the flame. Possibilities are seen for locally diagnosing single zones in a multiple cluster of reaction zones that occur frequently in practice. A brief outline is given of the future of this work which will be to apply this technique to chemically reacting flows not limited to combustion.

Ramohalli, K.↗

Procedure for Separating Noise Sources in Measurements of Turbofan Engine Core Noise

The study of core noise from turbofan engines has become more important as noise from other sources like the fan and jet have been reduced. A multiple microphone and acoustic source modeling method to separate correlated and uncorrelated sources has been developed. The auto and cross spectrum in the frequency range below 1000 Hz is fitted with a noise propagation model based on a source couplet consisting of a single incoherent source with a single coherent source or a source triplet consisting of a single incoherent source with two coherent point sources. Examples are presented using data from a Pratt & Whitney PW4098 turbofan engine. The method works well.

Miles, Jeffrey Hilton↗

An experimental investigation of acoustic radiation from a source inside a large turbulent free jet

An experiment has been conducted in NASA Langley's free-jet anechoic facility to assess the effect of a free-jet shear layer on sound radiation from an acoustic source placed inside the jet. The nozzle diameter was 1.22 m and operated at an exit velocity of 35 m/s. Two different types of sources were used; one was a compact source with a nearly uniform radiation pattern, the other was a noncompact source with highly directional radiation pattern. The acoustic source was driven by pure tone and 1/3-octave band white noise. Acoustic measurements were made both inside the jet flow in the potential core region and outside the jet in the acoustic farfield. The effects of mean flow convection and mean shear refraction on sound radiation were determined. The experimental results compared favorably with analytical predictions. The effect of free-jet turbulence on sound scattering was found to be insignificant.

Ozkul, A.↗

Separating Turbofan Engine Noise Sources Using Auto and Cross Spectra from Four Microphones

The study of core noise from turbofan engines has become more important as noise from other sources such as the fan and jet were reduced. A multiple-microphone and acoustic-source modeling method to separate correlated and uncorrelated sources is discussed. The auto- and cross spectra in the frequency range below 1000 Hz are fitted with a noise propagation model based on a source couplet consisting of a single incoherent monopole source with a single coherent monopole source or a source triplet consisting of a single incoherent monopole source with two coherent monopole point sources. Examples are presented using data from a Pratt& Whitney PW4098 turbofan engine. The method separates the low-frequency jet noise from the core noise at the nozzle exit. It is shown that at low power settings, the core noise is a major contributor to the noise. Even at higher power settings, it can be more important than jet noise. However, at low frequencies, uncorrelated broadband noise and jet noise become the important factors as the engine power setting is increased.

Miles, Jeffrey Hilton↗

Active Noise Control of Low Speed Fan Rotor-Stator Modes

This report describes the Active Noise Cancellation System designed by General Electric and tested in the NASA Lewis Research Center's 48 inch Active Noise Control Fan. The goal of this study was to assess the feasibility of using wall mounted secondary acoustic sources and sensors within the duct of a high bypass turbofan aircraft engine for active noise cancellation of fan tones. The control system is based on a modal control approach. A known acoustic mode propagating in the fan duct is cancelled using an array of flush-mounted compact sound sources. Controller inputs are signals from a shaft encoder and a microphone array which senses the residual acoustic mode in the duct. The canceling modal signal is generated by a modal controller. The key results are that the (6,0) mode was completely eliminated at 920 Hz and substantially reduced elsewhere. The total tone power was reduced 9.4 dB. Farfield 2BPF SPL reductions of 13 dB were obtained. The (4,0) and (4,1) modes were reduced simultaneously yielding a 15 dB modal PWL decrease. Global attenuation of PWL was obtained using an actuator and sensor system totally contained within the duct.

Sutliff, Daniel L.↗

A method for obtaining a statistically stationary turbulent free shear flow

The long-term goal of the current research is the study of Large-Eddy Simulation (LES) as a tool for aeroacoustics. New algorithms and developments in computer hardware are making possible a new generation of tools for aeroacoustic predictions, which rely on the physics of the flow rather than empirical knowledge. LES, in conjunction with an acoustic analogy, holds the promise of predicting the statistics of noise radiated to the far-field of a turbulent flow. LES's predictive ability will be tested through extensive comparison of acoustic predictions based on a Direct Numerical Simulation (DNS) and LES of the same flow, as well as a priori testing of DNS results. The method presented here is aimed at allowing simulation of a turbulent flow field that is both simple and amenable to acoustic predictions. A free shear flow is homogeneous in both the streamwise and spanwise directions and which is statistically stationary will be simulated using equations based on the Navier-Stokes equations with a small number of added terms. Studying a free shear flow eliminates the need to consider flow-surface interactions as an acoustic source. The homogeneous directions and the flow's statistically stationary nature greatly simplify the application of an acoustic analogy.

Timson, Stephen F.↗

Nonlinear theory of shocked sound propagation in a nearly choked duct flow

The development of shocks in the sound field propagating through a nearly choked duct flow is analyzed by extending a quasi-one dimensional theory. The theory is applied to the case in which sound is introduced into the flow by an acoustic source located in the vicinity of a near-sonic throat. Analytical solutions for the field are obtained which illustrate the essential features of the nonlinear interaction between sound and flow. Numerical results are presented covering ranges of variation of source strength, throat Mach number, and frequency. It is found that the development of shocks leads to appreciable attenuation of acoustic power transmitted upstream through the near-sonic flow. It is possible, for example, that the power loss in the fundamental harmonic can be as much as 90% of that introduced at the source.

Myers, M. K.↗

Aeroacoustic Study of a Subscale Large Civil Transport (STAR) Model – Part 2: Validation of Simulated Results

Aeroacoustic measurements of the 26%-scale, semispan Boeing 777-200 Subsonic Transport Aeroacoustic Research (STAR) model tested in the NASA Ames Research Center 40- by 80-foot wind tunnel were used to ascertain the efficacy of high-fidelity simulations to accurately predict noise from the landing gear of large commercial transports. The simulations, conducted with the lattice Boltzmann solver PowerFLOW®, used a digital replica of the STAR model with or without main landing gear deployed and slats and flaps set to their highest deflection angles to represent aircraft during landing. The computations were performed at a Mach number of 0.21, Reynolds number of 8.2 million based on the model mean aerodynamic chord, and other conditions prevalent during the STAR model test. Measured and computed surface pressures were in very good agreement at most port locations on the model, as were global force coefficients, indicating that the simulations captured the impact of main gear deployment on inboard flap loading. Noise sources produced by the main landing gear and high-lift devices were determined via source localization maps generated with CLEAN from synthetic and experimental data. In general, very good agreement between predicted and measured acoustic source location and relative strength was observed in the maps. Comparisons of far-field noise spectra obtained from the CLEAN deconvolution maps showed remarkable agreement between synthetic and experimental broadband noise at low and medium frequencies. Main landing gear sources for model-scale frequencies above 7,000 Hz could not be resolved with the spatial resolution used during the simulations.

airframe noise↗

Active Control of Fan Noise: Feasibility Study: Active Fan Noise Cancellation in the NASA Lewis Active Noise Control Fan Facility - Volume 3

This report describes the Active Noise Cancellation (ANC) System designed by General Electric and tested in the NASA Lewis Research Center's (LERC) 48 inch Active Noise Control Fan (ANCF). The goal of this study is to assess the feasibility of using wall mounted secondary acoustic sources and sensors within the duct of a high bypass turbofan aircraft engine for global active noise cancellation of fan tones. The GE ANC system is based on a modal control approach. A known acoustic mode propagating in the fan duct is canceled using an array of flush-mounted compact sound sources. The canceling modal signal is generated by a modal controller. Inputs to the controller are signals from a shaft encoder and from a microphone array which senses the residual acoustic mode in the duct. The key results are that the (6,0) was completely eliminated at the 920 Hz design frequency and substantially reduced elsewhere. The total tone power was reduced 6.8 dB (out of a possible 9.8 dB). Farfield reductions of 15 dB (SPL) were obtained. The (4,0) and (4,1) modes were reduced simultaneously yielding a 15 dB PWL decrease. The results indicate that global attenuation of PWL at the target frequency was obtained in the aft quadrant using an ANC actuator and sensor system totally contained within the duct. The quality of the results depended on precise mode generation. High spillover into spurious modes generated by the ANC actuator array caused less than optimum levels of PWL reduction. The variation in spillover is believed to be due to calibration procedure, but must be confirmed in subsequent tests.

Pla, Frederic G.↗

Shock development in sound transmitted through a nearly choked flow

A nonlinear quasi-one dimensional theory of sound transmitted through a converging-diverging duct section is extended to the case where the acoustical source is located well downstream of the throat, at a point where the flow Mach number is low. The development and subsequent effects of shocks in the acoustic quantities are of primary consideration. The analysis uses a method of matched asymptotic expansions, yielding a set of inner equations of motion and shock conditions valid in the near-sonic throat region. The analysis leads to a generalization of the 'equal area' relation of weak shock theory. The manner in which nonlinear effects increase with source strength, frequency, and throat Mach number is illustrated by the numerical results and corresponding graphs. The shock waves are shown to cause significant dissipation in acoustic power.

Myers, M. K.↗

DAMAS Processing for a Phased Array Study in the NASA Langley Jet Noise Laboratory

A jet noise measurement study was conducted using a phased microphone array system for a range of jet nozzle configurations and flow conditions. The test effort included convergent and convergent/divergent single flow nozzles, as well as conventional and chevron dual-flow core and fan configurations. Cold jets were tested with and without wind tunnel co-flow, whereas, hot jets were tested only with co-flow. The intent of the measurement effort was to allow evaluation of new phased array technologies for their ability to separate and quantify distributions of jet noise sources. In the present paper, the array post-processing method focused upon is DAMAS (Deconvolution Approach for the Mapping of Acoustic Sources) for the quantitative determination of spatial distributions of noise sources. Jet noise is highly complex with stationary and convecting noise sources, convecting flows that are the sources themselves, and shock-related and screech noise for supersonic flow. The analysis presented in this paper addresses some processing details with DAMAS, for the array positioned at 90 (normal) to the jet. The paper demonstrates the applicability of DAMAS and how it indicates when strong coherence is present. Also, a new approach to calibrating the array focus and position is introduced and demonstrated.

Brooks, Thomas F.↗

Stochastic analysis of spectral broadening by a free turbulent shear layer

The effect of the time-varying shear layer between a harmonic acoustic source and an observer on the frequency content of the observed sound is considered. Experimental data show that the spectral content of the acoustic signal is considerably broadened upon passing through such a shear layer. Theoretical analysis is presented which shows that such spectral broadening is entirely consistent with amplitude modulation of the acoustic signal by the time-varying shear layer. Thus, no actual frequency shift need be hypothesized to explain the spectral phenomenon. Experimental tests were conducted at 2, 4, and 6 kHz and at free jet flow velocities of 10, 20, and 30 m/s. Analysis of acoustic pressure time histories obtained from these tests confirms the above conclusion, at least for the low Mach numbers considered.

Hardin, J. C.↗

Acoustic Liner Drag: Further Measurements on Novel Facesheet Perforate Geometries

Over the past several years, the NASA Langley Liner Physics Team has worked to develop methods capable of characterizing the aerodynamic drag of acoustic liners in addition to their acoustic performance. For a given liner, one can compute its resistance factor, λ, based on static pressure drop measurements. The current study details experiments in the NASA Langley Grazing Flow Impedance Tube to quantify the relative drag of several perforate-over-honeycomb liner configurations at flow speeds of Mach 0.3 and 0.5. The liner facesheets incorporate novel perforate geometries rather than the conventional, round hole designs typically used. Measurements of the resistance factor for each liner are made with and without acoustic excitation. A tonal acoustic source is used at sound pressure levels of 140 and 150 dB over a frequency range of 400 to 3000 Hz when performing acoustic measurements. Educed impedance spectra are calculated to determine the impact of variations in perforate geometry on acoustic performance and the relationship between acoustic and drag performance.

Howerton, Brian M.↗