Aeroacoustics Modelling
On this project I have been tasked with determining the contribution to total noise from a rotating cooling fan in a diesel generator set. I used computational fluid dynamics to obtain the pressure data required, then using a Boundary Element Method, computed the acoustic field due to the fan. The results were then compared to experimentally obtained sound pressure levels.
Ahead of modelling a full generator, a simplified case was considered. An approach was developed to determine the sound pressure levels of a duct enclosed fan. The in flow conditions, upstream of the fan, were varied using difference turbulence grids.
Experiments of the fan set up were conducted using hot-wire anemometry to determine the velocity field. Further experiments were conducted in an anechoic chamber to obtain the acoustic pressure levels due to the fan interaction with the flow turbulence.
Numerical models of the flowfield were computed using the commercially available CFD package, Ansys Fluent. The results were then compared with the hot-wire data. The boundary element method approach was used to obtain the acoustic field, and the data compared with the experimental acoustics results.
To date, the following publications have been made,
M. Bell, R. Cooper, G. Houston and J. Wang, “Numerical Modelling of Acoustic Sources”, RAeS Aerodynamics Conference, July, 2010, Bristol, UK
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